Worth the hype? - 純萃。喝 Chun Cui He (Just Drink) tea from Taiwan

       
You would have already known me really well since the day you started following my blog posts that I'm always on the hunt of all-hyped-up stuffs such as food, makeup and all sorts of stuff. This time, it's a type of tea. It isn't just an ordinary type of tea but bottled tea from Taiwan. A few months back, a lot of people in the internet were saying good things about this tea - how delicious it tasted and how fragrant and milky it is. After seeing such wonderful feedbacks and reviews on the internet, guess what hit me again? MY CURIOUSITY for this tea!

In case if you're wondering, the name of the product is called 純萃。喝, which is pronounced as Chun Cui He in terms of chinese pinyin. I have to admit the bottle itself looked really cute and aesthetic and minimalistic.  In Taiwan, flavors such as rose milk tea, earl gray milk tea, green milk tea and much more are available in stores. Another interesting thing about these beverages is that they come in various pastel-colored bottles. 😍 However, in Malaysia we are able to purchase only 3 type of flavours from their range which is a huge bummer. According to its Malaysian facebook site, these beverages are only sold at selected 7-eleven stores. I actually got mine from the nearest Aeon supermarket and to my knowledge, these beverages are also sold at the Jaya grocer in the gardens mall.

I bought two flavours which are the milk tea and latte. One thing that I noticed from these beverages is that their shelf life is quite short, it can only withstand for a good 5-7 days in the refrigerator before it expires. So you have to consume it quickly within a few days of time before it goes bad.

Here are the two flavours that I have gotten which are latte and milk tea.

It retails for RM8.90 per bottle. Quite pricey though.

Ingredients and nutrition information are stated on the bottle.

In case if you're wondering how these two beverages look like in the bottle, here's a picture of it.

Thoughts about this drink

First impressions, both the beverages were nice but there's nothing really special or interesting about it. The consistency of both beverages are slightly thicker than the milk tea or coffee that we usually buy from stores such as Starbucks or CBTL. It's similar to the consistency of a regular full cream milk or even slightly thicker than that. 

Yes, it is milky and fragrant but tastewise, it's no different from those milk teas you can get from your local cafes. Nothing really impressive about it but I would give the packaging a solid A rating because it looks good. 

That is all I'd like to share with you guys.

Have you tried  純萃。喝 and what are your thoughts about it? 😜

Sri Hartamas edition: Rubberduck (new) & Lushbowl at Plaza Damas and Senya Izakaya Publika

       
Sri Hartamas reminds me so much of the good old college days I used to have back then. It is one of the must-visit hot spots in KL if you're hunting for some really good cafes, dessert spots and eateries. I used to hangout with my bunch of college mates around that area because it is just so near to our.. you know, college. Whenever we're feeling fancy, we would drive to Publika to have our lunch there and in most of the days we usually have our lunches at the shops in plaza damas. As I'm currently studying in the PJ area, I no longer visit the Hartamas area as often as I used to before but I'll still go to Publika occasionally to get some groceries (I love Ben's supermarket) or to have my lunch or dinner with my family there. Publika ftw! 😜

Lushbowl 

Last week, I had a little meet up with my old tuition mate, Sabrina at One Utama then we decided to head to plaza damas to have her little cravings satisfied. That's when she recommended me a place called Lushbowl that serves mainly healthy rice bowls and smoothie bowls. I love how the cafe uses a modern yet nature-inspired theme to decorate their place. Minimalist yet stylish. Not to mention that their staffs were friendly. 😆

We sat outside as Sabrina preferred the outside seats.

This is how the cafe looks like when viewed from the outside.

If I'm not mistaken, Sabrina ordered a seared salmon rice bowl topped with baked salmon skin. The baked salmon skin was delicious! RM30.

I was full from lunch hence I ended up ordering a smoothie which wasn't on their menu list. It's called Sandstorm chia seed pudding priced at RM21. To be honest, I find that the pudding was a bit too pricey because most of its contents were only fruits however it tasted good and it's refreshing so I'll give it a pass.😊

What a mouthwatering and refreshing treat! I'll definitely come back to try their rice bowls the next round.

Rubberduck (New)

I have been craving for Rubberduck's smoothie bowl lately. I think I have fallen in love with their smoothie bowl since my first visit back in 2016. Rubberduck used to be a small cozy cafe situated in one of the corners of the plaza but now that it has relocated to a larger shop just situated right next to 7 eleven. The cafe now has a bigger space for its customers! I went there with my sister on Wednesday and we both had their sunshine bowl. 

We sat at the outdoor area as the indoors were packed.

The dessert counter. How I wish I could order each and every of the desserts displayed in the counter. 😞

Do give their lemon meringue tart a try if you're there!

Consist of pineapples, mangoes, chia seeds, homemade granola, hawaiiwan coconut shreds, bananas and dragonfruit, the sunshine smoothie bowls are priced at RM18 each.

Same as the old sunshine bowl that I used to know. I like the Hawaiian coconut flakes on top a lot! Soooo gooood.

Senya Izakaya Publika (& One Utama)

My first ever dining experience in Senya was on the Malaysian Independence day, which was last week I guess in the Mitsui Sepang outlet. My family and I liked their sushi rolls a lot so we decided to visit their other outlets around KL to satisfy our japanese food cravings. 

Mum, sis and I had lunch at their Isetan One Utama outlet last week. This time we were disappointed because we realised that this outlet doesn't serve any sushi(s). Nevertheless, we still ordered some dishes from their menu for a quick lunch.

The menu from the 1U outlet.

They're specialised in serving hokkaido pork don.

Edamame.

Spicy ramen.

Salmon shioyaki set meal.

Unagi don with omelette.

Last Saturday, my sis was craving for sushi for lunch hence I suggested to try out the Senya outlet at Publika. This time we weren't disappointed because this outlet serves both sushis and other japanese dishes as well!

The interior of Senya Izakaya publika.

We were kind of surprised as the menu comes in the form of an ipad. We were told to order our food straight off the menu including drinks.

You can also check your orders from the ipad before giving it back to the staffs.

Condiments are provided in this little wooden bucket.

The view that I get from my side.

We ordered a plate of edamame, RM4.50. Green tea is priced at RM3 per cup.

Sister's unagi rolls, RM24.80.

Here's my order, the salmon rolls, RM18.60.

Fresh and tasty.


Senya is now one of our favourite japanese restaurants to visit for our meals.





That's all I would like to share with you guys today! :)
And I hope you've enjoyed reading the post.
See you soon!
    

Miru dessert cafe (Uptown Damansara) & The Social Desa Parkcity

       
Blogging is life. Blogging means a lot to me, much more than being just a mere hobby. It has inspired me to write more, mature as a person and to share my experiences with everyone. I cannot believe that I have been blogging for 8 years now!! 8 freaking years!! I want to thank each and everyone of you for your endless supports and for all the love you have given me. I remember publishing my first ever blog post in the month of September back in 2009 but unfortunately, I accidentally deleted that post hence I can't trace back what was the exact date of my first official blog post. Ok, maybe I should stop blabbering and only write a long ass post on the 10th anniversary of my blogging journey. Hahaha. Anyways, HAPPY 8th ANNIVERSARY to simpleharusakura! 😄🎆

I'm feelin' so extra 🌟

Miru dessert cafe 🍨

I'll start off this post with something sweet.. like desserts! I met up with my uni mate and babe, Dionne at the Starling Damansara Uptown last two weeks. We passed by this dessert cafe called Miru when we were hunting for a lunch spot (which I've forgotten to take pics of cuz we were hungry). As usual, I've seen pictures of people having their desserts at this little cafe in instagram (I'm always getting influenced by people on social medias easily). I can't deny that those pictures of the desserts do look good af so of course me being me I had to give them a try! This cafe can be easily spotted at the opposite of texas chicken (dsara uptown).

They offer desserts such as fluffy toasts, waffles, lava cakes and assorted bingsus (shaved ice). They also serve a wide variety of drinks like iced teas and flavoured iced beverages.

Took this picture while waiting for our desserts to be served. This is a nice little place to meet up with your friends to enjoy desserts while having a little chat.

We ordered a Shibuya Honey Toast and a Strawberry Cheesecake shaved ice.

After waiting for 5 mins, our Shibuya honey toast is finally here! RM14 for the mini version.

The toast comes with a little jug of maple syrup, two scoops of vanilla ice cream and a pump of whipped cream. The toast itself is soft and has a buttery taste to it. It has to be consumed as soon as possible to prevent it from becoming soggy when the ice cream starts to melt on it unless you choose to finish all ice cream then you slowly enjoy the toast.

The camera eats first! 😂

Here comes our Strawberry kakigori. RM25.


To be honest, I don't think that this shaved ice is worth its price. Despite the fact that it contains chunks of real cheesecake at the bottom and 4 pieces of strawberry, I find it so so only. There's nothing really special about this ice. I thought the white ice is rich and milky but nope, it tasted like nothing.. I'll never order this again.

At least I get to take insta-worthy pictures.. 😂

The Social DPC 🍹

On a Friday night, my mum, sis and I were hunting for a place to have our dinner/supper but most of the food shops were already closed cuz it was late. We then went to DPC to try out the social bar and restaurant as it's still open and it only closes at around 2am. Late night supper anyone? 😛

Here's a blurry pic of their food menu. You can check em' out at their official website.

How the interior looks like from our view.

The social serves alcoholic drinks so if you're up for a late night drink, go for it. 😊

Was laughing at the list of names of these alcoholic beverages for a good 3 minutes. 😂

The cake station, everything looks so good in here. 🤤

We ordered 3 drinks. My naughty sis had the peach martini, mum had the green tea while I had a coconut shake.

Green tea at RM11, which is extremely pricey.

Peach martini at RM35. I'm not sure if alcoholic drinks are usually priced like this but to me it was expensive. Anyways, it was worth the try because it was good. I had a sip and I liked it because of its sweet peach flavour plus it doesn't have a strong alcohol aftertaste.

I had the coconut shake mocktail. RM15. The taste was okay, nothing fancy.

It comes with a piece of coconut flesh and some vanilla ice cream in the drink itself.

Lemon meringue tart. RM12 if I'm not mistaken.
I personally don't really like the meringue part of the tart because it reminds me of marshmallows (I don't like marshmallows). But the tart's fillings were nice. The lemon tart itself tasted a little bit more sour than I expected but it was balanced with a good amount of sweetness.

Sister's turkey bacon carbonara, RM28. Carbonara lovers, this is worth the try if you don't mind paying extra. The pasta itself is creamy and the turkey bacon is crunchy. I don't usually like carbonara but this stuff is good. 😋

Soft shell crab, RM24. Really crispy but salty.

Mum and I shared a plate of pad thai. RM22. This dish is not bad. Not to mention that the prawns were fresh too!



The total bill came at around RM170+ after taxes and all. Definitely pricey but it was worth the visit. 

> Here, I would like to add on a little update about the small eats I had last week.

Street Churros (One Utama) & Snowball Bingsu 🍧

I wasn't a big fan of churros because to me, they tasted like the chinese fried youtiaos but in a crunchier(?) and thinner appearance. But one day my sis decided to try out the street churros in one utama and that was the day where I decided to appreciate churros more than I used to before. The reason is because, this store serves really fresh churros. The churros I had from past experiences were kindda shitty not gonna lie, but I love the churros from this particular store as the churros they serve are freshly made instead of those ready made ones.

Here's a picture of the menu.

My sis had the churro fries while I had this basic plain churros with cinnamon sugar sprinkles. It was sooooo good! RM5.90. 😝

Remember the time when I went for a short vacay with Brendz and the gang? That was the day where Brendz introduced us to this Snowball bingsu which is located at Avenue K. They serve really really soft shaved milk ice which melts instantly when you put it in your mouth. I loved the ice as it reminds of me of the taste of whipped cream which is delightful. However, it's a bit pricey for a small bowl of  takeaway shaved ice. RM7. Plus, they do charge us for 10% of service charge which is a bummer.. 😦

Nevertheless, I still love their plain shaved ice. 😍




So that's all for now, thanks for reading and I'll see you guys soon!