Malaysia - JB 🇲🇾

For people who like the herbal type of bkt as opposed to the more peppery ones we are used to in Singapore, this is a pretty decent option near KSL.

We ordered for 3pax, added pork knuckle, youtiao and salted veg+ shared only a bowl of rice among 4 of us and it was just right (LOL MY FRIENDS ARE TINY EATERS). I liked how we are able to customize and pick ingredients we like. Also happy to report that the intestines were quite clean - minimal to no porky taste. Broth was flavorful, comforting and not too heavy, wouldn’t mind being back if I’m in the area.

Throwback to lugging back castella cakes from across the borders, which has just opened in Westgate!

I've tried a few castella cakes except for Ah Ma (which has quietly opened in White Sands' basement whoa), but this is definitely the best so far. Not sure how it fares as compared to JB where I first had it (originates from Taiwan), but I'm glad they're here. Now I just need to find the time to travel to the Wild West?

But I do find myself thinking of this fluffy castella once in awhile. Swipe to see how jiggly it is! So light and definitely more generous with the cheese imo. Aaaaand I'm happy to report that it tastes good and still very soft even after a day or two. Also comes in original and chocolate - the latter using Hershey's chocolate chips and surprisingly isn't too sweet!

Kakigori seems to be increasingly popular these days. Pity that the texture of the ice was quite coarse and both hojicha and ujikintoki were too sweet for my liking. Even the additional side pour was on the sweeter side so we skipped that. Espuma was also pretty gao, was actually expecting something lighter.

At first bite the hojicha tasted better with the strong earthy flavour - but the uji turned out to be easier on the palette. Hidden beneath were toppings that you can get more or at RM2 - azuki, dango, etc. Not something I'd be back for but perhaps I'd give their soft serves a chance if I ever find myself in this area again (oolong sounds good!!)

Didn't eat as much as I'd have liked during the recent JB trip but this left quite an impression, partly due to the journey just to get there, and the fact that we had too much desserts.

Basically just let them know what kind of seafood you'd like and the portion - quite generous so just get lesser portion than the number of people you've got and order more sides! For our pot there were scallops, 1 crab, prawns, fish and clams which were sadly not very plump - resulting in a sweet broth, so flavourful and it supposedly has no MSG. Thankfully wasn't mushy, was cooked just right without sacrificing the integrity of each grain. Very comforting!

Personally didn't like the fish maw's texture, but our table was divided on that, clams were quite tasty but wish there were more flesh.

Not something I'd purposely travel just for it, but the seafood claypot porridge was quite shiok considering its price point and ingredients were fresh!

Teh Tarik/ Coconut/ Gula Melaka in a husk, 4 scoops of ice cream with 3 toppings of your choice. Very refreshing!

Cross-borders gimmick with Softsrve's seasonal flavour of watermelon sorbet, made from 100% watermelon juice - and we can be sure of that because it disintegrated after I left it to melt while distracted with my kakikori😕 Hint of watermelon and refreshing at first bite but I wasn't a fan of the aftertaste, sadly it's not something I'll go for again.