Bakers' Delights @ Bake with Yen

Its time of the year. Christmas is approaching fast. Less than a month, Christmas will be celebrated and fake snow already starts pouring in some part of Kuala Lumpur! It also marks the time to shop for cakes' accessories and ingredients. My BFF who is an avid cake maker and I went to one of the Kuala Lumpur open secret bakers' store in Kuala Lumpur, known as Bake With Yen Store @ Chow Kit Road, Kuala Lumpur. The store, as usual was full to the brim. People from all walk of life were busy tossing politely from one aisle to another.

Above, all kinds of baking ingredients of different flavours and size. Most of it were alien to my unknowing eyes, being non baker and as a matter of fact I am allergic to kitchen related stuffs. Ha Ha!

Rows and rows of different kind of flavours from Malaysia humble Pandan paste and flavour to gourmet like "Hershey chocolate" bottle which may turn into a scrumptious chocolate cake which is chocolatey, rich, moist and delicious.

The rows were quite narrow with neatly arranged shelves. The packaging of the stuffs were moderately small  and they do have choices of a larger packaging to cater for seasoned bakers who buy in larger quantities.

Besides ingredients, the store also have a wide range of bakers' utensils and essentials. The store occupies two shop lot and was quite stuffy but not dusty. Cold and frozen ingredients such as cheese of all kinds were well refrigerated at the entrance of the store. Most of the time, the store is chaotic and customers voices were drowned by the cashiers and owner communicating and instructing each other!

Happy Baking folks!
~Acepaizah~

Burger Bakar -Rawang Burger Bakar

Isabella

I was in hurry and stopped by a burger stall along Section 5, Wangsa Maju's road junction where a very welcoming stall practically calling out my name. It was 6.30 pm and they were just starting their business. I made my order and was told that it would take about 30 minutes since they were just starting their fire to bakar (burn-grill) the burgers' patties! I ordered Isabella and Chicken Pop burgers, I am the 6th person in the queue.

Isabella is a homemade mixed chicken and shrimp burger patties as claimed by the owner Roy. It is juicy with its melted cheese atop the thick coarsely minced chicken and some minced shrimp. The bun base is layered with pieces of salad and a kind of special thick greenish fillings. They were too generous with the sauces and mayonnaise.

Chicken Pop n Isabella

Chicken Pop is also a homemade chicken burger patties. The Chicken Pop also juicy. Both burger tastes about the same but for the shrimpy taste in Isabella burger. Both were added with a small thin slice of pineapple which gave the burgers a sour flavour akin to pickles. I think a real pickles would do the trick since the pineapple slices were very thin and small which in turn defeat the purpose, if intended.

The burgers patties were so enormous in size and since it is thick from regular patties, after a few bite, the multi flavours simply disappear since it does not really jived into the patty itself. However, the burgers remains juicy, nevertheless sans the various flavours. 

The burger patties were grilled on top of burning charcoal (open fire). Hence, every bite is accompanied by a smoky after taste that gives this burger bakar (open fire) a distinctive aroma. However, the bun is too soft to support the enormous burger patties and kind of caved in after a few bite. 

For a street stall burger, it is a bit costly at RM10.00 a pop for Isabella and Chicken Pop with cheese.Value for money is a 5 on Acepaizah scale. The burgers itself is a 6 and cleanliness and friendliness is a whopping 9! The workers, mostly part time college students were very friendly. I had a chat with the owner Roy, a very friendly man who answered my every questions. I will definitely have another bite in the future.

             

~smoky patties~
~~Acepaizah~~

### the burgers were wrapped in paper serviette and styrofoam boxes. The plates in the images  belongs to Acepaizah.

Vogue Cafe, Renaissance - Happy Belated Birthdays to Me & MM

At last, last birthday celebration of the awesome four girlfriends for the year. It was a much awaited time. As for MM, hers was delayed exactly 7 months! And for Acepaizah, its 4 months overdue! We believe we do break some kind of record somewhere. So, last Sunday, the awesome four,(the name given by MM impromptu while uploading her FB status) celebrated our long overdue birthday do at Vogue Cafe, Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The buffet spread is not as elaborate as I expected. There were short row of piping hot soups, where I could hear the steamer below boiling water, white and fried rice, tasty duchess potatoes, some lamb and beef roast, mediterranean prawns and chillied crabs followed by cold cut meats, fresh tiger prawns and baby lobsters with crab sticks and some other seafood delights which were not to my liking. Next to it were sushi choices, cold cuts and varieties of salad with their accompanying sauces and condiments. Varieties of local and imported fruits, breads, cheese, cakes adorned in the center around the pillar.

I made my short round and piled up about 5 mediterranean prawns, some seabass in soy sauce, grilled strings beans with baby tomatoes and cubed red pepper and duchess potatoes. The mediterranean prawns were soggy bordering unpalatable, hence I made a friendly complaint to the Chef that the prawns were not fresh and soggy. The duchess potatoes were very delicious and since my prawn's expedition was cut short, the duchess potatoes save my other wise foodie misadventure.

tomato soup

The tomato soup was very creamy, delicious and the sour taste of tomato puree was to my satisfaction that I helped myself to a second bowl!.However, Id said that it is a tad too salty. Vogue Cafe served many varieties of cheese such the name of which will twist my tongue but the taste will definitely tickles and satiates my cheese craving. The baby lobsters were very fresh and MM demonstrated the art of cracking its shell with our bear hands.

cheese, cheese n more cheese
duchess potatoes, baby lobster, prawn

I ended my foodie adventure with some chocolate dipped crackers, bread pudding with some creamers and handful of walnuts and pecans courtesy of the ice cream's station.

sinful delight

Freshly prepared mediterranean prawns by Chef Fakhrul upon my earlier complaint. What can I say? I am very fussy about my prawns. It must be fresh. I may get lost in my own kitchen, but I am a prawn expert. I know how it should be cook. And I know, when I have a hard time shelling the shell, chef beware! Anyway, these freshly prepared mediterranean prawns were delicious and I thanked the Chef profusely. He explained to me what he thought went wrong earlier. For record, the prawns were alive in a tank some where in the kitchen!

chef's compliments

My overall observations. The atmosphere and service is a 8, duchess potatoes a 9 (Chili's Grill & Bar Restaurant is still the best), tomato soup and cheese selection an 8. And value for money, I will give a 7.

prawny issues n waves
~Acepaizah~

Satay @ Sri Melaka

chicken satay, spicy peanut gravy and
piping hot teh 'o' (tea sans creamer)

Monsoon season is here in Malaysia. It’s been rainning everyday in Kuala Lumpur and else where in the Peninsular Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur, it started to rain in the afternoon till late evening and during the night. The meteorological department predicted rains till end of November. Traffic in Kuala Lumpur is chaotic especially during week days and flash floods everywhere.

In these weather conditions, finding place to eat out is not easy since these places do not have a covered car park and one have to brave the heavy rainfall. My choice was limited to shopping center such as the Suria, KLCC.  I was craving for the delicious mouth watering satay for days. However, sate stalls were usually in a street stall environment and not in an enclosed shopping center.

At last, after much hesitation, I decided to brave the rain. I drove myself to one of my latest hawkers’ food court choice at Taman AU Keramat.  Immediately setting foot into the satay stall, Sri Melaka, it rains heavily! Safe and dry, I ordered my skewered bbq-ed meat.

The chicken satay was served with spicy peanut sauce dip or peanut gravy, slices of onions and cucumber and cubed ketupat (rice cooked wrapped in coconut leaves). M and I ordered hot black tea to warm ourselves since we were practically chilled to the bone!

The chicken satay meat were chewy and juicy, though not the best. The chicken pieces were quite large and had a distinctive aroma of grass lemon.The best satay is at my favorite joints in Ampang Jaya, but that is another story. Sri Melaka’s satay is palatable to my taste but there were pieces fatty skin in between the lean meat.

                                                                                                                                                              

However my satay craving is being satiates. I give a 7 for the satay and the atmosphere. Value for money an 8 on Acepaizah scale. And satisfying my satay craving during the heavy monsoon season, well certainly a 9!

~chilled monsoon kisses~

~Acepaizah~