Showing posts with label Toast. Show all posts

[FOOD] 20150113 After You Cafe @ Siam Paragon, Bangkok


After You Cafe, with their tagline "there's always room for dessert" simply reminds you not to miss out their delicious dessert even after your tummy is filled with Bangkok's street food.

The cafe started off from a college girl' passion in baking back in 2007 and has expanded ever since until what it is today with 11 outlets around Bangkok, serving the signature toast and cakes like the well known Shibuya Honey Toast and Chocolate Lava Cake.

Besides delicious dessert, the cozy environment is also another reason why this cafe is so well received by the patrons. Some outlets are located in shopping malls while others are at shoplots which are road fronting under the outdoor environment.

They have been constantly improving their menu by adding new dessert choices, making sure you will have a refreshing visit every time.

Outlets:
- Siam Paragon
- Siam Square One
- Central World
- Silom Complex
- J Avenue
- Lavilla, Paholyotin
- The Crystal, Phase 2
- Central Plaza, Ladprao
- The Mall Bangkapi
- The Crystal Ratchapruek
- INT Intersect

After You Cafe, Siam Paragon, Ground Floor
Nearest BTS Station: Siam Station
Telephone: +6602 - 610 7659
Opening Hours: 10:00am until 10:30pm (Daily)

TO GO


There are as many as 11 outlets around Bangkok, which you may pick one outlet which is nearest to your location, with Siam area being the most convenient and highly recommended. Just take a BTS from any line and travel towards Siam station, which is also the interchange station for both BTS line. From here, the nearest outlet will be either Siam Paragon or Siam Square One.



SPECIALITY



You have to be early to beat the crowds as I have read online reviews that the cafe will be swarmed by patrons during peak hours. If you have a tight schedule, I would recommend you to come early or to some other outlets that are further away, whichever is convenient. It was an early weekday during my visit, hence the kinda empty tables with some tourist and students around.


The menu didn't come cheap for Thailand's standard with each dessert costs average above 150 Baht (RM16.50). Besides desserts, they do serve coffee and other hot beverages if you are looking for an early fix. They have complimentary drinking water, to be self serviced as well.

Shibuya Honey Toast - 170 Baht (RM18)

Frankly, I'm only here for the Shibuya Honey Toast, which was what the hype was all about. This thick toast with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and some cream topped with almond chunk costs 170 Baht (RM18) if not mistaken, pretty pricey for a piece of bread. It better holds up to what it claims!


What's a honey toast without honey? The Shibuya Honey Toast is best served with a pour of honey over it. The toast, despite thick, is very soft and buttery. You can easily press down the knife through the toast of bread and top your bite with the sweet dip of honey and vanilla ice cream. It does have other variants of the toast like Nutella, Strawberry, Matcha etc etc.

Recommended to be shared by at least two person as it was quite a big serving and it is also too much for one to stuff the whole toast by him or herself. Might visit another time to try out the others, but for now, some tummy reservation is required for my next stop.

SUMMARY


The main shout out will be the toast while others are just toppings and add on to compliment the toast. Recommended for those who have a sweet tooth or dessert/toast lover, not so much for a guy like me. Portion is big, recommended to be shared.

Taste
☆☆☆☆
Key is the toast while ice cream is just compliment.
Value
☆☆☆
Very pricey for a toast and Thailand' standard, but still worth a try
Service
☆☆☆☆
Friendly staff and service
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours
Varies according to outlets
Siam Paragon: 10:00am until 10:30pm (Daily)
Wifi
Yes
Parking
Yes
Website
http://www.afteryoudessertcafe.com/

GPS: 13.746330, 100.534692
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[FOOD] 20141219 Kam Wah Cafe 金华茶室 @ Mongkok



Kam Wah Cafe is the place to look for if you are looking for some famous "Polo buns" (菠萝包). The Polo buns (nothing to do with Marco Polo) is actually a normal bun with a sugar crust coated on top that looks like pineapple (bo lo in Cantonese) when baked, hence the name.

The bun is actually commonly served in many "cafe" in HK with options to be served with butter slices (菠萝油), pork chop (猪扒菠萝包) and etc. The Kam Wah Cafe in Mongkok is well known for its fresh-from-oven buns that is usually sold out very quickly.

Besides Polo buns, the cafe also sells various pastries like coconut tart and egg tart (Tai Cheong is much better) and cooked food for those to opt to dine in.

47 Bute Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong
太子弼街47號地下
Nearest MRT Stations: Prince Edward Station, Exit B2
Telephone: +852 2392 6830
Opening Hours: 06:30am until 12:00am

TO GO


Kam Wah Cafe is located at Bute Street, Mongkok, which is accessible via Prince Edward Station, Exit B2 or Mong Kok Station, Exit B3. Both stations are accessible via Kwun Tong Line (Green) or Tsuen Wan Line (Red)




SPECIALITY




Kam Wah Cafe offers both dine in and take away option. Their daily menu are usually published at the frontage of the shop with prices included.


Hong Kong cafes like to sell in set due to practicality and for volume of sales. It's easier for patrons to order just Set A, B or C and easier for the owner to prepare, as well as to get higher volume and profit.

Normal Polo Bun with Butter - HKD9 (RM4)


Polo Bun with Pork Chop 猪扒菠萝包 - HKD20 (RM9)

Today decided to dine in and of course not forgetting their famous buns. The yellowish bun has very soft texture with the sweet powdery crust on top. The bun is best served fresh and hot as I did take away one and it didn't taste as good after it became cold.

Stir-Fried HK style Pork Keow Teow 猪扒河 - HKD44 (RM20)

Over the three days of stay and I never get to try HK's famous stir-fried beef keow teow and I saw Kam Wah Cafe have that in the menu, so I ordered one to try (beef was substituted with pork because I don't take beef). To be honest, the noodle just taste mediocre, but I didn't have high expectations to begin with since this dish is not the signature here.

Signature Toast 西多士 - HKD19 (RM9)


Half way through the food I saw the signboard showing their award winning Toast (西多士) so I decided to give it a try also since this will be my last meal in HK before heading to Shenzhen.


The toast is served with maple syrup. To be honest, the toast has nothing to shout about. Please skip this. The toast served in Bangkok's After You Cafe is much better than this.


Now you see where the name of the bun came from?

SUMMARY


Not totally worth a visit unless you are nearby looking for a bite. The buns are ok but the rest are just mediocre.

Taste
☆☆☆
nothing much to shout about except for the buns.
Value
☆☆☆☆
average pricing
Service
☆☆☆☆
not good but not too bad either. 
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
Opening Hours
06:30am until 12:00am (Daily)
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 22.322222, 114.169727
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[FOOD] 20141219 Australian Dairy Company Ltd 澳洲牛奶公司 @ Jordan


The name Australian Dairy Company Ltd ("ADC") probably might made you think that it is opened by some ang moh fellas or what. Well, at least that's what my initial thought. After doing research online only realise that it is yet another "cafe" or cha chan teng (in cantonese for coffee/tea shop) but it is famous for its simple yet unbelievably delicious scramble eggs.

I was first sceptical as English breakfast was never in my list of to eat in HK but after reading much reviews and blogs online, I decided to give it a try to experience the so called "legendary" scramble eggs that will redefine your definition of scramble eggs, as described by many reviewers.

The shop opens as early as 7:30am but do not get discouraged by the long queue as the staff are very efficient at clearing long lines. Despite occupying 2 lots, the cafe is always full of patrons with long queue at the outside.

The shop is located at Jordan, just next to another Mak's Noodles outlet.

G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Hong Kong
香港佐敦白加士街47-49號地下
Nearest MRT Stations: Jordan, Exit C2
Telephone:
Opening Hours: 7:30am until 11:00pm (Closed on Thursdays)

TO GO


Just take the Tsuen Wan Line (Red) and drop off at Jordan station, Exit C2. Walk straight for a block and turn right. You won't miss the long lines across the whole street.




SPECIALITY



ADC is well known for its scramble eggs and it is a favourite for the locals as you will notice long queue of crowds as soon as you arrived. I think the Cantonese term "line up 9 streets" probably came from here (just kidding!). Jokes aside, the que is definitely amazing, easily span up to 100 meters of human centipede. 


However, despite the long que, the lines cleared rather quickly. The efficient serving of the waiters is able to clear 50 meters (approx 50 pax) in the span of 10 to 15 minutes. When closer to the entrance, I observed how the waiters are able to work so efficiently.


Basically they will ask the number of pax of your group, if you are alone, you will get to go in first as you can easily fit into any of the empty seats. Yes, this means you have to share table with strangers, which is common in HK due to space limitation. If you have larger group, then you have to wait aside until the large group inside is cleared. Those taking away will have a separate line where the waiters will take your orders separately. They have to work so efficiently that even the menus are short-formed to save time. When one went in to place order, another waiter will quickly take over the station to serve the next patron. Hats off to the efficiency and die hard workers.



You are expected to order as soon as you are seated. They will give tourists some levy and will check with you again later for order. Don't take too long, otherwise you might hear some unpleasant mumbles later. Breakfast set is plain simple as you have three sets to choose from, i.e. Breakfast Set (Set A), Tea Set (Set B) or Quick Set (Set C). You just need to tell the waiter Set A, B or C then they will ask you coffee or tea, eggs to be fried or scramble (zin or chao 煎或炒?). The prices is stated above (as of Dec 2014) at HKD32 (RM15) for Set A and C, while Set B will cost you HKD38 (RM17).

Salty Broth Macaroni with Luncheon Meat - Set B HKD38 (RM17)

As soon as you placed your orders, you countdown 15 seconds for your first dish to be served. Yes, 15 seconds. All the food are readily cooked because the menu did not vary far and there will definitely takers for any dish cooked. The macaroni didn't look appetizing, same goes with the taste. I didn't really enjoy the macaroni as the flavour and taste didn't really suit me. The soup is rather clear but salty. The luncheon meat and macaroni just taste blunt. Hence you have to take the soup together with the macaroni for some flavour.

Scramble Eggs with Toast - Set B HKD38 (RM17)

The scramble eggs and toast is served next and this is what I'm here for. First glance on the scramble egg, you will noticed that the eggs are not totally cooked. Still sceptical with the fame it received, I took a bite. Seems like the rumour holds as the scramble egg does taste better than it looks. Even though it is not heavenly until I have to redefine the term "scramble eggs", it is fluffy and flavourful and makes you wonder how they cook it. Honestly I tried to replicate this when I'm back but couldn't actually get the same results (well, obviously). I enjoyed my eggs with my toasts that I would love to have another serving, eggs only.


The toast is soft and clad with butter in between, texture is better than our typical Hainanese toast at our local kopitiam. 

Fresh Milk - Set B HKD38 (RM17)

How can you miss the milk in the dairy company?! Well, to be honest, the milk is thin and taste like the usual milk powder that I used to have when I was a kid, the Nespray milk powder. Not too bad thou I was expecting Australian grade milk.

Fresh Milk Pudding - HKD26 (RM12)

Not forgetting the milk pudding which costs HKD26 (RM12) each bowl. The milk pudding is soft and smooth, with heavy milk flavour (obviously), identical to the glass of milk I had. Give it a try if you don't mind the strong milky taste.

SUMMARY


ADC is an ideal choice for breakfast especially for their scramble eggs and toast. You may skip the macaroni as it didn't taste spectacular. You probably need to spend 15 to 20 minutes in the queue before you get to fill your stomach, so be there early!

Taste
☆☆☆☆☆
for the scramble egg and milk pudding.
☆☆☆
for the rest
Value
☆☆☆☆☆
Service
☆☆☆☆☆
fast and efficient 
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
slippery floor, broken utensils 
Opening Hours
7:30am until 11:00pm (Daily)
(Closed on Thursdays)
Wifi
N/A 
Parking
Minimal 
Website
N/A 

GPS: 22.304602, 114.170533
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