It should be spelt doughnuts, not donuts!

I first read about J.Co from Kennysia.com a few months back. Apparently it's the Javanese answer to Krispy Creme (and according to Mr Sia, is way better in terms of taste and variety of flavours).

J.Co Donuts and Coffee has just opened its first KL outlet at the Pavillion. And true to Malaysian fashion, everybody and his uncle were there to try out the latest food fad.

From the outside, the doughnuts (or donuts, depending on which form of English you prefer to use) looked pretty much like that other doughnut franchise, round and smothered in sinfully rich and sweet toppings. Plus, they also served a small range of coffee beverages a la that other coffee franchise.

So, peopled queue up alongside a cafeteria style glass display, chose whatever topping flavour they liked and at the end of the line, paid the cashier and collected their precious cargo.

If you're going to have coffee together with your doughnut(s), then there is a separate counter to order and collect your drinks. Oh, and they give you a free sugar glazed donut for every drink you buy. Smart move.

The decor is simply and tastefully done, almost like Starbucks or Coffee Bean. But this zip-like wall deco using alternating coffee cups is quite ... interesting.... ;)

Ok. Now to the taste test. We got a dozen different flavoured doughnuts. There was the blueberry, chocolate, peanut-chocolate, and also green tea among others.

The simple sugar-glazed doughnut was a bit too sweet, but the donut itself was quite light and fluffy in texture.

Being a chocolate lover, I enjoyed the chocolate and the peanut-chocolate doughnuts the most.

Couldn't really tell what flavour this one was....but they were all mouth-wateringly delicious.

The blueberry doughnut was delicious as well but eating it was a bit 'leceh' as the filling kept spilling off everytime I bit into it.

And here is the mug of a contented fella who's just had his fill of them doughnuts.

Note: this is not an advert..... J.Co did not pay me a single sen to write this..... hint hint.

Rollin' With My Theme Song

I came across this song while browsing through a CD my mom asked me to buy for her when I was in Singapore a couple of weeks back. The lyrics of this song sums up my life up till now so well I am going to make it my theme song a la Ally McBeal. (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about).

This song was recently remade by Mark Chestnutt (who?) but I prefer the original 1977 version by Charlie Rich. Gulp... I'm turning into my parents!

Rollin' With The Flow

Once there was a thought inside my head,
Before I reach thirty I'd be dead.
Now somehow on and on I go
I keep on rollin with the flow.

Folks said that I would change my mind.
I'd straighten up and do just fine.
Ahh, but I still love to rock and roll.
So I keep on rollin with the flow.

While guys my age are raising kids,
I'm raisin hell just like I did.
I've got a lot of crazy friends,
And they forgive me of my sins.

Some might be callin me a bum.
But I'm still out there havin fun.
And Jesus loves me, yes, I know.
So, I keep on rollin with the flow.

You can't take it with you when you're gone.
But I want enough to get there on.
And I aint ever growin' old,
If I keep on rollin with the flow.

A Grain of Truth

I've never been a big fan of Carrie Underwood, and my jaw literally dropped when she got the better of Bo Bice to win the American Idol crown way back in 2005. However, her recent releases have been somewhat listenable, with "Before He Cheats' and her latest release, "So Small' being arguably the two most memorable songs of 2007.

What you got if you ain't got love
The kind that you just want to give away
It's ok to open up
Go ahead and let the light shine through
I know it's hard on a rainy day
You wanna shut the world out and just be left alone
But don't run out on your faith

Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've been out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
And when you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else seem
So small

It's so easy to get lost inside
A problem that seems so big at the time
It's like a river that's so wide it swallows you whole
While you're sitting around thinking about what you can't change
And worrying about all the wrong things
Time's flying by, moving so fast
You better make it count cause you can't get it back

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've been out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
Oh, and when you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else seem
So small

Taken from "So Small" by Carrie Underwood

Pavillion of the Golden Datins

Last Sunday I went to Pavillion which is the latest shopping mall to grace the KL shopping scene. It is located in between two of the busiest shopping streets, Jalan Raja Chulan and Jalan Bukit Bintang.

The building was definitely designed to impress with its chic and elegant architecture.

The mall had just had its soft opening the day before, so the whole main reception area was flooded with flowers.

They were very lovely orchids and I couldn't resist taking quite a few macro shots of the bouquets on display, much to the amusement of the shoppers and the pakcik security standing by the entrance.

It was rather empty inside the morning I was there, either because of the extensively wide corridors and courtyards, or it really was that empty.

Parkson also has a really swanky outlet here. But don't expect to find all those 'chapalang' brands here. Its all high fashion and ultra chic merchandise on display (read: Datin haven).

There were shops that looked really attractive and 'branded' but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what they sold.

This takes the cake for best window display. Simple yet elegant. Or maybe it's because I haven't had duck in quite a while.....

There's seven floors of shopping to be had here, but my favourite part of the mall has got to be the balconies that open into the central square... five floors below. What a view!

Apparently there was a fashion show going on that day. However, whatever they were showcasing, I couldn't really tell. Was it couture? Timepieces? Jewelry?

There were quite a few outlets either still under renovation or not yet taken up. Hmmm... wonder how much will it cost to set up a dental practice here.....

Later that evening, we went out for a stroll along the outer compounds, trying to search for our beloved Tun's bakery.

Well, we didn't get to see the bakery (still under construction) nor the Tun (also under construction but at the hospital), but we did meet another VIP - our Minister of Education, Dato' Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who kindly agreed to pose for a picture with us.

And this is the 'mamat' who helped me take the pic above. ;)

There was also a cultural procession outside to celebrate the Chinese Lantern festival. There were hundreds of young children and their parents walking around with their colourful lanterns. Ah... brings back memories....

We went back in to get something to munch.... unfortunately the restaurants and eateries were far too erm.. elegant looking and we got intimidated.

So we decided to head back home... only to find our parking fee for a day's parking come up to RM21.50!!! Apparently if you come in after 7pm, you will have to pay a flat fee of RM10 even if for just an hour. This is even more expensive than KLIA. Parkers beware!

Buka Puasa Part Deux

It's been quite a while since I've been to the Manhattan Fish Market restaurant. So when Saifuddin, a buddy of mine and fellow blogger suggested we go there to 'buka', visions of scrumptious fish and chips swam in front of my eyes.....

We went to their new outlet in Seremban Jusco. It was a good thing that Saifuddin had the good sense to make a reservation first coz by the time we got there at around 6.30pm (about 45 minutes before 'buka') it was already almost fully booked, even though the patrons had not come in yet.

So, there we were with more than half an hour to kill, our stomachs growling but we're unable to touch any food till then. Sigh, this puasa thing is harder than I thought. ;)

So, what does Saifuddin do? Why, whip out his trusty Canon Ixus 55, of course! Turns out he's quite the shutterbug as well.

Of course I took the opportunity to do some snapping as well, as the decor was quite erm... different, with fish nets and traps creatively used as wall ornaments and lighting.

Pics taken, and we still had another twenty minutes to twiddle our thumbs. Erm... which one of these contains salt and which one, pepper? I forget.

Finally the waiter arrived with our food! Erm..... just two teeny tiny dates?

Oh wait... there's more. Sauces.... to dip the dates in? Hehehe

Ah... our appetiser, and just in time too, as the call to break fast had just sounded.

Believe me, the baked mussells tasted even better than they looked. And the bread dipped in the garlic sauce was equally delicious.

In typical 'buka puasa' tradition, we had rose syrup to complement the buka puasa feast we're about to chow into. Well, not quite so traditional coz I would have preferred fresh syrup bandung.

Then, our main course came, complete with fire from a buthane lamp... tho I think the flame's not really big enough.....

Ah... now that's more like it. Erm... maam.... I think your eyebrows are on fire.

Our Seafood plattter for two... or three. Good thing we didn't order that plate of onion rings.

There were loads of squid fritters, ....

... succulent prawns, 'burnt' to perfection.....

...and a juicy fillet of battered dory fish with fries the size of my fingers. This definitely wasn't a figment of my imagination, even if it really was swimming right in front of my eyes. I should do this buka puasa thing more often. ;)

Selamat Berbuka Puasa

Last weekend, I went to Jalan Masjid India in the city centre with a few buddies of mine for a 'buka puasa' (breaking fast) meal.

The area owes its name to this building - a mosque whose majority of worshippers are ethnic Indians. Apparently they perform their prayers according to Indian time and not Malaysian time. But they break fast using Malaysian time. Hehehe

In conjunction with the month of Ramadhan, a street bazzar has been set up to sell all sorts of Raya goodies from Raya bajus to Raya cookies to ... Raya DVDs! ;)

It was not very crowded because it had just rained and everyone was rushing home to get ready for break-fast.

Syed wasn't really planning on getting a new baju this year but when he saw this outfit, he couldn't resist trying it out.

All the colours.... all the designs.... all the choices..... Ohh la la!

How could I resist? I ended up trying on a few bajus myself. Do I look good in purple?

After trying out a few different colours, I settled on this yellow-gold one complete with the kain samping which complemented the baju really well.

Before too long it was almost time to break fast. Time to find a table.... which proved more difficult than we thought.

Then F decided we go to the Bryani place where they had a special buka puasa special - all the bryani that the five of us could eat for RM100!

They served us both bryani chicken as well as bryani fish....

and mutton curry.....

and beef rendang.....

and chicken kurma! This is what i call breaking fast in style!

All in all, we all had a great time that evening with great food, great friends..

... and my new baju raya!