Thursday 16 August 2012

Brekkie @Antipodean

So the other day I bugged my bro to bring me out to this relatively new coffee hide-out in Bangsar known as Antipodean. I've heard that their coffee is good, and that their breakfast is the bomb...so I guess it was high time for me to go check it out myself!


#This is how it looks like from the outside - in rather minimalist black-coloured design.


My bro, being an extremely busy (and dedicated) medic student, usually has not much time to spare for himself, let alone his sister..lol..but that morning, he was kind enough to bring his sista out for brekkie :) And me? I was extremely grateful and elated of course.:D


#I'm not quite a morning person so please forgive that disheveled hair. For breakfast, i wore a simple tank and denim shorts and simply grabbed my turquoise blazer (which is from blogshop http://dr-pizzicato.blogspot.com/ ) Its one of my faves cuz its really lightweight and needless to say,turquoise is my all-time fav shade :)


Upon entering the cafe, we were greeted by huge boards with chalk-written menu all over it. Apparently, this concept is similar to those in Melbourne and NYC where some cafes adopt this retro style. Not sure about you but i personally find it intriguing...sorta like a different concept altogether especially since we don't really have a lot of quaint cafes around in KL. Though you've gotta stand there for quite a bit while scanning through the long list of menu and it might strain your neck a lil'...LOL..but i love unconventional stuffs so no complaints. :)

Tip: I know this may be a no brainer, but in order to make people who were sitting next to the wall feel less uncomfortable..since a bunch of people were standing there looking intently at the menu and it might be a lil' awkward..i decided to take pics of the menu so that i can slowly browse thru it while being comfortably seated down :) haha




                                                                #Drinks menu



#Food menu. Only a portion of it. At the far right,there's another segment of the menu for 'After 11am'.



#Patiently waiting for our breakfast to arrive.:)


Oh...and my coffee arrived first.:) Love that mischevious coffee art...:P

#Flat white. It's pretty okay but i wouldn't say reaaaally good. But above average compared to coffees elsewhere.:)


 #BIG BREAKFAST. If you're here, you've gotta try their best-selling dish right?And this is it. It was goooood. Especially loved the sauteed mushrooms and mash browns. :) you can choose between the bacon or sausage. Either way. I've yet to try the sausage though :)




# What my bro ordered : Pumpkin with sweet cornfritters. It's a healthy option for health freaks like my bro. But according to him, it tasted pretty mediocre. I tried a lil' and it tasted rather bland but if you're trying to keep away from sodium and sweet stuffs then this might be a good choice afterall :)


#Watermelon juice. Their juices are all fresh ones.




#Erms please pardon my engrossed, nom-noming face.It was a candid shot and i had no idea.hahaha.


Overall, it was a really good nom nom experience. We went during the weekdays so it wasn't that crowded although Antipodean definitely had a steady crowd throughout the day. I went with Cootie again just last Saturday and believe me when i say it was superbly crowded!! You might even have to wait to be seated.

 #The place. 

#Couple of empty seats but was slowly being filled up... If you fancy having a cuppa good coffee and a good book, this is a great spot :)




****





The following pics were taken when i brought Cootie to Antipodean in the same week after discovering it! So basically I went there TWICE in a week. And mind you, it ain't near to where I'm staying. Such is the sacrifice for good stuff. hahaha.
But well, Cootie has yet to try out this place so being the adventurous me, I thought it'd be a good spot to satisfy his picky style of food selection.;)

#Iced mocchacino


# He ordered Soda + Coffee...which was a lil' odd if you'd ask me. But it's something different.:D

OK, summing up after my 2 visits to Antipodean....
Food: 8.5/10
Ambience : 8/10 (can be noisy and crowded during weekends especially)
Service: 8.5 (a bunch of rather helpful staffs)

#Lighting wasn't really good cuz my back was against the sun. This was the best we could do with Cootie's 4S since i didn't bring my camera out that day. (btw I think my arms look slightly toned in this pic? does it mean my exercise regime is working? YAY? LOL)

Oh yea, and I'm just really curious, how come my iphone 4S can produce DIFFERENT QUALITY photos as compared to Cootie's 4S? His is new but mine is only like..what..5months old?? >< But when we took this exact same pic with my phone, the colour turned out really gloomy. Someone who's good with techy stuffs clue me in please.....



#OOTD : Going rather casual yet slightly funky
USA top from Taiwan
Skinny Leigh jeans from Topshop
Nude Brogues from Taiwan
Cheapskate Gucci-like socks from Mum's Bargain hunts.lol




Wednesday 8 August 2012

Marini's on 57

So i've decided to start off my first ever blogpost with a tale about our special day. Cootie and I decided to celebrate our 1st anniversary a long way from the ground; up up and away.
Well, it was not really high up in the sky but we were at the 57th floor from the ground, and could see skyscrapers all around. (wow the sentence rhymes.lol.)

It was definitely a different experience altogether.

And the chosen destination is a new hideout in KL known as Marini's on 57. I did some research and found that it was only opened to the public for dining last month. So i guess our anniversary couldn't have arrived in a more timely manner. Cuz i guess for swanky places like these, we can't afford to go that often or we'd risk burning a huge hole in our wallet. haha.

#Arriving at the tower

Tip : It's highly advisable to park at either KLCC or Mandarin oriental and then you can make your way to Menara 3 by foot. Marini's is located at the 57th floor, hence its name.:) Don't worry, once you've arrived at the tower, there'll be a hostess waiting downstairs.

You've gotta wait quite a bit for the lift but patience is virtue :)



 # Here we are at the restaurant! :) 
It was still rather bright around 7pm when we arrived. Exactly as planned. Cuz i wanted to observe both the daylight scenery and night scenery.


#As this is an Italian restaurant, do expect Italian loafs. Oh, and this is complimentary.;) So you can munch on these while waiting for your order to arrive. But i guess you'd be too busy taking photos of the environment, the scenery below...and of each other to actually pay much attention to the bread.:P  At least that was what happened to us.

#Drink and Food menu

#Busy on the phone.
Notice KL tower's right behind?:D
Tip : If you want a seat right beside the window so you can have a better view, be sure to indicate in your reservation.:) You may or may not get it, but if you never try, you never know.
In this case, we were truly blessed to have the perfect spot for our anni.

 # I love this pic..so couldn't resist posting this up.hehe. (All the pics in this post are not edited nor filtered unless otherwise stated) I think my compact cam is doing a pretty good job although it's not gonna be as good as an SLR but i'm contented so far :)

 #While waiting for our food to arrive, I begged Cootie to switch places so i can have a pic of myself with KL tower right behind. :P hahaha.
I won't get chances like these that often right?:D


Finally our food arrived amidst our photo-taking spree. Time passes so quickly when you're getting busy.
The service was pretty prompt. Didn't take too long to arrive. Prolly between 15-20mins. And you won't notice especially if you're busy being busy.


#His : Petto Di Pollo Al Fungi Senape. RM 58
Basically, pan fried chicken breast with mustary creamy porcini.
I tried this and I've gotta say the creamy gravy is really tasty! 
Cootie is really picky with his food so when he told me that the food was good, it put a smile on my face. (He's quite hard to please when it comes to FOOD. Just like my dad! XD) At least I know he's happy with his food especially since it's not cheap at all.



#Hers : Spaghetti Con Gamberi Piccanti RM 45
Spaghetti with prawns served with garlic and chilli.
My option was much simpler...and in fact, the cheapest among all the pastas in the menu. I love pastas especially aglio olios! Didn't really know exactly what was it when i ordered but the minute i saw it, i knew this was gonna be just quite right for my tastebuds.
Tip: As you can see, the portion is really small. So if you've coming here and don't wanna break your bank by ordering appetizers or desserts since it ain't cheap, be sure to have some snacks beforehand.;)

Sorry i totally forgot to take pics of our drinks. But here's a nice scenery to compensate.:D
#The view from up here. 
It brought back memories while i was in N Seoul tower back in Korea....looking down from the top. The feeling is really different although i can't really find the right words to describe.:)


Decided to check out the toilet...i knew i was in for some surprise..hehe
 #M stands for Marini

#L'occitane soap, lotion and cologne. What could be better?;)


I took the opportunity to snap a few self-shots in the washroom but shall not post it up here to maintain my...erm.."face".hahaha.
Oh yea, almost forgot to post up pics about the interior of Marini's.




 After our dinner, we headed to the 'observatory' if you would call it. Nothing much to see over there but you can have an aerial view of what's below.. :)
 # Simple lamp decor to lit up the entire place since its practically dark.


Finally, it's time to bid goodbye to Marini's.:) Not sure if we'd be able to get back here anytime soon given the hefty price and the fact that my hols is drawing to an end soon...which means, heading back to Johor.><
But the both of us definitely had a gala time.:)


 # The only decent pic of him and her.LOL.


#Adios. Till next time ;)

Food : 8.5/10
Ambience : 9.5/10
Service : 9/10 (the waiter who served us was very alert and didn't hesitate to ask if we needed anything else)
Company : 10/10 (need i say more?*wink* hehehe)

Oh and the night didn't end there. On our way back, we made a random decision to go to Caffeinees at Kg Pandan for a light supper to satisfy our cravings.:P
Finally we had to adjourn cuz poor Cootie was all worn out and had to work the next day.
T'was our memorable,low-key anniversary.:)
We didn't manage to get each other gifts cuz we just couldn't find the right ones even after circling the mall..haha. But well, it's the company that counts, no? :)

***


My outfit for this special day comprises of my all time fav-colour - a turquoise satin dress (bought online at a reasonable price!),
a matchy matchy chunky statement necklace (from Taiwan),
LV handbag,
chunky bracelet (which you can't really see from here).
:)
It's really rare that i get occasions to dress up in a more sophisticated manner but this is one of those special days. hehe.