PAUL Bakery and cafe, Pavilion KL

     
Back in November, my dad and I visited the Paul Bakery and cafe in Pavilion KL on a weekday. We were intrigued by the number of desserts and pastries they serve in their cafe by just looking at their menu. This place serves not only pastries but also coffees, teas, sandwiches and some cooked dishes. Paul's bakery comprises of two parts; the dining area and an individual pastry kiosk. The individual pastry kiosk - for takeaway pastries is located right opposite of the cafe's dining area and can be easily spotted. I must say, Paul's bakery and cafe are aesthetically pleasing in its black-themed  setting. The entire place looks really elegant too. 🌟

Paul's dining area from the side view.

This is the view from my seat. 

From my seat, I can spot the individual pastry kiosk which is located just right opposite of the dining area.

Here's the individual pastry kiosk which displays and sells a variety of breads, tarts, eclairs and other pastries.

The prices of these pastries range from approximately RM5++ to RM20++. Not cheap I know.

I was merely craving for desserts and pastries hence I didn't really bother to look at the main course section in its menu. Although they do serve main courses but the choices that are offered were limited. As far as I could remember, they do offer options like pasta, cooked meats, salads, soup of the day and sandwiches. Not to mention that the prices of these dishes were quite pocket-unfriendly.. Or maybe the prices were meant to be high because they're exquisite french dishes??? I don't know.

All prices stated below are not inclusive of GST.

I went ahead and ordered a cup of vanilla black tea. RM 10.20. 🍵

I didn't quite like the taste of the tea at its first brew because the taste of the vanilla itself was quite overpowering, almost artificial but after a couple of brews, the tea tasted better as the vanilla taste becomes more subtle. Overall, the tea was good.

It comes with a pot of hot water for refills.

Dad ordered a cup of iced lemongrass tea. RM 12.10. Nothing special about it.

Waiting for my tea to brew.

I had a citron meringue tart - aka lemon meringue tart for RM15.10.

I really enjoyed this lemon tart, it's delicious! The tart shell was a bit tad too hard to cut with a knife but it's crunchy, I liked the lemon fillings as it wasn't too sour and it was quite sweet. The meringue was good. Absolute perfection. 🍋

Compared to the lemon meringue tart from Rubberduck hartamas, I liked this one better since it's less sour in taste.

Ordered a creme brulee to share with my dad. RM 17.

The creme brulee was also fine but I personally didn't like the layer of torched sugar on it because it was kindda bitter to taste. The creme itself is alright and its less sweet. It was okay for me.

Dad had a plate of salmon pasta - Rigatoni salmon. RM35.90. He enjoyed the dish a lot.

While enjoying my desserts I have also took a few foodie shots.

The total bill came up to RM105.15 inclusive of GST and 10% of service charges.

Final thoughts, I would return to this place again for its pastries and tea but not the main courses just because I didn't quite like the variety of the food that was being offered on the menu. I wish to try out other pastries like the eclairs on my next visit. I say, the pastries and desserts in this cafe were worth the try!

COSTA Coffee Malaysia (in Shell stations) - Nice or not?

       
Coffee has always been my go-to beverage whenever I'm feeling exhausted and needed some energy boost, especially in the mornings. After being a super loyal fan towards Starbucks for so many years, I thought I needed to try out other coffee brands for a change. I have heard from Char a lot of things about Costa coffee because she studies in London. She told me that Costa coffee is London's favorite coffee brand besides Starbucks. I was pretty excited once I got to know that Costa coffee is now available in Malaysia, but only in selected Shell outlets. I finally got to try it out last Sunday.

My first ever Costa beverage was their hot vanilla latte which was priced at RM11 (medium) per cup. I got it from the Shell station at Jalan Tun Razak. I forgot to take a picture of the beverage that night because I was rushing to somewhere else. But I have to say, their Christmas edition cups are really cute! The large-sized hot beverage cup has a gingerbread man figure on it while the medium-sized one has a blue-uniformed soldier printed on it.

Compared to the lattes from Starbucks, the Costa ones tasted milder; the coffee isn't as strong as the Starbucks one. I would describe the coffee as smooth and milky. As it's milder in taste, it's better for people who have gastric problems like me (my tummy would get upset easily whenever I drink really strong coffee). 👍

A thing to note about these Costa coffee outlets is that they are all machine operated. You'll get to choose whatever beverage you want from the screen and then take the printed ticket to the counter to pay. The average price per cup is around RM10-11 for medium sized beverages.

Went one of the Shell stations on Friday to pump petrol and to grab a cuppa.
Here lies the glorious Costa coffee machine ⭐

This is the beverage machine. Press start to access the beverage menu to select which beverage you would like to order. The prices will also be stated on the screen. Remember to grab that printed ticket and make your payment at the cashier.

This is the ice machine. To make cold beverages, pick the size of the cup of your choice, then fill it with some ice and then take it to the beverage machine to create your beverage.

Pick your desired beverage and place the cup underneath the screen area.

Sis ordered strawberry flavored milk, priced at RM13 (medium).

It tasted exactly like the Dutch Lady strawberry flavoured packet milk that you can find in supermarkets. Oh and notice how cute the cold beverage cup is too? 😍

Here's my iced vanilla latte, RM11 (medium).

Remember not to pour too much ice into your cup or else your beverage will overflow.

Overall, I think that the beverages served by Costa coffee isn't too shabby. It definitely could be a nice quick fix for those who need their daily cup of coffee while on the go. 😜

MRT SBK line Malaysia adventures (Pavilion & National Museum)

       
I have a little confession to make.. Since young, I have never really used the Malaysian public transport system because my family and I will usually travel to various places by car. It has never occurred to me why and when should I even use the public transport. I remember taking the ktm and lrt once when I was only 5 years old and public buses with my grandma at the age of 10. Another reason why I have never taken the public transport as frequently as my other friends do is that there is hardly any buses that would even pass by around my area. So yeah, being a 20 y/o Malaysian citizen, it's embarrassing to tell that I have hardly ever utilized the local public transport system.

But not anymore! With the new MRT SBK line, I am proud to say that I now utilize the public transport system more frequently than I used to back then. I have to say, the new MRT is amazing because it's new, clean and cool (obviously) but most importantly, it's convenient!

How convenient? Alright, here's the thing, since there's hardly any buses around my area so I have to travel to places back and forth by driving. So let's say if I want to travel to KL, I have to purposely drive my car all the way there. But now, I can just choose to park my car at the MRT's park and ride centre and take the MRT to whichever places I want. I have to admit, yes, it's not cheap to park my car at the station too but on the good side, I get to avoid traffic jam problems and I don't have to worry about not being able to find a parking in those KL malls! (Btw this post isn't sponsored)

I have taken the mrt with my friends and family more than 5 times so far.

Here's a summarised version on my youtube channel:

So I parked my car at the Bandar Utama's mrt park and ride centre and headed off to the mrt station. I used the touchngo card for quicker access.

You can choose to purchase the tickets from the machine too, but I'm not sure how it works though.

The mrt station looks really clean and of course, new! The good thing about these stations is that they have fans all around their station so it's less hot compared to other public transport stations like the lrt ones.

Since we're heading towards pavilion, we went to platform one which is the Kajang line.

There are escalators at these mrt stations.

Platform one - heading towards Kajang direction.

There are also screens that show you approximately how long it takes till the next train arrives.

The platforms have glass safety doors like the ones in Singapore too! It's good because it acts as a safety barrier between the platform and the mrt railways.

Our train has arrived!

You'll get to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.

There will be screens above the exit door that shows the entire SBK line map and your whereabouts throughout your journey.

This is how the underground mrt railway looks like as you may have already expected it, yes, it's dark but fret not, the insides of the mrt are brightly lit.

Took the escalator upwards after we've arrived at the Bukit Bintang station. For your information, the Bukit Bintang mrt station is an underground one. Each of the underground mrt stations has its own unique designs. The Bukit Bintang one has red modern looking walls.

We took the pintu (exit) D from the mrt station that will lead us to the direction where lot10, fahrenheit 88 and pavilion is located at. You'll see Zara on your right once you've exited the station via pintu D. Here, we are walking towards fahrenheit 88.

There are escalators right infront of the entrance of fahrenheit88 that will lead you down to Brands Outlet and to pavilion. If you prefer not to walk across the busy roads just to get to pavilion, you can always access the underpass to pavilion via these escalators.

After taking the escalator down to Brands outlet, turn left and you will see a sign that says 'underpass to pavilion'.

After walking for another 2 mins, here we are in pavilion already!

We had our quick lunch at Rakuzen, pavilion elite before we go for some shopping.

Sis had her ice cream cravings satisfied at the mini Softserve store.

After walking in pavilion for around 2 hours, we decided to stop by the National Museum for a visit on our way back to the BU station. It was actually my first time visiting the National Museum. So we went back to the Bukit Bintang mrt station via the underpass that connects both F88 and pavilion together.

Continue walking straight towards the lot10 direction to get to the BB mrt station.

I just realised that 3 mins away (within near walking distance) is the Bukit Bintang monorail station.

Here's the entrance of pintu D of the Bukit Bintang mrt station.

This time, we headed to platform 2 - Sungai Buloh line to get to the National Museum.

We are three stations away from the National Museum.

This is how the underground station looks like, similar to Singapore's mrt line.

After reaching the Muzium Negara station, we headed towards pintu (exit) B.

After getting out of the station, you'll see the national museum at your right. On your left will be the Qsentral and st regis building.

We've arrived at the National Museum.

The entrance fee was RM2 for regular Mykad adults.

This is how the museum looks like inside.

We went to take a look at the outside of the museum after we'd finished walking through all the exhibitions, 

These are the models of various types of olden houses around Malaysia.

That's the main door that you'll see if you're travelling along Jalan Istana.

After the visit, we went straight back to the Bandar utama mrt station and headed home. It was a tiring day for all of us.


Hope you've enjoyed reading and cheers to more mrt adventures in the future!
Go experience the mrt if you haven't!