♥하루 117 - Food Review: Three Little Pigs* & The Big Bad Wolf (Tropicana City Mall)

mannn, my hair could use some conditioner.. "you wash hair first la" ahem.

Hi everybody! Honestly, this post has been sitting here unpublished for a very, very long time. "Grace Koh! What you busy doing huh?! What happened to your spm-over-update-everyday!" Wait, listen to me! Actually I'm currently working as a teacher in a daycare (I'm enjoying my job very very very much! never thought I would love pri school kids that much!) so everyday when I come home in the afternoon I'd doze off with a novel after a shower. "Is that even a valid excuse?! how about your nights?!!" Errrr. that. during night times I'd be busy playing with the cutest baby nephew on earth. 100% valid reason. HAHAHA. 

However, on this day still bedazzled with festive celebration feels after the Chinese New Year holiday (speaking of which, how was your holiday?), I decided to sacrifice my nap and finish up this food review now! Can you guess which lucky restaurant is on the list today?! 

*this is a non halal restaurant*

*Dora The Explorer dumb expectant pause*

You are correct! "Stupid ah you title also you write already" Anyway I went online and did more research regarding this restaurant with a punny name - 

The most classic story of our childhood's classics Three Little Pigs, alongside The Hare and The Tortoise or Red Riding Hood. Hahaha. Anyway I really like the name of the restaurant, whoever thought of relating it to the succulent bacon and having two different menus for day and night - Three Little Pigs menu (early until 6pm) for the early risers with breakfast, brunch and lunch specialities and when the night falls, The Big Bad Wolf menu (6pm onwards until late) brings us *hooowls* creamy cabonara pasta, BBQ ribs and more!

It was a beautiful Christmas day morning, and blessed as always, Kang lim and Eunice brought me for a fun day out to watch the most recent police story! I didn't know where we were heading and it turned out that we're going to Tropicana City Mall(TCM)! This is one of the malls with lesser visitors (= less jam) cause we're trying to avoid the public holiday mall traffic plus it has a comfortable cinema! 

Thank God we went a step earlier, once we are seated a long line started forming outside! The place is already packed when we arrived at 11am but we only had to wait for a little while. Do head out earlier if you're seeking for a good brunch there during holidays! as the saying goes, "早起的鸟儿有虫吃" leh! However road to TCM usually won't jam one, the thing that eats time is the queue! Be reminded that they will only seat you if you are in full party.

 Anyhoo I wasn't really hungry that time cause we had an early christmas breakfast with the family at Old Trafford beforehand  but upon being seated the Recommendations written neatly on the chalkboards above the counter caught my eye!

Super love the Three Little Pigs menu - bright red hard cover with lots of pig sketches and watermarks surprises on each flip. Menus are tidy and not conteng-ed or stained too!

After a hard time picking what to order and finally settling on something that seems promising, I went off to take photos of the restaurant's interior!

Spot spelling mistake in this picture!

I felt deceived when I realized what seemed to be rough classic red bricks on cement walls are actually smooth wallpapers (sigh) I know that's not a big deal but.. I just felt deceived. However overall ambience is good, lots of loose laughter and happy chatter about  the place and busy clank-clank-clank from the kitchen and serving counter. 

Sufficient and focussed lighting for photos. Despite some very bad reviews regarding the place, almost every table in the space is filled with people and there's more queuing up for seats outside. I was pretty worried about the service in that place but it turned out pretty good, waiters and waitresses hustling about with orders and servings, we also got our food in 15 minutes-time range. Most of the workers there speak english (though some not fluently), overall for service I'd give a thumbs-up! 

We were seated nearest to the serving counter lah then I noticed amidst the hustle it's quite messy there with used glasses and trays and unfinished drinks with soaked tissue balls everywhere on display. The above picture is still alright but it got worse when we left. Wrote this down on the feedback slip hope they would improve on this aspect!

Did not expect anything special from the dessert counter since we were thinking of concentrating entirely on the pork hahaha but it seemed not bad so we got a slice of cake for after the meal!

#brathas4lyfe

Mighty Piggy Burger | Rm 24 

Juicy pork patty, cheese, tomato, greens, fried egg, herb mayo served w/ cheese

First to arrive! Needless to say everybody stretched out their hands to grab some fries hahah it was a generous portion of thick, crunchy, golden crispy fries. I did not get a try of the burger but seeing kang lim's expressions I'd bet on it was really good! He poked the burger around with his fork before digging in "how to eat ah mouth not enough big" This has been a huge problem for me too everytime we visit a burger place! How to eat a burger with all the fillings in one bite without creating a mess and sauces spilling out from corners of my mouth with a fork and knife?! 

I didn't find any solution lah but this is some super cool invention leh! can open your mouth to an obscene size to munch on huge burgers but still look pretty. mhm. 

Comments: Kang Lim The Experienced Burger Judge gave it a thumbs-up. Pork patty isn't the loosely grinded kind but its texture is good-to-go. Fried egg is cooked in a mould and isn't runny like most people prefer but free range eggs - that's cool with everyone! Based on appearance, I felt like there's too much mayo to my liking but I guess I got to give it a try someday - How about their main branch at Bangsar? 

I'm So Hungry I Could Eat A Wolf | Rm 28

Eunice and I weren't THAT hungry so we decided to share this! A classic full english breakfast, it looks absolutely appealing, a huge clean plate filled with sauteed mushrooms on some greens, bacon strips, glimmering (literally) sausage, grilled half-a-tomato, hashbrown (suspiciously the frozen store-bought type), two pieces of toast and a bowl of baked beans, an island in the middle of all delicious stuff.

Physique of the yolks of poached eggs never failed to impress me "wahhhhh" sometimes even more than the taste itself. Glorious golden yolk flowing out with a poke with the fork, soaking up toast and wrapping it fully with the wonderful flavour. Yum! 

As for the bacon - wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Alas, it has an overly chewy texture and wasn't crispy enough.  ☹

Comments: Sausage tasted great, though alot of reviewers have mentioned about it being low-quality ones. However, I loved the poached eggs - don't forget to wipe your plate clean with the last square of toast on a fork! This dish would be incredible if only everything was warmer, especially the meat and baked beans. Actually, mushrooms, hashbrowns and toasts too, please. Do try this out and tell me what you think!

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Tiramisu | Rm 14

Wooo! as always it's impossible to resist dessert to make a perfect meal. Attracted by the generous blanket of candied nuts topping we went for this slice of cake right away. After wiping our plates clean (duh, with toast ofcourse! hee hee) and had our table cleared "Yes, you can serve the dessert now". After I busied myself with the camera, Kanglim and Keathin took a bite of this and immediately wrinkled their faces "Aiyo can taste the alcohol aiyo don't like you guys eat lah" 

Oops. Eunice learned something new! Haha but it's okay we're more than willing to polish this slice of cake off. I love the tinge of rum and espresso in it (it's not too strong), it isn't the traditional kind of tiramisu with layers of savoiardi or pavesini (lady fingers - a kind of spongecake specially for tiramisu) but it is an ensemble of layers of light sponge and mascarpone cream! For the non-traditional version, the rich beautiful flavours of this cake blends really well. ╭(╯ε╰)╮

RATINGS (out of 5)

Food:  ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Pricing: ★ ★ ★ 

Service: ★ ★ ★ ★

Atmosphere: ★ ★ ★

Verdict: Great ambience, but not a very comfortable hang-out place! If you're looking for a dim lovely place for good food, pork, and to chat for hours - I'd recommend the Bangsar village branch. Food are not absolutely delicious, mainly generic, but worth a try for their quirkiness! 

Bangsar Village (03-2283 2270)

Address:  Ground Floor, Bangsar Village 1/

No. 1, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Operating hours: Daily, 9am - 11pm. 

Tropicana City Mall (03-7722 3561)

Address: G-35, Tropicana City Mall (TCM), No. 3, Jalan SS20/27, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya

Operating hours: 10am - 10pm (as per TCM) 

goodnight!

xx

♥하루 104 - The Redbean bag @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas

Hi! Happy fourth day of chinese new year! How's the fattest time of the year going on for all of you? 

I can't decide if it's a "very good" or "horrible" for me. Well I guess it's more to the "very good" hahahah! ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟ*)ﾉ彡And I shall insert the most frequently heard quote this week: "scare what! once a year only ma!" mhmmm. Anyway, I'm back from my hometown already, cny holiday ciao-ing in 4 more days  (╯°Д°）╯︵/(.□ . )\ However I'll have to skip another week of school afterwards cause of MSSS trainings (more about that next time) so yipeeeee! (ugh shit more homework). Ok grandmother stories aside, now to the main point!

So during my finals last year, big bro and big less promised to bring me out for a nice brunch as an encouragement hehehehe! But on the very fateful 1st of december 2012, the world's most adorable nephew of mine is born and big less has to stay in for confinement. No I've no whatsoever complaints I love my nephew to bitssss!! He's the cutest light-staring baby ever (´･ω･`) Actually I've completely forgotten about the promise but a few weeks ago big less asked if I'm free and to decide between publika or bangsar soo, YAAAAAAY HERE WE GOOO! ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ 

Gooodmorning! p/s smart-looking boy wearing the one-piece (+ tie) his aunties got for him from h&m!!!! 

Hello baby! ◠‿◠

HAAAAAAAI! (˘⌣˘)

Yes, in the matter of minutes.. T_T /disappointed aunt/ He likes the slightly bumpy feeling in the car #Javen101

Here we are! In case you didn't know publika, solaris dutamas is actually a trendy new shopping mall looks set to draw the well-heeled residents of Damansara and Mont kiara. 

With an arty, edgy vision, the tenants are a mix of international fashion brands and independent boutiques, chain restaurants and cosy cafes. The anchor tenant, Ben's Independent Grocers, stock both gourmet goodies and everyday essentials. Look out for art sculptures scattered around the mall. (Details adapted from Time Out KL)

Then Joyceet decided to take up the responsibility of pushing Javen's sophisticated pram and he was like 

"mummy? whozz this?" HAHAHAHA.

"Some stairs are worthed climbing... We're not your usual" Located on the second floor, same level as Nathalie's Gourmet Studio, just behind the big stage in front of Publika's entrance. Don't worry, there's an escalator at the right if it's inconvenient for you to take the stairs! 

Sacks of beans, for obvious reasons. The Redbean Bag is a cosy Australian-inspired restaurant with a soothing ambiance and quirky touches here and there. 

We heard that it's usually packed during weekends with typical malaysians waking up late and out seeking for good brunch so we left home early to avoid the jam. The place is already buzzing with people when we arrived but thank goodness they managed to find a table for us.

They also run an open kitchen concept, though only 2 tables gets the view of the kitchen. We got a seat at the back of the restaurant. It was great, we had more privacy for the pram and it was spacious back here. The big windows provides sufficient lighting for pictures too! ╰（￣▽￣）╭

"wah! cut cost cut cost!" The menu. So smart right! cheap and environmental friendly too! (Y)

big bro and big less ~ ♥

Him and one of his intense focusing moments hahahah

"Hello beautiful" Aww ☺

My bestfriend, desserts! On their display counter is a variety of mouth-watering mille crepes (flavours: nutella, rum & raisin etc), tiramisu, mud pies, chocolate brownies dan sebagainya.╭(╯ε╰)╮would give em' a try next time! (cannot think about this now grrr I'm pretty sure I gained 50 KG more or less!! eating bread with nutella even when I'm typing this!!! slaps self)

Cappuccino with pretty coffee art (ﾟ´▽`ﾟ) 

Would looove to try out their main courses (Traditional Beef Burger: Homemade beef burger patty with fried egg, beef bacon rashers, tomatoes and cheese) but unfortunately it's only available from 12pm onwards ಠ_ಠ On the bright side, since The Redbean bag specialises in their breakfast/brunch menus, obviously they have some good breakfast items to offer.

 Big bro and big less had The RBB Awesome Breakfast (Rm22) - Poached, over-eazy, sunny side up or scrambled eggs on toast, sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, beef/chicken sausage, beef bacon/turkey ham, baked beans & hashbrowns. (It used to be  The RBB Signature Breakfast and cost rm 19.9 but they made changes) 

My Eggs Atlantic v2.0! (Rm 17.9) Was craving for salmon and toast so this came in perfectly.  ♡＾▽＾♡  Poached eggs with hollandaise, asparagus, mushrooms and smoked salmon, with two pieces of fluffy french toasted bread.

I think they tasted great together. The blend of a generous amount of hollandaise sauce and runny yolk with the just-slightly-not-too-overpowering taste of vinegar from the poached eggs and fresh slices of raw salmon with mushrooms and herbs is just great. (◉◞౪◟◉) ARE YOU DROOLING ALREADY??

Joyceet's Eggs Benedict v2.0 (Rm17.9)- Poached eggs with hollandaise, asparagus, mushrooms and streaky beef bacon or turkey ham, with two pieces of fluffy french-toasted bread.  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

 I think I prefer the eggs benedict cause of the juicy, succulent slices of beef bacon that matches beautifully with the poached egg and toast. Beeeeeffffff Baaaccccooooonnnn ლ(́ಢ.◞౪◟ಢ‵ლ) 

I'm one who hates it when things like this happen. I like my food texture to maintain in presentable condition (esp cake, I get angry when my slice topples over) but this is ok cause I get to wipe clean my plate with the leftover toast hee! ✌ 

A less runny egg yolk ㅎㅅㅎ By the way I'm very fascinated by the art of poached eggs and would love to give it a try next time I make my own breakfast! Heard it needs the skills of a professional *cracks knuckles*

Baby Javen having his breakfast too! Hahahah! Aww it's alright in a few years time you would be savouring all the yummy food your aunt will be making for you LOL 

Initially we to ordered Today's Special (Mandarin orange crepes) as dessert but we waited for quite sometime and in the end the waiter came and apologize cause the dessert is only available after 12pm okayface.jpg. Oh wells. Btw they provide quite a friendly service, where waiters and waitresses smile and nod whenever they see you. ☺

Probably smiling at whatever funny thing big bro just did LOL

My most favourite couple in the world, next to my parents and before the adam's couple from We Got Married. (*⌒∇⌒*) 

Happy family! ♪♬

At moments like this I wish I'm a baby again T_T

Interesting chairs at publika

I find this really funny, did you notice that it's the guy's moustache?! HAHAHAHA

otw home! excited baby is excited but he fell asleep anyways ಠ_ಠ

*dozing off* 

Oh yess, look at his cute mint-coloured fitting striped socks! hee

Such a beautiful saturday morning, a fantastic start to the weekend! Super thankful to have the bestest and awesomest big bro and big less ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ Thank you!! Saya cinta akan mu!! We shall do it more often HAHAHAHA JK. Definitely looking forward to the next trip to Publika and try out Fat boy's Burger bar or S.wine. it's a foodie heaven there! ;) 

Training tomorrow T_T

Goodnight!

xx