A pretty cool day

1. Domesticate me

Discovery Travel & Living was about to launch a new series - Cake Boss. So we were invited to have a little sneak peak at the first episode, and to get our hands into cake decorating at The Cooking House in Hartamas.


This is the very beautiful Sher.

And her pretty manicured hands working the sugar paste.

Quite frankly, we were not very successful. My work of 'art' was pretty grotty. But since this is my first attempt to decorate with sugar, I shall not dismiss all hope. Maybe still got chance la. :P

2. The Bread Shop

My parents are awesome in many ways, one of which includes them extending me the luxury of spending a few years abroad [on the pretext of furthering my studies]. Those brief two years changed my perception, expectations, and preference for people, places, things and food. Two of the many things that didn't sit well with me when I came back to KL was the milk and the bread.


If you pay attention to the label of most [if not all] famous local milk cartons [HL, Goodday, Dutchlady, Marigold], you'll see that what is supposed to be fresh milk, is in fact....reconstituted milk [HUH?]. And my Aussie-fied tongue can suddenly taste the difference. But thank God that at a slight premium, I could drink fresh milk imported from Australia.


But the bread. Bletch. I am the kind of girl who would choose good bread over sweet cakes almost any day. The commercial brands like High 5 and Gardenia are absolute untouchables, and don't even start on Federal Bakery. I even went to Mercato and Cold Storage hoping to find something I might like even at a premium. No luck.


Today, Sher brought me to The Bread Shop in Damansara Heights.
*ta daaa*
    

Heaven. Utopia. Nirvana. Whatever man, this place ranks way up there!


From the deco, to the quality of freshly made breads and pastries [and supposedly their coffee too], this is THE best. I bought a loaf of Raisin Walnut bread, which was still warm to the touch. The crust was crisp, the texture of the bread was dense with a hint of sour dough.


I am coming back to this place very soon. Very often.


Oh, and if I'm not wrong, this place is barely a year old. More happy days ahead of me.

3. The lion can dance

A pair of lion came dancing into dad's office.


This Chinese New Year, I've seen and heard more lion dances and fireworks than any other year [as far as I can remember]. I'm going to miss this festive season when it passes on Sunday. 15 days of celebration just ain't enough for ol'Stef.

4. A hole in the wall turns out to be an artsy cafe

The food wasn't anything to wow about, but it's above the Malaysian par. The ambience of this little diner exudes an artsy kind of ease. I don't know if this make any sense to you. But if there's one thing I'd change about this place, it's got to be the music. Why, why is it that so many cafes in KL know of nothing else to play than Zee Avi?

And that pretty much sums up what's so cool about today. :) One more day, and we're off for a long weekend.

Toodle dee.