Foodie Friday: Joe Sun - Food & Coffee Co., Kota Kinabalu

Well, it's normal to see waffles topped with sweet lil ice-creams or even with colourful variety type of fruits. But what if a big piece of fried chicken sandwiched in between the waffles, just like burger? It was indeed intrigued me that I went Joe Sun - Food & Coffee Co, the newest and latest lifestyle cafe in Kota Kinabalu town twice in just a week. Good food is hard to resist! 

#1: Their signature interior design

#2: Chicken & Waffles (RM16)
A giant piece of fried chicken sandwiched between two waffles served along with salted egg yolk sauce. The fried chicken is so juicy and tender. My mom said it's way better than KFC. It's literally huge and best to share. 

#3: The latest coffee trend - Rainbow latte (RM12) Twice I went here, twice I had Rainbow Latte. 


#4: Rainbow latte with my mom

#5: Ultraman Ham Dan Chiu Yan (RM14) 

This is what this dish known as. Waffle paired with fried mussels and fried bonito flakes slathered with creamy salted egg yolk sauce. 

#6: Breaded Mac 'n' Cheese Balls (RM15) - Another fusion food. 

#7: Omelette Tower (RM13)

#8: Green Pandan Waffle served with Kaya and ice-cream (RM13) - Just disappointed with the ice-cream but the pandan waffle is awesome

#9: Loyalty card

Majority of the food served in Joe Sun are extraordinary and pretty unique, not the kind of typical meals you found in any restaurants or cafes. Absolutely beyond your wild imagination. Besides the above, they even have Ramen Burger sandwiched with beef party, Lobster Fettuccine, Soft Shell Chilli Crab Pasta and more. Beware Joe-Sun cause I'm coming back for more of your food.


#10: Good food with the good friends

Updated on 16th June 2016:
My friends and I went back this cafe again for more food gastronomical. Unfortunately we're kinda disappointed with the food that night.

#11: Waffle, pastas and coffee again with my BFF

#12: Latte (RM10)

#13: Parmesan Poached Egg Carbonara (RM16)


#14: Chilli Soft Shell Crab (RM18) - I didn't try this but according to my friend, they soft shell crab wasn't crispy enough. 


#15: Waffle Garden (RM13) - Topped with vanilla ice-cream, fruits such as bananas, strawberries and pineapples spreaded with chocolate sauce and brownies. 
I used to like their waffle when I went for the very first time but on the third visit, the waffle was soggy and ain't crispy enough too. 

However, that won't stop me from going back again and I hope they could eventually could control their food quality in future.

Joe Sun - Food & Coffee Co, (Damai)

Lot 47, Ground Floor, Block D, Lorong Pokok Kayu Manis 2, 

88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. (In between Maple and Nok Thai Restaurant) 

Opening Hours: 7 am to 10 pm daily 

Foodie Friday: My Favourite Korean Local Delights

Kimchi - Nay!
Bibimbap - Nay!
Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean rice cakes) - Nay!

Although I dislike the above food which are indeed authentic Korean dishes but thank goodness for their diverse cuisine, Korea has wide array of food to explore ranging from traditional dishes, Korean BBQ to finger licking good street food. So what were my favourite local delights when I was in Korea two years back? 

1) Korean Spicy Chicken 

#1: Street food in Haeundae Market - Korean spicy chicken, my favourite

I'm so addicted to Korean spicy chicken lately. Probably I love the spicy and sweet sauce coated with chicken. One bite and you want more! 

2) Jjim dalk

#2: Jjim dalk, a hidden gem of Korean cuisine

Jjim dalk is a dish originated long ago in the city of Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Normally, this dish is served on a huge plate of steamed chicken with sweet and sauce based mix along with potatoes and veggies over a bed of glass noodles. This is the second time I had this after my Korean friend introduced to me. Guess what, even my family enjoyed this meal. 

#3: Something different from the norm - Hot Curry Jjim dalk in Bukchon Hanok Village 

I spotted two restaurants in Myeongdong that serve delicious Jjim dalk: 

#4

#5: Bongchu Jjimdak 봉추찜닭
Address: 33-9, Myeong-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul 

3) Yoogane - Marinated Chicken Galbi Fried Rice

#6: There are more than 130 branches in South Korea. Even in Myeongdong alone, I spotted two

More than 130 branches in South Korea, Yoogane is well-known for Galbi, a pan-grilled marinated meat with an unique sweet and spicy sauce as the main dish and served with either Tteokbokki (Korean rice cake), sweet potatoes, fresh vegetables, noodles, rice, cheese, chicken and even together with seafood and stir-fried all together on the pan. Although they are not Halal certified restaurant but I found out plenty of Muslims dine-in here. 

#7: Yoogane is well-known for Galbi, a pan-grilled marinated meat

#8: There even have free flow salad bar serving kimchi, pickles and sliced cabbages and you can take as many as you want

4) Gimbap

Looks like sushi, taste like sushi but somehow there are two significant differences from the authentic Japanese sushi rolls in terms of the rice and the filling. While Japanese sushi rice is seasoned with vinegar, gimbap is cut with sesame oil and sweeter. As for the fillings, most of the time Japanese filled with raw fish such as salmon, tuna whereas Korean filled with the inside layer with cooked or preserved items like canned tuna, kimchi, grilled bulgogi, ham and cheese. Despite the differences, I never missed out to have gimbap whenever I saw selling by the vendor street food. 

5) Budae Jjigae

Budae Jjigae is a thick soup mixed with modern ingredients like instant ramen noodles, sliced sausages, canned ham, sliced of American cheese, garlic, onion, kimchi along with with traditional spicy soup flavoured with red chilli paste. Absolutely suits to my liking as spicy food is what I'm looking forward. Again this is the second time I had when I travelled with my family but we need to reduce the amount of red chilli paste cause my mom unable to bear the level of spiciness. The shop is located in Myeongdong too. 

6) Korean BBQ


Obviously a trip to South Korea is incomplete without having Korean BBQ. The best way to enjoy these meaty goodness is wrapped the marinated pork galbi together with garlic and onion in lettuce leaves. 

7) Garlic Bread by Paris Baguette 


It's hard not to miss out any cafes in Seoul and Busan cause they are like almost everywhere. Among all the cafes, I personally like breads and pastries by Paris Baguette especially their crispy bite of garlic bread.



8) Banana Flavoured Milk


This is one drink that shouldn't miss by anyone when visiting South Korea. Some said it's too sweet but it is one of the best seller drinks in South Korea. Besides the banana flavoured milk, there are even other flavours available such as honeydew and strawberry.

Well, so what's your favourite Korean local delights? By the time writing this post, I'm seriously craving all the food above now and wishing I will be back to South Korea again, for the third time.

[Credit To: Food Republic] 

Foodie Friday: Festive Cheer Review at The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur

What I didn't expect of was to receive email from the prestigious The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur early of this month for the exclusive invitation to review their new launch of Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year dinner menu. Initially, I decided to reject the invitation as I wasn't able to attend but then, I was thinking why not asking my blogger friend, Sherrie Pui aka Cutebun to attend on behalf of me. It's not like this golden opportunity would come every single time, right?
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The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur has recently launch Christmas Eve,Christmas and New year dinner menu at their colonial cafe. 

We were thrilled to be invited as replacement for Diana's invitation on 4th December night. Our menu that night is a mix of Christmas Eve and Christmas day menu. This is considered my first ever fine and luxury dining in Kuala Lumpur and the feeling is quite grant to be reviewing food in a luxury hotel like The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur.  

#1: There are only few tables set up there, roughly around 6 round tables and few long tables.

#2: Christmas set up and decoration

#3: Live music playing when dinner service starts

#4: The design of the cafe is mainly following colonial style and kept as heritage

#5: Round table settings of Christmas and lights

#6: Pretty set up in the mood of Christmas

To start off, our prelude is Laurent - Perrier Brut Champagne.

#7: Champagne to get the night rolling

Followed by Amuse - Bouche - Chicken Liver Crostini .

Chicken liver is not my preference however the crust is crispy and chicken liver is served cold within the bread

Starter - Wood smoke infused blue mussel, scallop and salmon avocado puree, micro cress and creamy honey mustard dressing. the pairing wine is Dourthe N°1 - Bordeaux Blanc. 

I like the mussel,scallop and salmon pair up in this plate. The seafood are fresh and the puree and sauce as just nice. 

Soup - Cock a leekie

We had a typical scottish chicken and leek soup which is quite common for me. It is delicious but not much of a presentation on the plate.

Orange Sorbet - sweet and cooling with orange taste. 

As for the main course, we were served with two distinctive type, one of each.

Trio's King - Turkey breast, sausage in a blanket and herbs stuffing, served with creamy mash, minted mushy pea and red wine gravy. 

The steak is cooked quite perfectly with red wine gravy complementing the dish. The sausage is in a pastry with crispy crust and savoury sausage within. The dish is paired with Red wine - Dourthe N°1 - Bordeaux rouge . 

Baked salmon with lemon and dill sauce - accompanied with seasonal vegetables and dauphinoise potatoes.

  

As my preference of salmon is raw, this baked version of salmon is ok. However I like the lemon and dill sauce with the crispy pastry on top of the fish which is quite delicious. I would recommend to try this dish if you love baked salmon.

Here come the dessert part, Christmas pudding, vanilla sauce and served with white chocolate ice-cream

Cute and lovely presentation

I like the ice cream, vanilla sauce and the presentation. The pudding is moist however it is a bit too sweet and sour for my liking. If you have a sweet tooth, you must try this dessert.

Petit fours

Homemade christmas cookies and chocolates 

I love these chocolate melt in my mouth. As for the homemade cookies, I only took a bite as I was pretty full from the courses before. 

Besides that, the menu also including freshly brewed coffee or tea.

My Verdict:

The service in The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur gets my A+ for always attending to all the guests' needs with waiters walking around to check every few minutes. 

Overall we were satisfied with the dinner and it is a great experience to have fine dining at the colonial cafe. 

Press release :
Festive Joy at Colonial Cafe

You can also treat your loved onesto a culinary indulgence in a classic setting as Colonial Cafe presents a special 5-course wine-paired menu. Indulge in classic festive cuisine with dishes such as Lamb Loin Au Gratin, Grilled Barramundi Fillet, Traditional Roast Turkey, and delicious Valrhona Chocolate Indulgence Pudding while The Solianos serenade you with their renditions of classic holiday jingles.

Colonial Cafe’s Christmas Eve Dinner menu is priced at RM280 nett per person or RM 380 nett per person with wine pairing and Christmas Day menu is priced at RM220 nett per person or RM320 nett per person with wine pairing. Additionally, Colonial Cafe’s New Year’s Eve Dinner menu is priced at RM350 nett per person or RM480 nett per person with wine pairing.

This is special guest blog post from a fellow lifestyle blogger Sherrie Pui aka Cutebun who attended this exclusive invitation on behalf of me. Don't forget to check out her blog about photography, travel, food and more. 

Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市) of Taichung, Taiwan

Date Visited: 21st December 2010 
26th & 27th November 2013

11th March 2015

#1: Splendid and bustling Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市)

Once is never enough. And this applies to Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市) in Taichung County which I went five years ago. With only an hour given by the organised travel agent to explore and venture this splendid and bustling night market, it was indeed short and rush visit. Couldn't enjoy as much as I want, hence I decided to go again for the second time. Turned out, I went back again for third times this year. Third time to Taiwan, third time to Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市). 

Night market in Taiwan is not mainly about shopping clothing, shoes, accessories and so on but what attract visitors to here is ultimately for street food hunting. Claimed to be the largest night market in Taiwan, there are wide selections of food and local snacks to enjoy in Fengjia Night Market. Most of the vendors start their business as early as 5 pm to as late as 1 am. Therefore when come to choosing where to stay in Taichung, I would prefer to stay nearby this market instead of nearby Taichung Railway Station.   

One thing about me when comes to travelling is I rarely have a list of what and where to eat. I just eat whatever it's cheap, hygiene and most importantly, it suits my taste. So most of the photos below are what Boyfie and I managed to try:

#2: The notable Bear Paw Bun. Taichung is where it's originated from. Worth to try 

#3: Naughty shape of waffle ice-cream. No, I didn't have this cause it's really awkward walking around with this 

#4: Huge scallops from Scallop Q stall. I know this is available in KL but not for KK yet. Thus, it worth for us to try here. There are like more than 10 flavours you can choose from. 

#5: Soft ice-cream - Second time I had in here

#6: Joined the long queue for this Fried Noodle Bun but it seems so-so. Probably it's best to eat while still hot.

#7: Prince Cheese Potato with topped with bacon, ham and corn. It's so sinful but satisfied my tummy to the fullest. Must try!

#8: Spicy Korean Fried Chicken - Another great bite but it would be better if boneless

#9: It's really huge and crowded especially on weekend

So, anyone of you been to this night market before? If yes, share with me what other kind of food must try in case I'm going back again for the forth time. 

From Taichung Station to Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市)

There are few available mode of transportation to reach this biggest night market in Taichung but we chosen to take taxi which charge roughly around NT$250-350 depending on the meter. 

Alternatively, you can take free shuttle bus 160 towards Overseas Chinese University and stop at Feng Jia University if you are travelling with HSR train. Therefore, remember to keep the HSR train tickets for this exclusive privilege.