KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

Actually 5.26 million hits as of NOW! We have to say that we are overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who have visited over the nearly 6 years we have been blogging here. You have made all of the early morning, bleary eyed typing worth every minute. More importantly, we always love hearing comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions on how we can improve. So please drop us an email or comment!

FAQs and suggestions will be posted below:

FAQs

1) Hi KampungboyCitygal, can you please send me a copy for your HK/Taiwan/Bali/Bangkok itineraries?

All our itineraries are being shared in blog post forms.

Bali – http://kampungboycitygal.com/2011/10/6d5n-bangkok-hua-hin-purely-rr-food-shopping/
Bangkok – http://kampungboycitygal.com/2011/10/6d5n-bangkok-hua-hin-purely-rr-food-shopping/
HK v1 – http://kampungboycitygal.com/2009/05/round-up-6d5n-at-hong-kong-macau/
HK x2 – http://kampungboycitygal.com/2010/12/eat-drink-hong-kong-2010-trip-report/
Taiwan – http://kampungboycitygal.com/2009/07/executive-summary6d6n-taipei-yilan-taiwan/

Information were being shared without any reservation. It’s even better than our own itineraries in excel/word form!

2) Do you earn 7 figures each year to afford such a lavish lifestyle?

No, we do not live a lavish lifestyle. We can only afford 2 – 3 holidays per annum and we usually spend less than RM 4,000 per person for one of those trips. Contrary to popular beliefs, we do not eat out every day for every single meals. Eat outs usually happens in the weekends, which we really enjoy doing so. We also conduct invited reviews on a very selective basis; with of course a full disclosure (we categorise them under “invited reviews” or we open the line with something like “thanks for the invitation…”.). Rest assured that invited reviews will never swayed our honest opinions. We also opted to not to write if the food is just plain bad.

3) What is your policy on invited reviews? (from PRs or restaurateurs)

Refer to Q2

to be continued…….

Full Itinerary “6D5N @ Bangkok + Hua Hin – Purely R&R, Food & Shopping!”, click here!

Along the sidewalk of Rama I road and Phaya Thai Road,  every evening an outdoor market is set up. The stores spans from the front of Bangkok Bank till all the way to the front of Lido Theater.

It is a good place to dig for cheap treasures; I found piles of leather goods, handbags and dresses galore here. If Platinum Mall is the best place to shop during day time, then Siam Square is sure to bag the best night time shopping spot award. If you have plenty time to kill , walk through Soi 1 – Soi 7 and visit the myriad of shops and boutiques selling local designer-label apparel, jewelry or photography gear.

Siam Square – the “Shinjuku” of Bangkok

loafers…drools…

Pro Shop at Soi 5 sells real leather sandals and high heels. I bought a pair of soft leather heel for ~ 850 baht (RM 85) which I thought is a pretty good bargain!

vintag-y bags…

Soi 3 is a good place to hunt for wedding gowns and wedding souvenirs.

There are also some designer clothing boutiques with better quality pieces and higher pricing.

The street stalls provides great fun for bargain shopping.

199 baht only?!!

I love these handmade kitties too! You can actually personalise it by hanging one’s initials on the neck chain. Can someone please get it for me at Siam Square?

That’s how we spent most of our Thai Bahts in Day 1 itself. Oh and don’t forget to complete your awesome shopping experiences with a good dinner at Som Tam Nua, Siam Square Soi 5!

Siam Square
Getting here: Directly opposite MBK or Siam BTS (exit 2,3,4)

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Visit www.celcom.com.my/smartphones for more information on the entire suite of Samsung Galaxy Tab choices!

Merry Christmas to our dear readers! The festive season has left us a pound or two overweight, so an organic post Christmas brunch is just what we needed the most. Even our good friends felt the need to cleanse after the inevitable Christmas excesses too, hence we agreed to meet up at Haven.

Haven is not just a cafe, it is a green space with wholesome food, healthy juices, good coffee, organic fresh produce and even skin/body care:

cafe by Haven Cafe

coffee by RAW Coffee

groceries by Little Green Planet

fresh bread & juice bar

beauty & skincare products by Bodybar

spa treatments by Organique Therapies

mom & baby products by Tiny Tapir

Housed in a standalone building, the casual and family-friendly restaurant features its own private lot with ample parking. It has an outdoor patio outfitted with seating too.

The spacious interior is bright and airy thanks to the impressive front bay glass door looking out onto the garden.

Apart from being a nice, calm place for brunch; Little Green Planet groceries is also available here.

free water

RAW coffee runs a kiosk here, serving fresh roasted coffee using a Kees van der Westen lever espresso machine. The beans were roasted in house too, to ensure the best of quality.

Flat White & Mocha (RM 10 each)

RM10 is a steep price to pay for a cuppa, but not for a cup of small but strong flat white topped with very creamy, well-frothed milk.

Garlic Bread (RM 6); the smell is great and it’s an ideal tummy filler.

French Toast (RM 12); classic french toast made with free range eggs, served with organic jam and raw rainforest honey. Warm, fluffy and absolutely satisfying!

Fluffy Pancakes (RM 12); stack of traditional pancakes served with butter, organic jam and raw rainforest honey. Straight off the griddle and served fluffy and hot with raw rainforest honey, these pancakes were the crowd’s favourite.

Grilled Free Range Chicken (RM 18); warm free-range grilled chicken, organic greens, tangy orange dressing.

Mushroom & Onions (RM14); white button mushrooms, sauteed onions, organic greens.  These fresh, no-frills sandwiches were perfectly toasted on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. My other gripe is the lack of sandwich filling; we were expecting a generous and fuller version for the price which we are paying for.

Have it Your Way (RM18, choose 3 items). We chose fresh mushroom, poached free range eggs  and turkey ham to go with our bread. Our selection was nothing to shout about and and the portion was a tad too small. Smaller portion = Healthier lifestyle?

Chicken & Mushroom Pot Pie (RM 18); kampung chicken, mushrooms, mixd root vegetables, cream sauce, puff pastry. The pot pie reminded us of Dome’s signature Gourmet Chicken Pie. Both version was equally creamy and satisfying.

Gift Exchange Time

Let’s have a look at some happy, jolly festive pictures!

The many faces of KampungBoy

All in all, Haven Cafe serves good coffee, decent food but with pricing a bit on the high side (I suppose organic food is generally more expensive than intensively-farmed food?) The quiet and calm atmosphere makes it a very nice place to chill out and have a light snack too.

Haven Cafe
12, Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-4252-3100
Opens daily from 930am to 9pm.
http://havenkl.com/

Tis’ the Season to be jolly, giving and not to forget wine and dine! The Christmas season is here again and this year, GUINNESS brings us 8 GUINNESS-infused Christmas recipes created by Masterchef Adam together with pints of everyone’s favourite black liquid.

Merry Guinness Parties happening this month at:

El Meson Spanish Restaurant & Tapas Bar, Bangsar – 13th Dec 2011
Jarrods & Rawlins Ampang – 15th Dec 2011
Garbaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar, Bangsar – 17th Dec 2011
Market Hall, Pavilion – 21st Dec 2011
SOULed Out, Ampang – 24th Dec 2011

*different restaurants will feature different menus by the Australian Masterchef.

We attended the first Merry GUINNESS party at El Meson, featuring mouth-watering Christmas feast of GUINNESS-infused dishes created by Masterchef Adam Liaw and El Mesón’s Chef Fernando Tabernero.

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They say never trust a skinny chef. What about a food blogger? I must admit that 5-6 years back when we started this food blog I piled on the pounds reviewing food. I used to relate this up sizing as a job hazard.

Those were my bloated time…

As time goes by I realize I can’t really blame it on the food. I’ve seen a lot of food bloggers who are quite often fitter than the average Malaysian. Cumi&Ciki, Bangsar Babe and KY, just to name a few. So how do so many foodies manage to balance looking great with indulging on good food? It’s all about maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

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