Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin - Bangkok, Thailand

Located in Siam Kempinski Hotel, Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin is a sister restaurant to Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen by Henrik Yde-Andersen, the second restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star cooking Thai food (after Nahm). Sra Bua introduces us to authentic Thai food with modern flair, which turned out to be quite a remarkable dining experience.

 

Bo.lan - Bangkok, Thailand

Located on Sukhumvit Soi 35 (approx. 10mins walk from BTS Thong Lo Stn) nestled Bo.lan, a chic Thai restaurant ranking at no.37 on San Pellegrino's Asia's 50 Best Restaurant 2015 list. Headed by chefs Bo and Dylan, Bo.lan serves authentic Thai food in a traditional Thai-houses-inspired interior.

Toby's on Sukhumvit 38 - Bangkok, Thailand

I don't even know how I found out this place but I was very glad I did - hands down to my favourite brunch place in Bangkok - Toby's on 38! They're only in their 3rd or 4th day of operation when I went but everything was perfect - coffee, food, and service.

* Location: Approx. 5-8 mins walk from BTS Thong Lo Stn.You'll pass by Hands and Heart on your left first.

Muharam Cafe - Melbourne, Australia

Instagram seems to be a more efficient research base to me nowadays! I came across the very pretty red velvet pancakes by Muharam Cafe while I was searching for #pancakes. Located in Hawthorn, Muharam Cafe is a less crowded brunch place (to my surprise!). Given the overall experience in this cafe, I personally think it's a bit underrated!

The Hardware Société - Melbourne, Australia

It's my first stop after touching down. My friends and I arrived at the shop at about 9 am and there's no queue (somehow). I missed it on my last visit as the queue was really long so I was really excited to be trying it this time!

Loving the menu cover.

They have quite a long list of dishes. We had problem in deciding since each dish seems interesting as per described in the menu. I picked mine by ordering the same dish the lady next to me was having (always! The easiest way to decide on my orders lol).

Rainbow Pancake - Tokyo, Japan

During my 24 hours of stay in Tokyo, I insisted to make time for pancake because pancakes I had on the land of rising sun NEVER once disappoint me.

I arrived at 10am, to this:

They're opening at 11am, and why were these people in line an hour earlier, or even earlier? Do they not need to go to work / school? The demographic at a glance: 98% female. 

The Curious Goat - Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya

2 factors brought me here - initially it was the amazing and unique latte art(s) which I came across in Instagram; then as I was checking out their account, their posts attracted me. I love their narration for each photo - their posts make me think that they are very good story tellers, and that they are not using the usual marketing texts as an approach.

Judging from the comments online, I thought it'll be hard to locate, but it's not. It's pretty direct, just use waze :D The only fun part (or perhaps confusing to most) is that they do not have a signboard, but again, it isn't hard to locate, it is not that hidden. The art murals on both sides of the wall are easy to recognize.

To summarize my first visit:
It was my plan to go to The Curious Goat, but I got confused between this and TTDI's Frisky Goat. I got to know about both goats briefly based on Instagram's photos. So, upon arriving at Frisky Goat, I did another round of search on Google, only I came to realize that "Oh no this isn't the goat which I intend to go." So I had my brunch at Frisky Goat, and still made a visit to The Curious Goat after that.

I love how quiet it was on a Saturday afternoon, not only the cafe alone, including the area - simply away from the hustle bustle of the city (and practically everywhere else in the Klang Valley). Very, very friendly, warm and attentive service, with cosy setting. Nothing extravaganza, but I like the way it is. It's where I can spend hours sitting, not doing anything. Haha! However, I did not really enjoy my first cup of coffee. It was so so only, and I left feeling a tiny bit disappointed. Since the initial factor that drew me here was the latte art, I actually requested for a special one and I thought given that they're not busy, I was expecting something different than the usual rosetta / tulip but...this was what I got:

Nonetheless I still had an enjoyable afternoon there. My cousin and uncle though enjoyed their cuppa more than I did. 

Vue De Monde - Melbourne, Australia

Vue De Monde was my first stop in Melbourne; after touched down, dropping my baggage at the hotel, off I rushed to the restaurant. I honestly did not know what to expect thus I wasn't really expecting anything. 

Our reserved table has amazing view of Melbourne skyline, perfect for me as it's my first time in Melbourne. It's like reading the introductory of a book, applying the same theory on a city :)

The ambiance is a good combination of an elegant and modern contemporary dining room with natural rustic decor. Table setting was impressive as it's very surprising; every rock serves its own purpose and the dining experience has just got more fun as we were guessing on the purpose of each rock :D Service was very attentive, professional and most importantly, fun. The staffs are very knowledgeable and although it's formal dining, I like how they engaged with the customers, which successfully created a cheerful vibe in fine dining. 

We had the a la carte as we're pressed of time, I have too many cafes to cover in Melbourne! :s Even so, the meal took us around 3 hours, I guess degustation will last at least another hour or...more. As a whole, it is more than just fine dining, it is a culinary experience with wonderful Australian hospitality. 

A small part of Melbourne panorama skyline.

Common Man Coffee Roasters - Martin Road, Singapore

Brewed from a partnership between Harry Grover of 40 Hands, Five Senses Coffee, and the Spa Esprit Group, CMCR is the convergence of a bubbling bank of experience from the coffee cherry to the cup, encompassing a café, coffee bar, and wholesale roasting arm. - Common Man Coffee Roasters

Coffee culture in Singapore is definitely growing too rapidly. There are simply too many (really, too too many) cafés in this small country. Having visited a few, Common Man Coffee Roasters is where I've returned twice, and will still return on my very soon next visit. For its ambiance, food, coffee and service.

 As said, good things come in threes. 

Whimsical by Cielo Dolci (Again!) - Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

I was back for my second and third visit! I consider this quite a rare scene, I don't usually visit a cafe on a frequent basis but but...I can't get enough of their yummy gelato! 

I was back on Friday night for dessert. Whimsical is offering more gelato flavours now! Baileys + chocolate chips, Sangria, 70% Belgian Dark Choco, Lavender Honey, Pistachio (Premium), Cempedak, Durian...just to name a few.

I once had the best Lavender flavoured gelato in my life in Budapest, Hungary (ps: I haven't been to Italy though, so it's purely based on my humble judgement). Gelarto Rosa in Budapest serves really delicious Lavender White Chocolate flavoured gelato! It's so good that I had it two days in a row, despite the chilly cold weather and yeah, felt so great to have had it again before we left Budapest! 

From Gelarto Rosa, instead of scoops, gelatos were presented in petals which form a blooming rose :)

Whimsical by Cielo Dolci - Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

Gelato-loving fans wouldn't find Cielo Dolci new, it's a gelato house with an outlet at lower ground floor of Paradigm mall - selling home-made gelato with a list of rather interesting flavours (I love their chocolate peanut butter flavour). Now, they've just joined the cafe scene, Whimsical Gelateria & Caffe by Cielo Dolci - a gelateria/cafe, started operation just 5days ago. However instead of serving the normal cafe/brunch food, they are doing what they do best, still concentrating in gelato - by offering food/drinks paired with a scoop. Definitely something new in town! (I foresee the hype Whimsical will create not too long from now )

Ryozanpaku 京・百万遍 梁山泊 - Kyoto, Japan

Our host is the 2-star Michelin Chef: Kenichi Hashimoto, a very humorous and humble man. We were greeted by Mrs Hashimoto dressed in kimono at the wooden craved entrance, entering a Japanese garden, a small pathway under a canopy of beautiful pastel pink cherry tree in full bloom, leading us to the doorstep of the restaurant. There's a big hand-crafted communal table in the centre, wooden racks on the wall and we were seated at the counter bar, facing the open kitchen.

Pancake Café mog - Namba, Osaka, Japan

Another sweet surprise we found in Japan! 

Yotaro Honten 与太呂 本店 - Osaka, Japan

On our hunt for Michelin restaurants in Japan, we've decided on Yotaro Honten solely based on our curiosity. I was wondering how good can tempura be to make it a 2-star restaurant?

Yotaro Honten - A 2-star Michelin restaurant, specialized in Kansai style tempura, serving since 1921. A restaurant full of integrity, serving their local style tempura fried to precision, with impressive service. 

Ryokan Hanaikada - Arashiyama, Sagano Kyoto, Japan

Arashiyama is a pleasant town with mountains and river located in the western outskirts of Kyoto, offering very beautiful natural setting and relaxed atmosphere. It's a masterpiece of natural scenic beauty, while it's a small town without too many attractions, many tourists go there for a day trip. It takes about half an hour ride on Randen Line from Kyoto. On my first visit, I had a day trip too but I've decided to stay a little longer this time. This area is especially popular among tourists during Autumn, when the Japanese maple (momiji) - which takes up to 70% of Arashiyama add grace and beauty to the season. 

There are a few beautiful ryokans in Arashiyama, my favourite was Hoshinoya unfortunately it's fully booked by the time I started to do my planning. I've only made all my hotel bookings 1-1.5 months before I departed. Bad bad idea to check out hotels 1-2 months before departure, furthermore it's the cherry blossom season, left aside the steep prices, many hotels were already fully booked and I've only left with a few choices. I've settled down with Hanaikada Ryokan, a traditional ryokan with natural hot springs. 

Ryuhei-Soba - Kyoto, Japan

Ryuhei-Soba

A 1-star Michelin restaurant located in a tranquil town slightly away from Kyoto city. It took us quite a while to get here; the map we printed online plus the one we got from the train station didn't help much but thanks to the pocket wi-fi I rented and Google Maps, after almost 15 minutes of walk from the train station, we finally arrived at Ryuhei-soba's doorstep. It's a petite restaurant sat between local houses. I was a little grumpy already, having to walk at a relatively fast speed as it's passed our reservation time due to our earlier journey in Nara (I got a little too obsessed with the deers in Nara haha), my grumpiness disappeared the moment we were welcomed by the hostess. The genuine Japanese greetings and welcome never failed to put a smile on my face. 

Standing Theory - Petaling Jaya

After Butter + Beans and VCR, I've found another gem in town. I know it's very subjective when it comes to our own perspectives of a good café. As mentioned in my earlier post, I've visited many cafés that are so overrated. To me overrated means they have massive crowd despite of the quality they're offering. Quality breaks down to quality of service and quality of what they are serving. And more often than not, the popular cafes out there lack of both qualities that I’m looking for.

Standing Theory sits in a row of old shop lots in a quieter neighbourhood of SS2. It has minimal interior design, with compact menu written on chalkboards, an island-bar/counter, lighting, chairs and tables – that’s about it. Oh there's a pretty interesting round communal table :) Anyway, I have underestimated its location. Back in highschool, I had my percussion lessons there (in fact, that music school is still there, just right next to Standing Theory). Thus I was assuming its location will make it a less crowded gem. Oh dear I was wrong. Standing Theory clearly isn't among the mediocre. It's among the real deal.

The Good Batch - Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

*This post is composed after my second visit to The Good Batch. Sadly, I don't think I'll be returning anytime soon.

The Good Batch hit the town in the last quarter of 2013. When the signboard's up and queue started to built as soon as the operation started, I thought, probably, finally a good place which serves good food. Unfortunately I was let down not once, but twice.

I don't have pictures of my first visit but I remembered what I ordered. I had a Portobello Road while my friend had The Ang-Moh. We arrived before 11am and we're already in the line for a table. However it didn't take us too long as we were at the front of the line so to avoid longer waiting time, we were seated on the communal table with bar chairs. When I flicked through the menu, the titles of the dishes immediately reminded me of another great brunch place overseas (it was one of my favourite places for brunch but to be fair, I would not mention the name here). So I thought, was it pure coincidence or does The Good Batch lack of originality? Hmm. I don't know. 

Butter + Beans At Seventeen - Petaling Jaya

The local cafes are springing up like mushrooms after rain. And there are numerous lists regarding cafes can be found online - Top 10 Cafes in Klang Valley, Must Try Cafes in KL, Top 20 Cafes... the list goes on and on. I often wonder, who created the list? After visiting many cafes, the first conclusion I had was - many cafes out there are very much overrated. 

Butter + Beans At Seventeen appears to be my favourite out of all. I love how petite & intimate it is, I love their house blend, I love their pastries, I love their coffee art, and I am very much in love with their homey friendly service. Nothing beats sharing stories over a cup of good coffee. 

Just a small array of pastries. They might not serve the BEST pastries but still, quality assured.[

Australia Dairy Co. 澳洲牛奶公司 - Hong Kong

I've read and heard numerous reviews about Australia Dairy Co. before dining in. To summarize, it's one of Hong Kong's most popular 茶餐廳 (Cha Chaan Teng - HK-style cafe) - famous for its scrambled egg, egg custard and... their not-so-friendly service. We went prepared - long queues, quick-decision making on orders, and expect nothing on their service.