The creamiest ice cream in KLCC, only

After a hearty dinner at Bumbu Desa, the PH troupe went two floors down to The Cream and Fudge Factory, which prides itself as having the creamiest ice cream on earth. Let's see...

Ice cream anyone?

(Apple iPhone 3GS)

My first visit to TCFF was a few weeks ago. Seeing the menu was enough to make me go gaga so I ordered a double scoop of green tea and vanilla ice cream in a chocolate peanut butter waffle bowl and toppings and mix-ins I have now forgotten what they were. The boys and my other half ordered something sinful as well. I did not recall anyone sharing but perfectly remember the labourious act of finishing the order. Yes, the scoop size was ultra generous, the creamiest claim did come through and my wallet did not get thinner because TCFF charged fair, unlike Baskin's or Haagen Dasz. I was curious to know who's behind the brand but disappointed that no one could give me a satisfactory answer. Can you imagine if I was an undercover exeutive? The answer I got was that the ice cream was Swiss, no the brand was, but the ice cream was locally made, actually, no, it came from Thailand, only the brand was Malaysian. Wait a minute, the concept was Swiss. Three waitstaff participated in this exchange, at different times. Needless to say, the answer was not as smooth and creamy as the product they were selling. I held my breath.

Bumbu Desa gave us a solid excuse not to get greedy with the order so this time everybody voluntarily offered to share. My other half fancied the chocolate mint flavour and brownie as the mix-in so she went ahead to get it without consulting me. I didn't think the combination was right but it was too late to suggest a change. After putting in a couple of spoonfuls into her mouth-watering mouth, I gave it a go. My initial feeling was verified, it sucked. But she wouldn't know that unless she reads this. The brownie was too soft it crumbled and the ice cream was not fit to be called that because it was just cream, not iced, if you get my drift. I don't know what was wrong but the last visit had seen real ice cream, the kind that required an effort to cut through and at least eight seconds to properly melt on the tongue. The only guess I could make was that the freezer temperature was not optimum. Maybe Mr Blumenthal can provide us with a feedback.

TCFF's trump card is that their ice cream, along with the customer's choice of toppings and mix-ins are blended atop a frozen marble stone. The staff achieve this by using two oversized spoons and when you look at how it's being done, it is really like frying _____ (fill in the blanks) in a pan. At the moment, I don't think there is a close competitor and frankly speaking, the novelty value of having your ice cream fried will slowly fade away because after few excited visits or even feedings, you'll see that they are no different than the two American ice cream brands mentioned, of course provided you have it all the way i.e. with toppings, sauce in order for an apple-to-apple comparison to take place. What's going to make TCFF stick is its very college student-friendly price strategy. It's insanely romantic to share a bowl after catching a movie with your squeeze at TGV just a floor above isn't it?

There is a movie version but the host wouldn't let me upload it :(

(Apple iPhone 3GS)

My boys ordered bubble gum flavoured ice cream with M&Ms and whipped cream. It was way too sweet. I thought Baskin Robbins' version was better. Like the choc mint, the ice cream was melting fast although the room was air-conditioned thoroughly. The colour was Pantone-esque pink, rather than purply pinky which if done this way would have been a fitting tribute to the Bubble Yum bubble gum which I'm certain was the inspiration behind the flavour.

I don't think I will make another visit soon to TCFF as I am put off by the lack of consistency in its core products, the ice creams. Besides, the mixer is not intent on spending a lot of time while frying resulting in uneven distribution of the crushed particles among the cold cream. Frying ice cream on the frozen marble stone is a novelty indeed but after a while you will reminisce that you mix your Cherry Garcia, pecan and chocolate syrup before shoving it down your fuel tunnel anyway. So, it doesn't make TCFF so special any more does it? The outlet is performing well with lines formed by all the early adopters but as soon as their interests wane, it's got only the economical pricing to hold the fort. And given the present state of economic affairs in the country, the creamiest joint on earth might just still go on and survive.

The menu reminded me of Swensen's...

(Apple iPhone 3GS)

Spices from the village

Watch out for the steps!

(Apple iPhone 3GS)

Last night I decided to take the family out for dinner before the two boys leave us (temporarily) to spend their mid-term school holiday in Johor. My other half suggested Bumbu Desa at Suria KLCC.

The moment I stepped into the restaurant, two things did not rub me the right way: there were just too many tables and chairs; and the smell that permeated the room. While the former did not bother me that much although I might have a different take if it was a full house, the smell somehow was a bit offensive. It did not hit me straight away but I found it invading my nostrils more forcefully at the corner where we were seated. Think chicken coop for you to understand my agony. I did not have the heart to question the polite waitstaff. What's stranger was that, I was the only one suffering, the other TPH occupants seemed to have their gas masks on. They swore they didn't see any flightless birds scrounging on the ground. The smell must have been an imagination.

We took some time to decipher the menu as it was presented in Bahasa Indonesia (very, very different than Bahasa Malaysia mind you) with English translation. Finally, we settled on Talapia Mango, Rendang Daging, Paru Tusuk, Tempe Mendoan, Sayur Asem and Gulai Daun Singkong. And some coloured liquids to ease the food down the throat. I will pick in random the delicacies and what I think of them as we go along.

The Talapia Mango was deep fried fish served with mango sauce. I mean, really deep fried, the bones and head all crunchy and yummy. I remember watching Rick Stein bemused on his visit to Cambodia when he was served with a deep fried fish but can't tell whether he cleaned up his dish as the show cut to other scenes. My problem though lay in the sauce. It was hot! I half expected the sweet and sour taste of the fruit but the chillies were just too overbearing. Since you could eat the whole fish on its own anyway I will give the Talapia Mango a score of nine, on the scale of 10.

You may substitute the mango with another fruit...

(Apple iPhone 3GS)

Thinly sliced tempe, coated with flour, that's how Tempe Mendoan was described in the menu. I felt the chef or probably the kitchen hand did not do justice to the thickness of the soybean cake. For me, fried tempe of any kind must be really thinly sliced. Even the menu said so. This version did not make that cracking sound when I bit into it and I ended up with more flesh in my mouth than I had liked because it was as thick as a Mars bar. Nice aroma though so I'll award the tempe with a score of six.

For the next menu item, I'll go straight to my score which is 10 out of 10! It's the Rendang Daging which had the tenderest and moistest meat on the fourth floor of Suria KLCC. Enough spices, delicate balance in taste, the right colour. Hey, everything was perfect. When it arrived, I thought the beef chunks were a tad too big and immediately assumed they going to be as chewy as chewing gum but I was just blown away by the accuracy of the pressure cooking.

What what's left of the Rendang Daging!

(Apple iPhone 3GS)

When I have rice, I always make sure that there is at least one green dish to go with the meat. So for tonight's eat-out, we ordered the Sayur Asem and Gulai Daun Singkong. Sayur Asem was a classic Sundanese dish, comprising several types of veggies cooked in a clear sour soup. The types of vegetables depend on who's cooking I guess but that night, the person was on a roll so this good chef put in chopped corn, melinjo leaves, long beans, peanuts and green pumpkin. But you know what, I think these are the standard ingredients. Anyway, let's cut to the chase. I found the broth to be a little too sweet I was thinking of changing the name to Sayur Manis. The peanuts were boiled somewhere in between raw and overly cooked, which means they were excellent. The corn kernels showed signs of tiredness, I suspect they were not fresh but my tongue did not know better. Heard of pucuk ubi masak lemak, well, Gulai Daun Singkong is the Indonesian version of that. Apart from the name, everything else was the same. It was tasty the one rendered by Bumbu Desa's kitchen but I regretted ordering it as another food item could have made it to the table. Collectively, the greens scored a respectable seven.

The bill came up to about RM136 which was quite reasonable if you discounted the drinks which were priced at RM8 each. I wanted to order the famously Indonesian Teh Sosro but somehow forgot to do it. It sold at RM5.90 per 290 ml bottle. We will definitely come back to Bumbu Desa, surely next time round different dishes would be put to the test. Would I vouch for the restaurant? Absolutely, just avoid the left wing of the restaurant unless you like funny smells!

JB... here we come

My other half and I were born and bred in Johor Bahru and are proud to be Johoreans. She went to the Sultan Ibrahim Girls School (SIGS) for both her primary and secondary education while I attended Sekolah Temenggong Abdul Rahman (STAR) 1 and English College. Contrary to what you might believe, we never knew each other at school and found out only while courting that our families were related. I don't know if the same is true elsewhere but from where we come, you get found out the moment an elderly asks who your parent is. You begin to acknowledge that it is a small world indeed and really there is no point in starting a fight with a stranger who cuts in front of you at a busy ATM because he might be a third cousin or a nephew of an uncle that comes from your mother's mother's second husband. I like to advise though that it is never a good idea to pick a fight with anyone. I digress.

Throughout our working life, we've never made JB our marital home. KL has been our base from the point we started earning salaries which was 15 years ago! Well, to be technically correct, it's 13 years as we got married in 1998. So, homecoming tomorrow is always a big deal because that event it's far and few in between nowadays, what's with work and the kids having to go to school. We used to be weekend parents back in the early noughties when the elder one was pampered (alt: cared for) by the folks in JB. No kidding that–Friday would see us speeding south, with minds trained on arriving before the little one slumbered and hence, missed opportunity to indulge in babytalk and Sunday, a slow, languishing drive back to workingdom. For four goddamn years. There were weekends of course we didn't get to risk our lives on the road but these were all due to business trips or unfinished businesses.

But above all, it's a big deal because such trips reunite us with my other half's mother (my father-in-law passed away in 2005) and her siblings and not to mention, the boys with their cousins and aunts and uncles and of course, grandmother.

This particular jaunt though is a little special because 2010/11 Champions League final between Barcelona and Man United is on early Sunday morning. What we plan to do is to take away some original air batu kacang (not the copycat ABC which looks and tastes like cendol and yet the perpetrator insists it's air batu kacang), rojak and perhaps sotong kangkung, all from the food court behind the Straits View Hotel (formerly Hotel Mechinta, facing Straits of Johor) and treat ourselves to a feast, while relishing the thrashing of the Red Devils by the Catalans, no prizes for those who guessed right our allegiance... I really shouldn't jinx the match but since damage has been done, just so you know, there are more Devils worshippers in our maternal home then there are the Reds or the Blues, let alone Spurs which is my club. So early Sunday morning promises to be a slot full of trash talk and friendly banter. Actually, I don't know if it's going to be friendly!

Jay Beeeee... here we come.

The occupants

There are five in the household, that's me, my other half, our two boys and my other half's sister who wears the hats of an aunt and nanny to the boys. 11 is the age of the elder boy, a Chelsea supporter and quite an all-rounder when it comes to sports. His brother is seven, a true fan of Spongebob Squarepants, Rio, Angry Birds, Club Penguin, JellyCar, Dora, Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo and anything in pink (it's true).

My other half works in an oil and gas company in the capital while I'm based in Petaling Jaya. Currently, we live in Kota Damansara which I like to call our transit home before the PH becomes a reality.

Starting point

I joined Blogger in January 2009 with a half-serious intention to blog on our experience in designing and constructing the Plantation House, a dream home that is unfortunately still in the making. However, the blogging did not commence immediately then because I did not really put my mind to it. (I did say I wasn't that serious, didn't I?) The building as the first sentence offers, has not been erected although the idea to build it went as far back as 2007. So you ask, why hasn't the idea materialised? Well, there are matters that we have to deal with of course, some are expected, but most utterly surprising and this blog aims to share them, just in case you are up the same road. But to write solely about the journey in building the PH can become monotonous, if not downright boring so I thought peppering the blog with my meandering mind or what the occupants of the PH are up to can sort of recoup your interest. Like all bloggers, both aspiring and seasoned, I'm not expecting that anybody will actually drop by the site, but hopefully some of the stuff here will be useful to some of you out there. So there you have it, my starting point...