Home-grown Liberica beans at My Liberica

The Lions always wondered whether there are any good boutique specialty coffee joints in Johor Bahru. JB is known for their seafood and hawker dishes but specialty coffee? Hmm... that's quite a nice little challenge for the Lions. Ever curious, Cuchi checked the web and found that there is a few of them. However, the one that stood out was My Liberica.

Situated at Jalan Molek, My Liberica is a short drive away from the city centre. Wasn't really hard for the Lions to spot the coffee beans on the signboard. My Liberica cafe is named after the Liberica coffee beans which are grown in Kulaijaya, Johor. What patriotism - to use home-grown coffee beans and name a cafe after it!



Smurfy junior helping Cute Cute to do the choosing

 

The Lions were surprised by the number of customers at My Liberica. It was full house and the Lions had to wait for about a good 10 minutes before they were ushered to seats. The waiting made Cuchi very eager to try the coffee and ordering was almost immediate.

My Liberica Black Coffee Heavy
My Liberica is unique in a sense that, on top of the type of beans, you have different varieties of roast to choose from. Cute Cute took the heavy and he was satisfied. Strong but not acidic and with a nice aroma, My Liberica's long black certainly made it worth the caffeine rush.



The milk based latte looked so good at another table
(thank you next-table neighbours for this pic),
much to Cuchi's dismay as she was sharing the long black with Cute Cute.

 

Chicken Pie
The small chicken pie was in one word - AWESOME. It was sold out just as the lions wanted to grab a second piece. It was crustily hot and deliciously savoury.

Green Tea Mille Crepe
My Liberica is also known for their pastries. Their Mille Crepe is one of them. In fact, their Mille Crepe comes in many flavors! Cuchi took the green tea mille crepe and it was a great choice with sweet azuki beans cushioned in the premium cream. 

Mango Swiss Roll
The Japanese-inspired mango swiss roll was recommended by one of the staff of My Liberica. However, it was average and failed to leave much impression on the Lions. Oh well, guess they are spoilt by the benchmark set by the famous Rich and Good swiss rolls back home.

My Liberica is certainly a great place to sample good coffee in Johor Bahru. Just be prepared to brave the crowd during weekends.

Here is our review for My Liberica:

Food Quality: 8.0 pawprints out of 10
Coffee Quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10

Ambience: 7.5 pawprints out of 10

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address:

My Liberica Coffee

73,Jalan Molek 3/10,Taman Molek, 

81100 Johor Bahru

10 Epicurean Moments in Lovely Laos

1. Numero Uno

Savour the last vertiges of colonial French influence
in a comforting loaf of French baguette
ubiquitously available
in most cafes and roadside stalls.

2. Numero Dos

Tuck into exquisite French cuisine,
fine-dining style,
at a ridiculous fraction of what you would pay
back home.
Lion's choice: Láddress Timnay
Food by a Laotian boy turned chef who cut this teeth working at
renowned France restaurants before returning triumphantly home.

 3. Numero Tres

Even though Robusta bean growing culture is more entrenched
in Asia, you can get a pretty decent cup of Arabica in 
quaint and rustic coffee joints. (above: The Little House in Vientiene)
Plus, visit a Saffron Coffee joint in Luang Prabang for a glimpse of
how authentic fair-trade coffee is helping the livelihood of farmers
who are making the switch from opium cash-crops.

 4. Numero Cuatro

A staple of the Lao people. Roll the sticky rice into
a ball with your fingers and eat it with your
accompanying dishes.

 5. Numero Cinco

Ok what exactly is Lao cusine? Is it a variation of the popular Vietnamese
or even Thai cuisine? Yes and No. Had a funky plate of their popular
papaya salad but it was drenched in pungent fish sauce unlike the sweet Thai
version. Had also the best spring rolls ever at a roadside stall in Chinatown,
Vientiene, that rivaled even the Viet variety.
Let's just say that be prepared to tuck into lotsa greens (healthy!) and
stews and dishes flavoured with refreshing herbs like mint, dill,
galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime, etc

 6. Numero Seis

Rent a bicycle and cycle to the organic Mulberry Farm
in Vang Vieng. Order a cool glass of mulberry wine or
iced mulberry tea and tuck into a crispy and addictive
plate of mulberry tempura leaves. Cuchi had two
plates to herself! Great Greedy Guts!

 7. Numero Siete

Cute Cute and Cuchi swore that they had
the best pastries and brunch here, better than even what you get
back home in the Lion City. Ok, once you get past the snob appeal of
 Le Cafe Ban Vat Sene, with their snooty service,
colonial wicker chairs and Raffles-like ambience,
the pastries are to-die-for! Cuchi had the best lemon tart and
ham-and-cheese croissant with bechamel sauce. Another
recommended atmospheric cafe in Luang Prabang
is Le Banneton selling home-made ice-creams in flavours
like roselle, pineapple, apricot peach and also gourmet breads.

8. Numero Ocho

Lao equivalent of home-made Nori Seaweed.
Freshly fried and harvested from the Mekong River
in Luang Prabang. Crispy and yummy.

 9. Numero Nueve

Silkworm poo tea at Ock Pop Tok.
Earthy and surprisingly pleasant.
Silkworm feeds on mulberry leaves,
passes them out, thereafter, their poo is collected and dried
for this experience. Purported health benefits remain
dubious.

 10. Numero Diez

Hey is that pork belly? Nope. Aw Lam is a hearty
stew chockful of fresh greens and some meat
of your choice and flavoured with wood chips
infused with spices. Yes, be careful not to
swallow that!

Top 10 Things to Do in Languid Laos

Hello folks! It's been a week since the Lions' intrepid expedition to the Languid Land of Laos ....

They had one of the best vacations in this little-known gem of a country,

and of course had fun hunting down that perfect cup of java

while checking out a mosaic of breath-taking sights.

 

Before unveiling the Top 10 Things to Do in Laos,

here's some snapshots of them

clowning around with their favourite ginger friend, Monster Cat,

before the take-off:   

You're my favourite furry pals ...

 

Playing and taking a swip at Cute Cute's tail

Auf Wiedersehen! Have fun travelling!

 

Lion's Guide to Top Ten Things to Do in Languid Laos

(according to their experiences, no order of merit)

 

1. Numero Uno

Taking a stroll down Vientiene's Champs-Elysees
before reaching the capital city's
Arc de Triomphe modelled after the
original in Paris.
Climb to the top for a paranomic view of the city.

2. Numero Dos

Succumb to the sybaritic pleasure of a
Traditional Lao Massage.
The lions indulged in a two-and-a-half hour spa session
at the
Papaya Spa in Vientiene.

3. Numero Tres


Ready, Steady, Go!

Take a swim or dive in Tarzan-style in a waterfall pool.

4. Numero Cuatro

Witness a time-honooured tradition not found
anywhere else in the world:
The giving of alms to saffron-clad monks
at the break of dawn.

 

5. Numero Cinco

Try Beer Lao and Nam Khong Beer on tap
brewed on homeground using
locally-grown barley!

6. Numero Seis 

Tube down the Namsong River in Vang Vieng
amidst an amazing limestone karst backdrop.

7. Numero Siete 

Fall under a sleepy spell
as you laze the day away
on a hammock, true laid-back Laotian style.
According to an old saying,
"The Vietnamese plant rice,
the Cambodians watch it grow
and the Lao listen to it grow.”

 

8. Numero Ocho

Explore and fall in love with the heady beauty of
the UNESCO heritage town, Luang Prabang,
with her lovely colonial buildings of
varying personalities.

9. Numero Nueve

Behold the most impressive caves in the region;
the rest of the insipid caves in Asia
pales in comparison to the magnificience
of these hidden wonders.
The lions were even accompanied by an
intelligent guide dog to these caves.

 

10. Numero Diez

 

Cycle to small artisan villages where
the tedious traditions of handmade arts and crafts
are heart-warmingly preserved and
passed down.
(Top: Paper-making/
Bottom: Hands-on weaving class conducted
at Oct Pop Tok)

 

 

Due to time-contraints, there are many more deserving activites that
belong on this list. Eg. Visiting the Plain of Jars, zip-lining through the
forest, enjoying the sights of coffee plantations in the Bolaven Plateau, etc.

Cute Cute and Cuchi have already planned for a repeat visit
sometime next year.

 

A short food escapade in Batam

Cute Cute was feeling tad lazy and bored during one of his weekends.... Maybe he was tired of the concrete jungle and the fast pace of life here in Singapore. Thankfully for him, his friend, Ms Di-soh, was organising a trip to Batam. Hmm... lion had not been there for sometime despite the close proximity, looks like it's time for another adventure.

Feeling bored and lazy?

The trip has been ordinary but what surprised Cute Cute most was this little coffee shop near to Batam's factory outlet that made him blog about the food there.

Cute Cute would also like to credit the lovely food photos, which are featured below, to his friend, Miss Go Green.

Swee's Curry Puff
Cute Cute and Mr Stevie Wonder spotted this gem (well they sniffed to this gem more likely) while they were looking for coffee in the coffee shop. Looking so enticing, they bought a number to be shared among all. The chicken curry puff was a delight! Very hot due to its freshness, the curry inside was very savory and had a strong but yet pleasant spicy taste. The pastry that covered the filling was slightly sweet which makes it different from the curry puffs in Singapore.

Chicken Satay
The satay was also something different. The meat is orange reddish colour and the peanut sauce covered the satay instead of being in a separate bowl. Different but taste almost the same as its Singapore counterpart.

Mee Sagu
Feeling greedy when a plate of this passed Cute Cute, he went to order this dish which is the Mee Sagu 沙谷面. Looked very much like Singapore's char mee but taste entirely different. Very smooth and soft, tasted like a cross of our tang hoon and kway teow.

Of course the food adventures did not end once lion and his friends got their ferry tickets home. They had one last meal at one of the cafes at the ferry terminal. Despite being the price of Singapore dollars, the food was relatively not bad. In clockwise direction, teh tarik, fried mee, toast and instant noodles.