New chapter

You must be wondering what new chapter, right? No, it is not that chapter that is crossing your mind right now.

Perhaps all of you know that I work in the early childhood education field, or at least, I am qualified to. Then, I took a break from all of that and went on impromptu trips with the bff to many places, even learnt to play the ukulele and signed up for Korean language classes. 

Perhaps some of you know that after all that, I ended up working on a remote island off the south-east coast of Sabah. That has been an eye-opener and despite all that has happened during my 1.5 years there, I am thankful for the experience there. Oh, and no, it was not in early childhood education. Instead, I was working in a dive resort. What? You cannot swim one wor! Oh, but now, I am licensed to dive. Hell yea... you'd better believe it because I, too, found it quite unbelievable that I am comfortable underwater now!

Fast forward to this year, I applied for a job at several places and got interviewed by one. I got the job and was supposed to start in April. Bam, the country got hit by the global pandemic and was in lockdown, which meant that I could not report to work. I was issued two official letters informing me that my report to work day has been postponed until further notice.

I then received a call on a Friday afternoon from a mobile number. I did not answer it the first two times. I answered on the third and it was their HR personnel asking if I could start work on Monday. Monday?! Wow, talk about not giving prior notice. I told him that I have not completed my Health Examination and I could not go immediately because of my monthly cycle. I then said that I could start a week after that, though.

So, the following week, I did my health examination on Thursday, collected the health examination report on Saturday and reported to work on Monday. Today is the 6th day on the job. Overwhelmed is an understatement of how I (still) feel. I have this thought at the back of my head: No wonder people don't want to return from Australia and those who did return, ended up going back there. The work culture is entirely different!

Oh well, we make the best of the situation that we currently are in, right? So, despite everything that is thrown at me at the moment, I am going to face up to the situation. I am going to do my best and if my best is not good enough, well, too bad. I can only try my best and try harder the next time.

There, my new chapter is my new job. Although at the moment, I am still not quite as excited with the workload, am looking forward to making new friends, though.

October's Food Craft & Coffee

One day after lunch with Dad at one of the noodle restaurants that we frequent, I noticed a signboard above a car workshop across the road. It said "October's" in a bigger cursive font and below it were "Food Craft & Coffee". Now, the word "coffee" really caught my attention for well, obvious reasons.

In all honesty, we did not start off well with this place. At first, Dad went with Uncle John. He did not like that there was a car workshop right below (the cafe is on the first floor) and he left without even stepping foot into the stairwell. Then the BFF and I. Our first time there did not leave a very good impression on us either. We just assumed that it was due to them still trying to sort out their flow but we did not like how the sofa seating area was converted into an impromptu cot for a young infant. Not very professional. However, we did like how they had a dedicated children's play area in one corner.

They serve the usual selection of coffees and each hot serving comes with a cookie.

No prizes for guessing who ordered this cold Americano... 😛

We were once asked how we find their coffee and we frankly answered that taste-wise, they were not bad. However, after some discussion, we both agree that a certain level of fragrance seems to be lacking. Either that or something else (we are not professional food critics, so it is hard to put our finger on a specific aspect of a food / drink).

Oh, but they have one of my favourite dishes - French toast! They do the thick type here with peanut butter in the middle. They also serve croissant sandwich that comes with a selection of fillings.

A month or two later, we noticed that they started to serve rice bowl dishes, too. If I remember correctly, there is a selection of chicken, fish and pork rice bowls to choose from with different sauce options. 

Personally, I think they could do with less rice, as it is rather inconvenient to eat from a bowl that is filled right to the brim, even over. If they want to serve that amount of rice, it would be easier for customers to reach the rice or mix the egg with the rice when the meat pieces are served on a separate plate or bowl. 

Although they do not immediately pop up on my radar every time I think of coffee or cake (mind you, they only just very recently started serving cake), they are a decent alternative.

October's Food Craft & Coffee
40-1 Jalan Equine 1G, Pusat Komersil Equine, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Monday to Saturday Noon to 3:00pm, 6:00pm to 10:00pm
M: 017-903 0939
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Little Giraffe Story House 长颈鹿故事館 & Little Moments Cafe 容易揾

I first got to know about Little Giraffe when I randomly stumbled across their Facebook page quite a few years ago, back when they were still operating out of a shipping container. Fast forward a few years, I read about how they had a makeover, converting a Chinese new village wooden house into what they describe as a community library designed for kindergarteners and primary school-aged children.

They have convertible spaces that connects both the in and outdoors (if you look properly, there is a window frame that is open to allow children to climb onto the outdoor deck from inside the library). I guess this also allows for a better flow of air and light.

They claim that 90% of their books are picture books and are mainly in Chinese, although they also have Malay and English books. I am guessing that they also serve as a transit point for the children from the Chinese school just up the road, to promote some parent-child bonding time, as they require children to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Needless to say, this community project also hopes to cultivate the habit of reading.

In addition to borrowing and reading books, they also have monthly story-telling sessions by qualified and experienced story-tellers. They also have handicraft sessions that enhances the parent-child relationship.

Thanks to a group of enthusiastic architecture students who worked on a shoestring budget of donations, the transformation took place, whereby much of the material were adapted or recycled. They recycled the wood that were taken apart from the original frame of the building. Some were made into the furniture, some were made into the shelves of the library. Wall panels are left in their original colours, so that we could see a little of the building's history. I really appreciate their effort in preserving the "story" that is housed within these walls.

You could see the Rojak Wan aunty prepare your rojak from inside of you choose a strategic spot

Unlike how they used to only be a book club, they added a cafe to this new upgrade. I suppose they would need some form of additional income to keep the place going. The "quiet" library part of the building is cleverly separated from the "noisy" cafe part of the building by the original living room that now serves as a buffer area for the public to move around.

So what do they serve here? Personally, they serve food that has heart and soul, not much of those fancy cafe stuff. The ones that we like best would hands-down be their rojak and cendol. The rojak here is by Rojak Wan, who apparently has been serving fruit rojak from a truck in TTDI since the 90s.

Both dishes come in generous servings and both do not fall short on taste. They even come served in tableware that I could find at my grandparents' home.

They also have home-cooked main meals, which they rotate. One of those meals is this Oh Bak Ji rice (pork and yam ball rice):

It is like a Japanese omurice with pork and yam ball (yes, it has that Japanese curry, too). If you are feeling like going meatless, they have a breakfast meal that does not have ham or bacon:

They serve coffee too, and that includes Vietnamese drip coffee that will surely give you a little zing to keep you properly caffeinated for the day.

Oh, and be prepared to have your lap turned into a snuggly cushion for the neighbourhood cat. For those of you who suffer from ailurophobia (in simpler terms, cat phobia), you have been notified ;)

Little Giraffe Story House 长颈鹿故事館 & Little Moments Cafe 容易揾
114 Jalan 15, Batu 11 Cheras, 43200 Cheras, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
M: 016-613 7362, 012-632 2955
Wednesday to Saturday Noon to 10:00pm
Sunday Noon to 7:00pm

92 Degrees Coffee

Another one of those random lunch dates with the BFF introduced me to this place. We found its name interesting and the BFF then rambled a little about something to do with the temperature of the coffee. It was rather quiet but because we both saw their coffee machine and decided to give them a try. Who knows, we may add this place to our list of go-to coffee places...

They have a simple interior that uses blue and white as their main colours. There are bamboo blinds on one wall, as decoration I think. Seating is spacious with small tables for 2 pax and another size for 4 pax. There is also a longer communal table at the back.

There is also a section for more "chilled" seating:

Other than the BFF, I have also visited with Dad. They have a good selection of coffee and non-caffeine drinks, too. So far, all the below were not too bad.

They have cakes, too, but I have only tried their Oreo Cheesecake. Not too sweet and not too dry but would help if they had more cakes to choose from.

The BFF and I were gladly surprised by the presentation, the portion and most importantly, the overall taste of their main meals. For the price range that they charge, we felt that they are more than reasonable and would not mind returning in future.

92 Degrees Coffee

9G Jalan BS1/3, Pusat Perniagaan Olive Hill, Taman Bukit Serdang, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

M: 014-922 8978

Tuesday to Sunday 11:00am to 10:00pm

明明 Day 9 Kitchen

Ever since my bff sold her cafe, I have had difficulty finding a replacement cafe that serves nearly as decent coffees and food as hers. So yes, I felt happy that she managed to get back some of her freedom but no, I felt sad because I have lost my coffee hangout.

Fast forward a few months, a new place opened up in a quiet pocket of our neighbourhood. As it isn't located along a main street, not many people were aware of its existence, especially when they did not seem to had any advertisements.

They play along the minimalist line - walls are either in white or unpainted concrete. Simple signage and straightforward furniture arrangement. Perhaps a little too simple - as they have left all their hard surfaces as is, it gets a tad noisy when there is a crowd.

We started off by trying their coffee because well, we are caffeine-driven people. Trying only one would be unfair so we returned several times to order different drinks. And our verdict: a good variety of caffeine and non-caffeine drinks that are each carefully made.

Cold cappucino (RM11)

Cold bittersweet chocolate (made with 60% dark chocolate, RM15)

Cold Oolong milk tea (RM13)

MoMo Ice: Double shot espresso, 60% dark chocolate, fresh milk, vanilla ice-cream (RM15)

Drop in Black: Ice black coffee, soda water, orange slice, vanilla ice-cream (RM15)

Affogato: Vanilla ice-cream, hot espresso, cocoa crumble, dry cranberries,  chocolate stick, mint leaf (RM14)

Dino-C: Fresh orange juice with soda plain water, strawberry, mint leaf (RM13)

Hot latte (RM10)

Hot rose latte (RM13)

Hot Ooling milk tea (RM12)

Do you not think that they all have good visual, too? So yes, not only do the drinks tick the right boxes taste-wise, they also tick the right boxes presentation-wise.

Now, for their food. We noticed a mixture of Italian and Japanese influence on their menu. There are pastries like bagels and egg wraps that they bake on-site, pastas, rice, fried chicken or pork, salads, finger food, and desserts.

Bagel is their specialty. We were pretty impressed by the texture of their bagels. Even my friend who is a sous chef in Mandarin Oriental complimented their bagels. I can still remember his partly surprised reaction when he took his first bite, "Ooh, this bagel is quite good leh". 

Egg and cheese bagel is a plain bagel sandwich of egg and mixed cheese served with honey gherkin mustard sauce, chips and salad (RM14)

As above but with cheese bagel sandwich

Burn the pig bagel is a sesame bagel sandwich of fried pork drizzled with either homemade Sriracha sauce or tartar sauce served with salad and chips (RM18)

They also have snack servings of their bagels if you decide not to have a full meal, like the below Boom boom prawn open bagel (RM13). It is a plain bagel cut in half served with fried prawn, cucumber, tartar sauce and dry parsley. Its fragrant aroma could be smelt from afar.

In addition to savoury bagels, they also have sweet bagels, like the below Nutella banana open bagel (RM11). A chocolate bagel sliced in half, it is served with Nutella, sliced banana, almond nibs and mint leaves. Sinfully satisfying, if you ask me.

Once, they ran out of bananas so we asked if they could use strawberries instead. They gracefully obliged:

Their handmade egg wraps remind me of those in Taiwan. It is a little like a drier, crispier version of roti telur. I very frequently order their egg wraps but I do not take photos of every one of them.

This fried pork wrap is one of the bigger wraps that consists of a generous portion of fried pork, cabbage and spring onion with either sweet sauce or homemade Sriracha sauce (RM15). 

The tuna onion wrap (RM12) is presented in a rolled fashion instead of the above pocket fashion. It is tuna, onion and spring onion rolled up in their egg wrap pastry.

There are two types of pastas available on their menu. They have either aglio e olio or homemade tomato pasta. Their aglio e olio is served using spaghetti while their homemade tomato pasta is served using fusilli (spiral):

Fried pork-corn spaghetti aglio e olio (RM18)

Turkey ham aglio e olio (RM16)

Mix mushroom aglio e olio (RM15)

Potato croquette tomato pasta (RM17)Personally, their pastries and pastas outshine their rice and main meals by far, which is why I don't have any photos of their rice meals. The below two main meals were ordered by my brother (fried pork) and a friend (fried chicken) respectively. While they did not complain about the taste, they did mention that the meat were a little dry - perhaps might taste better if the meat were juicier.

Should you prefer a healthy but no so healthy option, there have a list of salads but one that caught our attention was the fried pork-corn salad (RM15) because well, we are Chinese ma...

If only feeling peckish, their Dino-stick (RM9) would be a good choice. The handmade fried potato croquettes served with tartar sauce are addictive!

Perhaps because the two main chefs (and possibly the owners) worked in a fine dining Italian place before, they bake their own cakes. Dad and I especially like their Is cheese cake (RM15), a caramelised semi-baked cheese cake with caramel sauce, espresso crumble and berries.  

If you like something with more flavour, Red Knight (RM18) would make a tantalising choice. It is 70% bittersweet chocolate with blueberry flavoured mousse cake drizzled with raspberry with red wine sauce, topped with mixed berries, chocolate shards, mint leaves and dry lemon slice.

The Basque matcha cheese cake makes for an extremely filling slice of cake. The cheese cake is pure matcha is is served with homemade red bean paste. I could treat is as a meal on its own! 

As they are still serving parts of their Christmas menu, their fruit cake slice (RM7) makes for a light afternoon tea snack. It is served warm, so you could bite into its slightly crispy crust and soft spongy middle with chewy bits of fruits and nuts. Oh, and definitely could smell and taste the cinnamon, too.

In summary, I really hope they continue to be in business for a long time to come. :)

明明 Day 9 Kitchen

3-1 Jalan Equine 10B, Taman Equine, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

M: 016-345 3944, E: mingmingday9@gmail.com

Wednesday to Monday 11:00am to 10:00pm

Cash and Boost payments only

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