Eat the Burger at the Fat Boy's

Touching down in Kuala Lumpur, we're heading to the Fat Boy's The Burger Bar that is located at Jalan Dutamas for our lunch and dinner. Su has always been fancy about burgers while I've never been to the restaurant before, thus here we are!

We're so hungry that we've decided to share the Chili Cheese Fries as appetiser. It's a plate of Fries that are topped with homemade chili queso or the minced beef meat sauce and then being drizzled with extra cheese sauce. It's really filling and sinful yet the platter is so delicious that I can't stop my hand and mouth!

We've taken the Wimpy with the choice of pork patty, the Bolly Wolly or the lamb patty, the Pirates of the Caribbacon or the combination of pork and beef patty and the Holy Caesar or the grilled chicken. The Wimpy is so-called the best-seller burger that you can choose for pork, beef or lamb patty. The pork patty is tender yet the taste is quite okay only. I personally think that the seasoning or marination is not sufficient to bring out the saltiness or tastiness of the meat. The lamb patty is too smelly that it tastes quite awful and oppositely, I like indeed the mixture of beef and pork as the patty is juicy and delicious. The thinly sliced pork that has been fried to an even golden brownish colour, it's as crispy as a cracker! The Holy Caesar is indeed the grilled chicken that is sandwiched with Caesar Salad and being topped with Parmesan Cheese. The grilled chicken tastes quite ordinary and I'm actually more surprised by the idea of combining the Caesar Salad into the making of a burger.

I don't really think that Fat Boy's has made marvellous burgers that have impressed myself. They've a wide range of menu and I like their creativity in the naming of the burgers, but I'm a little disappointed by their service here.

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The Hanoi Version of Quan An Ngon

We've postponed our trip once, to accommodate Su's schedule. Starting with a joke and it's then turned into a reality as we can claim a free meal from her. Any restaurants that we can choose from, we're recommended with the Quan An Ngon. I agree with the idea completely as I've enjoyed the deliciousness by Ho Chi Minh version of this franchise before.

Some appetisers to start with, we've ordered the "Ha Noi" Crispy Shrimp Cake, Fresh Rice Paper Roll with Shrimp & Pork and Fried Spring Roll stuffed with Crab served with Fresh Herbs & Pork. The Shrimp Cake is more alike cracker for its crispiness. It's served with a sour dipping sauce in order to reduce the oiliness. I like the fresh spring roll without the dipping sauce that is slightly too strong due to the shrimp paste. On the other hand, I don't really like the Hanoi-Style of Fried Spring Roll as the meat is smelly. Besides, it's very oily whereby the fat on the bean curd skin is not dripped off completely.

Su and Phui Yee walk around the stalls inside the Quan An Ngon and they've ordered the Roasted Pork Wrap. I've no clue about its real name in the menu but it's definitely delicious. Each sliced roasted pork is topped onto a piece of rice cake and being garnished with roasted peanuts. The whole stack is to be wrapped into the rice paper together with the fresh herbs before being dipped into the sweet and sour chili sauce. Luckily that the pork meat is not smelly and it's just melting in the mouth, what a tasty dish it is!

Looking to the next table and we've got their help by ordering the Steamed Rice Rolls stuffed with Shrimp & Minced Pork and the Rice Vermicelli Soup with Pig & Shrimp. The rice roll is a little alike our Oriental-Style "Chee Cheong Fun" except that their is topped with grounded dried shrimps to give the saltiness and tastiness while the sauce itself is tasteless. I like the rice roll as it's very refreshing and delicious. The noodle soup is as well very delicious whereby the broth is really thick and sweet naturally. The only complaint is the pig intestine that is smelly as the soup is not hot enough.

The restaurant is filled with a lot of customers, either the locals or the foreigners. Looking to the variety of food that is served here and as well the price, the meal is really worthwhile.

Stop at the Loft Stop

We're staying at the Gondola Hotel that is located at Hàng Hành, Hàng Trống in Hanoi. It's a boutique accommodation at the old quarter, with an easy access to the shopping street. I'm quite satisfied with the room and its decorations except the unfriendliness of the male receptionist that we've met in the morning of our arrival and also before our departure back to M'sia.

Lazy of walking around and we've decided to enjoy our meal at the Loft Stop Cafe that is just the street beside. We've begun with the starters, the Crab & Shrimps Soup and the Gazpacho. I like the sweetness and the strong flavour of the crab, together with the prawn in every spoonful of soup. The soup is tasty except that the powder is not mixed evenly that the granules are left behind at the base. The Gazpacho is just the perfect dish to ignite our appetite. Coming with the slightly spiciness of the bell peppers at the end of the tongue, it's refreshing and it's just marvellous!

We've then ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls, Marinated Chicken Fillet in Lemon Leaves & Olive Oil and the Club Sandwich. The spring roll is another dish that has hit us with its deliciousness. Using the pine leaves has been a wonderful idea to add the refreshing taste into the spring roll that consists of pork ham and rice vermicelli. It's anyhow tasty, with or without the dipping sauce. The marination is just to saltiness and with the slight burnt through the grilling, the chicken meat is very tender and flavourful. It's tasty on its own despite of having it with the hard and dry rice. The Club Sandwich comes with the chicken breast meat, lettuce, tomato and mustard. It's ordinary and it's indeed too plain.

We've enjoyed a satisfying meal at the Loft Stop Cafe. The waitresses are very friendly and helpful even though their English is not really fluent. A delicious meal in an unknown city, nothing else that I can complain about.

The Hill Station... at the "Highland" of Sapa

Lao Cai is located at the outskirt of Vietnam whereby it's about 305km from Hanoi. The journey with the night train takes us about 9 to 10hours, depending on the speed of the train and the stopover time that has been wasted at each station. The train is equipped with the bedrooms that the passengers can sleep throughout the night. Well, we're of course unable to sleep tightly due to the swings and noises!

Looking for a cup of coffee to wake myself up, we're attracted by "The Hill Station" that looks indeed quite elegant from outside. The wooden pillars and the rectangular bricks that have made up the big wall, they're a piece of art. A deli that is serving ham or sausage, a bar that is serving wine, a cafe that is serving hot coffee or cold beverages; they're also displaying some mugs and local spices on the rack "for sales".

We've ordered an Americano Coffee, an Ice-Blended Mango and a glass of Iced Lemon Juice. The coffee tastes quite okay but it's indeed quite thin. The mango is actually too thick that it becomes almost alike jelly while the lemon juice is just ordinary.

This is a high end cafe and bar that we don't really see any locals here. The ambient is very cosy and peaceful that the customers can relax in slow pace and comfort.

Moment... for coffee & fastfood

Wandering around the Hang Bong Street and we've decided to try out the Moment coffee & fastfood, the small cafe that looks modern yet cosy. I like the concept of using the sewing machines as the base of the tables that are then being matched with the wooden tops and set of chairs, simple yet lovely!

They've given unique names to some of the specialty drinks here. We've ordered the Strawberry Hibiscus Tea Lemonade, the Caramel Spell and a cup of Americano for myself. The hibiscus tea lemonade is indeed quite sweet but the trick is to drink it and to eat the slices of sour strawberry together, it's refreshing! The Caramel Spell is actually the Frappuccino or ice-blended coffee with caramel sauce. It's too milky for me but I do quite enjoy the topping that is actually the flakes of coconut candy. My cup of coffee is okay, as long as it doesn't contain the weird taste of butter or sugar inside the coffee beans.

Talking about the food, we've taken the Traditional Bolognese Pasta, the Spaghetti Seafood, the Mixed Pizza that consists of 5 different flavors and the Fiesta Chicken Burrito. The Bolognese or minced beef pasta has been added with slightly too much butter that it has overridden the sweetness and sourness of the tomato-based sauce. On the other hand, the butter has made a better match to the creaminess of the spaghetti seafood that it's very delicious! The Hawaiian or with the pineapple, the Capricciosa or with the ham, the Pepperoni & Bacon, the Tuna or the Seafood... we're not fancy with the thick dough of the Pizza. I like the tastiness of my Burrito except the peppers that I've hated the most.

We've given a good rating to Moment coffee & fastfood as we've really enjoyed the deliciousness of the food here. Well, I'm not too sure if they're considered as fastfood because the Chef has indeed taken quite some time to prepare our orders!