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: LuxBite @ South Yarra

There's just something magical about these colourful petite French darlings. The craze for macarons seems to carry from europe down to south east asia and futher down under back to Augustdiners households.


Luxbite i've heard, was opened by Malaysians (So Proud!!). The brainchild of both experienced pastry chefs (Bernard and Yen), this dessert haven certainly has its fair shares of publicity both in the aussie culinary world as well as foodies like us. People with sweet tooth like us definitely should give this cafe a lookover. From what i've heard, aside from some delishness macarons, eye-popping desserts, this cafe serves some pretty mean breakfast too, care to comment?

Check out the display of these eye candy *slurps*

The thing about macarons is- people are starting to be innovative with their flavors and that’s what I always looked forward to. Take Luxbite for example, they offer 16 mind blowing flavours, many you would have spotted in Nathalie’s but I do yearn for their kaya toast, peanut butter and jelly, and salted caramel again. Now… now… if only these were not many miles away and out of my reach. It’s easier to indulge in this pretty little thing, but when it comes to making them- hmmmm… let’s just say it takes a while to perfect the art of making the perfect macarons shell (i.e. no cracks, and with happy feet! Crazieapple would be nodding her head away in agreement by now)

Thankfully, the ones in Luxbite were light with a slight chewy bite, although we would welcome a little bit more chewy consistency! You’d also have to be careful of some of the choices, as certain flavors can get too unrelenting sweet and you’ll actually cringe. I didn’t quite like the rose and lychee one which tasted a little bit too much with fragrant and the lychee garnache resemble a very sweet paste. *cringe again at the thought*

Apart from their macarons, I’ve heard plenty of good things about their desserts. It is apparently better than their macarons, unfortunately I didn’t have enough space to stomach it during the day but would definitely make a mental note to visit their desserts soon!

Endless Love- Jumbo Heart Shaped Rose Macaroons with raspberry and lychee, so pretty!

Love the teabags!

The cafes has a simple layout with predominantly white furnishing, clean cut and comfortable for weekend shoppers to indulge over a cup of coffee while watching toorak’s passer-bys. Needless to say, after this sinful indulgement, we headed over to our favourite shopping street at Chapel for some much more intensive workout (at the shops and credit cards!) *laughs*

Ending with a pic of me and my babygal, i LOVE bringing her everywhere *hearts!!* <3

Luxbite

38, Toorak Road

South Yarra

Tel: 9867 5888

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 talks: Macarons class experience

There's a new wave in KL (if not, the world) that we are not unfamiliar with- that is the macarons craze!!! Not like you don't already know.. There's just something about this tiny bits of colourful "toys" that make me sacrifice my "girlish" figure. Heck it, size 6 (AUS size la.. not USA)!! hehe

The Parisian Macarons, as most of us know them, are said to have been invented at Ladurée, and they claim to sell 12,000 of them daily. Well, Nathalie at the NGS claimed that some of her customers told her that her macarons were better than Laduree's. Some one needs to justify this as i'm not fortunate enough to get my hands on those babies.. Anyone care to tapau for me pleaseeeeeee??


Being the professional bummer I am, i took the effort to attend Nathalie Gourmet Studio's macarons class last Thursday at 9am, ready to share some love for those around me.. My plan is to earn 3 ringgit each from my own friends and saving them the RM1.40!! hehe


Most of the "students" are housewives who have nothing better to do than attending baking class at 9am. i'm one of them.. haha The class only takes in 10 students at one time for quality control, making sure that everyone has a chance for a hands on experience.. It normally fills up really quickly so if anyone wants to sign up, it's better to do it the moment the monthly class timetables are out!!

My master sifu, Nathalie. She's humorous but definitely takes her food very seriously when it comes to its quality. No shortcuts no easyway out!!  

Raspeberry macarons shells with perfect feet.

"A good Macaron has a perfect round shiny dome with “feet” around the base"

Leaving for cooling.. Can't wait!! The other flavours we did were Salted Caramel and Chocolate.

My proud baby!! 

So how? Pass ah?? 

If i were to sell them for charity purposes, anyone willing to buy them?? =)

Making a perfect macaron takes up real effort and time.. There's nothing more rewarding that the mere approval from your loved ones. You'll then know it's all worth it ♥♥♥

 http://www.nathaliegourmetstudio.com/ 

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Dish @ Dua Annexe

Refer to our previous post here


It was our baby Abs’ birthday, DISH was not our initial choice of celebration, but we were glad we made it. You’ll probably be familiar with her pretty face by now- and yes she is one of my fine dining companions, we’ve been through a lot of exploring together didn’t we? Thank you babe for being there for me whenever my fine food craving hits, for not questioning my choice of restaurants- simply adventurous enough to go with the flow, and to not complain when it was one dinner that went bad. I know I can count on you. *laughs*

Roasted Bone Marrow (RM44)

There isn’t many restaurant in town that served this dish, hence do not drop by DISH without trying their famous Roasted Bone Marrow. Popular in their own rights, The rich and delicious tasting plate consist of 3 bone marrows served with some salsa and toasted bread. Scoop out those gooey liquid- on toast or by itself. It was DIVINE

Pan Fried Foie Gras served with sweet muscat sauce and grapes (RM56)

Always a safe dish to go about. Still good as how I remembered, with a hinge of sweet flavors. The only problem was, the sizes were barely two thumb-sized. If you read about our experience with foie gras at home here, you'll know why we find this PUNY! :)

Scallops (RM56)

Pumpkin Soup (RM21)

Decent, but quite unmemorable.

Lamb Shank Pasta (RM56)

The Lamb Shank Pasta here should not go unnoticed. A hearty portion filled with rich and robust lamb shank stew, and generous meat shreds made this dish a winner. The penne was cooked slightly softer than al dente

Australian Wagyu Marble 8 Rib-eye Steak

IS our RM1000++ Wagyu Marble Grade 8 Steak @ DISH really worth what we paid for it?

We’ve ordered the Wagyu Rib-eye which cost RM138++/100g. It wasn’t too cheap, I know... but who can put a value into a good piece of steak. (Especially not in KL) Being shared among 3 girls, we figured 700+grams would be a safe portion. The steak has good marbling with the right balance of fats and lean meat. Now, here’s the issue, we have a different preference of level of doneness. I liked mine slightly leaning towards medium, while my friends, rare and medium rare. But fortunately, the steak came out just right, and by that I mean the perfect pinkness and tender almost melt in your mouth texture. The seasoning was to the minimal, which suits me just fine (with selected sauce on the side). While I miss my Gu Yue Tien’s Kobe beef, this steak would definitely satisfy my carnivorous cravings for awhile.

Our bill came up to RM360/person with wine (RM170).

^^

De Bday Girl

US <3