Go-Getter Café @ Bukit Jalil, KL

Nestled in the quiet neighbourhood of Bukit Jalil, this new café seems like an ideal future hangout spot for me and my friends. Considering that I live so far away from most of the good cafés in the Klang Valley, I was elated to find that there's another decent one nearby (apart from The Owls Café). I'm not a rich girl who does nothing but café-hop all the time, but exploring cafés is something I enjoy doing once in a while - so yes I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this cool café, so near my house too!

It's situated just next to The Owls Café, so the layout is somewhat similar. I'm glad we didn't have to wait for seats because there was no crowd unlike at The Owls Café, which can get mildly irritating sometimes. Even so, there were a number of customers sipping on their coffee and happily chatting with their friends when we went at 3pm.

The café exudes a vibrant and fun atmosphere which was immediately felt once I stepped in, offered by the simplistic yet colourful setting. With bright murals along the walls and chairs of different colours and bold prints, it's hard not to feel cheery when you're here!

Both of the "wheels" serve as mirrors - how cute is that?

Orders are placed at the counter (cash only), and then you'll get a mini toy car with your order number on it. I played with it while waiting for the food...

The avocado lassi (RM8) is a yoghurt drink, which I immediately fell in love with after the first sip. Followed by more (and more) sips. It's definitely a must-try item on the menu as it's so, so good! The drink has the perfect consistency - not too concentrated and not too diluted - paired with a strong tinge of fresh avocados. You can't really see the colour in this photo but the next photo will show its pale green colour clearly.

The Go-Getter pasta (RM17) is cooked with squid, shrimp, chilli padi and curry leaves in sweet and sour tomato sauce. A nice combination of flavours together on a plate, although it's nothing to shout about. In the late afternoon without any lunch, we devoured it while it was still warm.

The avocado toast (RM18) is unexpectedly superb, as I had imagined a normal toast but instead a thick slice of bread fried with presumably butter and sugar was served. Topped with fried egg and avocado pieces, the sweet and savoury breakfast item was further complemented with drizzles of honey and lemon.

For dessert, we had the ingenious ondeh-ondeh pandan waffle (RM12) with coconut ice-cream topped with shredded coconut and gula melaka syrup. I love how seemingly western food can be turned into localised creations like this. The taste is amazing even though the bright green colour of the waffle is a bit off-putting (no it's not because of the editing)... The ice-cream doesn't have much coconut flavour as well, but it's still a delightful dessert nonetheless.

A beautiful mess.

Besides the good food, the service is satisfying too - and that's the second most important factor that encourages customers to go back again. This café is still considered new but the quality of the food looks really promising.

Personally, I prefer the variety of the waffles here compared to The Owls Café. I will definitely go back again to try the other waffles - think: red velvet, cream cheese, salted caramel, charcoal, salted egg yolk sauce MMHM - if not just for the avocado lassi :P


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Address: 

12A-1, First Floor, Block 5, Jalan Jalil Jaya 6, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur.

Opening hours:

Monday-Thursday, 12pm-7pm
Friday-Saturday, 12pm-11pm
Sunday, 9am-6pm

*closed on Tuesdays
                       

P.S. Sorry for the low-quality photos. I didn't have my DSLR with me so I resorted to iPhone and VSCO

Coco Steamboat @ Old Klang Road, KL

We decided to have dinner at Coco Steamboat 海底炉 in Old Klang Road last Saturday, and also a small farewell party for Veronica. 

There is a Puchong branch as well but Hui Ying's friends said the one in Old Klang Road is better. I can't really comment because I haven't tried, but Phoi Yih said that they are almost similar. I guess there won't be much difference in taste given that they are from the same management. 

The restaurant is located on the main road, so if you drive along Old Klang Road past Pearl International Hotel on your right, you will definitely see the huge signboard. It is located next to a furniture shop. Parking space is really limited, even though there is a parking lot next door but you have to pay RM5 per entry. I assume the small parking area in front of the restaurant is free, but you have to come really early to get a spot - unless you're lucky. 

We arrived about 7pm (the restaurant starts operating at 5:30pm) - totally didn't expect Old Klang Road to be so jam on a Saturday evening. I heard there will be a long queue especially during weekends so it is advised to be there earlier. There are a few rows of chairs at the entrance, for those who are waiting to be seated (I wonder if that many chairs are needed..?).

Once I stepped into the restaurant, I was quite surprised that it's actually pretty huge and spacious. The interior is kept as simple as possible, with colourful prints of food as well as nature along the walls, which is a pleasing sight to see. The only disadvantage is that there is no air-conditioning - I wonder why the air-conditioned room occupies only a small section at the entrance. They should definitely install air-conds here because eating steamboat in a hot weather/environment is not a good idea. 

The restaurant was almost full except for a few empty tables towards the end, so we were led to one of the last tables behind.

We thought that the 猪骨煲 (pork knuckle soup base) - which is what this steamboat restaurant is famous for - is quite special since it is usually the clear or tomyam soup base, and we heard good reviews and were even recommended by friends, but probably because our expectations were pushed up too high, we got somewhat disappointed.

Firstly, the price is really expensive. The soup itself is already RM20.90, and the small plate of ingredients on the left is RM18.80 (the portion is supposedly for one person) consisting of fu chuk, fishballs, meatballs, dumplings, crab sticks and cabbage. I was surprised at the size of the portion when it was served.

Compared to that, the seafood set (for two persons) looks much more appetising. But at a price of RM69.90, it is not worth it at all when there is only a small piece of fish, a few clams and mussels, two prawns, some mushrooms, yam sticks and fish noodles. The rest of the ingredients are basically the same as the first plate. It also comes with a plate of noodles (yee mee and mee hoon) and egg, as usual.

There were five of us and the bill came to about RM26 per person plus drinks. We ordered one jug of winter melon and longan (as you can see in the photo) to share, which costs RM9 and it is quite annoying that it is nonrefillable, so each of us only had a small glass of it. 

We were there for almost two hours, and felt really bloated from dinner - not because of the food but because we kept drinking the soup lol. The milky soup base was indeed something different for a steamboat, but to be honest it taste similar to the 鱼头米 (fish head noodle) soup. It is full of flavour, but I don't think the price is worth it. The other ingredients are also overpriced, given that they are common and cheap.

With a few ringgit extra, we could actually have a buffet steamboat already (I know there is one in Kelana Jaya). Think: free flow of seafood MMHM. Anyway, the food wasn't bad but I won't be back again. Nonetheless, it was a good dinner and catch up session - after one whole year!

Opening hours: 5:30pm - 11:30pm

Address: 1, Batu 4 3/4, Jalan Kelang Lama,
              58200 Kuala Lumpur.

GPS location: 3°5’14″N, 101°40’26″E

Contact number: 019-2776596

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coco-Steamboat/105336112869661

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After that, we went to Veronica's house. I dropped them off and went back to take the cheese cake that I baked earlier (because it needs to be chilled), some chocolates that I bought in Europe and a farewell gift for Veronica.

Kat managed to come at the last minute and Hui Ying came too, even though she was working the whole day. I know she would be tired and Kat had other things to deal with as well, so I was really touched that they came in the end :')

Finally, the seven of us could gather together after so many years of not having a complete gathering.

Family portrait :'D

Getting everyone together is becoming a rare occasion these days, but I'm glad that it is not impossible and that we could still be as crazy as before, if not more crazier. I really do cherish every moment we spend together especially now that some of us are moving into another phase of life, which makes it harder for frequent hangouts to happen.

It warms my heart when everyone makes the effort to meet up because I know how difficult it is when we have our own different responsibilities that comes with adulthood (gosh I sound so old). But who says you have to act like an adult when you are one? Hehe so here's to a never-ending friendship of sampat-ness - hopefully we will still share many more crazy laughs even when we're 40 ;)

Played "谁是卧底" (a Chinese game app that is similar to charades but way more fun) again - I think it is becoming a game that is compulsory to play every time we meet! Also it is my current favourite game but it needs a minimum of three players and the words are in Mandarin, meaning I can't play it everyday and I also need to find the right people to play with.

The most exciting part are the punishments, really! This one is not included in the list of punishments given but it is the only one involving all of us - except Hui Ying, and of course, she was the one who came up with the idea. There are other funnier videos but they would have to be private :P

It was truly a night of craziness and non-stop laughter, which ended with hugs and goodbyes. All photos above taken by Mean Shan. 

Last but not least, here is my beautiful cheese cake!

Why I voted in the UK's General Election

I won't be living in the UK in the next five years, in fact, I will be going back to my home country in July. So why did I still vote?

Well, simply because I can. Being a Malaysian - a Commonwealth citizen - I'm eligible to vote in the General Election here. 

Of which I didn't know about until I received a letter from the local council asking me to register to vote - otherwise I would have to pay a fine of £50. Initially I was shocked, thinking, surely they had made a mistake? Why the heck am I allowed to vote when I'm not a British citizen!? After a few seconds of panicking, I then proceed to dismiss the letter. Maybe I'll pretend I didn't receive it if they demand a fine. But after a few weeks, I received the same letter again. Okay, I thought to myself, I'll register. Since there's no harm in doing it, and... better be safe than sorry.

As the elections draw near, I found myself feeling grateful that I have registered to vote. Since I have the right to vote, why not exercise it? I quote a friend of mine, Jolene, "...because if we have the power to be heard, then let's bloody use it." So very true!

Most importantly, I want to stand up for fair and transparent elections. Thinking back to Malaysia's General Election in 2013, my heart wrenches with anguish. The hopes and dreams of many Malaysians dashed when the results came in on the 6th of May, revealing the opposite of what we had been hoping for - change. All the campaigning, all the rallying, all the support, all the enthusiasm, have all boiled down to nothing.

I will not forget the day my country plunged into darkness. If you look through the profile pictures of many Malaysians on Facebook, I believe you will spot a black photo sitting randomly among a happy and colourful collection of memories. That day, my timeline was filled with these literal darkness, with Malaysians expressing their hurt and anger on social media.

The reason why we were so upset was not solely because the outcome was not what many of us want, but because of what the current ruling party did to ensure their continuous grip on the country. Phantom voters, gerrymandering, voter fraud, you name it. Just google "malaysia general election 2013" and you'll find news coverage from the BBC to CNN about the country's political situation.

How are all these possible in a supposedly democratic country? The worse thing that could ever happen to a country is to be governed by unscrupulous leaders, employing all sorts of dirty tactics to assert power over the country.

Apparently, Malaysia's current ruling party is the "longest continuing ruling party in the democratic world". Come the 14th general election, which will be held in 2018, the party would be in power for 61 years. The sad truth is that nothing has changed ever since our independence, which, if you think about it, is pretty crazy.

However, I'm glad that things are changing. The previous general election has been the most intense and dramatic one in Malaysian history, and it is also one with the most voter turnout with many first-time voters. I'm glad that people are beginning to realise that it is time to do something with our voice.




My first ever vote has been given to the UK. Now I have no excuse to not vote in my country in the next general election (and the future ones). And I urge all of you reading this to vote if and when you can. You have the right to determine how you want your country to be governed in a democratic world, so please don't waste it. Don't be ignorant. It's time to stand up for what you believe in.

I still believe in the potential of my country, of course I do. It is where my roots lie, and it is where my heart will always belong. I believe in the power of Malaysians, especially the young people, to change our beloved country for the better. This coming general election, my generation will be able to vote - and I'm excited for it :)


(Pictures from Google Images)