Breakfast in Europe Continent (Istanbul, Turkiye @ Taksim Gonen Hotel) -1

cheese, cheese n more cheese

After about 10 hours of flight from Kuala Lumpur, arriving in Istanbul in the early hours and starts the tour to the Blue Mosque which is actually not blue, visiting the Aya Sophia Museum which was built as a Church turn into a Mosque turn into a museum the off to the lovely and mesmerising Topkapi Palace blooming with tulips of unthinkable colours, a good night sleep and waking up hungry like a wolf, I was astounded by the array of the breakfast buffet.

Cheese of various sizes and shapes; different taste and texture which really teased my cheesy appetite. Without much thought of the rest of the fares, I practically scooped each and every one of them into my serving plate without any hesitation or thought. The cheese were really finger licking good and out of the world.

bread n pastry

Next were the baskets of breads of all kinds, shape and texture. Some were extra ordinary hard, some were reasonably soft. Another rows of baskets right on top were baskets of sweets pastry, and I mean really sweet pastry. Next were the salad bar with thick cut tomatoes and cucumber along with other leafy salad with big bowls of sweet sauce and condiments, yogurt and honey adorned the long salad bar counter.

salad honey yogurt n more cheese

olive story
honeycomb rack far left

And of course various shape, size and colours of fresh crunchy olive, to my delight but not in the morning of course. And there was also honey comb (above picture on the left) where we can break a small piece and mixed it with yogurt, which was heavenly delicious!

And last but not least, when in Turkey, we must taste at least once their famous Apple Tea. Overall my first day breakfast in Istanbul is tipping a fine nine on Acepaizah's scale.

reddish Apple Tea
wt assorted cheese n friends

 Cheesy Istanbul
~Acepaizah~

fresh n crunchy whole fruits 

Western Lunch at Melur & Thyme, Suria KLCC

Grilled Herb Chicken

Continuing my foodie adventure with Melur & Thyme best western comfort food with their sips and toss, sipping their mushroom soup, aromatic creamy soup served with garlic. My companion RA's choice, which she offered me a sipping sample. The soup is thick and creamy and full of crunchy mushroom pieces and to my palate craving. 

Mushroom soup

Next Tapas-Thyme main dish - RA's Salmon Crockets, that is rolled mashed potatoes and salmon served with bread crumbs and fried till crisp and served with sour cream on the side. I had a bite but not to my fondness. Too much potatoes which essentially depreciate the salmon's taste, texture and aroma.

Salmon Crockets

My personal all time favourite from Tapas-Thyme is Grilled Herb Chicken. A very fresh well grilled boneless and skinless chicken breast marinated with thyme and spices to perfection and served with plenty of veggies , mash potatoes, cilantro garlic oil and thyme sauce.

Grilled Chicken Chop Chop

And my all time makan buddy's choice is Grilled Chicken Chop Chop, the name itself is very teasing in nature and the presentation was superb! It is loaded with lightly saute veggies and the accompanying thyme sauce has a distinctive taste belongs to Melur & Thyme.

And we drown the goodness and scrumptious meals with a piping hot latte brewed to perfection! Save for the salmon Crockets, all the dishes were exquisitely appetizing which deserves an 8 on Acepaizah! It is value for money at KLCC's standard, fast and friendly smiling servers.

all round Latte

tapas-y tyme

~Acepaizah~

Tea Time @ Melur & Thyme, Suria KLCC

beautiful latte

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and somehow, I missed my lunch. Searching for a decent meal I found enticing my companion Id to one of my latest makan place in KLCC, Melur & Thyme Restaurant on the Ground floor facing the park. I accidentally stumbled upon in on a Christmas day last year, having afternoon at the Harolds cafe. 

Melur & Thme served a mixture of local and western delights, both finger foods and full ala carte cuisine. Their coffee latte is one of the best and I never failed to order them on every occasion. Melur & Thyme's latte had the distinctive taste and aroma that word failed me right now, and of course, I also like their artistic foam drawings. And what a great way to nibble their spring rolls- fried popiah stuffed with cuttlefish and mixed vegetables served with thick sweet chilli sauce. A good starter for me while waiting for my dish in a day that I called a carbo celebration day! The mixed veggies were fresh and crunchy and the popiah skin were crispy.

spring rolls

I've frequented Melur & Thyme a few times, and on all occasion I was supposedly on a 'no carbs diet', thus the only option were some kind of proteins dishes (that I will post in the near future). Hence, on this fateful Saturday afternoon around 3pm, I ordered my dream plater, Nasi Goreng Bunga Kantan with Crispy Chicken. Basically, stirred fried rice with flower torch, long beans and lemon grass served with eggs, lots of crackers and their so called special ayan kampung (spring chicken) with of course sambal on the side!

RM24.00 Fried Rice

We also ordered Penang Char Koay Teow, stir fried koay teow (flat rice noodles) with cockles, chives, beans sprouts and tiger prawns with cut chillies in soy sauce on the side. I am not really a Char Koay Teow fan, so, I reckon the Char Koay Teow is so so. The taste is there with generous add ons. We finished it to the last bit, and it must be good. 

Char Koay Teow

The ambience is fantastic, the serving is fast and friendly and the waiters were very attentive not withstanding that we were seating at the outer side of the restaurant. The food itself were fantastic, wholesome, tasty and no cutting corners in term of ingredients. A plate of Fried Rice at RM24.00 it was a bomb, but this is Suria KLCC restaurant outlet where the rental is a bomb too, I say, it is value for money and a unique dining experience where we can mix, match or contrast our dining choices. Acepaizah's overall rating is 9 for this rather expensive dining extravaganza!

celebrations of carbs

~Acepaizah~