Niniq Bistro & Bakery @ Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru

The word of mouth played a strong attraction for me to head to Niniq's Bistro & Bakery. My family said that this cafe is open by one of my hometown Holylight church member, their foods, cakes and breads are fantastic.

Walking into this simple yet elegant decorated Bistro, along with the soothing sound of music, additionally the friendly waitress & waiter all greets you "welcome!" with their smiles is a twist to JB's restaurants standards.

This tea time trip with my family motive is to taste their cakes & drinks!

Marble Cheese Cake @ MYR6.80 - was nothing special but an average nicely well Chill Cheese Cake that can be purchase at any decent bakery.


Tiramisu @ MYR6.20 - surprisingly I declare in my search of the best bakery and cafe that can produce awesome Tiramisu, this is one of the best i tried comparison to Secret Recipe (I call it normal coffee cake), Starbuck (extreme fail), and Coffee Bean (way down the average standard). The presentation is a luring and it doesn't taste rich, and it doesn't stay in your mouth long enough to become cloying. However, it is lack of Coffee Rum & probably Cheesy feeling...

Azuki Bean & Matcha Mousse MYR4.80 - If you looking for a dreamy cake when you walk into this cafe. Do try this! The Sponge cake inside is similar to some cake shops green tea cake. But, this they use and have enough share of Azuki Bean (well known as Japanese Bean Paste) enough to blend well with the green tea sponge cake, match mousse and the dry coconut shavings that is coated all over. It's something different that I would definitely recommend.

Let's now focus on the drinks they serve there.. Pretty disappointing since this is suppose to be a Bistro where walk in customers to sit back enjoy their drink and actually snack on this bakery cakes and breads.


Iced Caramel Coffee MYR8.80 - cafes that actually have many different types of coffees would have at least a decent Iced Coffee. This is particularly lack of coffee & caramel taste, along with too much milk which over power it.

Iced Caramel Latte MYR8.80 - Latte in the Italian form means "coffee and milk". This glass of "Latte" is no difference from the Ice Caramel Coffee, only they added a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Jasmine Rose Tea MYR7.80 - this however, is special, the amount of tea leaves and flowers are just right! With slight disappointment from the coffee I shared some tea with my family and we had went for 4 refills and impressed that the flavor only gets slightly mild.


Overall, this is a nice place to sit back, relax, read newspaper (available there), and enjoy! Bill come up to MYR47.55 for 3 persons tea-time.

Will be heading back to test their food soon......

Special note they also do Catering which might be pricey! :)

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65, Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi,
Johor Bahru
Johor
607-333 4800

Mon - Sat:11:00 am-10:00 pm
Click here for their website!

Veda - Indian Fine Dining at InterContinental Mauritius Resort Balaclava Fort

Today we travel back to Mauritius! Had this meal a month ago, so I'd better blog about it before I forget how everything tastes like. Anyways we travel back to the InterContinental Mauritius Resort Balaclava Fort, and to its' Indian restaurant named Veda.

Initial reservations are that it's a bit oddly located, being "away" from the rest of the resort, and that there is an irritating mosquito presence (maybe due to the thick surrounding foliage). Perhaps the restaurant could do with some discreetly placed mosquito repellent devices, although I don't know how effective those are in an outdoor environment.


Some of the tables are absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately for us, these are for the honeymoon-ing couples in the resort. A quick word with the waiter and he tells me that he can set it up for anyone who asks in advance, too.


As a starter - papadums with onions, some sort of curry, and a third dip which I've forgotten, haha. These are THE BEST papadums I've ever eaten. Thin, crispy, fragrant and not a single hint of oiliness.


The amuse-bouche however is a bit ... disappointing. Wikipedia tells me that the amuse-bouche is supposed to be "a showcase for the artistry and showmanship of the chef as well as one-upmanship among restaurants," for which this particular dish has failed miserably. I can only describe this as a bite-sized plain roti prata with some mixed greens. And yes, it tasted as plain as it sounds.


No matter - the appetizers quickly restore our faith in the restaurant. We're on the set dinner - for which I choose the Chicken Tikka. Tender and moist and cooked to perfection with delicious Indian spices. I wouldn't mind eating multiple servings of this appetizer as a main course.


The darling goes for the Fish Mahi Tikka. It's similarly deliciously spiced - but a bit of an oddity we noticed was that one of the fish fillets was nice and tender, but the other was a bit tough and firm. Two fillets from two different fish?


The appetizers are followed by a cold soup. Don't remember what soup this was (the menu only says Chef's Specialty of the day). I do remember that it was spicy and tangy and had a hint of mango and banana, but overall I guess I greatly prefer my soups hot, and not cold.


On to the mains, then! This is the Khaibri Gosht (Lamb Shank Cooked in Milk). Delicious. The cooking style is aromatic and decidedly Indian, without overpowering the taste of the meat. Which, incidentally, was nice and tender.


These are eaten with a selection of chapatis and naans, which were a bit crispier and less thick than the naans that you normally get in KL.


Being quite stuffed, we still have to make room for dessert - Shahi Tukra (bread with condensed milk and nuts), served with Pistachio ice cream. I like the dessert, other than the fact that it's very sweet (as are practically all indian desserts and sweets).


Oh, there's also live entertainment in the form of a Sitar group. I can't comment about how authentic or good the group was, of course, but the music was nice and not intrusive.


Overall, it was a wonderful dinner, with delicious food, great ambience and good service. No prices available as the set dinner was part of our room package.

Side Dish Exploration ::: Mash Potatoes with Bacon bits

Being mash potatoes lovers wherever we go ''mash potatoes as side please~''

On 28 Nov 2010, after our relaxation afternoon at Belle Mare beach in Mauritius, being unable to decide where to head to for dinner, we went home to make made Baked BBQ Honey Chicken Wings, & Garlic Bread to go with instant mushroom soup. Not forgetting our carbohydrates, we made mash potatoes with bacon bits!

Ingredients:::
200g washed potatoes
1/4 tablespoon Salt
10g butter
35g hot milk
Salt to taste
A dash of pepper
Bacon bits

1. Put potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover them. Add 1/4 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are tender. Test by poking it with a fork.
2. Drain the potatoes and put aside to cool for a bit before peeling the potatoes.
3. Place all the peeled potatoes in a flat pan. Add butter, hot milk and mash the potatoes over low heat until a smooth texture is achieved. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Dish out and serve with bacon bits.

The Reason we actually used bacon bits to make our mash potato dish special is because we both are crazy about Bacon!!! :)

Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Deep-Fry Exploration ::: Home made 油炸鬼 You Zha Gui / Deep Fried Twisted Dough Sticks

After darling's delicious Beer Roast Chicken night that we had with Pauline & Ivan, who dropped by to share the joy, the leftover meat at the flavourful chicken bones, are put to good use to cook chicken porridge (recipe to be posted soon...). However, being far far away from home in Mauritius, we really didn't seems to see there are You Zha Gui or also known as You Tiao; in funny english name it could be call Deep-Fried Devils actual description would be Deep Fried Twisted Dough Sticks. Porridge without it would actually be lack of flavour.

Everyone also knows that each You Zha Gui/You Tiao nowadays can cost from RM0.70 to RM1.20 depending on the place and stall you purchase from! It’s easy to make & also extremely low cost. Not forgetting there are rumours that the stall would deep fry again & again with the same oil all day and just add fresh new oil if the oil is running low which would be actually unhealthy, with this it would better to have your own HOMEMADE You Zha Gui/You Tiao.

Here is what you need to prepare, it only cost a few dollars but you can make tons of it!

Ingredients::::

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3.5 teaspoons Salt

1.25 cup water (Room Temperature)

Oil for deep frying

1. Mix all-purpose flour, baking soda & baking powder. Sieve them together into a mixing bowl to have fewer lumps when knead later.

2. Add Salt into the water & stir it until it dissolve.

3. Pour the salt water into the mixing bowl and knead the dough until it become elastic, should be firm enough to handle, and no lumps. If the dough is too wet & soft, add more flour. The kneading need not take longer then 2 or 3 mins.

4. Transfer the dough into a new bowl covered with a cold wet towel and let it sit for at least 4hours to up to 8hours at room temperature.

5. Prepare a wok of medium heated oil.

6. Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface best is near the stove. Scoop out some dough and rollout into 4 inches rectangular shape.

7. Use a back of a knife/cleaver to cut the dough into 1 inch wide strip.

8. Place 2 strips together, press down at the middle of the dough with a chopstick.

9. Slightly stretch the dough before dropping it into hot oil.

10. Deep fry till the You Zha Gui/You Tiao turns puffy and golden in colour.

11. Repeat step 6 to 10 with remaining strips.

Suggestion to place You Zha Gui/You Tiao on a paper to absorb the oil while it sits there to rest & cool.

It can be eaten by itself, or with all these suggestions that i have been eating since young~ milo, coffee, soya bean, and porridge!

Click here for our blog page Breakfast, Desserts, & Snacks Ideas for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~