T-Bar, Rundle Mall

Mind you, my readers, this is actually three terse reviews squashed into one, to save time and elaboration.

It was an unplanned visit although we've been passing this café en-route to the grocery store; it took a curious food companion and a voracious me to pop in and have a peek at their dessert before we decided to have another round of lunch there. Yes. you've read that right, and it's not something that I'll do nowadays.

T-Bar may be smaller in size, but they have dedicated a part of their floor space for a serene seating area hidden from the passing crowd and decorated it with dim lights that are not only warm but comfortable. It can't accommodate that many diners at a given time, but it is a problem that the center management has helped to rectify by placing tables and long couches. The diners are able to place their order and inform the barista of their seating location before being given a table number. Once the order is ready to be delivered, the waiter will circle the food court and, upon spotting the table number, will pass it to the customer.








Muesli and Cappuccino (Small)



Muesli contains among other ingredients dates, cranberries and oats.

Due to the fact that it resembles like a square granola bar, to realize that this leans heavily towards the sacchariferous is not a surprise. The dates introduces a chewiness as a flavor, but not to the point where it tasted rubbery.


Cappuccino (Small)


Almond Toffee, Orange and Poppy Seeds Muffin and Cappuccino (Medium)


Orange and Poppy Seeds Muffin (top) has icing sugar and almond slices as its topping.

It created an aromatic explosion of the orange fruit on the taste buds, and it was the only taste that I felt from the dish. The poppy sides were thrown in as a visual compliment to the appearance: an orange background with black spots. There was not a twinge of piquancy in the muffin, only saccharine.

Portion wise, it was perfect because it stood the potential of being an afternoon tea (even though I had it for lunch after lectures).

Almond Toffee (bottom) has, well, almond flakes and a coating of chocolate caramel.

I actually ordered this with caution because my impression of toffee would include countless amounts of sugar boiled to the point of caramelization.

I was surprised when I took my first bite. The almonds had a neutral taste; it was neither roasted nor salted and the only saccharine flavor came from the chocolate toffee itself. I kept finding myself stealing bites after bites, much to the chagrin of my food companion.

This is certainly one of my must-haves when I'm back at T-Bar again.


Cappuccino (Medium)


Scone and Cappuccino (Small)


The scone, however, was a letdown. To me, scones aren't scones if I'm not greeted by the strong whiff of butter in the air.

It contained less butter than previously expected; there was unfortunately more piquancy than buttery fragrance, rendering the dish terribly salty. What caught me by surprise was it resembled more like buns than the regular scones. There, the ones with sneaky raisins/cranberries?


Cappuccino (Small)

What I like about this cafe, when it comes to their coffee, is that they have various coffee arts made by each barista for the differing sizes, as illustrated by the above pictures.

The cups of cappuccino that are sold here are perfumed with the caffeine extract - unless the ones I've had in a once-favorite haunt back home. In this case, the coffee here is heavier much to the delight of connoisseurs as it is a sign of quality. It did encourage me to slowly savor the drink instead of draining the cup in a matter of minutes and splitting the area.... and it also assisted to balance the sacchariferous and piquant aftertaste from the dishes sampled.





Fret not if you are a cannin fan instead.

T-Bar offers a wide variety of tea (such as Green Tea and Jasmine Tea), tea infusers and tea mugs as merchandises for sale towards the far left.





Seeing that my university campus is within walking distance of T-Bar and Rundle Place, chances are extremely high that I'll return to indulge in my caffeine cravings when it arises. I'll tell you why: the fact that I'm able to sit far inside and enjoy my cuppa away from the prying eyes of the crowd is rather comforting to me. =)



T Bar Tea Salon,
Shop 17, Rundle Place,
79-91 Rundle Mall
Adelaide SA, 5000
Phone: 08 8232 7700

Website: www.tbar.com.au

Landmark: Towards your left, when you are walking to Coles

Personal Thoughts

Hello again, my dear readers!

As always, you'll have to pardon my tardiness in posting since I'm still working on a suitable timetable that will allow me to incorporate the studies, me-time and le blog perfectly.

Am I nervous about the degree of choice, you may ask? Well, I'm not nervous because of the experience garnered in CPU, but I'm certainly - and heavily - stressed out over the assignments instead. The law seminars and lectures do provide a worthy insight and knowledge, but the work completion will probably make my head spin in circles and leave me pulling all-nighters again.

Not to mention, it doesn't help that I've to deal with moments of being homesick, especially when a passing memory/conversation can trigger it like the flick of a switch, ugh. And, the fear of being bitten in a foreign land. Okay, not literally but figuratively.

Only God knows what I landed myself into. This was certainly not what I deduced or even expected when I made my decision on the location and choice of my studies.



Oh, well, I'll just have to bite the tree bark and persist. I'm sure there's something rewarding waiting for me at the end of this long, arduous and sometimes windy journey.

Before I end up boring you with what would escalate into a lengthy and verbose rant, I shall take my leave.

Coffee Club, Rundle Mall, Adelaide

There's only so many places that one can frequent before craving for a change in taste. It happened to me a couple of weeks ago; after growing tired of having my lunches and being holed up in a relatively active environment, we figured that we should explore the cafes around me and give me some breath of fresh air.

That landed us in Coffee Club due to its familiarity and location.

I'm aware of this coffee franchise as a result of my summer trip to Western Australia some years ago and patronized it whenever I could find a branch (Claremont Quarter, WA and Harbour Town, WA). Not to mention, Coffee Club has opened its first Malaysian franchise in my hometown.






Menu

Different franchisees have their own house specialties. The one in Claremont Quarter has a pumpkin puff, which tasted heavenly with the strong aroma of curry powder, and the one here would be the quiche that I tasted and the avo and feta toast (see the image below).


Avo and Feta Toast

In addition, there is more that you can choose from in the event that you want to satiate the sweet cravings.











We settled for the quiche set as it included a salad on the side and tea or coffee of our choice for the price of one. I wouldn't have been able to polish the plate clean if we had each ordered our own dish. I'll have to admit that I was shocked when the quiche arrived on my table... it was such a huge portion that I immediately was relieved that we chose to share.


Quiche Set (AUD $11.90)

The quiche consisted of an egg, mushroom, chicken and cheese mixture.

It was unfortunately a tad bit salty for me because the filling was really delicious when eaten on its own. Me being me, I love my quiches when there is a strong aroma of cheese bursting in the air. That's how I like the quiche to be. Though, the crust was crispy when sliced through. Perhaps it'd have been even lovelier for me if the baker had allowed the piquancy of Filo pastry to balance the taste and excluded the addition of more salt into the entire dish, but I guess that's just me being sensitive about the overall taste.

The accompanying salad had a different story; it provided a raw contrast with the concoction of purple cabbage, lettuce leaves, cucumber, carrots and alfalfa sprouts. The dressing was just as simple, with just a drizzle of olive oil to heighten its freshness, which I love a lot. I dislike it when the sauces used suffocate the salad, making me taste the saltiness of the gravy instead.


Flat White

The flat white was rather thick - much to my favorite as it incorporated a heavier ratio of milk to coffee. I have no idea what type of coffee beans Coffee Club used in the making of this dish, but it was flavorful. Not to mention, the stencil resembled the unique image of a fern leaf. If there is something I've noticed, most of the cafes/coffeehouses here have their distinct coffee arts for the types of coffee, but definitely not Coffee Club. I was under the impression that the cafe emphasized more on the taste than the visual appearance of the drink.


The seating area




A resized panoramic view of the seating area and cashier



Coffee Club,
100 Lower Ground Floor,
Rundle Mall,
Adelaide Central Plaza Adelaide Arc
Adelaide SA 5000

Website: http://www.coffeeclub.com.au

Landmark: near Chemist Warehouse, fronting David Jones's shoe department

Nic & Rocco, Rundle Mall, Adelaide

Before I begin with the post, I'd like to thank all of my readers for bearing with me when I had to tie the emergency loose ends in Adelaide. This mini review shall thus mark my return to the blogging arena and get the wheel moving.

We were walking towards Rundle Mall after spending a fraction of the afternoon in Victoria Square, exploring Central Market and St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, and swung by Nic & Rocco for a late snack.



Nic & Rocco is a small espresso bar situated on Rundle Mall and although it may be as such, the cafe provides a unique array of savory and saccharine desserts such as cronuts (a blend of croissant and doughnuts), quiches and muffins. I love the way how the owner had organized the seating arrangements; garden tables were placed in such a way that it wouldn't hinder the queue for order and how the person could sit by the window, sipping a hot drink while watching the people sprint by or even casually investing his time in reading a book.





Small Cappuccino (AUD$3.50) didn't arrive with a stencil; it instead had a comfortable dash of chocolate powder on the foam. It lacked the coffee flavor that I'm accustomed to: that thick punch when one has the first sip, but it contained enough caffeine to keep me surviving through the entire evening.





Flourless Orange and Lime Cake (AUD$2.50) was a tad bit sacchariferous for the both of us, but we believe that the reason lies with the amount of oranges and lime used as balancing elements. The aftertaste of lime punctuated the air that it left hints of lime on my palate, overriding the beautiful zing of oranges. The best part is that it is gluten free and more than suitable for anyone who is allergic to wheat.



Flourless Almond Biscuit (AUD$2.00) had a sweet tang to it, especially with the fragrance of the almond melting in the mouth. Like the Orange and Lime Cake, this biscuit is gluten free as well and contains more piquancy than saccharine.





Nic & Rocco,
6 Rundle Mall,
Adelaide,
SA 5000,
Australia

Oh, hello!

This is not an actual post; it's just to inform you, my readers, that I'm finally where I'm supposed to be in one piece.

I'll be back with another post once I've the utilities all set up. Who would've known that it had to be connected and disconnected under the current resident's name, and not the owners?

Anyway, peace out.

Prawn and Mushroom Dumplings

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon bread crumbs
1 egg
10 medium-sized prawns, peeled and chopped
3 shiitake mushrooms, soaked and finely sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Dumpling skin
1/4 cup water (as the adhesive)

Directions
Glaze the steamer with vegetable oil and leave aside in a pot of water; this helps to prevent the dumplings from sticking.
Combine mushroom and prawns in one bowl.
Pour bread crumbs and egg and stir until well-mixed.



Add sesame oil, salt and pepper.



Put a teaspoon's worth of filling on the middle of the dumpling skin.



Dip finger in water and apply it on one end of the skin before sealing with the dry side.
Repeat the process until the filling has been used up.
Bring the pot to a boil and insert the dumplings as many as you can without overcrowding it.



Steam for 15 minutes on high heat - or when the dumplings look airtight.



Serve warm.

Cultura Bakery, Bangsar

Staring at the remaining Worthy book vouchers that I still hold, we immediately knew what we wanted since what was meant to be a dining trip to Brickfields landed us in a quiet residential cafe in Lorong Kurau, Bangsar instead.

Nestled between the condominiums, the average-looking houses and the well-known press companies, Cultura Bakery is hidden away from the dizzying traffic congestion and offers a sense of tranquility to all of its customers.





We were enveloped with the warmth of a welcoming cafe when we stepped in, with the evening sun spilling in at our entrance and making it more homey; it may be smaller than envisioned but it makes up for the lack of size in coziness. The placement of an older sewing machine by the entrance ignited a memory of my grandaunt in her pair of spectacles, concentrating hard on hemming the seams of the silky material to make beautiful cheongsams for her daughter and nieces and on her tapestries. Next to it laid was a complimenting part of art; it was brilliant to perceive something so plain yet unique.

I really admire the idea of Cultura incorporating the love of reading into their cafe by placing piles of books along the table, tempting the bored diner to flip through his or her favorite creative piece while enjoying a cup of coffee and toast. For someone who has an avid interest in reading, this is a plus point because not many cafes or coffeehouses go to the extent of providing a variety of reading materials, some of which I've never seen before.


A list of books for the voracious reader.



Peeking at the far end of the bench table is a handmade book with the unique words "DREAM" as its spine where diners can pen personalized messages and heartfelt wishes for Cultura. (If you're fluky, dear readers, you may stumble upon mine. *winks*)




The drinks menu




For 15.90, the homemade peanut butter consist of water, peanut butter, oil and sugar.


Freshly Pressed Smoothie (RM 9.00)

The popular dishes among Cultura's mixed group of customers that range from young people and working adults are the cafe's flavored toast, which comes in 9 flavors with the most popular being banana peanut butter and mushroom cheese, and the crème brulee latte.


Matcha Mousse Cake (RM 13.00)

I strived away from the latter, not wanting to overload the caffeinated bloodstream with a stronger whiff of coffee and played it safe by ordering a cup of cappuccino and a plate of tofu cake.

The first sip of Cappuccino (RM 9.00) burst in flavors and with less frothed milk, the natural tang of the roasted DeGayo beans is allowed to shine. It left specks of velvetiness and delicateness when you swallow; you can't help but want seconds of it.


Cappuccino and Tofu Cake

Tofu Cake (RM 11.00) consists of whipped tofu and has digestive biscuits as the crust.

The batter was beaten until it achieved a smooth consistency, which contributed to its softness on the throat and whetted the appetite. For someone who's sugar sensitive, it is one of the best cakes that I've sampled as it blended well with my taste buds. It was saccharine perfection; yes, it was sweet but not overly intense like its competitors on the market. The selling point was that there were no traces of cheese - or at least powerful hints of it.



Name: Cultura Bakery

Address: 1, Lorong Kurau,
59100 Bangsar,
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 011-12275938

Website: http://www.culturabakery.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/culturabakery

Business Hours: Mon - Sun; 8 am to 6.30pm

For those who are unfamiliar with the Jalan Riong/Jalan Kurau area, attached herewith is a Google map for your reference:



For more information on Worthy Book, you can peruse the following links... or even purchase a booklet for yourself to use?

W: www.worthybook.my
F: www.facebook.com/worthybook
I: www.instagram.com/worthybook
T: www.twitter.com/worthybook_my
B: www.worthybook.blogspot.com
Y: www.youtube.com/user/WorthyBook

FnB Edition is available at all major bookstores (MPH, Popular, Times, Borders, Kinokuniya) and selected myNEWS.com outlets in KL and Selangor.