A good cuppa coffee

Being a coffee drinker, I need coffee to perk me up on a daily basis. However, having said that, I limit myself to one cup a day that is first thing in the morning (or at worst 2 a day).

What then makes a really good cup of coffee? Well, while coffee culture is picking up its momentum here in Kuala Lumpur, it still has a long way to go in comparison to cities like Melbourne, Australia. Lately there has been a tremendous amount of coffee places sprouting in every corner of the city but how many of them really make the mark sometimes I wonder?

For those who goes for coffee with me, they know I have a liking for latte because it is at most time just right, not too rich neither it is too mild.

Let's see....this morning was at Prince Court Medical Centre for my treatment as usual and had gotten a latte from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, the only other coffee place in the hospital and I was disappointed. While I had been to Coffee Bean numerous times throughout the city but I never liked their coffee because it didnt taste as good. Even their blended coffee didnt taste half as good as Starbucks Fraps. But then each to his/her own.

 

Horrible late from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf @PCMC

Back to the coffee I had this morning, well, I had a latte as usual and it tasted horrible. The coffee somehow lack flavour/aroma and tasted really blend and flat, which was pretty sad. It is as tho, the coffee that was used to make the latte has lost its fragrant and freshness and perhaps they added way too much water to dilute it further (possibly to save cost).

 To add to my disappointment, the service in this particular outlet isn't really great either - they are very slow and I am not the only one that says so. Some of my acquaintances that has been to the same outlet at the hospital think so too that the service sucks and the coffee isnt half as great tho their blended juices are nice.

Later in the afternoon, I went for a photoshoot assignment at a building known as Menara Mara in the city area and there happen to be a Dr Cafe Coffee@Menara Mara. I had previously tried Dr Cafe Coffee, which I believe is an Arabic coffee chain making its in road into the lucrative growing coffee culture here in Malaysia. This time I opted for Ice Latte, which again is a disappointment. It wont be fair to compare the prices of Dr Cafe and Coffee Bean as Dr Cafe is a lot cheaper and affordable. Previously I had tried their coffee at their outlet near where I live and it wasnt that bad.

Dr Caffe Coffee@Menara Mara was also disappointing

The ice latte was again very diluted perhaps because they had put too much ice in it and it was really bitter dispute adding considerable amount of sugar syrup and certainly didnt taste like latte nor coffee at all. Nonetheless, the service is friendly.

I find it appalling that despite being under similar chains and with SOPs in place at every single outlets the quality still differs so much between them.

I like Starbucks coffee. Normally I take Starbucks Mocha Frap, however, recently I am so into their new Asian Dolce Latte - a blend of espresso, light milk and mocha. It taste so great that I am getting so addicted to it.

Starbucks Frap

However, my favorite remains Esprementte Illy. Illy coffee is to die for. Its so smooth and made just right. One of my flavour of the coffee is the Half and Half, a blend of half choc and half coffee and its cold, although their latte is also really wonderful. I tend to call Illy coffee perk me up coffee because it does just that and keeps me going for an entire day.

Illy's Half & half - thick blend of half coffee & half chocolate - its so aromatic 

Where eating is fun - Ploy @ Clearwater

"Ploy is hidden along Damansara Heights nearby Istana Pintu 2 - tho finding it was a bit tricky especially for those who dont know the area but the casual environment and the sight of the very stylishly decorated food took away all my blues that fine afternoon & I took time to "play with my food" as their tag line says....The food here is interesting and "playful" while the place well make eating sounds like FUN :) "

  Could eating be actually fun? Well, eating can actually be fun in Ploy@Clearwater .

 After rounding the area 3 times, I finally found this hidden gem,located right next door to Menara Shell. This is the former Menara Antah,where the Clearwater Residences is right now. Ploy is the restaurant at the lobby of this building known as Work@Clearwater.

The moment I step foot into this chic and stylish restaurant, it took away all the initial frustration and for me, it was love at first sight - with the interior that is. And couldnt wait to try the food.

Ploy is unlike many other restaurants that I had been to. This one place is indeed full of FUN especially in the way the food is presented. Ploy is pretty small and cosy, according to the manager, it can fit about 120 pax comfortably and there is a very nice private area for private functions too and yes, a terrace area too minus the view.

Ploy is offers an interesting fusion blend of Thai and Japanese cuisine with a different twist.

This is the main area. Gives me that kind of casual envinronment, good for chit-chatting

 & catching up with friends.

I had heard alot about Ploy prior to my visit as I had been following the corporate development of the holding company, Asiasons Group and the restaurant is the brainchild of its Asiasons co-founder Dato Jared Lim.

Since Dato Jared had a certain style and at his level, I figured he would have pretty good taste hence, (even tho I dont know him personally) but from my readings and seeing him in person, Ploy would be of a certain standard. And I was right.

It surprises me that the place is that empty during lunch time, its almost like my friend and I had the entire restaurant to ourselves (which is really cool) short of having the owner, Dato Jared Lim at the other end with his staff in a media interview.

The cover of the menu that list some very interesting dishes and yes, I heard they have their signature dishes on the ipad which i didnt get to see when i was there because the staff didnt tell me so. :( The menu is cool, dont you think? The interesting thing is tho, their menu always changes which is really cool.

I am loving the creativity infused in Ploy that very few restaurants can do. It makes it even more fun to dine there. There are a few more interesting creative stuff in the restaurant which unfortunately I didnt have the time to take as we were too overwhelmed the environment and catching up until it was time for us to return to our work.

I had the Red Berry Tea. Tho, not much a tea drinker, that very afternoon, this red berry tea blew me away. A little sweetness and a little sourness yet with a fragrance of the berry, I thought the combination was great.

As the both us wasnt really hungry, we wanted something we could share since its our first visit and was recommended the thai mango salad & butterfish on rice, both of which are extremely interesting to the eyes and the palate.

Do not judge this dish by its unappealing look, the treasure is buried within.

This is Ploy's version of thai mango salad. And indeed its very different from the traditional ones or rather the one that I am used to - kerabu mangga. This is sweet and sour in its own way but yet light and very very refreshing & healthy too :) I am sure many people swear by this. We were told this item is Dato Jared's favorite dish.

Doesnt the styling looks like those u see on display at Jap restaurants? Its soo pretty - very japanese style i thought and this is the Butterfish (raw like sashimi) over rice and its yummy and again light, good for lunch. Cute er?

The only other complain I have besides being hard to find is, its parking is a nightmare. Most the parking inside the building is reserved for office worker or residences and you have to either park at near the parking entrance and pay RM 8 for parking or take the risk and park by the road, which is yellow line and might risk getting a ticket. However, weekends is a breeze.

After the first visit, in the last 8 months, I had been back to Ploy a few more times with several different people and am still enjoying the environment, the food and most of all the FUN infused in the food they serve. I am looking forward to more fun at Ploy soon.

Ploy is located at G-02 Ground Floor Work @ Clearwater, Changkat Semantan, Off Jalan Semantan,

Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur

T: 03-20950999 (The last I checked they are closed on Sundays but it is no harm calling to check)



The culinary journey

Bunny is fortunate to be in a country where food is abundant and indeed, she is spoilt for choice.

Here in Kuala Lumpur, you find food from Arabic to Japanese, and growing everyday. As we go along, Bunny will introduce food from her travels across the globe as well.

Although Bunny generally eats anything but she is crazy over good authentic Japanese cuisine anytime and oh yes, a good cup of perk bunny up coffee is a must for her to start her day.

While Bunny eats at any place possible but she is particular about cleanliness and freshness of the food as unfortunately she has a sensitive stomach and a series of allergies.

The Bunny welcomes you to her world of great adventure with FOOD