It's been quite some time since I last visited Publika but I do enjoy going there just for the food. Although there isn't much to shop there except for when there is some bazaar or some event going around there. However I do like that I am quite spoiled for choice when it comes to eating. 

That day, I was feeling like some burger and finally brought myself to try FatBoy's burger. Sometime back this place was all the hype & people would have to line up for a long time just to try their 'famous' burgers. Though the place was pretty empty when I visited for lunch that day which is kind of odd but also good for me cause no waiting time. I ordered the simple Fat Bastard that comes with a side of fries & also some lettuce and tomato. The fries was larger than regular fast food joint ones but it was more soggy than there were any crisp - also tasted like it's been fried an hour back then kept heated. Not salted enough so it was slightly bland but I made due with some dipping condiment.The burger, it's good. But then there really isn't nothing to shout about cause this tasted just like a regular cheese burger to me. I didn't like that the bun was not toasted enough so it was just soft & slightly soggy after a while. However the meat was pretty good because it's nicely marinated and the cheese slice was quite nice.

Though I don't think I'd go back again for another because it isn't exactly the cheapest. For the same price I can get an even better burger set elsewhere. But I'm glad that I tried though. 

After dinner, the girls and I wanted some sweet treat while we got some time to catch up on all that's happened in our lives. Since we were already in Bangsar Village, the automatic suggestion was Plan B.

Not too great of a greeting since we waited almost five minutes at the entrance where there's a sign that says 'please wait to be seated'. However nobody came until we led ourselves to an empty table where it took another five minutes just to get a waiter's attention so we could have a menu.

Maybe because it was slightly late so the staff are all busy doing I don't know what, but I hardly saw any waiters around. That's why it took us another five minutes to get our orders placed. Luckily we were only there for their desserts which are already pre-made anyway or else we'd be there till midnight and still not be able to get our sweet treats.We ordered two to share. First is the Apple Crumble that came with a scoop of ice cream and while it was warm, this was not the best that there is in the market. Though I do like the crunch on top of the crumble which proved as a nice contrast to the mushed up apple filling. The only thing is I found it overly sweet before even taking a bite of crumble with an ice cream, so slightly disappointing.

Then we also got another dessert which was their Lemon Meringue tart which happens to be my favourite. Although they do do this justice as the curd was tart enough but the pastry shell was slightly hard and might be because it's been sitting in the fridge for a while. The meringue on the top was properly bruleed but lacked any distinct flavour so it was just meh.

Overall, I like coming to Plan B just to hang and grab a coffee, but that is about it. 

Truth be told, our visit to Franco had merely been because of my attraction to it's storefront. All the books and monochrome colours called to be, then before I knew it we were seated at a table with menus.

Already full from lunch, we ordered a few things just to try and share.We ordered the Caramel Custard that came with a dollup of super airy whipped cream and a side of what I presume to be honey. It's probably one of the lightest custard that I have ever eaten and coming from a person that is not a fan of desserts, this is actually pretty darn good. Then we also got a Green Tea souffle. I have never tried one before but wanted very much to after watching it being made in many cooking shows. Truth be told, I was expecting it to be incredibly fluffy but this was more towards the creamy and slightly airy rather than a huge poof. 

Although not a favourite of mine, a friend really enjoyed it as she said the Matcha flavour was strong.For someone that wasn't a fan of dessert but wanted a nibble, I ordered their simple salad with sesame dressing. I don't know why as I usually am not a big fan of sesame seeds, but this Japanese salad dressing is really flavourful. 

Though I have to say that their salad is rather underwhelming. Though the taste is good, just the portion is rather scant. 

A favourite hang-out spot of my mother's friends, she decided to bring me there for dinner one night saying that they serve very good food despite being known for their alcoholic beverages. I for one am not a fan of drinking especially on a weeknight, I went there starving for some good food.

The crowd was minimal considering that it was a work night so not many want to welcome the next work day with a hangover. We got a table fairly quick and our waiter was nice and friendly.

Based on my mom's recommendation, we ordered a salad for starters and a pasta. Both are to share because the portions are rather large. So for starters we got ourself a Caesar salad which was good. Again, there have been better but this is not the worst because they do give a nice amount of bacon strips which has been lightly fried. They were not stingy on the croutons either so if you were to order this as your meal instead, then you wouldn't go home hungry. Then there's the Carbonara Spaghetti with Bacon.

Let's start with the portion size, I'm pretty sure this is not one person's portion unless you have an appetite of a bear. Though I have to commend them for not charging overly expensive and giving you peanuts in terms of portion. So I was glad that mom & I decided to share rather than each of us ordering one entree which we most definitely cannot finish.

The taste is good but I personally found it overly creamy. I'm guessing that they just put loads of heavy cream rather than the traditional way of making carbonara which requires only a little bit. After a few forkfuls of this, I really could no longer stomach anymore because the heavy amount of cream was too cloying.

At the end of the day, our bill came up to almost Rm50 including all the tax & GST. Which I feel given the portions, good service and also rather cosy enviroment is pretty worth it. Will definitely be back to sample more of their menu. 

I don't know why but sometimes all my brain and appetite could think of is spicy food. Not just any regular spicy like some sambal or belacan, but something with a little more kick. That's when I go to one of the well known SzeChuan restaurant - Xiao Fei Yang in Damansara Utama. It's even better of a meal when the weather is chilly after some heavy rain. 

It is of no surprise that the service is somewhat lacking at this establishment. Perhaps it is because some of the workers were foreign so they could not really speak the local language. Though neither of them looked too pleased to be serving anyone there.

Plus, do not be too impressed that they have their bowls, spoons, chopsticks sealed in a wrapper that says it has been distilled for hygiene purposes. You are going to be paying at least Rm1 for each set. A little bogus to me but there is no room for argument. As always when we are there for hotpot, we always order their dual pot where one side would be Herbal Chicken Soup and the other would be their Spicy Ma La soup. 

The former is not strong in taste but you can definitely tell that it is herbal soup which has quite a lot of pepper in it, at least I assume. So I suggest that you drink this first before trying their spicy one as that will render your taste buds numb then you won't be able to taste the Herbal soup anymore.

The Ma La Soup however was heavily spiced and definitely not for those who cannot handle heat. Especially if you somehow took a sip of the soup with the chilli oil on top. But it's good enough to have you going back for more as it tingle your senses.

Also, please note that you are paying about Rm20-25 for the soup, so savour it plenty.We ordered two plates of pork slices just to try. But it was nothing fancy. And really nothing worth shouting about as the slices were super thin, plus had more layers of fat than actual meat. That's our entire tray of meat balls and vegetables. All pricey and scarce unlike some other steamboat establishments, but we are there mainly for their soup.

As always we have to order their soup & meat filled meatballs. This one is exciting because imagine a xiao long bao, but instead of the dumpling skin you have meat instead. Put this inside the Ma La soup then enjoy as you bite into it - after letting it cool down significantly of course.

Another thing that is a favourite of mine is their pork dumpling. Not like any regular dumpling, the skins they have is slightly thicker so it's chewier, but the meat is incredibly juicy. So when mixed with the spicy soup just makes it amazing.Something else that I enjoy about Xiao Fei Yang is the different types of sauces that they give that you can mix on your own to dunk your food in. Honestly I am not even sure what is in either of those but all I know is that it makes the food you are eating so much more delicious.So despite how much I enjoy eating at Xiao Fei Yang, I probably would not go back as often because the bill can go up quite high even though there is only four person eating it. There's the service charge and 6% GST which hikes up the bill, plus the extra that we have to pay for our specially cleaned utensils is kind of bogus.

Once in a while I will go back, when the craving strikes, that's for sure.