Wednesday 30 December 2015

Atlas Coffee Embassy @ Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bharu

Atlas Coffee Embassy @ Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bharu

We surfed the net and knew that this "Atas" Coffee Embassy (oops, correction: it is "Atlas Coffee Embassy") serves decent whole day breakfast. It definitely does not look like a cafe from its exterior design, but rather a designer office? I like its simple yet modern design and the combination of black, white and grey.


Atlas Coffee Embassy is located at Mount Austin, the not-so-new residential area which is getting famous lately for lots of good foods. Atlas Coffee Embassy is highly recommended as one of the good place for American breakfast and their coffee. Honestly, we were attracted by the foods' photos posted by the netizens and visited this cafe without knowing the taste of the foods. 


Their menu is all written on a piece of Kraft paper- simple, low cost but practical, it is pretty true that no matter how good looking or expensive a menu is, it will end up in bad condition after flipping thru by the customers after certain period of time. I really like their idea.

How to place your order? If you opt for all-day breakfast, you can place your order by marking on the laminated white cardboard, with the choices of 3 items. 5 items or 7 items. Yeah, you can decide what is going to be on your plate.

Other than all-day breakfast, the cafe also serves salad, waffles, pancakes, soup and light snacks, which are all written on the Kraft paper.


This is the multiple-tasks station where you place your order and the baristas work. Also, the bottom part of the station has been designed and utilised to be a book rack, with some magazines.


The space organisation is very good, rendering the cafe looks spacious. Right in front of the entrance, is the L-shape tall table and chairs, then near to the wall, there are s stretch of bigger tables for 2 pax - 4 pax.


Going further, you could see the canteen style tables which could accommodate 6-8 people. 

Affogato  RM15.90
 Mixture of espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
Sorry for being "sua-gu", we ordered this because we have not had it before ;P 

It is special that there is no creamer or milk added, and the vanilla ice cream and caramel play their roles to sweeten the coffee. The coffee is further topped with some crunchy nuts, which provides different layers of texture. The drinking way is up to the creativity of the diner too? This is just my thought, perhaps you could stir the vanilla ice cream well with the coffee before drinking OR to taste the coffee and the ice cream separately. 

All Day Breakfast RM15.90 (3 items) / RM18.90 (5 items) /RM21.90 (7 items)
I opted for 5 items, which comprised of grilled mushrooms, bacon, sausage, harsh brown and scrambled eggs, all are my favourites! Every breakfast set will be served together with toasts and salad, to balance up the diet. 

I like their home-made harsh brown, with the golden brown and crispy outer layer, but soft and melt-in-the mouth texture inside. 

Butter & Syrup  RM12.90
Waffles with butter and maple syrup - the classic matches. Nothing much to shout about, but the batter is well mixed, hence it is crispy and not easily soggy. 

This is a great place which is highly recommended for breakfast or high tea. Even if you are alone, Atlas Coffee Embassy definitely has the good and quiet environment for you to have a decent coffee and spend an afternoon for a good book.

Address : Atlas Coffee Embassy
32 Jalan Austin Heights 8/7,
Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru
GPS :  N1 33.50 E103 46.43

Business Hour : 8.30am - 11.00pm
Tel : 07-358 7546

Wednesday 16 December 2015

Sushi Zanmai @ KOMTAR JBCC, Johor Bharu

Sushi Zanmai  @ KOMTAR JBCC, Johor Bharu

Sushi Zanmai, our all times favourite during university days back in Klang Valley, has finally came to Johor Bahru Town early this year, rooted in Johor Bahru City Centre a.k.a JBCC KOMTAR. It was a big crowded during our first visit here and we actually queued for half an hour to get seated.


Had the Edamame as snacks pending the rest of the dishes to be served.


Didn't really to put attention to the name of this maki dish, we were just too attracted by the lovely green colour fish roe and more importantly, it was on the promotion menu. The deep-fried soft shell crab are in the middle, provided different layers of biting texture. The mayonnaise, although are more for the purpose of garnishing, rendering it tasted refreshing. 


This is my favourite grilled squid, but turned out to be quite disappointed. Undeniably, it looks good with the even golden brown colour, perhaps it wasn't immediately served after cooked, it turned cold and becomes rubbery.

Hiyashi Chuka, it is colourful as usual, but not only nice to see, it was also delicious to eat too. The prawn and the scallop were fresh. I especially like cold noodles in Japanese restaurant, because different from the normal soup noodles, it is very refreshing hence I won't feel surfeited with having more. 

Salmon Avocado Maki with abundant of shredded radish is a very healthy and handy dish. I like it.


Yummy Japanese ice cream as our dessert, ordered two flavours, a yuzu (citrus) sorbet ice cream and a traditional black sesame ice cream. Both are good, but from different perspectives, yuzu sorbet ice cream is more to fruity flavour, the hidden shredded yuzu skin further stimulated the taste bud.


Black sesame ice cream is very creamy but smooth, marked a perfect end to our sumptuous dinner! 

Address : SUSHI ZANMAI (KOMTAR JBCC)
Lot 209, Level 2, KOMTAR JBCC,
Johor Bahru City Centre,
80000 Johor Bahru.


Business Hours: 10.00 am - 10.00 pm
Tel : 07 - 300 5035 / 012 348 3080

Wednesday 2 December 2015

Carabao Authentic Thai Restaurant @ Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir , Johor Bharu

Carabao Authentic Thai Restaurant @ Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir , Johor Bharu

"The name CARABAO actually means ‘Buffalo’ in Tagolog, and the idea was conceived during an inspiring trip to Chengmai in year 2002. The founder Andi decided to name his business venture after his Harley Davidson Biker's friend who by incident is also the name of the famous Thai Rock Band with Folk Style Music - CARABAO.

Imagine a resort-style setting in the heart of the city complete with lush greenery and cool breeze ready to whet your appetite."

(Quoted from: http://www.carabaorestaurant.com/about.htm)

The restaurant is made entirely of wood, the overall environment sufficiently makes us immersed into the strong feel of nature, it is indeed a new experience for us to dine in at a place without a single brick and cement. The restaurant is also divided into two parts, one part is the main dining space with regular wooden tables and chairs, their part provides Chiang Mai "Kantoke" cubicle style seating. 
Tomyam Seafood Clear Soup 海鲜东炎清汤 RM18.90
Tom Yam soup is a MUST in Thai restaurant and we especially like clear soup version which we "deem" it to taste lighter (compared to red colour tom yam that normally comes with a layer of chili oil on top). Anyway, the clear soup version does not lose to red colour tom yam, in respect of its hotness and spiciness. With the fragrance of lime leaves and lemongrass, this boiling hot soup definitely opens up our appetite. 
Thai Sizzling Taufu  泰式铁板豆腐  RM14.90 
This is more to Chinese cuisine, not too bad as the ingredients used are very generous (prawn, squid, minced chicken and mushroom). However, the gravy is of a bit overly thick, so if you don't eat it fast, it will end up like glue.

Curry Leaf Prawn 咖哩叶虾  RM19.90
We hardly see the wet version of salted egg prawn in Johor Bahru, and so this dish in the menu (with the tempting picture) attracted our attention. Its name is curry leave prawn in the menu, but the gravy is mainly made from salted egg and butter with a hint of curry leave, not overly strong. This is very good to go with rice and we really like it.

This is another section of the restaurant, with Chiang Mai "Kantoke" cubicle style seating. The whole restaurant is open air without air-conditioning, and with all the ferns plants in the premises, it really makes us back to the nature.

Overall, the dining experience here was good. We find this place very suitable for gathering or small party, as it is very spacious and according to the owner, it can accommodate up to 200 people. Despite the good food, there is room for improvement on their service, the dishes were served slow and maybe short-handed, it is quite hard to get response from the waiters even after we waived our hands few times.
  
Address : Carabao Authentic Thai Restaurant
16, Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir
80250 Johor Bahru  
GPS : N1 28.751 E103 45.584

Business Hours : 12.00pm - 3.00pm / 6.00pm - 1.00am
Tel : 07-335 9333