[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2017] A Weekend Filled With Great Food & Laughter

Photo By: Elin Chow

Last month, my best friend decided to visit me in KL again. It has been almost three months since we last seen each other.

As usual, she booked us a fully furnished 3-room apartment in the heart of KL through Airbnb. The apartment is located just right behind Sunway Putra Mall, a short walk away from PWTC LRT station and Putra Komuter.

Upon arrival, the owner, Nai came over to pass us the key and show us around the apartment. He has been waiting for our arrival since 3 pm, but we only managed to reach the apartment at 8 pm because my friend lost her way again and ended up getting stuck in the peak hour traffic jam.

The apartment was spacious, so much larger than we expected, and is fully equipped with everything that you will possibly need for a comfortable stay. Modernly furnished, the apartment features a large living room, an open plan kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a view of the KLCC Twin Towers.

The living room comes with a 3-seater L shaped sofa, a coffee table and a TV.  High speed Wifi is provided in the apartment as well. The kitchen is well-equipped with a refrigerator, electric hob and hoob, microwave, cookware and utensils for simple cooking. There are also a washing machine and a dryer in the apartment.

The master bedroom comes with a king-sized bed, large built in wardrobe, dressing table and a couch.With 3 bedrooms, the apartment can accommodate up to 8 people.

The spacious master bedroom bathroom comes with a spacious bathtub and double sink vanities. Body soap and shampoo are provided, as well as bath towels.

Overall, we have an enjoyable experience staying at Nai's apartment. Nai is very friendly and patient and is always available to help us whenever we needed help. He even gave us his access card so that we could park our rented car in the apartment's car park.

The next morning, we decided to head to the pool to take some photos for my backpack sponsorship and was happy to find the entire place almost empty.

We made use of this opportunity to take a couple of photos together as well.

For this trip, we did not have any plans, so we decided to spend our all our time cafe/restaurants hopping around the city. There are many good cafes and restaurants in the city that are worth visiting, and with so many choices, it can be hard to pick which one to go. Below are the cafes and restaurants we decided to visit after reading some reviews online.

Jam & Kaya Cafe

Nestled within Palms Sports Center in Petaling Jaya, you will find Jam & Kaya Cafe, a hidden gem that is particularly popular with brunch lovers and cafe hoppers. Located just a 5-minutes stroll away from Taman Jaya LRT Station, the cafe is open from 10 am to 7 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 6 pm on weekends, but is closed on Monday.

The exterior of the cafe is a quaint white cottage, surrounded by palm trees and overlooks the Palms Sports Center's swimming pool.

The interior is bright and spacious, featuring large windows and wooden furnishings. The large windows offers plenty of natural lights which is perfect for photography while the wooden furnitures create a warm and homely ambience.

The cafe was almost empty when we arrived on a Friday morning, so we get to choose wherever we would like to sit. We chose a table that can seat 4 people right by the windows.

The cafe was very cozy and quiet and staffs were very friendly, which makes it a great place to sit back, relax and spend some quality time with your loved ones.

The cafe serves simple yet delicious all-day breakfasts, as well as an array of pasta, fish and chips and homemade cakes and pastries.

Eggs Benedict

Price: RM 18

The Eggs Benedict features perfectly poached eggs and greens over freshly baked croissant with some hollandaise sauce. This is a very simple yet delicious dish everyone will love. I love the poached egg very much. The runny yolk surrounded with creamy white is a perfect complement to the croissant.

Signature Jam & Kaya Pancakes

Price: RM 16

The Signature Jam & Kaya Pancakes is the specialty of  Jam & Kaya. Stacked pancakes with Jam and Kaya spread, maple syrup, fresh strawberries and blueberries topped with a generous scoop of Vanilla ice cream. The pancake is light and fluffy and the thinly sliced strawberries and blueberry offers a delicious balance of acidity and sweetness to the dish. It was a delight to eat - not overly sweet, which is great for a breakfast treat.

Earl Grey Tea

Price: RM 10.50

Hot Yuzu Tea

Price: RM 8.80

Jam & Kaya is one of my favorite cafe in Kl. The cafe serves insta-worthy yet delicious food in a nice environment. I will recommend this place to anyone looking for a pleasant cafe with good food to relax and chill.

After spending a few hours chatting at Jam & Kaya cafe, we decided to visit the newly opened MyTown shopping mall in Cheras to do some shopping.

Feeling hungry, we decided to have a super late lunch at Mytown's food court. We had Teppanyaki and had our food cooked right before us.

MyKori Dessert Cafe

No matter how much you eat, there is always room for desserts. After lunch, we decided to visit MyKori Dessert Cafe for some dessert. The cafe have several outlets in KL and we visited the one located in Old Klang Road.

MyKori Dessert Cafe specialize in Japanese desserts and snacks. It is open from 2.00 pm to 11.00 pm on weekdays and 1.00 pm to 11.00 on weekends. Please note that the cafe is closed on Monday.

Melon Kakigori

Price: RM 26

We ordered the Melon Kakigori, which is one of the best seller of the cafe. For those who do not know, Kakigori is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with condensed milk or a sweetener. The Melon Kakigori is made from Rock Melon where the melon is cut into half, hollowed and filled with condensed milk shaved ice topped with freshly scooped melon balls and almond pieces.

This pretty and instagram-worthy dessert that will satisfy your sweet tooth. The taste is very refreshing and not overly sweet, just perfect for a hot humid day.

Zen & Co Cafe

After dessert, we visited Zen & Co Cafe, a Japanese fusion and coffee cafe located at Taman Gembira for dinner. The cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and specializes in both Japanese and western cuisines. It is open from 11.30 am to 10 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 10 pm on weekend. Please note that it is closed on Tuesday.

The cafe was packed with people during dinner hours, but we were lucky to get a seat. Even though the cafe was busy, service was very prompt. We were seated immediately upon being seated.

California Dream

Price: RM 7

We ordered California Dream, which is seaweed rolls with fish egg, crabstick, cucumber and sweet egg. It was delicious, even though I am not really a fan of fish egg.

Yasai Croquette

Price: RM 8

Yasai Croquette, this is basically just fried potato served with vegetables.

Tomato Salsa Chicken

Price: RM 19

My most favorite dish was the Tomato Salsa Chicken. Deep fried boneless chicken chop served with tomato salsa sauce, salad, mash potato and potato wedges. So delicious and filling!

Overall, food was delicious and price was reasonable, considering the huge serving size. In the end, we could not finish most of the food that we ordered because we did not expect the serving size to be so big. It was such a waste.

Blackwood Cafe

My husband decided to join us on the second day. After picking him up from home, we went to Blackwood Cafe for lunch.

Located in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Blackwood Cafe is open from 12 pm to 10.30 pm on Sunday to Thurday and 12 pm to 12 am on Friday and Saturday, but is closed on Tuesday. 

The cafe was empty when we arrived on saturday noon. In fact, we were the only group of customers in the cafe during the few hours we were there.

Spacious and neat, the cafe has a very welcoming and homely ambience, making it a great place to relax and hang out with friends. 

Blackwood Cafe serves a range of main course, desserts and beverages. For beverage, the cafe serves coffee, chocolate, flower tea, frapp, smoothies, soda, steam milk and tea. For desserts, they have puffle and waffle. For main course, pasta, rice, side dishes and toastee.

Creamy Tomato Pasta

I ordered the Creamy Tomato Pasta with chicken ham, mushroom, onions, Oregano leaves. I find this a little bland and unimpressive. 

Energetic Hamee

Both my husband and my friend ordered Energetic Hamee. This is toast with ham and egg, veggie, tomato, cheese and mayonnaise. I actually prefer this to the Creamy Tomato Pasta. 

Overall, I was not impressed by the food. The serving size was a little small for the price we paid.

Kakigori Cafe

For dessert, we visited Kakigori Cafe located in Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, about 10 minutes drive from Blackwood Cafe.

Kakigori Cafe is a delightful cafe furnished in white. The interior decor is simple with some flimsy tables and chairs that can get fairly uncomfortable to sit on. At the back of the cafe, you will find a red brick wall and a little garden which create a warm and fascinating focal point in the predominately white space.

The cafe is usually packed with a long queue waiting to be seated. It does get a little noisy, making it not an ideal place to relax and hang out with friends.

The cafe offers 10 types of Kakigori, each different and unique to suit your palate. Service is pretty much non-existent. Everything is self service. You will need to order and pay at the counter. Once done, you will be given an ordering number. Wait for your number to be called on the electric board. You will need to self collect your order from an open wooden shelves at the seating area. Once you have finish eating, you are required to return the tray and empty bowls to the return counter.

Warabi mochi

Price: RM 14

This chilled chewy, jelly-like mochi is made fresh everyday, and is dusted with either matcha or Kinako powder, served with a cup of sugar syrup. We ordered both flavors, and we prefer the matcha one.

Unlike typical mochi that is made from glutinous rice, Warabi mochi is made from warabi starch or bracken starch. The texture of Warabi mochi is more jelly-like and chewy without being tough. It does not have any flavors. The only taste comes from the sweet matcha or Kinako powder on the mochi.

Strawberry & Chocolate Kakigori

Price: RM 19

We also ordered Strawberry & Chocolate Kakigori. This is basically shaved ice blanketed with strawberry puree topped with chocolate puree, almond chips and fresh strawberry. The Kakigori is naturally pink, so pretty and instagram-worthy.

Serving size was larger than we expected, but the distribution of the strawberry puree was uneven. The shaved ice was very bland, almost tasteless. Well, I am not a fan of sweet dessert, but this was very disappointing. It is really not worth paying RM 19 for this.

Shell Out Seafood Restaurant

For dinner, we decided to visit Shell Out Seafood Restaurant for a seafood feast. The restaurant has several branches in KL and we visited the one at Publika Mall. Open from 12 pm to 10 pm daily, the restaurant serves authentic Louisiana Cajun style seafood that will delight all seafood lovers.

The restaurant has a nautical theme decor with fishing net and life buoy hanging across the wall.

On the windows, walls and tables, it is full of colorful doodles. Customers are encouraged to ask one of the friendly staffs for a marker pen to scribble their own doodles anywhere they like.

To order, there are three simple steps to follow:

Step one: What's your catch?
Pick from a selection of seafood you would like.

Step two: Pick your sensation
You can choose the sauce of your choice to enrich your seafood. There are five different sauces for you to choose from - Butter Garlic, Lemon Pepper, Shell Bang, Curry and Black Pepper

Step Three: Spice up
You can choose the level of spiciness. The restaurant offers 3 levels of spiciness - mild, medium and O.M.G!!!

We ordered Combo A, which includes a large sized crab. 10 pieces of prawns, 500g of Lala, half broccoli, 2 pieces of corn, potatoes, 2 bowls of rice and 1 set of sweet potato fries at RM 189.90. Being a fan of scallops, I added 250g scallops. We also upgraded the crab to extra large (XL).

For sauce, we chose the highly recommended Shell bang sauce, which is a mix of lemon pepper and butter garlic. We chose mild for our level of spiciness but regretted because it was not spicy enough.

Unlike most other seafood restaurants, Shell out offers an entirely different dining experience. This is where you will get to enjoy sumptuous ocean delights without any eating utensils. There will be no spoons or plates provided. You are expected to enjoy a pile of seafood straight from the table with your bare hands. So, remember to wash your hands clean before you dig in!



Once we made our order, we were given plastic aprons that write "Life is too short to be serious. Let's Eat", and a big roll of kitchen towel. Minutes later, the staff came again and lined our table with a big white mahjong paper.

We did not wait long for our food to be served. The seafood are boiled and mixed well with the sauce of our choice. It came in a transparent plastic bag, which were then poured out right onto the mahjong paper on our table.

Although the seafood are best to be enjoyed with bare hands, we still asked for plastic gloves because we do not want to dirty our hands. Eating with our hands allow us to peel the shells of the crabs and shrimps easily and eat them. Yes, it is surely going to be a messy business, but I can ensure you that it is absolutely well-worth the mess because they were so freakingly delicious when you eat this way.

Sweet Potatoes Fries


The sweet potatoes fries are fried to a golden and crispy perfection. It is incredibly delicious!

The seafood was top quality and very fresh, but the highlight of the dish was the Shell Bang sauce, which helps to bring out the flavor of the dish very well.

Fresh Coconut

Price: RM 7.90

Overall, we have a very enjoyable dining experience at Shell out. I really love the food and concept. Service was good and prompt and staffs were generally very friendly. Serving size was also decent and the price was reasonable, though not cheap. The good thing is there are several combo sets for you to choose from to cater to your needs, plus you will get what you paid for. If you have not visited, I would definitely recommend giving this restaurant a try. I believe it will not disappoint you.

Nadeje Cake House

After a satisfying seafood dinner, we went to Nadeje Cake House at Midvalley Megamall for some dessert. Nadeje Cake House is famous for their handmade mille crepes. We ordered both the original and mango yogurt flavors, but original will always be our favorite.

This was how we ended that night. After 4 days 3 nights, it was time to bade goodbye again. This time, we managed to give each other a hug. As always, I will miss her. Looking forward to see her soon again!

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