Turning Twenty-one.

Everyone insists on acknowledging that turning 21 is a huge milestone in life. It means you are officially in your 20s, no longer dancing on the edge of teenage and adulthood. But knowing that, I had no expectations or whatsoever. I thought it's just gonna be another ordinary day. Well it was, but with a little bit of unexpected twist at the end of the day.

I was blessed with surprises by an old friend of mine, and it brought back some old memories four years ago. I still vividly remember what happened on my 17th birthday night - how could I ever forget? I wonder if you still remember, but I find it better not to bring this up again. Things have changed tremendously. The other person was not even there. Why am I still relating here and there? Silly me. For a moment, I thought history was gonna repeat - but nope. Phew. This time, you did it right. All in all, it was a great night. Good food, thoughtful gift, sweet surprise. What more could I ask for?

I wish everything stays the way it is.

Not forgetting all the other three pre-birthday celebrations that I had. All of the kind that I like best - simple and sweet. Thank you for knowing what I like best and making me feel loved. I need no expensive presents. Your presence is everything that matters to me. All of you.

On a side note, my thoughts and prayers go out to all the flood victims in Malaysia. I have friends in Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan and I really couldn't bear to see them losing their home. I wish that the condition gets better and families get to reunite in this festive season.

We tend to relate 21 as growing up. The sense of responsibility and perhaps some big decisions in life. For girls, it is time to invest in a great shade of lipstick. Looks are not everything but confidence will get you far and when you look good, you feel good. Take this advice. And how else my 21 is gonna be? 

Give until it hurts. 

Reach out and touch someone. 

Spend time with your love. 

Hug someone who needs it. 

Go out and make your dream comes true.

That's about it. I guess.

不退色的蓝宝石项链

昨天，我失去了一个朋友。

这段友谊，八年了。中学时期时，她送过一条很漂亮的蓝宝石项链给我当做生日礼物。很简单，却很漂亮的一条项链。当时我们很喜欢为对方写下很长很长的生日祝福卡。我好喜欢写卡片，喜欢用文字来走进对方的心里面。礼物有了卡片，它就不只是一份礼物，而是一份祝福。那一年她写给我的生日卡片我印象非常深刻，是这么结束的：

礼轻情意重，如果没有遇到更好的朋友，结婚的时候就戴着这条项链吧！

当时我看了这一行，觉得非常感动，心里默默答应，结婚时一定会戴着它。当时，我对这份友谊是这么地有信心。之后的很多年，直到今天，这条项链依然陪在我的身边。这是一条神奇的项链。经历了这么多年，那蓝宝石从来没有退色，它依然闪闪发亮的，看起来就像新的一样。每每我戴上那条项链，总是收到身边朋友的赞美，问我哪里买的项链，真漂亮。然后我会很骄傲地跟他们说，这是我最好的朋友送我的生日礼物。以前我曾经想过，不退色的蓝宝石，是不是象征着不退色的友谊。可是为什么，如今这段友谊，却走到了瓶颈。

一连串的言语攻击下，我有一个感觉，我们回不去了。我明白，爱是要坦诚，但是坦诚和言语伤害之间，她到底站在哪一边多一些？每一个一气之下说出来的伤人的话，我抓着电话，是花了多长的时间才决定发送出去。她伤人的话，却是说得这么地理所当然，毫不畏惧。被自己爱的人伤害是有多痛，我终于知道了。爱，绝对不是如此地互相伤害。我想我再也走不进她的世界。


我不想承认，我即将失去这个朋友。

[FOOD REVIEW] Fatboy's Burger Bar @ Taman Sutera Utama, JB

To all the burgers lovers out there, you have to check this out! The famous FatBoy's Burger Bar is now in Johor Bahru!

Alex has always been my good buddy who knows best where to find good food. So that day he decided to bring me to the newly opened (early this year) FatBoy's Burger Bar located at Taman Sutera Utama near Sutera Mall. Originally from Singapore, FatBoy’s now has four outlets in Malaysia - two in KL, one in Subang Jaya and the fourth in JB. 

Image credits to FatBoy's Facebook page

It is easy to distinguish FatBoy’s by their bold red, black and white colours and the logo of the fat angry guy. But don't be mistaken kay! The waitresses there were really friendly. Their service was fast and they even asked for my feedback after my meal hehe.  

I heard that you can build your own burger anyhow and anyway you like it here! You can customise your burger by choosing from a list of buns, patties, cheeses, add-ons and sauces. However, I didn't try them because I was already attracted by the fancy names that describe their specialty burgers.

They actually serve Fat Basterd, Wimpy, The Elvis, Big Bello.......and so many more!

I ordered their weekday promotions which entitled me a FREE float or soft drink with any purchase of their burger of the day.

Holy Friday - Holy Caeser RM18.00

As you can see, it has grilled chicken and bacon on a bed of romaine lettuce in between the fluffy sesame bun. The Parmesan powder and homemade Caesar dressing just made my saliva drools again.

The reason I ordered this was because I don't fancy burger with beef or pork patties. Well the chicken patty didn't disappoint me either. It was juicy and tender, not like those processed meat which taste dry. The only downside was that the lettuce was too little for me as I personally love vege and I slowly get bored if the whole burger was too meaty. Honestly speaking I am not a burger lover but I know I loved this when I managed to finish the whole burger. It's one of the best burger I have tried so far! 

 Root Beer Float RM7.00 (FREE with weekday promotions)

The Root Beer Float was surprisingly huge! I was so full that I couldn't finish drinking it.

I enjoyed playing with the vanilla ice cream on top of the drink. And seeing the whole Root Beer turned white because of the vanilla. :D

So whatcha wating for? Come and fix your craving for delicious burgerrrrrrrr. *mouth-watering*

FatBoy's The Burger Bar

59, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, 

Taman Sutera Utama, 

Skudai, Johor Bahru

Tel: 07 - 550 5417

Operating Hours: 

Mon to Thurs 5:00pm to 12:00 midnight

Fri to Sunday 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight 

Non Halal

FatBoy's official website: http://fatboys.my/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FatboysJohor

Signing off!

Eunice.

[FOOD REVIEW] Passionfood cafe & Bakery @ Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru.

What comes to your mind first when you hear the word ''passion''? It is a word of strong emotion, and that's when someone loves food so much that she decided to turn her passion into a business.

Thanks to my bff's recommendation that I get to know of this hidden gem in Taman Pelangi.

You can easily spot the shop from the distinctive pink and white signboard. :)

Passionfood cafe & Bakery - the 'pink cafe'

......where all food are made with love and passion! That's their tag line in their menu. They serve French and Western fusion cuisine, premium cakes and coffee.

There are two dining sections - indoor (which is air-conditioned) and outdoor. I personally love their interior design. The theme colours are pink and white, which most of the girls couldn't resist!

The macaroons and cakes displayed at the counter are so colourful and they just caught my eyeballs right when I stepped into the shop. If you enjoy tea-for-two, they have a mini High Tea set served on an elegant two-tier plate, with a pot of tea, plus your choice of a cake slice! Didn't get to try it, maybe I shall make another visit for it? ;)  

They were featured by newspaper before!

Fresh brewed tea - Earl Grey RM7.90

Signature Chocolate RM8.90

Haha looking at it just put a smile to my face. :) How thoughtful of them. But what I really like about this is that it contains bittersweet chocolate sauce, which gives a very rich chocolate taste.

Eggs Benedict RM15.90

Alert alert! HOT FAVOURITE dish among regular customers. It is listed under Breakfast-All-Day menu but it is available for the whole day. (Yes!)

In fact wanted to take a picture of the egg yolk oozes out but I failed. -.- But trust me, the moment when the egg yolk flowed out and spreaded all over the toasted French white bread and turkey ham, I literally screamed! *screams* The specially made Hollandaise sauce drizzled on top of Eggs Benedict has a creamy, buttery and eggy taste with a hint of lemon. The poached eggs are so heavenly nice even until now I am missing the taste of it. I really wanted to lick the plate lol. I secretly rate it five stars. Must try must try okay people!

Carbonara Ala Funghi RM18.90

The linguine (a form of pasta) tossed in white sauce is superb! There are also turkey ham and mushroom in it, with a little bit of cheese powder sprinkled on top. Yum yum.

Chicken Roulade RM23.90

I ordered this right away when I first saw it on the menu. Passionfood's very own version of French chicken thigh roll with turkey bacon, asparagus pine nuts, and melted cheese inside! However, it kinds of disappointed us, probably because we ate it last, and it turned cold already. Oh, the asparagus pine nuts caught my attention! Tastes like beans. I love the sweet potato sauce surrounding it, and dipping the wedges into the sauce, what a combination! I love! :)

Apple Crumble Pie RM8.90

Ordered this to satisfy my own cravings for dessert. Haha. And what's a meal without a sweet dessert to mark an end to it? Apples are my all time favourite so this dessert for sure has won over my heart! The scoop of vanilla ice cream also complement well with the pie.

With my love.

Thank you for spending the afternoon with me!

Overall, I think Passionfood has some good main dishes. Although not up to the standard of fine dining (as they are still considered a small cafe), but good enough for an enjoyable and satisfying meal. Some of the dishes are pricy, so make sure you know which is worth to try before you come!

My ratings:

Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Cleanliness: 4/5

Ambiance: 3/5

Price: 3/5

Passionfood Café and Bakery 

14, Jalan Perang, 

Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru.

07-331 5330

11:00am to 10:00pm (Monday to Thursday); 

11:00am to 11:00pm (Friday); 

10:00am to 11:00pm (Saturday); 

10:00am to 10:00pm (Sunday)

Closed on Tuesday

No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/passionfoodcafe

How do you find my food review? Tell me by commenting below!

I am still learning. Promised to give you better and better posts in the future. :)

Love,

Eunice.

[FOOD REVIEW] Elizabeth Fine Dine @ Grand Shanghai Food Theme Park

Have you ever dreamt of experiencing how Queen Elizabeth dines and what the Queen eats? At Elizabeth Dining, we can dine like the royalties!

Elizabeth Dining could be the closest thing to a fine-dining restaurant in Puchong. The interior decoration boast a Victorian era theme with bright chandeliers, hand painted cutleries and lush upholster furnitures. However, the food prices are kept to a very affordable level for a fine-dine which aims to cater to a larger group of audience.

My friends and I came at around 7pm and the restaurant was still empty at that moment. But even when it reached peak dinner hour the whole restaurant was not packed at all. This is one of the reason I love this restaurant because your conversation with your close friends will not be disturbed and you can even enjoy the peaceful music played by them. 

The waitress approached us and arranged a seat for 3 of us immediately. We were served with water and napkin and she introduced the menu to us in a very polite way. We were told that they are going to have a new menu very soon as the management is in the midst of transitioning the outlet into a more mid-class restaurant, so stay tuned! 

What a perfect date it would be to bring your another half here!

Love their cutleries! Don't you?



Beautiful vintage wall paper with rose petals at the side,

showing how thoughtful the management at preparing little surprise for us.

Paintings of the mid 30's

It took only a short while for the food to be served. Meanwhile we enjoyed admiring and taking pictures of the beautiful decorations around us!

Girls, you know you shouldn't miss the chance to take photos here! ;)

The first dish for the night was the Caesar Salad (RM15). 

As an appetizer, it comes in a very generous portion so 3 of us shared it.  It is an all time favourite for European salad serves with fresh romaine salad, poached egg, parmesan cheese, Cesar dressing, bread crisp and European herbed chicken slices. 

I love how the cheese compliment well with the salad!

Next, we had the mushroom soup (RM15). 

It has a thick creamy texture and not too salty for me. The inclusion of crusty bread crumbs was a nice touch that complimented the hearty soup.

Our main course of the night - Fresh from the sea Fish of the Day with Spicy Orange Salsa Sauce (RM26). 

Fyi, this main course comes together as a set dinner with the caesar salad and the mushroom soup above at the price of RM48. The Fish of the Day was salmon! Yumyumm, my favourite. The chef was creative enough to choose to blend real oranges with fresh orange juice for the sauce to accompany the pan-fried salmon. The result was an uncanny mix of the mild fish flavour with sweet and sour tangy sauce. The sauce was the BOMB for this dish! I never thought that the combination of orange and salmon can taste so good. It simply took my breath away.

Spaghetti Seafood Carbonara (RM33)

It is a famous Italian creamy seafood cuisine with clams, prawns, mussels and squids. The prawns were super fresh and we just couldn't get bored with the creamy carbonara sauce. We normally get bored with white carbonara sauce easily and most of the time, we couldn't finish the whole plate of carbonara spaghetti. But definitely not for this one! You will fall in love for it at first taste. Three of us agreed that this dish was the BEST of the night. (Y)

With the chef's own created recipe, the All Time Favourite Chicken Chop (RM18) turned out to be pretty normal to us on that night. Probably the other 2 main courses stole the limelight from it. Haha. However, I love the potato wedges as I am a potato-lover!

What's a meal without a sweet dessert to end? :D The waitress were very observant and thoughtful as they served our dessert on time when we finished the main courses. We ordered Red Velvet Cake (RM12). I love the way they sprinkled the chocolate around it. But the taste of the cake wasn't up to our expectation, or maybe because three of us were very full already by then.

After your meal, you can take a stroll at the Grand Shanghai Theme Park. Nowadays, Setiawalk mall becomes one of the hot places in Klang Valley, especially following the opening of this Grand Shanghai Food Theme Park. It is a must-go for people who are keen to journey back to the mid 30′s street of Shanghai. It is a place filled with antique cars, trishaws, old wooden benches and Chinese music from the bygone years. A perfect spot for people who love photography!

So many red lanterns!

Even children couldn't resist to take a picture in front of the antique car!

The prices are affordable to us because we purchased vouchers from Living Social which entitled us a 40% discount off the bill! What a great deal. You can click here to find out more! :) 

Overall, the great ambiance at Elizabeth Dining certainly is the greatest attraction and will please those who are seeking to enjoy western fares with a classy setting. We were pleased with the service and had a great night. I will definitely visit this restaurant again very soon to share my discovery with my friends! What about you? :)

My ratings:

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5

Cleanliness: 4/5

Ambiance: 5/5

Price: 3/5

Elizabeth Dining

Unit 2 to 6, Level 4, Setia-Walk Mall

Pusat Bandar Puchong

47160 Puchong

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Gentle reminder: Park in the basement at Zone E and take the elevator up! :)

Business Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. (daily)

Tel: 03-5879 1077

Hope you enjoy the read! :)

xoxo,

Eunice