The Moo Moo Milk Roll at Yardley Pastry

The lions first stumbled upon a Yardley Pastry roll at My Liberica Coffee in Johor Bahru. It was a simple mango blancmange roll made with fresh mango puree whose fluffy texture and clean-tasting notes won much praise from the hardcore coffee drinkers at the table. They deemed it a refined version of Singapore's lauded Rich & Good swiss roll.

One weekend afternoon, the lions finally made their way with family to the actual cafe, hoping for another bite of the delectable Japanese inspired milk roll.

Nope. Yardley's not, in any way, connected to stiff upper
lip Britannia though we love the unintentional association
with the great manufacturerer of quality soaps. Rather, it's
named after the owner who's a local Chinese dude. Yup
you heard us right.

Nothing's really refined about the location, facade,
signboard and, you will soon find out, the interior.
They let the quality of their star product do all the
talking instead.

Head up the stairway flanked by framed news coverage
and some form of art pieces.

Well-loved by the local press.

Menu comes in the form of a vintage-looking
photo album.

Yardley Pastry takes pride in the quality of their
Japanese style rolls. Only fresh milk is used during the
baking process and it is not diluted by a single drop of
water as claimed. No artificial colouring or preservatives
are used as well.

Very simple and almost utilitarian decor and furnishings.
Wished that they would actually play on the name and go
for a cosy English cottage theme instead. Wouldn't that be perfect?

An amazingly extensive range of
flower teas to complement the light milk rolls.

The tiramisu cake here is made with My Liberica's
dark roast beans. What a creative partnership!
Would have preferred it laced more heavily with alcohol
but no complaints! A must-try is the silky smooth panna
cotta in the original flavour as well.

Denim-clad server presenting the pretty-in-pink
star product - Strawberry Dairy Roll - with
cutsy moo moo spots.

They indulged in 3 selected flavours:
Spinach Cheese (too funky tasting),
Black Sesame Blancmange (too light and mild),
and the Strawberry Dairy Roll (gooooood!).
There are approximately 12 flavours to choose from
which makes it a tough decision for capricious eaters.
Pick also from the milk roll series (cream filling) or the
blancmange series (pudding-like centre).
The lions still preferred the mango blancmange over these
3 flavours!

The latte made with My Liberica beans wasn't executed
so well. You might want to stick to the teas instead.

A "Blooming" Flower Tea. Wait for it... ...

Jasmine Pomelo Tea.

... ... to open and unveil it's glorious colours.

Sorry that we snuck some CNY crab stick goodies in here.

A pretty wall picture of their Strawberry Dairy Roll.

Yardley Pastry's interior.

If there's any gripe, it's that prices are a little steep and certain flavours are so mild, the nuances are lost if refrigerated for too long. Otherwise, these rolls are light on the waist line and palate. A great place for dessert lovers.

Yardley Pastry

161A, Jalan Sri Pelangi
80400 Taman Pelangi
Johor Bahru
Malaysia.

Adventures in Johor Bahru

Cute Cute and Cuchi had the privilege of going into JB (Malaysia) with some of their friends to enjoy some food. In fact, their friends brought them to various fancy places that it pipped their curiosity a lot to blog about the food there and to explore our friendly neighbour across the causeway.

Yes!! We are finally going out right?

First stop that the lions had with a group of friends (Mr Business Times and friends) was this braised duck and beef noodles coffee shop.

Beef noodles
The beef noodles are pretty unique whereby peanuts and shallots are added into the noodles to give it some crunch. The noodles are more like udon and the beef is so tender and full of flavor. Worth a try!

Braised Duck and Tau Kuah
The braised duck and tau kuah is another delight! The duck meat is so tender and the tau kuah is silky smooth.... Mmm... thinking about it, makes Cute Cute want to go back there to eat it again soon.

These two are located at the above coffee shop and once their sampler is done, the lions proceed on to their next destination...

Second stop was at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, a bohemian looking street to have nasi padang and eggs at a coffee shop named Restoran Kin Hua.

Coffee
Taste so old school.... Enough kick and filled with charcoal taste to make it a really good cuppa

Nasi Padang
Surprisingly, all the items that Cute Cute took were good! The cabbage, sting ray, quails egg and fried egg were all very good.

Half Boiled Eggs
Now these are gems... Cute Cute followed instructions to swallow each yolk whole... They tasted like jelly in your mouth once you eat them. Cute Cute found out that they are kampong eggs.

Next stop was a place near to the Eden garden called Kafe Enampuluhan. Mee rebus was the main draw there.

Mee Rebus

Looked very simple but the sauce for the mee rebus is really good. Not too sweet with a tinge of citrus, the mee rebus is something that one should try. The crispy fried flour adds to the fun of eating it as it gives your bite in your mee rebus.

The lions then followed another group of friends (Astroboy, JunioR and Peary) into JB once again and this time, they tried a few different things. Again, the lions brought these friends to Kin Hua to try the eggs and nasi padang and to eat the nasi lemak that eluded Cute Cute the first time round.

Nasi Lemak
Apparently, this nasi lemak was sold out the first time Cute Cute came here and he managed to snag one this time round. However, it was a bit of a let down as it tasted ordinary. The coconut rice was fragrant and soft though.

Mee Rebus

The mee rebus fared better in the taste category. Its sauce was flavorful and the crunchy things that came with it was also very savory.

Now across the coffee shop was an old bakery, Hiap Joo Bakery, with a 100 year old wood fired oven. The lions brought their friends over to explore and found that they are famous for their buns and banana cakes!

Banana Cake
Seems like this is one of Hiap Joo Bakery's signature. The banana cake was so moist, warm and flavorful when the lions got it and shared among friends. A definite must buy when here.

Coconut Bun
Another must buy and you can keep the buns slightly longer as the coconut fillings are already cooked.

Need a nap after so much eating....

The lions did have an enjoyable time exploring the in and outs of JB town. More to come soon!

Braised Duck, Tau Kuah and Beef noodles - At Restoran Shang Ji near Jalan Lumba Kuda
Mee Rebus - At Kafe Enampuluhan at Jalan Ibrahim Sultan
Nasi Padang, Coffee, Eggs, Nasi Lemak - At Restoran Kin Hua at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee
Hiap Joo Bakery - At Jalan Tan Hiok Nee