Nanyang, Edinburgh

Some of you might have known about it and some or you might not.

I am currently studying abroad for my final year of undergraduate study in Edinburgh, Scotland!

Fret not, this isn't the end of #jiaaqieats adventure (though I have to admit, eating out here is waaaaaayyy more expensive compared to Malaysia! #studentbudget)

I'll blog about some updates about life here in Edinburgh and maybe some useful tips for those for intend to further study in the UK, but first, a mandatory food post from Edinburgh!

We Malaysian love our food, no matter where we are. So my first food post from the UK is, well, don't kill me, Malaysian food! (I know I know, I'm in the UK where you can get tones of other food that I can't get in Malaysia like Fish and Chips and I choose to splash my cash on Malaysian food. But hey, a study abroad experience is never complete without trying out your home country food in that country and comparing it to your home country!)

Nanyang is one of the few Malaysian cuisine restaurant that claims to provide the "best and original Malaysian flavor", with a top notch service, here in Edinburgh. It is located at Lister Square, one of the high end commercial area of Old Town Edinburgh, conveniently located right next to the main campus of University of Edinburgh. A plus point for Malaysian studying in the University of Edinburgh that misses home!

I was greeted warmly by waiters dressed in waistcoat and a neat crisp white shirt as I set foot into Nanyang. Now that's something you'd never see in Malaysia, not even at Madam Kwan (waiters well-dressed in waistcoat)! 

A nostalgic sense of familiarity hit me, with Chinese pop music playing in the background. The ambiance was pretty Malaysian-ish with a twist, Sarawak Tree of Life portrait with a sape, little Nyonya food carrier, traditional wooden congkak and Chinese lantern hanging from the ceiling).

Rated 4 out of 5 and scoring a Certificate of Excellence on Trip Advisor , expectation and excitement was brewing inside me as I skim through the few certificates plastered on their walls. 

The cutleries placement on the table with a thick red napkin - they weren't kidding in delivering the top notch service!

Nanyang's menu is available online at their website. The menu features the usual suspect such as nasi lemak, char koay teow, curry mee, with a side addition of cocktail and alcohol. After all, the drinking culture is the norm here! 

The spread of Malaysian food we ordered!

Chicken Curry with Boiled Rice £6.95

Nasi Lemak £11.95

Lemon Chicken £6.95

Generous chunks of deep fried chicken cutlets accompanied with more rice than I would ever consume in a week.
Well it is a little hard assessing how I felt about this dish. I know I shouldn't compare with the ones I have in Malaysia as the food here has been localized to suit the taste buds of the locals.

From a Malaysian's point of view, the lemon chicken may be a little too sweet, and could need a little "chili padi" (bird eyes chili) to spice it up and balance to sweet and sour taste. But being more than 10,000km away from home, boleh lah.

The verdict? Well I wouldn't say the food wasn't great but it wasn't bad, just that it has been adjusted to suit the local taste buds. Now I know how citizens of other countries feel when they try out their own national cuisine in an international restaurant in Malaysia.  :p

Nanyang
Unit 1, 3-5 Lister Square, South Pavilion,
Quartermile, Edinburgh, EH3 9GL
​
Email: info@nanyangrestaurant.com
Contact Number: 0131 629 1797

Cafe Studio, The Strand, Kota Damansara

Café Studio is a coffee shop-cum-furniture boutique-cum-art gallery located at The Strand, Kota Damansara. It has been around since 2014 (you can read about my first visit HERE) and a new management has since took over since June 2016.

The interior design of the café itself is inspired by high-end concept which somehow create serene feelings towards any customer who come to the café. Not much has changed since my last visit, except for a few new addition of furniture and art pieces, giving this beautiful space a more homey feel.

The visually appealing cafe & relaxing ambiance makes Cafe Studio the perfect place to have a tête-à-tête session with your close friends or family

Cafe Studio has since revamped their menu since my last visit a few years back then. Cafe Studio's menu now specializing mainly on sandwich, salad, mocktail and coffee.

Salad 
Cafe Studio offers 9 different selection of fresh salads such as hard boiled egg with salted egg, tofu, sweet potato, spicy chicken, Japanese seaweed, octopus, crab stick, Hawaii chicken and Thai style anchovy.

After you've opt for the base, choose from 16 selections of fused mayo dressing and 6 types of oil dressings at only RM2.50 each to go with your salad

Mayo based
Wasabi mayo
Teriyaki
Pesto
Honey mustard
Thousand island
Spicy seaweed
Mint cream
Asian spicy curry
Orange Mayo
Roasted sesame
Lavender
Honey lemon mayo
Lemongrass
Matcha green tea
Rose
Blackcurrant

Oil-Based
Honey lemon vinaigrette
Orange vinaigrette
Sour plum vinaigrette
Apple vinaigrette
Blackcurrant vinaigrette
Balsamic vinaigrette

Love the dressing? You can even opt to buy a small tub of their dressing home!

Sandwiches 

Cafe Studio serves up to 10 selection of beautifully made sandwiches which includes: 

Hard boil egg with salted egg, spicy chicken, salted chicken, chicken ham, beef bacon, crab stick, tuna, and mushroom and combo set which includes all flavor.

Affogato 

Cocktails

Cafe Studio serves up to 12 selection of mocktails from passion fruits herb, lemon grass fizz, yam bean basil leave, lime mojito, pomegranate sweet basil, pandan with sour plum, lime blueberry, citrus maniac, pineapple honey, mango herb, lavender mint and ginger cucumber.

Coffees

Balancing Coffee

Also known as Belgium Coffee, single origin coffee bean used. 

Black & White

A choice of black & white coffee...for those who can't decide to go for black or white!

Irish Coffee RM16.50 (Non-alcoholic)
Sweetened coffee served hot and topped with whipped cream. 

First the sweetener is heated up...once it starts boiling, the process is put to a halt.

The black coffee is then mixed with the boiled sweetener and topped with whipped cream! 

Cafe Studio
No.42A-1 & 46-1, 

Jalan PJU 5/20D, 

The Strand, Kota Damansara, 

47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Business Hours:

Sundays - Thursdays: 10am - 10pm
Fridays & Saturdays: 10am - 11pm
Closed on Tuesdays


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CafeS2dio

Strike a Chord of Resonance at TEDxKL 2016!

TED Talks. I'm sure that most of you have heard of it. If not, here's a simple introduction to TED:

TED is a non-profit, dedicated to sharing ideas. Much like a very good jam, these ideas are very worth spreading.

TED stands for Technology. Entertainment. Design. However, ideas spread at TED is not limited to just Technology, Entertainment and Design. It ranges from entertainment, philosophy, business, human rights and so much more.

TEDxKL is back for the 8th year with the theme RESONANCE.

Resonance creates a morphic field that strengthens when more energy is added to it. When we resonate with something or someone, we relate or connect to it in a certain harmonious way. It strikes a chord with us.

Like a good idea, when coincides with like-minded individuals, it resonates, and creates a strong positive ripple effect in that particular field.

Here's a few of my favourite TED Talks that strike a chord of resonance with me:

1. Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator - Tim Urban 

"When a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this

And I would want to do that like that. That would be the plan. I would have it all ready to go, but then, actually, the paper would come along, and then I would kind of do this.
  

So here's the brain of a non-procrastinator.

Now ... here's my brain."

I admit, I am guilty of being a Master PRO-crastinators. One good example is this blog post...which I have procrastinated it for...quite...a while. I can't say that after listening to how Tim combated procrastination, his Instant Gratification Monkey and Panic Monster made me a procrastinate-free individual, but it made me more self-aware and reflective on the time I have left (and how I should stop shifting tabs, watching random YouTube videos and focus on completing this blog post)

2. Teach Girls Bravery, Not perfection - Reshma Saujani

"Most girls are taught to avoid risk and failure. We're taught to smile pretty, play it safe, get all A's. Boys, on the other hand, are taught to play rough, swing high, crawl to the top of the monkey bars and then just jump off headfirst. And by the time they're adults, whether they're negotiating a raise or even asking someone out on a date, they're habituated to take risk after risk. They're rewarded for it. It's often said in Silicon Valley, no one even takes you seriously unless you've had two failed start-ups. In other words, we're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave."

Growing up as the youngest & only daughter in the family, I can't help but to agree and relate myself to Reshma. No, this talk isn't about extreme feminism, but just about the simple act of encouraging girls to be braver, to embrace uncertainty and risks.

3. Are You Human? - Ze Frank 

"Have you ever eaten a booger long past your childhood?
Has your phone ever run out of battery in the middle of an argument, and it sort of felt like the phone was breaking up with both of you? 

Have you ever woken up blissfully and suddenly been flooded by the awful remembrance that someone had left you? "

A funny yet emotional TED Talk that is below 5 minutes. Frank started off with whimsical questions, but slowly progressed into hypothetical questions about humanity, that made me reflect and realize how to be human - how life is full of ups and downs and how we are not alone in dealing with life's ups and downs.


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Feeling inspired? Strike a chord of resonance at TEDxKL 2016! HERE is the list TEDxKL 2016 speakers - there will be 12 presenters in total throughout this six hour event :)

Get your TEDxKL tickets now @ tedxkl2016.peatix.com

Exclusive for my readers, enter my promo code jiaqitedxkl to purchase the tickets at a special discounted rate of RM90 :)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxKL/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tedxkl
Instagram: @tedxklofficial

Dotty's, TTDI - Salted Egg Yolk Frenzy

The salted egg yolk craze has taken Klang Valley by storms - It all started from our neighbour across the causeway, spreading the fad and hype which was evident after the launch of the Molten Salted Egg Yolk croissant from Le Bread Days...to the Salted Egg Yolk burger at my BurgerLab, Salted Egg Yolk Waffle at GoGet Cafe, salted egg yolk pasta etc. etc. 

Dotty's at Taman Tun Dr Ismail is one of the pioneer that hopped on the wave of Salted Egg Yolk craze - renowned for its Salted Egg Yolk Cronut (a hybrid between a croissant and doughnut), Dotty's had won the hearts of Salted Egg Yolk fans around Klang Valley. Photos of their molten Salted Egg Yolk delights have been circulating social media sites for the past few months (or pass one year!)

It was clear that the salted egg yolk craze had not cooled off - Patrons were seen rushing in and out, carrying boxes of salted egg yolk goodies from Dotty's.

We were greeted with a wonderful feast of pastries as we set our foot into Dotty's. The place was packed to the brim, even though I thought we arrived relatively early (9.30am) on a Saturday morning! 

Our order - The Salted Egg Yolk Cronut was not available yet as it was too early (take note that the first batch of cronuts is available at 12pm!). Even so, there were many other Salted Egg Yolk pastries for us to choose from - Salted Egg Yolk eclair, Salted Egg Yolk doughnut, Salted Egg Yolk roll etc. etc. etc.

Picking what to order was such an arduous task in Dotty's - we were simply too spoilt for choices!

Bread Basket RM16
Croissant, Brioche, Chocolate Roll, Cinnamon Roll, Sesame , served with homemade kaya, jam and butter

The pastries were okay, nothing much to shout about. However, I thought the homemade kaya was truly a delight - one of the better ones I've tried out there so far.

Salted Egg Yolk Cruffin RM10

Like a "Lau Sha Bao", but encrusted with a crusty, crispy and fragrant cruffin pastry crust. The salted egg yolk "sauce" had a thick and creamy consistency, bursting with a combination of sweet & savoury salted egg yolk flavours. 

Being an "okay" fan of salted egg yolk, I thought that the cruffin was an enjoyable pastry to share, as it is a little too cloying for me to finish one on my own. 

Pumpkin & Broccoli Quiche RM12
Tad pricey given its size on my opinion but nevertheless an enjoyable savoury quiche, packed with generous amount of root vegetables and decent amount of cheese.

If pastries are not your thing, Dotty's do serve hot meals as well. Prices are on the higher end (most pastries are priced above RM10).

Dotty's

20-G, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 2,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

Business Hours :
9am - 9pm Wednesdays - Mondays
Closed on Tuesdays

Contact Number : +603-7733 4233
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mydottys/