Thailand - Bangkok : #CafeHoppingBKK After You dessert cafe

Dessert Cafe - After You

The first thing you gonna notice about this dessert cafe is its super long queue. Being super kiasu Singaporean, of course queue right! #goodfoodofcoursemustwait lol

The first time I visited this dessert cafe was with my girlfriends at Siam Paragon's branch and we waited for at least 1.5 hour standing outside the cafe. We took turn to shop around. Do not think they accept reservation, otherwise, why would so many people crowd outside the premises. #clevermove

Lesson learnt. This time, we reached the cafe very early in the morning and I guess not many know of Central World's branch. No queue at all and we got to choose the seats we want lol.. #notgoodsignforthecafethough

desserts always the good start of the day~ sugar rush

Bf's favourite matcha latte 

My favourite mocha 115bahts

Shibuya Honey Toast 165bahts

If you do not know what to order still, try their signature Shibuya honey toast. Their toast indeed was well baked near to perfection. Outside was crispy but not too hard whereas inside was warm and soft but not so soggy that it could not take the weight of the vanilla ice cream on top. If you like even sweeter, can always add honey on top to bring out the buttery taste. 

Try the original flavour before trying any other flavour. Would be even better if we get to choose the flavour of the ice cream.. 

Hint: best served for 2-3 people. 

After You Dessert Cafe

Website: http://www.afteryoudessertcafe.com/

Branch visited at Central World, Level 5
Nearest BTS station: Siam station

The nameless Kulaijaya (formerly known as Kulai) main road Chicken Chop stall

The Kulaijaya Main Road Chicken Chop stall (N1.66207 E103.60152) is famous around the area and many of the local grew together with the chicken chop, located along the main road and next to the Kulaijaya Centre Point Building. It has more than 30 years history and the son of the stall owner is helping his father nowadays...positively will be pass over to his next generation soon in the future.

Kulaijaya Chicken Chop stall

The stall is open on 8pm everyday, and we were quite early that evening...watching they setup the stall and everything...
Once everything ready, their son continue to take order from the customers...

After look at the simple and easy understand menu, we just ordered the popular chicken chop with the additional egg and sausage.

It took a moment to served on our table...the simple and yet popular in Kulaijaya Main Road Chicken Chop.

The Kulaijaya Chicken Chop

The simple chicken chop filled with nice aroma, served with deep fried chicken, fries, baked beans, sausage, soft boiled egg and cucumbers.
It was really 'simple'.

It was crispy on the outer skin and succulent inside. The chicken was just nice, moist and not over cooked. The other side dish also not bad at all. Anyway, with the reasonable price of the chicken chop, we didn't set a high expectation for it but the dish served on table was unexpectedly good!

The chicken chop above cost less than RM12, very filling.
It's simple and nice meal if you really looking for the fast and traditional chicken chop around the Kulaijaya area during the evening. It wasn't heavenly good and value for money.

I just simply like the traditional way of setting and admired the long history of the stall, I will be back again whenever I need a quick bite.

The soft boiled egg served together with the chicken chop

The Kulaijaya Main Road Chicken Chop Stall

Jalan Besar (Main Road),

Kulaijaya, Johor.

Business hour : 8pm - 12am

Rest on every Monday

The location map of the Kulaijaya Chicken Chop Stall

Thailand - Bangkok : Maeklong Railway Market + Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Maeklong Station + Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Just days before our trip, I saw this floating market deal on one of the deals websites only for $26 per pax. I saw the same floating market prices on those local travel agents website was alot higher, not sure whether those local want to chop tourists or its really a good deal. I think its the former reason though lol.

Anyway, always email the travel agent to confirm the dates before buying the deal! They were quite prompt in replying email too.

We were very psyched for this half day tour as we have not been to a floating market before!

Had to wake up super early as the pick up timing was 6.45am.

Our first stop is this Maeklong railway market. It is a 90 minutes ride from the heart of Bangkok. It took more than that as we were stuck in the morning jam. What is so special about this railway market? It is one of the largest fresh seafood markets in Thailand and is centered around the railway tracks. Whenever a train approaches, the shoppers have to hop off the tracks and the vendors automatically move their stuff away from the rails and move back after the train has passed.

We were still early for the train so we went to explore this one of the freshest seafood markets which just opposite the station.

You can hardly find these scenes in Singapore anymore. 

what the hell is this?

While we were waiting for the train, we started to wander around to see there is any food to eat. Then we saw this food stall selling noodles! Bf was very skeptical about eating it but wth, this is what an adventurous tourist should do right - Do what the locals do, GO where the locals go and now is the part where EAT what the locals eat!

So I ordered chicken drumstick noodles for I think 25bahts only! It actually quite tasty and I finished it all! 

Some sort of flower flavour jelly. Wanted to try too but I saw bees flying around.. I scare they sting me when I open the jelly... lol

Suddenly the siren piercing through the air, we quickly ran towards the entrance and people were already crowded with cameras above their heads! The stall vendors quickly cleared their baskets skillfully and the locals scurried off the tracks and tourists stood infront of the train hoping to get a good shot of the train lol

I risked my life for taking this picture.

The market back to its original form in a flash and continued with their activities immediately after the train has passed. Impressive! 

OK. End of story....

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Next up! To the floating market! Damnoen Saduak floating market is one of the famous and popular floating market in Bangkok. It is only a short ride from the Maeklong railway market. I feel the place is so tourists popular that it kind of loses the traditional feel of a floating market should have. Nonetheless, this is a major tourists destination in Bangkok.

Filled with boat vendors selling all sorts of stuff, namely fruits, drinks, vegetables, souvenirs and even cooked food. You might want to haggle the price for souvenirs a little as the first price they offered normally is tourist price.

The fruits looked so fresh and sweet!

Even live snake for sale! lol actually I dont know lah.. maybe snake show.. 

MANGO STICKY RICE STALL!!! 

I read from many blogs that they have the best mango sticky rice and I wanted to try it since! This baby did not fail me at all! The mangoes were so sweet and the sticky rice is very flavorful but not too overly sticky! I did not add coconut milk though. 

50 bahts! I want to eat again! Saliva overloading... T.T

Then I saw this grilled banana stall, my eyes opened very widely again after the mango sticky rice. 

"Would you like to have some of my grilled bananas?"

Having high expectation, I fell quite hard on the ground.. 40 bahts

The grilled banana was quite dry as the moisture most probably dried up during the grilling process. It choked my throat that I have difficult time swallow them all, so I gave up after two or three pieces. SG's fried banana is so much better.....

This is the most raved coconut ice cream ever! 

Freshly made and served on the coconut husk. 30 bahts. 

Bf totally love this coconut ice cream! His mouth was full of this milky coconut taste after first spoon. I could even smell the coconut aroma from his mouth. He wanted to have another serving but I told him to try the one at Chatuchak market and compare. #Idontlikecoconuts

Tourists-congested floating market

Jewish Culture, etc Festivals 2014

Jewish Culture Festival, Krakow. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

As usual, I am trying to put together a list of as many as possible of the numerous Jewish festivals -- culture, film, dance, etc -- that take place each year around Europe. Please help me by sending me information!

The big culture festivals and other smaller events make good destinations around which to center a trip. Some, like the annual Festival of Jewish Culture in Krakow, are huge events lasting a week or more, which draw thousands of people and offer scores or sometimes hundreds of performances, lectures, concerts, exhibits and the like. Other festivals are much less ambitious. Some are primarily workshops but also feature concerts. Many of the same artists perform at more than one festival.

The list will be growing and growing -- and again, I ask my readers to please send me information and links to upcoming events. Thanks!


ALL OVER EUROPE -- September 14 --  15th European Day of Jewish Culture (This year's theme -- Women in Judaism)


AUSTRIA

May 18-27 -- Vienna -- Jewish Culture Festival

Nov. 8-23 -- Vienna -- KlezMORE festival


CZECH REPUBLIC

July 10-13 -- Boskovice -- 22nd Festival for the Jewish Quarter

July 28-August 2 -- Trebic -- Shamayim Jewish Culture Festival

October 18-23  -- Olomouc -- Days of Jewish Culture

October 31-November 21 -- Teplice -- Days of Jewish Culture (Teplicky Cimes)


DENMARK

June 5-9 -- Copenhagen -- Jewish Culture Festival


FRANCE

June 10-26 -- Paris -- 10th Aimer Festival of Jewish Cultures

Nov. 17-Dec. 4 -- Paris -- Jazz & Klezmer festival


GERMANY

March 30-April 13 -- Berlin & Potsdam -- Jewish Film Festival Berlin & Potsdam

July 19-August 16 -- Weimar -- Yiddish Summer Weimar

August 5-9 -- Weimar -- YSW Festival Week

Octboer 10-12 --Valley --  Kunstünger Klezmer Festival


HUNGARY

June 8 -- Budapest --  7th Judafest Jewish street and gastronomic festival

August 31- September 7 -- Budapest -- Jewish Summer Festival

Nov. 20-23 -- Budapest -- Jewish Film Festival

Dec. 16-24 -- Budapest -- Quarter7Quarter8 Hanukkah Festival


ITALY

May 29-June 1 -- Rome -- European Jewish Choir Festival

Every Thursday June 12-Sept 4 -- Florence -- Balagan Cafe

September 13-16 -- Milan -- Jewish and the City festival

September 13-17 -- Rome -- International Jewish Literature Festival

November 30-December 14 -- Pisa -- Nessiah Jewish Culture Festival


NETHERLANDS

April 30 - May 4 -- Leeuwarden -- Jiddisch Festival

September 13-16 -- Amsterdam -- International Jewish Music Festival and Competition


POLAND

Click here for a full list of more than 40 Jewish culture festivals in Poland

March 18-21 -- Szczeczin -- Adlojada Days of Jewish Culture

April 22-27  -- Warsaw -- Jewish Motifs Film Festival

May 10-11 -- Poznan -- 2nd Jewish Street Festival

May 22-25 -- Warsaw -- 5th New Jewish Music Festival

May 25-28 -- Warsaw -- 17th Jewish Book Days festival

June 6-10 -- Wroclaw -- 16th Simcha Jewish Culture Festival

June 15-15 -- Chmielnik -- 12th Meeting with Jewish Culture

June 7 -- Krakow -- 7@Nite festival (Night of the Synagogues)

June 13-15 -- Bialystok -- Zachor Festival Color & Sound

June 25-28 -- Oswiecim -- Oswiecim Life Festival

June 27-29 -- Zdunska Wola -- Festival of Three Cultures

June 27-July 6 -- Krakow -- Jewish Culture Festival

July 7 -- Szczekociny -- VII Jewish Culture Festival "Yahad"

July 12-26 -- southeast Poland -- In the Footsteps of Singer festival

August 19-23 -- Kazimierz Dolny -- Pardes Festival

August 22-24 -- Lelow -- Ciulimu-Czulentu festival

August 23-31 -- Warsaw -- Singer's Warsaw Festival 

November 3-9 -- Warsaw -- Warsaw Jewish Film Festival


ROMANIA

June 14-17 -- Bucharest -- Abraham Goldfaden Days


SPAIN

May 20-25 -- Oviedo -- Israel Week

June 9-14 -- Cordoba -- International Sephardic Music Festival

June 10-15 -- Barcelona -- Jewish Film Festival

Octotber 10-12 -- Toledo -- Sukkot Jewish culture festival


UKRAINE


May 15-19 -- L'viv -- Days of Yiddish in L'viv

May 26-30 -- Drohobycz  -- Bruno Schulz Festival


UNITED KINGDOM

March 28-20 -- Youlgreave (near Matlock) Derbyshire -- KlezNorth

September 7 -- London -- Klezmer in the Park festival

Nyonya Treats Restaurant at Taman Perling, Johor Bahru.

Nyonya Treats Restaurant (N1.48338 E103.68017) is located along Jalan Simbang of Taman Perling, diagonally opposite the Pizza Hut of Tmn Perling. It's about 15KM from Causeway and 25KM from Second Link.

Nyonya Treats Restaurant at Taman Perling.

The restaurant has a nice decor and cozy ambience, but limited seating area. It's advise to make a reservation if you going to dine in during weekend evening.

While we stepped into the restaurant just like a time portal, the retro design with the touch of Peranakan atmosphere is a reminiscent of those golden days. The restaurant is fully air-conditioned and is a good place for family dining and friends gathering.

Nice decoration of Nyonya Treats Restaurant

Another view of the Nyonya restaurant

We (total of 3 families) visited the restaurant on one of the Saturday evening and let me share with you the delicious foods we had in the restaurant. We ordered three types of fish, three types of veggie and others.

1)  Nyonya Assam Fish
2)  Nyonya Fish Head Curry
3)  Deep Fried Slice of Fish with ginger and garlic
4)  Nyonya Chap Chai (Mixed vegetables)
5)  Sambal Petai (bitter or stink bean)
6)  Stir Fried Long Bean with Prawns
7)  Cincalok Omelette
8)  Chicken Pongteh

The above dishes were catered for 6 adults and 3 children.

Nyonya Assam Fish

The Nyonya Assam fish taste sour and spicy, and the sourish and spicy level were balanced and satisfied. The portion was just nice and not over served.

Clay pot fish head curry

As usual, the fish head curry served with piping hot and delicious! The flesh was flavorful and pleasingly firm, curry was rich really goes well with the plain rice, you shouldn't miss this if you are a curry lover.

Deep Fried Slice of Fish with ginger and garlic

This was the dish specially for the children. The slice of deep fried fish served with dried ginger, garlic and bean paste. It was sweet with fragrance of the bean paste gravy. The children were happily enjoyed the fish till empty.

Nyonya chap chai (mixed vegetables)

The Nyonya chap chai is one of the must order dish for every Nyonya restaurant we visit, the reason is because the dish is the Nyonya authentic homecook dish. The chap chai was well prepared and the taste was just perfect, but the portion was rather small...

The sambal petai (stink bean)

The petai was fresh and the special made sambal went well with it. The sambal had a balanced sweet and spicy taste that made us can't stop enjoying it.

Stir fried long bean with prawns

This dish is not really a Nyonya dish, it's available easily at most of the Chinese restaurant within Malaysia. The long bean was not overly fried, provided some crunchy bites and the prawns were fresh!

Cincalok omelette

This is another dish we will order while visiting a Nyonya restaurant. The Cincalok omelette was served with nice fragrance and taste just nice, not salty at all. The children had it happily.

Ayam Pongteh (chicken)

The Ayam Pongteh is an authentic dish from Baba Nyonya, we won't miss to enjoy this meal on every Nyonya restaurant we visited within Malaysia. And in Nyonya Treats Restaurant, the chicken was well prepared and cooked to perfection. The meats were tender and easily drop from bone while you bite on it. The dish is cook with bean paste and potatoes, it had the strong taste of the sweet bean paste in the chicken...

Ayam Pongteh (chicken)

Nyonya Treats Restaurant serve varieties of Nyonya foods, and the above dishes we tried were satisfied. Beside, the prices also reasonable. The total bill for the savory dishes we had was around RM180.00 included drinks (for 6 adults and 3 children).

It is a another good restaurant to having a nice Nyonya food within Johor Bahru area, we having our dinner there after the children's fun from the Legoland. It's another good choice for those who want to dine in after the whole day activities at the Theme Park.

Do drop by the restaurant if you happen to be around at Taman Perling, and I believe you will like it even you are not the fan of Nyonya food. :)

Nyonya Treats Restaurant

280, Jalan Simbang, Taman Perling.

Tel : +6012-7692934 (Ms Jessica Chun)

Business hour : 11.30am - 3pm, 5pm - 9.30pm (Close on Monday)

Email : nyonyatreats@ymail.com

Location map of Nyonya Treats Restaurant at Taman Perling, Johor Bahru.