CRAVINGS FOR "A Slice of Heaven" By Just Heavenly

I must be developing a sweet tooth because one fine Monday morning, all I could think about when waking up is those glorious sinfully good cupcakes that was sitting at the counter among the array of sweet bites, haunting me, calling my name and teasing me relentlessly.


How I wish someone could understand the urge sometimes... to really go all the way out there just to get what they want. I swear it wasn’t the Monday blues, neither do I think I was pregnant with sudden special cravings, (although my bloated tummy can sometimes be deceiving, but I swear it was just the beers!) This, my dear friends, is some serious business and to be bugging Crazieapple since the wee morning just shows how far I would go to get what I want, I think the conversation precisely goes like this:-

9.30am on BBM to Crazieapple: “morning!! im craving for cupcakes!!!!”

11.30am on BBM to Crazieapple: “Can you be a sweetheart and help me go tapao some cupcake from slice of heaven pretty please? I’ll be your BFF!! Thanks, Hearts and Kisses!”

3.00pm on BBM to Crazieapple: “Do you think I should go to BSC later after work? I really need those cupcakes….”

5.00pm on BBM to Crazieapple: “Feipoooo, what’s the plan tonight? Cupcake or what??”

6.00pm on BBM to Crazieapple: “I’m OTW home~! Woohoo!! Cupcake awaits!! I need it DESPERATELY”

~At Home~

6.30pm to Crazieapple: “ So what time should we head over to BSC???”

6.40pm to Crazieapple: “I want… I want… I want….” (Merajuk at this point, because Crazieapple was waiting for Mr. W to finish work to go with us)

7.00pm to Crazieapple: “What if the Slice of heaven closes and I cannot satisfy my cravings today???? I’ll DIE” (I was beyond worry at this point)

~8.00pm calls up slice of heaven BSC branch, cannot get through… called Jaya One branch to ask for the outlet to confirm the Opening hours~ Thankfully BSC’s closes at 10pm..”

8.30pm – Finally made it to BSC, with butterflies in my stomach, I walk towards the “Slice of HEAVEN….”

**Note that I carefully wiped out all Crazieapple’s replies, because I detected hints of annoyance and frustrations and some of the replies weren’t very pretty nor polite either…** *Laughs*

So, after one whole day of whining, I’ve got my hands on these babies! Wooooo!

Whilst the coffee cupcake and cherry cheesecake kind of fell short in flavors, with a slightly course texture on the icing for the chocolate cupcake and the overall sour cherry toppings on the cheesecakes, it was the RED VELVET and Sticky Butterscotch that took the spotlight. Wonderfully moist with those to-die-for butter cream. Both choices is my absolute favourite and a must order each and every time.

Then there was also the chocolate durian cake, densely packed with those durian flesh, and minimal sponge coated with sinful chocolate that will make you wish you had burned more calories at the gym before you leave home

Whiny or not, this trip was worth it. Surely they deliver what they preaches, for these desserts tasted “Just Heavenly”

SINFUL Much?

Never say "Never" with these red babies!

Angry Bird Cupcakes!! RM18/piece

Coffee Cupcake RM7.40/piece

Cherry Cheese Cake RM9.90/piece

Sticky Butterscotch RM9.90/piece *Recommended*

Red Velvet Cupcake RM8.40 *Recommended*

Chocolate Durian Cake RM11.90 *Recommended*

Cravings definitely Satisfied! Let's screw calories for one day, shall we?

Indulge these sweet eats with Vineria's Cappuccino which surprisingly packs some good flavours!

A bit weak with their latte, so do consider double espresso shot in them!

Thank you Crazieapple! You're my new BFF (For now!) *smoochies*

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Levain Patisserie @ Jalan Delima

I can gush about Levain patisserie for about the longest time. The café scene in KL till now has been not particularly strong, much to my dismay- but I am seeing some improvements in the recent years with several decent cafes developing around towns, Antipodean, Ginza café, just to name a few.

What makes levain patisserie stands out among the rest is their interior and overall café façade. The gorgeous ambiance of French settings with European scenery paintings, flowery sheers, and colorful flowers uplifted the already vibrant atmosphere. The careful use of wood colors and down tones for furnitures make this café warm and friendly, all suited better for both family hangouts and friends gatherings.

Stir to left upon entrance, and you’ll find yourself engulf amongst the freshly baked goodies. Already people were busying themselves with heaping varieties of breads, tarts onto their tray (yes everything is self service here). By the stove oven, an open display of the production of bakeries can be seen and the pastry chefs were happy and quick to assist to recommend their freshly baked items.

Bread aside, there is also a wonderful selections of desserts to indulge in. Cheesecakes, fruit tarts, and macaroons displayed delicately making it hard to resist.

The weather was breezy that afternoon with mild rain drizzles; it was naturally perfect for me to settle myself comfortably at a table by the outside garden. Crazieapple is in charge of the orders, and I gave her free hand to order whatever she wants. It comes to no surprise her pick comes with 5 choices of macarons (what’s with her recent macaron craze and all), mango and passion fruit tart, chocolate truffle cake, mentaiko bun, cheese croissant, and turkey mushroom pizza. I was going to order 4 more desserts on top of this but was restraint by Crazieapple as we were going to head to a Ramadan Bazaar after this. But the desserts were so sinfully good. AUGUSTDINERS WORDS. Go try them.
Chocolate Truffle cake was a delight to eat. The taste was rich and semi-sweet, with what we suspect to be some grounded coffee beans hidden inside. I love it, love it, and love it!

Mango and passion fruit tart was equally visually appealing. The fruits were mildly sour (in a good way), and I like how the tart is slightly dense but easily forked though at the same time. I’m not much of a fan of flaky, crumbly tarts.

What frustrates me, however is their coffee. It took forever to arrive, I think It was 20-30 minutes and by then my chocolate truffle cake has melted and the texture became gooey. (I always save my desserts to pair it with coffee as I enjoy the bittersweet taste of mixing both together). It was unfortunate that the coffee did not flair as well as i'd have liked, the temperature was too hot, and lacks aromatic flavours.

Cappucino- nice foaming though

Have u ever been served Latte in such a huge Glass- 3/4 filled? It's just wrong!

Macaroons- the context of augustdiners household this month. We talk macaroons, buy macaroons as gifts, learn to make macaroons, and planning to sell macaroons for charity later! Hahaha, talk about being obsessive. Definitely we were anxious to try the ones in Levain and compare. Unfortunately the ones in Levain did not flair as well as Nathalie's. The macaroon shells were too soft, the garnish within is too unrelenting sweet. Definitely a NO-GO with the macaroons here, we didn’t even finish it.
All the bakeries picked were satisfactory with no complaints.

P/S: For those doggie lovers looking for a place on doggie day out- i believe Levain is a dog friendly place (outdoor)!

Such a pleasant day out and Levain has definitely been listed as Augustdiners regular haunt.

WE LOVE IT!

Our total bill came up to RM50+, very reasonable pricing 

Ratings:

Food: 7.5/10

(breads and desserts only)

Ambiance: 8.5/10

(perfect for a lazy weekend hangout)

Service: 3/10

(poor- requested to clear plates, took them 10 minutes?)

Presentation of food: 6/10

Overall ratings: 6.5/10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

LEVAIN BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE

No. 7, Jalan Delima

55100 Kuala Lumpur

03-21426611

Open hours: Tues- Sun (8am-8pm)

Crazieapple reviews Stokers Pancakes (Melbourne)

Stay in Melbourne and Care for a calories-overloaded midnight snack?

If you're a nocturnal like me and my sisters, you'll probably experience those late-nights when you just need to go out for a drive, and munch on something (other than those dry boring chips at home). And being in Melbourne, we are being stripped off the luxury of having mamak at anytime of the day/night, or that artery-clogging Ramlee burger at 2am in the morning. In fact, to stumble upon a midnight eatery here is as rare as digging for gold at your backyard.

Ms. Jazz briefly introduced Stokers as the night-snacker's favourite pancake place back when she paid a visit to Melbourne in Feb. She totally just stole my spotlight because I was the one who brought her to this place back when she was still studying in Melbourne. hehe

You must be thinking this "ulu" (secluded) place is almost impossible to travel to and it's so far that you rather just settle with Maccas (Mc D) . But truth is, if you're staying in the city, it only takes you about 10-15 minutes drive on Eastern Freeway to reach here. Almost stress-free (with a car, that is.)

I was here last Friday night at about 1am..

It was pretty empty then. I guess most midnight owls were all out partying while sad little pathetic lifeless me who is mugging for my final resort to my only comfort non-alcohol snack.

Interior in Stokers is very cosy and old-fashioned. It gives u a very warm homey feeling, and with the dimmed light and Olivia Ong kinda lounge music, you can almost fall asleep on the table. hehe

The first time i was here, i was so amazed by the "oppposite" clock which turns anti-(normal)-clock-wise. Until today, i still catch myself staring at the clock in deep intense, still damn amazed.

The old-school firewood place to keep us warm. The friendly staff even asked us if it was warm enough, whether he should add in more wood to increase te temperature of the room. Very thoughtful.

The menu is simply chalk-written on the blackboard. With the choice of savoury and sweet pancakes. Their wide varieties of pancakes includes the traditional maple syrup and butter combo to spiced apple to hearty cheese and chicken filled.

 I always opt for the sweet ones. My favourite? Strawberry or blueberry pancake wit xtra ice cream. I'm THAT predictable. hehe

Add in a scoop of ice cream would cost u an extra $1.50.

Hot chocolate with marshmallow- they're pretty famous for it!!

I personally DON'T drink hot chocoate of any form. I have a confession- i HATE Milo. Absolutely hate it. I know of a friend who would take a spoonful of Milo powder and just pop it in her mouth and calls it yummy.

(-.-")

Another MUST-TRY: -Pineapple crush. Taste very original, no artificial flavour and is absolutely refreshing!!

Pls do yourself a favour, the next time you're there, DO order the regular size. The small one is just so pathetically, well, small.

Shin Yee's savoury pancake- ham and cheese

My blueberry pancake with extras. I love how they always serve the pancake warm, straight out from the oven!!

To be frank, the pancake is not gonna fly you to the moon or anything. It just the ambience, and the midnight snack craving that normally bring the customers here. And truth to be told, the pancakes here are priced at almost ridiculous price- $11 for the my blueberry pancake with an additional $1.50 for a scoop of (homebrand) vanilla ice cream?? You gotta be kidding right??

I can ask my "kakak" at home to make me 10 pancakes with however much of blueberry i want back in KL and i bet you the cost will not be RM30, not even close!!

But, we all know, desperate times call for desperate measure.

There must be something that keeps bringing back those regulars and being situated in a secluded place like this and still be able to survive throughout the years, you have to take your hats off to Stokers.

Who would have thought a totally decked out and poorly litted up shop that looks like an old country looking tavern turns out to be such a comforting winter warmer??

Stokers Pancake House

1033 Heidelberg Rd,

Ivanhoe VIC 3079

(Closes at 2am and Sundays)

Here's a catch: Stokers only accepts cash, make sure you're "well equipped" as you wouldn't wanna be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no atm machines around. Probably have to stay back and wash the dishes to pay your meal off! hehe