China Bar Signature Asian Buffet, Melbourne

During our recent trip to Melbourne, we visited many places of interests. I'll pick and choose a few of the highlights worth recommending :)

As usual, if you're Asian, most highlights of holidays would be food! LOL.

After patronising many kinds of restaurants in Melbourne (mostly for non-Asian food), we decided one day to finally take up my aunt's offer. Since Day 1 she had been wanting to take us to this Asian Buffet place called China Bar. I violently objected, not wanting to come to Australia and have to eat Asian food! Every now and again she would say, "Eh, want to go to China Bar or not?"
"Don't want!" I would reply.

Well, well, at Day 14 in Melbourne, look where we ended at...

China Bar Signature Asian Buffet! Ha ha ha ha ha

Not only that, but would you believe it ... I was terribly looking forward to the visit!

See, that's what repetitive conditioning does to you...after the drummings of "ChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBar
ChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBar
ChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBarChinaBar" DAY IN DAY OUT
(but of course I'm slightly exaggerating).

View from our table

The salad bar

The preaching of the China Bar gospel was definitely fruitful. The succulent roasted pork was all together worth it. Mmmm.....

Perfectly roasted duck too *nom nom nom*
We also had dim sims, stir fried vegetables, curries, double boiled soups, satays (which were excellent), sushi, and HEAPS more.
Definitely one of the nicer Asian restaurants in Melbourne!
Thank you my beloved aunt for the wonderful treat!

China Bar Signature Asian Buffet
380 Burwood Highway
Burwood East
Vic 3151
Australia
+613 9887 8011
http://www.chinabarsignature.com/

Fatty Crab Restaurant: Order Food Online!

I saw this header in one of my emails' subject heading this morning,
"[50% Off] Seafood + free delivery for 2 pax: Fatty Crabs’ Signature Green Chilli Sweet & Sour Crab + Special Fried Rice + 6 Mantou Buns. Only RM37"

(Photo from Fatty Crab website)

I subscribe to this group buying site called Groupsmore. They have deals everyday or every other day. You sign up and you get to buy stuff with group discounts :)

ANYWAY ... back to the Fatty Crab promotion. I clicked on the email link and it took me to a very mouth-watering place! What's more interesting ... I never knew Fatty Crab did deliveries! I also never knew that Fatty Crab has their own website! Here it is http://fattycrabs.com/

My my. I was thoroughly impressed.

Anyway, just to share with you (if you didn't know, like me) about this "order food online" service that Fatty Crab has. Happy ordering!

Allegro Cafe @ SS 15 Subang Jaya

We rarely head to Subang Jaya as it is relatively "far" away from where we are. But, we decided to go to Empire Hotel Subang one day. While in the neighbourhood, we drove around, and found Subang Jaya to be quite a nice place! Many many restaurants in Subang Jaya.

So, when our friends told us that they'd take us to Subang for dinner, we were delighted to be able to sample some food from one of the restaurants there called Allegro Cafe. Allegro Cafe @ Subang Jaya was not what we expected it to be, looking from the outside. It's situated on the first floor of a shop lot. We walked up the stairs and into a very cosy restaurant! Wow! I was thoroughly impressed :)

(Photo above is from Allegro Cafe's facebook page - the rest below are mine)



Warm lightings, cosy setting providing a very soothing ambience!
Now how about the food?

The mushroom soup was nice.

Mushroom cheese bruchetta was nice.

The tomato bruchetta was super nice

The Caesar salad, apparently. Didn't taste like Caesar salad - more like the warm chicken salad dish you get from Delicious (Ms Read's Cafe). But, it was nice nevertheless.

My mouthwatering medium-well steak. *drrrroooooolll* It was SO tender and SO succulent. Served with a red wine mustard sauce on a bed of aglio olio spaghetti. Oh, hello 2011!
Hubby's sole with some lemon dressing was good too. I still prefer my red meat :p

For dessert, we had tiramisu (which was quite homemade), and apple strudel ala mode (so so only).

Overall, it left a lasting impression on us. The price was good too! About RM45 for my steak, and for the other dishes about RM20. Slightly cheaper than most cafes. Very very good! I highly recommend! So far, the best restaurant in Subang Jaya! (At least in MY sample size ;))

Allegro Cafe
11A 1st Floor
Jalan SS 15/4
Subang Jaya
Tel: 03-5631 5682

10 February 2011: Oh, just saw that an excerpt of my review was featured at Milk-A-Deal! If you want to get discount vouchers for a pasta/pizza with ice lemon tea at 58% off, visit their website here!


14 February 2011: Whaddya know, Groupsmore is offering discounts too. Check the deal out here! 


16 February 2011: 79% discounts at Everyday! Click here to get the deal :)

iSMILE Dental Center - Good Dental Clinic in Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya

If you are trying to find a dentist in Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya, a good dental clinic to go to would be iSMILE Dental Center :)

(Photo taken from http://www.ismile.com.my)

I've been going to this dental clinic (located in Damansara Uptown) for close to three years now - and have been super happy with the excellent service I get there. I see Dr Jean Ong as she's such a warm, pleasant and gentle lady. Stepping into the clinic, you would think that you've come to someone's house. The place doesn't reek of "dental clinic" smells - if you get what I mean. Neither is the colour scheme of blue and white - in fact, the office has such contemporary colours! The lighting is warm, soft music is played, comfy sofas for you to sit on, magazines, wifi - all this make the whole experience so nice! As a matter of fact, I was just there this morning, and while waiting in the "sitting room" - I almost felt like putting my feet up. Yes, I forgot I was not at home, but at a clinic! 

(Photo taken from http://www.ismile.com.my)

Elaine, the Front Desk Manager's voice was so friendly and cheerful when I made the appointment over the phone :) (Mind you, I think I had to make my appointment 5-6 weeks in advance! Yes, it's THAT popular!) Elaine even sms-ed me yesterday to remind me of my appointment. When I arrived at the clinic this morning, she warmly greeted me by name :)

(Photo taken from http://www.ismile.com.my)

I had a simple cleaning job done today. It was pleasant and painless :) As a matter of fact, my dad's tooth broke some months back, and I took him there for her to pull the rest of the tooth. According to him, he didn't even feel the pain of the needle when an injection was administered. I think I read somewhere on the website that they use special needles.

So, if you are looking for a good dental clinic, I highly recommend iSMILE Dental Center :)

Dream Cafe at Dream Centre (DUMC)

This is where I have my lunch, most weekdays! The Dream Cafe at Dream Centre (DUMC) - located just next to Jaya 33, serves an array of sumptuous dishes for your "economy rice" lunch! Have a look at the photos! The Dream Cafe serves pork-free food :)

Here's how you get to the Dream Cafe at the Dream Centre :)
It's super easy to find parking as the Dream Centre has LOTS of parking spots for you. Not only that, as the map suggests, if you are working around the Section 13/14 area, there's also a back gate access in order to enter the Dream Centre grounds.

The Dream Cafe is fully air-conditioned and that's why I LOVE eating there - good food, convenient and stress-free :) The prices are pretty reasonable too. On average you pay RM1.50 for a drink and a plate of "economy rice" should cost you about RM5 for one meat, one vegetable and one tofu dish WITH rice. The servings are really generous and the quality of the food is excellent. You get free soup as well!
(Note: Best to arrive early, say 12.00-12.45pm as that's when the dishes are freshest and in abundance)

If "economy rice" is not your cup of tea, you also get to order ala-carte - rice or noodles - in individual portions. The top seller is the Kong Lam Mee. There's also Black Bean Fried Rice (either you like it or you don't. I don't, but my friends love it.), Yin Yong, Hokkien Mee, Thai Fried Rice and lots more. Noodles (except Kong Lam Mee) are RM4.50 per plate, and rice, RM5.00 per plate.

Not only that, you will find the best scones at the Dream Cafe! Warm, crumbly and freshly baked - served with cream and home-made strawberry jam. It's RM2.50 per scone. What a bargain eh? Super yummy. Other desserts available are carrot cake (RM3.50), moist chocolate cake (4.50) and caramel custard (RM2.00).

It's really worth the visit!

The Dream Cafe opens from
Tues - Friday at 11.15am to about 3.00pm
Saturday at 11.00am to 5.00pm
Sunday 8.30am to 1.30pm

Their weekend menu is slightly different. You can go yourself to find out what they serve. Generally, they are open during the day.

I hope you enjoy this place as much as I do! :D

Address: Dream Centre (DUMC), No.2 Jalan 13/1 Petaling Jaya (next to Jaya 33)

Victoria Rossa English Tea Room @ Hartamas Shopping Centre

Sorry for the long silence! Haven't really been trying products/services, nor has there been an outstanding one to recommend ... so there.

My friend took us to her friend's "shop" in Hartamas Shopping Centre for a high tea. I didn't expect much - even though the place looked nice. Sometimes shops are so nicely decorated but the food is icky and yucky.

This place is called Victoria Rossa - situated on the first floor of Hartamas Shopping Centre. To be exact, here's the address: Unit K20, Level 1, Hartamas Shopping Centre (right across from Pineapple Computer store). Everything is dolled up in Victorian splendor - very elegant and pretty.

The menu - so shweet :)

My friend ordered one of those tea sets - that came with cucumber sandwiches, butter cake and scones, accompanied with tea - very nice tea!

Cranberry and raisin scones - fresh, light and buttery

Nice tea pots and tea cosys - the experience is building up very quickly!

Hmm, I thought I had a photo of the butter cake which I must say was absolutely divine! As I said, my expectation of this "tea room" wasn't very high. BUT, my my, I was pleasantly surprised ... the food was of really really good quality! I'll say it again, the butter cake was beautiful! A MUST HAVE when you go there.

The owner of the place came to sit with us and brought more food for us to sample. Wow, we were so blessed. We listened to him talk passionately about his tea room. You can tell he really takes pride in what he does. He doesn't believe in using substandard ingredients so the butter cake (and all the other pastries) are made with only pure butter. No shortening, no margarine, nothing with trans-fat.

Will definitely go back again for the great experience. Hmm, or maybe not ... just for the sake that I can't afford the calories :( But ... if you're looking for a good English high tea - Victoria Rossa is the place to go!

Website: http://www.victoriarossa.co.uk/
Blog: http://victoriarossaenglishtearooms.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238163063457&v=wall

Best Fruit Cake, Sugee Cake and Murukku!

Now, how could I forget to promote the "business" of the person so close to home? My very own mother! A thousand apologies, Mee! My mother is a fantastic cook (okay, maybe I'm 0.01% biased) and can cook up a storm! Over the past years, she's been trying her hand at baking, and after experimenting, trying, tweaking recipes...she's got a couple of stellar winners! After much persuasion from family and friends, she finally took a step forward, dived in - and took orders. Good reviews so far! Here are her 3 best sellers:

MURUKKU
Maximum Spice Maximum Flavour.
Warning: Highly Addictive!
RM8 per bottle (minimum order: 3 bottles)

SUGEE CAKE
This traditional Eurasian recipe has been tried over and over again till the perfect combination of ingredients was achieved to create that heavenly first bite. Moist, fluffy, aromatic, full-bodied - reminiscent of festive celebrations! THIS is the real deal!
RM80 per cake

FRUIT CAKE
I've never liked fruit cake - ever. Till I tried my mum's. Exquisite. Fragrant, bursting with plump juicy raisins,  and laced  enhanced with top quality brandy. The end product...indescribable.
RM80 per cake


My mum lives in Penang, so this post benefits the Penangites most :) But people in the Klang Valley, don't feel left out .. Mum does have people doing deliveries to KL once in a while - so you can just try your luck :)

Notes:

Please allow

*5 days notice for sugee cake and murukku

*14 days notice for fruit cake as the fruits need to be soaked in brandy for at least 1 week

Self-collection on a cash upon delivery (COD) basis

For further information or enquiries, please send an email to Mag at magdaline(dot)loh(at)gmail.com

Malaysia Glaucoma Society

I was in my church cafe the other day about to have my lunch. Scanned the surroundings and saw a couple seated already having their lunch. We've exchanged hellos along the way, but we've never exchanged more than 2 words to each other. So, I decided to sit with them.

I got to know how Stevens lost his eyesight. It was due to glaucoma. Read his story here or listen to his interview on BFM Kaye, his wife is a great caregiver - I've always noticed how patient and loving she is to her husband. We chatted at length about eyesight, as my dad suffers from retinitis pigmentosa and has about 1% of sight left. So I am quite involved and in the know of the life of one who is visually handicapped. It is not easy and I really admire them.

As a result of his own experience, Stevens founded the Malaysia Glaucoma Society so that early detection could be done to reduce unnecessary blindness. Do visit the website at http://www.saveonesight.com/

Babysitting & Daycare Services

I have a friend who is setting up a babysitting and daycare centre. She says that the group will not be big so that she can give quality time and full attention to the children under her care. She's committed into giving her very best, and to take care of the kids as she would meticulously look after hers. If you're looking for someone reliable and trustworthy to look after your child, do visit Joanne's website at  http://kidzhaven.webs.com/ and give her a call :)

Free Boracay Vacation Package

Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency

WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it's 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.

Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay  Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila Domestic Airport
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash

Read More Information:http://www.seairphilippines.com