after you (Central World Branch)

Maybe it is our stereotype thingking, that we do not usually go to cafe in shopping mall. But due to the limited visiting time in Bangkok and the unbelievably over-crowded after you in Central World, we decided to take our chances.

Luckily we did. And had our two delicately, beautifully, wonderful desserts in Bangkok. But mind you, for those Malaysian looking for giant sizes dessert, this is not your place.

We had a chocolate lava and a baked Fuji Apple crumble with soy custard sauce. The taste, the texture, we loved them. The details? I will leave it for your own discovery.

Is it very common in Bangkok to have so many branches of cafe while still calling them unique? This was the question in my mind. There are 8 branches of after you, and the one in Siam Paragon was also unexpectedly crowded, even on weekdays!

One thing for sure, I like their culture of enjoying life.

La France

First of all, no photo because shooting is not allowed. But either way I would like to introduce this Cafe La France because it is one of the best place I have been to in Penang. Well, definitely not because of the French-like privacy we get when we were there - our companion complained about the no-smile service; but the quality of the food, c'est fantastique!

Although we were not having a full course menu in a high-end dining, every dishes was nicely served. The croissant was nice and reminded me of what we had in Paris, comparing to those just-the-shape-of-croissant-local-"certain"-bread in Malaysia. Yes, you are right that we seek genuine food. Just like how we perceive the "modern" Tiramisu locally in the previous post about the China House - but don't get me wrong; we love fusion and creativity in food, but we believe those should be established on the basis of sincerity.

Other than the croissant, crepes and soup, we wished we could try more but cakes and drinks before dinner limited our storage. Next time, sure we will be back again.    

And let's be fair about the service. We all know about cultural differences, so we should not simply compare or complain. And since me myself is also working in our very own cafe, you never know whether it's a bad day. As long as the waiter/waitress is polite to us, I think it's ok. 

China House

Since the French children start to enjoy their full course menu in a creche around the age of two, so I thought it's ok for our little baby to make the debut to a cafe on her sixth month. Voila, her first visit to a cafe - the China House in Penang.

But of course, she got to see everything without really tasting any of it. Patience, my dear (as I learned that French trains their children to wait too). Your mom and dad will do the tasting now.

And if you are following this blog, you will know that we had also stopped visiting cafe for a while in order to welcome our baby. So our cafe story now has another new member; and probably her comments included soon.

Ok, the China House now. We learned this cafe from a friend, who has compared the classical Tiramisu at p.a.t.h. to its. But since we never favor a "modern" Tiramisu with so many nuts on top, we tried their Sicilian Pistacio and Mango Upside Down. And yes, we loved both of them. Happy to know that we have another choice for afternoon tea whenever we need it.

 

And if you are a person who thinks ambient means a lot like we believe, you will definitely enjoy yourself exploring a lot in this classic townhouse architecture. Check out their HP and you will know the effort they are trying to mixing up functions of different walks. We believe that this is a good spice for locals, in promoting more awareness on the importance of environment creation.

Expecting to see more, not only at China House, but the cultural growth of Penang. And we know out baby girl is looking forward to it too:)

Muntri Mews

We were driving around the narrow Love Lane yesterday, looking for the possible sparks during the special day. But fate brought us into Muntri instead, where we decided to land our heart.

At first we went into Moontree 47, a nice little one in a heritage townhouse. But LC who's pregnant now could not stay because of the heat, so we had to leave for another one nearby which has air conditioning - the Muntri Mews.

The place was just cozy, and quite comfortable for a pregnant lady. She enjoyed very much the sofa seat by the wall. And we ordered a Tiramisu and a cappuccino for a relaxing afternoon.

The desserts, nothing surprises; but the coffee served in a classic porcelain bowl looks interesting. The taste, a bit bitter compare to the one at Lighthouse, but not bad.

It was not something so special, but nevertheless we spent a nice little afternoon - discussing for hours about our own cafe p.a.t.h., etc. 

Life is great:)

Lighthouse Coffee

It's been a while since our last visit to any cafe. We get to know this coffee house from one of our guest at p.a.t.h., the barista from Lighthouse Coffee himself. So here we are, on our day off, gathering with our friends at this lovely place in Georgetown.

LC loves the place so much. She said it has the genuine feeling of a coffee house, not just like any shop that play with the decor, and does not care much about the food & beverages.

Well I myself enjoyed my coffee too. Nothing more and nothing less, it's just the perfect balance I want. But I feel something is missing from the environment, I believe more can be done to make the place better.

Anyway we will be back again, to try the Tiramisu and more espresso:)

p.a.t.h.

Thousands of apologies to all on+cafe readers. Since the opening of p.a.t.h. last June, we are too busy managing the cafe and do not have enough time to explore any new places now. Please be patient for now, we'll be back, that's for sure:)

For details about p.a.t.h., you can visit the HP or our blog.

Soul Kitchen

It's good to know that there are still nice places that worth a visit:) We went to the Soul Kitchen located in the center of Georgetown today. The place was not large in scale like the usual Malaysian design, it's just nice and fit by re-utilizing the local traditional town house. Which, I think they did a nice touching.

We did not plan the tour in advance because we just found out the place earlier in the afternoon. That is why we were there after the usual tea time, and before the evening dinner. So we just had the mushroom soup on the special menu, a cup of cappuccino, and a Tiramisu. The cappuccino was nice, and the Tiramisu was lovely too. And the best of all, are the smiles of the people serving:)

NEROTECA

NEROTECA is not the one that could fit into my search in a perfect cafe. But this is the 2nd Italian that came into my cafe blog after il Pacioccone di Chianti in Kawasaki. Probably it was the feeling we get from Italian that resembles something we seek in cafe of warmth. I am not sure we will visit the place as frequent as we did in Kawasaki, but my wife did say that she would like to come again.





We ordered a antipasto which was a plate of different arrangement of fresh vegetables. It was just simple, nice and comfortable. The seafood pasta was also well served, just like the white chocolate mousse.



To be fair, I was not surprised by the authenticity of the food. I think we seek more in terms of great & fine food. But we spent four hours in this nice little Italian place in the heart of the hectic city. That, is something that should be shared:)

And one more thing to share with all - my wife wondered why is the surroundings seem so different and nearly ugly comparing to the nice building where NEROTECA sited. I understand her concern. And I also really sad for the city planning if there is really any. But maybe the city is just too young. We have more to learn and more to strive for. And I sincerely hope the nice dining experience could help us to build a better culture.

sculpting in time | 雕刻时光

Expecting, to see something special here in Beijing - we went to one of the sculpting in time cafe near the Drum Tower. I was interested in this cafe because of the owner's story of sculpting the cafe culture there. And I knew I had made the right choice once stepping inside the small entrance lounge.





We took the seat on the 2nd floor, on the wooden deck under the old tree. It was a nice afternoon, and it was fresh. Not only did the cafe tell me something new about the city, it tell me more about myself, about what I am seeking.

Booday | 蘑菇

Booday, the last selection of cafe to be visited during our trip to Taipei. Located nearby MRT Zhongshan, the cafe is on the 2nd floor of a nice looking shop house. There is a concept store featuring goods designed by Booday on the 1st floor, where you will be welcomed by the well designed holistic concept. And the 3rd floor seems like their design studio.

It was a hot day, but it was cozy inside the store & the cafe (a bit cold after we sat there for 30 minutes though). I found a lots of similarities in details to those unique cafe in Japan but Taiwanese has their way to create a fusion, which I felt their own culture embedded in the environment. Again, just like the tote cafe we visited days before, I saw the warmth of a true cafe lifestyle. The main actor is not the cafe, but the people within.

We had a cheese cake, a fresh orange juice and a plate of handmade bread with mushroom. It was just simple & nice, like what a cafe should be.

Leaving Booday means no more cafe in Taiwan, at least for another few years to come. Anyway we were very lucky to have all the satisfying visits within one week. Money spent (because it is more expensive comparing to the local specialties), but it was worth it to learn about the cafe culture. Hopefully, all these cafe will still be there the next time we visit:)