Mossy Cameron

green terrains of tea | more tea plantations | first Boh stop | always behind you, never far :) | Sungai Palas glass teahouse | brunch | smart boy is smart | tea and scones for every meal | making our way up | mossy trail | towering trees | must we leave? | with our new Canadian friend Jenna

If you've never driven up to Cameron Highlands on a broken car radiator, your argument is invalid.

Back then, my car tends to overheat because of what we assumed was a leaking radiator. So I was used to refilling the radiator every morning before heading out. Despite that, we decided to wing it and drive from JB to Cameron Highlands for a getaway. Guess what? The car overheated three or four times on the way up. Major claps to ourselves. Thank god it didn't overheat until we were almost at the top where the weather was already cool and it wasn't too frustrating. We made it up there and returned to lower ground with a few stops to refill the car before going to Ipoh to finally fix the damn radiator (that's a story for another day).

Our initial plan for Cameron was to head up to Mossy Forest but with a heavy heart we had to let it go cos no way are we gonna make it up there with a damaged radiator right? The day before we left Cameron, we had brunch at the Sungai Palas tea house because I wanted to see the glass teahouse. As we left, we passed by a signboard that says "Mossy Forest --->>>>" and we turned and gave each other the "are you crazy or not? smile" and without saying anything, he made a u-turn. Two stops and refills later, we were there! No one else was around as we made our way into the forest because it was about to rain. Grey skies hovering above, threading the damp and mossy trail, the air was crisp.. what's not to love? Alas, we had to quickly leave the forest as it began to rain and met a backpacker (legit backpacker from Canada not the twt_backpacker type lul) who was somewhat lost so we gave her a lift down. But not before stopping for some fresh strawberries with cream!

Spontaneous with snippets of memorable moments, as usual. He had work to do when we were up there but we still made the best out of it. More soon? :)

♥

Carpenter and Cook

Everyone knows my love for hipster cafes so even when I'm in Singapore, how can I resist checking out one of them?

My childhood friend Chen Hui who's studying medicine in Brisbane is doing her rotation (not sure if that's the right term) at the Singapore General Hospital for three weeks. Se just arrived mid-week so when my boss gave me an off day yesterday, I decided to hop over across the Causeway to visit her!

After a lot of Googling and debate, we settled to have tea at Carpenter and Cook, a super hip joint and highly recommended by a few Singaporean food blogs.

Random photo of their bathroom latch.


Asos V-neck tee; skirt from Sutera Mall; Topshop Oxford bag

The cafe is located along Lorong Kilat (alight at Bukit Timah MRT, took bus no.66, eighth stop at Opp BLK 19). You wouldn't miss it - in a row of unassuming shops, this cafe is smack right in the middle with an exterior that stands out.

I like how the decor is inside - they sell a lot of secondhand/antique stuff like typewritters, luggage, mirrors and interesting wall clocks. I ordered the spinach and mushroom quiche w/ a side salad and lemon cream tart accompanied with hot chocolate while she had the meringue cake and sea salt chocolate tart with Sakura tea.

The cake is amazing - so fluffy and light! The lemon tart is lovely too but the chocolate tart was too salty for my liking. Maybe cos I'm not a big fan of chocolates? By the time we finished our food, it was around 3pm and the crowd was really pouring in by that time and we even had to share tables with other customers. Would've love to stay longer to chit chat but there were a few more parties waiting for tables as well so we had to leave to make way.

I really love how the cakes and bakes were displayed, reminds me of the Parisian and Italian cafes that we always see on TV. The place makes me happy.. pity it got too crowded and noisy. Definitely a must visit if you're in the area!

P.S. This is my 700th post! *blows confetti*

Love,
xiang yun
♥

Of Cakes and Coffee

Hello, October my most favourite month ever! Mainly because it is my birthday month (yes I actually celebrate throughout the whole month cos I'm self-centered like that) and for those curious, I'll be turning 24 on Oct 8. Not quite as excited though.. cos 24 is such an awkward age. So is 22 and 23. Come to think of it, 25 is awkward as well. Okaaay, moving on then.

So another new cafe opened in town. It's actually a new branch of Maco located in Sutera Utama, Skudai. I've always wanted to try it out but thought it was too far from my office after work. Luckily they opened this one in town (right in front of Chaiwalla). The cafe has a fairly small menu - mostly desserts and a few types of salads. You can try their signature What I like about it is that they have two options for their coffee - Black, Foamy, With Milk and Mild. Now for coffee noobs like me who dislike/doesn't know much/seldom drink coffee, the Mild option is great. I ordered the Hazelnut mild coffee and it didn't have a distinct coffee taste but still aromatic.

The interior is quite relaxing and calming to me for some reason - very good lighting for picture taking! :p The cafe has an open kitchen concept where the food is made over the counter just like in your apartment. Enough talk, photos:

Open kitchen




 Croque Madame


Waffles ala mode

The price there is the standard cafe price. It's a good place for unwinding after work with some cakes and good company. What I'd like to point out is their friendly staff. After taking the picture of my coffee, my finger accidentally tipped the glass slightly, spilling some on the table. The waitress immediately came over and asked if the coffee was too hot for me to handle (haha literally) and asked me to be careful not to let the liquid touch my phone before wiping away the mess. The second time I went there, I was taking a long time to decide on which cake I wanna try and the waiter was really patient and helped me make my decision by offering suggestions. He was even smiling politely and not in a condescending manner. So, thumbs up, you guys! Some cafes have snobby staff even when they just opened. That really turns me off to return again. I hope they their friendly ways and not get snobby once business pick up!

Quite pleased that there are more and more new places opening in Johor Baru. We're not that boring anymore, are we?

Love
xiang yun
♥