Review: Baristas by Modesto

I took a day off from work last Tuesday as I needed to get my parents’ SIM card changed. I just bought them a new mobile phone and the current SIM card doesn’t seem to work well with the phone. It has a high possibility that the low reception was due to the location of our house.

Much to my surprise, the SIM card which Mom had been using was running on 2G. No wonder the phone could not detect much reception when it stays at home but full bar when I brought it to work with me. The phone problem is all settled now.

Anyways, let’s not get sidetracked and get back to our intended topic for today, shall we?

Looks classy, isn’t it?

The restaurant is spacious in my opinion. If you walk further into the restaurant, there is Dapur Penyet located inside. Basically, all the restaurants there are linked together.

Pasta Ala Carbon | B$10.90

Kaylie’s choice of dinner for the night. Her choice of pasta was Penne. I personally believed that carbonara pairs well with Linguine compared to other types of pasta. The pasta comes with generous portion of beef rashes. According to Kaylie, the pasta was okay but the sauce was a little bit on the salty side though.

Chicken Lasagna | B$9.90

Specially requested chicken for my lasagna since I do not consume beef. The lasagna was topped with an extremely generous portion of cheese. I was surprised to see mushrooms in the lasagna. But it’s okay, mushroom is my best friend. LOL! This was a filling dish but I find the pasta sauce to be rather too salty for my liking.

Verdict: The restaurant has a good ambiance with comfortable seating. Customer service was okay in my opinion. I remembered Jia telling me that she had been to Baristas by Modesto and she preferred the main branch in Batu Bersurat more than this.

If I was not mistaken, I think it was both food and customer service which she was not impressed of. But both Kaylie and I agreed that the customer service is okay as there were only the two of time dining at the time of arrival. So, the staff were able to fully focus on us. But in terms of their food quality, I do strongly suggest that they reduce the amount of salts used in their food dishes.

Review: Peppermint Cafe, Brunei

The three of us – Mike (San Diann), Clara and I had dinner at Peppermint Cafe yesterday evening. Mike had invited both Clara and I for a meet up dinner on last Friday evening but I could not make as I had dinner arrangement with Kaylie. So, we postponed the dinner until yesterday evening. I had actually forgotten about the dinner meet up until Clara Whatsapp texted in our group message where would the dinner venue be this time round.

Seriously, I think I am starting to have short term memory as there were quite a few details which I could not seem to remember after a few days. But thank goodness that she reminded us the other day or else I would have gone straight home from work. I arrived late at Peppermint Cafe as I got out late from a meeting in the office. Took me around 25 minutes to reach as I missed the entrance and I had to make a U-Turn at the nearest U-Turn junction.

Clara was the first to arrive and she managed to grab us a table albeit the cafe was extremely packed at the time she arrived. Majority patrons had left at the time when I reached the cafe. Crowds started to get more eventually and we were the last to leave the cafe. The staffs were nice enough to let us stay for a while albeit it was past their business hour.

Anyways, pictures of Peppermint Cafe ahead! I will start with the decoration pictures followed by food pictures.

The cafe has a cozy ambiance. It is pretty spacious in my opinion and I like how they decorated the cafe. It has a great lighting which makes good food photography and selfies. LOL!

Look at how cute these mini Nutella and jam jars are! I wonder if they are for real or just fake miniatures. I think the jams were for real but maybe fake miniatures for the Nutella.

Food pictures ahead …

Double Shot Latte | B$4.50

This is actually a normal Cafe Latte but with an added shot of Espresso. When this was being served, the waiter kindly asked if I needed any sugar. I declined as I thought I will be fine with the bitterness. It was quite bitter when taken the first sip but the coffee gotten sweet eventually even without any sugar added.

My coffee with the coffee art of a cat. Clara made fun that the cat would have melted by the time I am done with the food photography. LOL! Well, I do not think it matters much anyways as the coffee art was not even that distinctive in the first place as the milk froth was not firmly done.

French Fries | B$4.00

The both of them ordered this to munch on while they were waiting for me to arrive. These fries turned out to be one of the best fries that I had eaten. They were a little crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. One word – perfecto!

Grilled Chicken with Mushroom Sauce | B$8.90

Mike and I ordered the same dish for dinner. This chicken dish comes with three kinds of gravy sauce to choose from – black pepper, mushroom and onion. I chose mushroom sauce gravy as I am not huge on black pepper sauce. And as for the side dish, you can choose one among french fries, boiled sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes. They were out of mashed potatoes yesterday evening, so I opted for french fries since I am not interested in boiled sweet potatoes.

The chicken was cooked to perfection. Bones had been removed so it was basically a boneless chicken thigh fillet. The mushroom sauce however was a little bit too salty for our liking. The coleslaw was however the Asian version. It was good and appetizing at the same time.

Pasta Carbonara | B$8.90

Clara choice of dinner. The portion was just right for her and it came with generous portion of beef bacon. The pasta looked good but unfortunately, I can’t eat beef. Perhaps I am gonna try requesting for a chicken version of Pasta Carbonara next time?

Verdict: I like the setting of the cafe, it was cozy and comfortable. Great venue for gatherings and great food too. However, the location is a little bit too far from where I live. I don’t mind returning again for their breakfast as I had seen multiple good reviews of their French Toast with Caramelized Sliced Bananas.

It took quite some time for the three of us to figure out the location. So, here is a heads up for those of you interested in trying out the cafe but did not know the whereabouts. The cafe is located in the same area as Starbucks Coffee in Beribi. It is on the same block as Courts Furniture and Isha Jaya. There is no signboard or banner of the cafe yet but you will find the cafe if you walk straight ahead from Courts Furniture. Next to Peppermint Cafe is Syarikat Kerthik.

Peppermint Cafe
Unit 14, Block A,
Ground Floor,
Simpang: 493, Beribi,
Gadong,
Negara Brunei Darussalam
Tel: +673-8221888

PS: They are close on every Monday and business hour ends at 4PM on every Sunday.

05122014 / Savy’s Brasserie, Mabohai

The weather did not look good hours before I am due to meet Kaylie for dinner at Piccolo Cafe. So, we cancelled the dinner meeting about an hour and half before the meeting time. Albeit the gloomy weather, I decided to go Yayasan after work as I needed to pay a visit to the bank’s ATM machine. Thankfully, it did not rain throughout the journey from workplace to Yayasan. Frankly speaking, it did not even rain throughout the time when I was outside but only started to drizzle as I was near home.

Did a little bit of grocery shopping at Hua Ho, Yayasan. Intended to have dinner at Kaizen Sushi Waterfront but decided not to since I might be having dinner with colleagues there next Tuesday. I don’t feel like going to the same place and having the same food in a matter of less than 7 days. So, I drove myself to Supa Save, Mabohai as I wanted to find out if they sell bread knife and I needed to buy some Paul’s natural plain yogurt for muffins.

I went into L’occitane yesterday evening to try out the perfume which I so wanted to buy previously but I left the shop empty handed. I decided to save up some bucks since I had gotten myself a free bottle of Elizabeth Arden Pretty the other day. Dinner was at Savy’s Brasserie since I was not into Misato Teppan Grill and I don’t wanna come out smelling like a human teriyaki (that’s if you get my dry humor). LOL!

If you have never heard of or been to Savy’s Brasserie in Brunei, let me give you a brief introduction of the restaurant. There are two Savy’s Brasserie in Brunei. The main branch is in town, located just above Nasi Katok Mama while the other branch is located on the second floor of Mabohai Shopping Complex, in between Toys ‘R’ Us and Misato Teppan Grill.

Savy’s Brasserie is pretty much of an high end western restaurant in Brunei. They serve decent pasta and steak. A colleague and a friend of mine once told me that Savy’s Brasserie serves good beef steak in Brunei but a little bit pricey. I had only tried their set menus and pastas previously.

Lamb Bolognese | B$22

And yes, I had their pasta again. I don’t remember seeing this Lamb Bolognese on their menu previously or maybe I glanced through the menu too quickly and missed it out the last time. Instead of beef, this pasta was cooked with lamb. They used one of my favorite pasta, which is the fettuccine and tossed in pomodoro sauce with minced lamb. The pasta came topped with feta cheese as well.

To be honest, I was not really impressed with what I had yesterday evening. I personally believed that the pasta was overcooked rather than al dente. The sauce was a wee bit too salty for my liking. It is an okay pasta dish but would very much preferred if the pasta was cooked al dente.

Here’s a good news to Standard Chartered Bank credit card holders! You are entitled to 15% off the total bill if you pay your bill with your SCB credit cards. I am not sure if it applies to set meals or other promotions but do ask before you order or make payment. I paid my bill with my SCB credit card and was given 15% off my total bill.

Savy’s Brasserie
Unit 204, Level 2,
Mabohai Shopping Complex,
Brunei Darussalam.
Tel: +673-2240829

13092014 / Blue Frog Bar & Grill, Nanjing

I am not here to show you pictures of a blue colored frog but a bistro restaurant in Nanjing which is known as Blue Frog Bar & Grill. You might think it is weird to name a restaurant after a frog or what not. I was pretty skeptical about the food but Sister claimed that the food there are good and up to standard. So, there we went for our late lunch. The bistro restaurant was pretty much half crowded at the time when we were there. We were there about 4:30p.m. in the afternoon.

The restaurant was decorated with blue lighting as the theme of the restaurant. The restaurant was named as Blue Frog so it is pretty obvious that the restaurant is gonna be blue themed. Customer service was good in my opinion. We were led to a table nearly at the back of the restaurant. Majority of the tables and chairs in the restaurants are high stool. All staffs are English literate hence there is no need to worry whether the staff can understand English if you do not speak Chinese.

Blue Frog is literally translated into Chinese as 蓝蛙.

Anyways, let’s get move on to the food pictures!

Banana Milkshake | RMB35

I was so worried that the server might get me a Vanilla Milkshake instead of a Banana Milkshake as the pronunciation was almost similar. If you are wondering why I was being rather paranoid back then, here’s a little recap to the story of my paranoia. LOL!

There was once Kaylie and I had tea break at Bistro Chez Fio, Brunei about a year ago. I ordered for a Banana Milkshake but I got a Vanilla Milkshake instead when served. I did not bother to return it or have it changed. So, I just stick with the Vanilla Milkshake. But thankfully, the server at Blue Frog got my order right.

Salmon Mushroom Pasta | RMB90

I had pasta as I was craving for one. And furthermore, Blue Frog Bar & Grill serves the kind of pasta that I am after. I like salmon, mushroom and penne. Three of my favorite food in one bowl. Heaven goodness! My favorite kind of pasta is actually penne among all and followed by linguine.

The penne was cooked al dente, just perfect for my liking. The mushroom however was sauteed with vinegar or something sour as it tasted a little bit sour but appetizing at the same time. Salmon was soft and the portion was generous too. The sauce was creamy and the portion was adequate unlike some other pastas which I had before that made you go sick by the time you finished the entire plate of pasta.

Teppanyaki Salmon Sliders | RMB98

This was Sister choice of late lunch. I had one piece of the mini burger and it was good. The salmon fillets were grilled nicely.

Teppanyaki Salmon Sliders up close …

Verdict: I liked both the ambiance and customer service provided at Blue Frog Bar & Grill. The food exceeded my expectations and they were all good. Pricing may be a little bit steep if compared by Brunei’s standard. A bowl of my Salmon Mushroom Pasta is about B$18.75 when converted to Brunei currency. It was well worth it in my opinion as I liked my bowl of pasta very much.

If you are in China and happened to come across this bistro restaurant, do give it a try if budget isn’t your main concern. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Blue Frog Bar & Grill
Nanjing IST
Nanjing IST Shop A111,
First Floor,
IST Mall, No: 100,
Zhongshan Road,
Xuanwu District, Nanjing,
China
Tel: +86-2585656022

14092014 / Boxing Cat Brewery, Sinan Mansions

I still have quite a lot of food posts which I had yet created and posted up on this blog. But I will try to get them done as soon as possible before the details faded away from my memory. Before I depart to Shanghai from Brunei, I had been Google-ing highly raved cafes/restaurants in Shanghai. One of them which came up on the list was this Boxing Cat Brewery.

There are two branches of Boxing Cat Brewery in Shanghai. One of which is at Sinan Mansions and the other one is at Fu Xing Road West. We went to the one at Sinan Mansions as it’s nearer to Le Royal Meridien Shanghai. We took a cab from the hotel to Sinan Mansions. Cab fare was about RMB26, if I am not mistaken. Boxing Cat Brewery is also accessible via Metro but it will be another 20 minutes walking distance from South Shaanxi Road Station. South Shaanxi Road Station is the station to iAPM and Parkson.

If you had been watching 爸爸回来了, you will probably recognize Sinan Mansions as it was the place where all four fathers and their kids stayed on their last two episodes of the season. It’s a relaxing area and not forgetting to mention, expensive as well. The entire road is full of trees. Hence, giving a relaxing impression. But this is only applicable during summer as I had seen pictures of the trees being bold on Google. LOL!

One of the “mansion” in Sinan Mansions …

There are a lot of bistros, western restaurants and dessert cafes around Sinan Mansions. And majority of them serve expatriates. At least, I saw a lot of expatriates dining in the area when we were there for late lunch. There is a cafe called La Brioche which we wanted to try before we had our lunch at Boxing Cat Brewery. But we gave it a miss in the end as we were extremely full from our late lunch.

We had actually wanted to try Boxing Cat Brewery on my second or third night in Shanghai. We were afraid that we were not able to get a table without reservation for dinner. So, we decided to try out the place in the afternoon when we just arrived Shanghai from Nanjing.

Ground floor is mostly for patrons who wish to have a drink only. Patrons who wish to have main course will be asked to move to the first floor. I guess their kitchen is located on the first floor. They were serving brunch menu until 3:00p.m. in the afternoon. We only had about three to eight minutes to choose from their brunch menu if we wish to try their brunch.

Coaster

Moving on to the food pictures! The food portion at Boxing Cat Brewery was quite generous in my opinion. And ingredients used were fresh.

Brunch Latte | RMB15

I think this was a normal Cafe Latte which I ordered. I ordered a brunch meal and it comes with a drink of choice for RMB15 only. The selections were limited to coffee, tea and juice only, if I am not mistaken. Not bad but not the best latte which I had ever tested. The accompanying cookie was dry and it must be dipped into the coffee. I only took a bite of the cookie and ditched the remaining. LOL!

Pineapple Juice | RMB15

Sister’s choice of drink!

Complimentary toasted Wholemeal bread with butter!

Short Rib Griddled Sweet Potatoes Hash | RMB85

This was Sister’s choice of lunch. It came with two sunny sides up, grilled okra and a short rib hash. It was made out of sweet potatoes into a hash and mixed with beef. According to Sister, the accompanying sauce on the side was Tabasco and it was extremely spicy.

New Orleans Benedict | RMB75

This was my choice of breakfast. It came with two egg benedicts, BBQ pulled pork, rocket leaves, grilled okra and cheese grits. If you are wondering how cheese grits tasted like, it is creamy in texture. It was a bit like mashed potatoes but chunkier in texture. A bit sickening if having too much as cheese was used as one of the ingredients in the making. The BBQ pulled pork tasted good with a mild spiciness in it. The eggs were poached perfectly with runny egg yolks oozing out onto the BBQ pulled pork.

Boxing Cat Brewery
Unit 26A, Sinan Mansions,
51-521 Fu Xing Road Central,
Shanghai,
China
Tel: +86-2164260360