The Maker has made headlines in Miri, noticeably for their relaxing ambience and delicious cakes.

Recently I bought two cakes...one was the chocolate indulgence and the other a simple New York cheese cake.

Chocolate Indulgence
This cake was rich and moist with a very thick and bittersweet chocolate cream. It had a hint of alcohol in it and when swallowed, the cake left a very warm feeling in my throat and stomach. Some might find it slightly too rich but the richness was just right imo.

New York Cheese Cake
The cheese cake on the other hand was just normal. It wasn't bad but not too memorable. Taste was nice and sweet and creamy but maybe there are too many cheese cakes around for comparison, so much so that this one failed to stand out.

Overall, the chocolate indulgence is a must try while the new York cheese cake is not a must. Do visit the shop though as they have many inspirational quotes from the Bible and impressive interior design.

Elementary Coffee Roasters is owned by a group of aspiring young entrepreneurs (hot looking young men to be precise) who aspire to market their coffee shop and make it a well known brand throughout the whole of Sarawak. 

The coffee beans that they use to make coffee drinks are especially imported from Australia and are personally roasted by hot looking baristas.

Since it had just opened up at Viva City, hubby and I decided to pop in for a try. Upon entering the shop, we were greeted by the smell of freshly grounded coffee. The coffee shop itself has a simple and spacey feel allowing you to easily maneuver around. 

We ordered a chamomile tea and a caffe latte with an orange poppy seed cake. 

On to the reviews :
Chamomile tea ( they had a fancy name for it; teardrop pyramid chamomile blossom). While I didn't shed any teardrops drinking the tea, I did enjoy the taste of the tea which was heavily infused with chamomile flowers (me likely!)

The caffe latte. The owner was very generous and provided the latte as a complimentary drink free of charge ( me likely freebies!) The owner actually came by to our table to explain how they roast the coffee to give it a distinct taste. While I'm no coffee lover, I was impressed by the details given and the passion displayed by the owner. Hubby drank the coffee and had some opinion...apparently he would have preferred of they had served a little biscuit to accompany the coffee (minus off one star) and it would probably look better if they had served the coffee in a ceramic cup instead of a paper cup (minus off another star) for the price that they are selling. Other than that, the coffee itself tasted great and flavorful. Definitely a master coffee roaster at hand. 

The orange poppy seed cake however has some room for improvement. The cream cheese was a little to hard and dense and the cake itself  was a little bland. Not bad but didn't really make an impression. Upon being told of the quality of the cake, the owner promised to look into the issue and promised that the next time we come back they will definitely improve. Nothing better than a passionate owner

So folks, if you are shopping at Viva, do drop by Elementary Coffee Roasters and give their coffee a try. They might just be your next favourite cafe. 

Of late, there has been an array of Taiwanese food outlets sprouting up in Kuching. But note that not all will reward your tastebuds. However, Life Cafe has been making me come back year after year for their food. Here's why :

1. Life Cafes Signature Noodle

Boiled noodles tossed with sesame oil, salt and mixed with a healthy portion of shredded carrots, cucumber, Omelette and minced pork.....one cannot help but fall in love with this dish. Top it with crunchy shallots and spring onions and you have the perfect meal of the day.

2. Wontan Soup

While the wontan skin was soft and nice to bite into (it wasn't so thick that your mouth would feel sore), the soup was a little bland. It seemed as if not much ingredients were used to create a rich and flavorful soup...it tasted more like plain water with abit of chicken granules.

3. Signature Omelette

Loving this dish. It's got egg (maybe whisked with milk?) and chopped spring onions and a side dish of pickled cabbage. Extremely refreshing.

Munch...that's a very catchy name for a coffee shop. At Munch, you literally get to munch on Asian and Western food. In that particular day, my dad, uncle and I visited the shop and ordered Chinese/Taiwanese food. 

Chicken Mee Sua
Dad loved it. He said the soup was rich in flavor (the wine was thick) and the chicken thigh was soft and tender. The mee sua was boiled to just the right texture (it can be a little tricky with mee sua, some people tend to overcook the mee sua making it very mushy and gooey but at Munch, this was not the case. The texture was just nice and right)

The handmade noodle with minced meat & handmade noodle with wontan 
Unfortunately I didn't quite like the noodle. My uncle who ordered a similar dish had the same comment. The noodle dish was a wee bit too salty for our liking. And the noodle felt alot like a mee jawa wannabe. The minced meat and wontan were the only saving grace. I wouldn't recommend this dish for those who do not like salty food.

Bubur Chacha 
Ahhhhh....the all Malaysian favourite....the great baba nyonya dish. This dish gets my approval. It was served chilled with a generous amount of yam and sweet potatoes with extremely thick coconut cream....mmm...mmm. Not too sweet and very refreshing and filling. Definitely a must try. 

Munch also serves a variety of finger food like bagels, croissants, sandwiches which I have yet to try. But friends who have tried them all said that they tasted great so I guess I'll be coming back again to see how good their sandwiches are. 

Idealite has recently opened up two outlets in kuching. One in the bustling shopping center of Viva City and the other in the suburbs of Rock Road. Having had a wonderful experience dining at the outlet in Viva, I decided to bring my dad to the one at Rock Road. My old man has very high standards for good food mind you. If he says it's good then you will have to 'die die also must try'. If he says it's not so good then it'll probably be mediocre. So here's our review on the food we ordered:

1. The best-selling bak kut teh
6/10 stars. Taste wise it was good. The broth was thick and rich in flavor and the ingredients were provided in generous amounts, from the toufu, wolf berries, cabbages, soft boiled egg and needle mushrooms. But the problem with this otherwise aromatic dish was that the ingredients though generous did not absorb the flavor of the soup/broth. It was as if they were just dumped into the soup for a few minutes prior to being served.

2. The white fungus and pear soup
A well known delicacy meant to promote beautiful looking skin. And boy was this dessert good! It was subtly sweet (sweetness which I think naturally came from the pear) and the white fungus was soft and chewy. Perfect for consumption on a hot day.

3. Bibimbap
5/10. Perhaps I am a meat lover so without the marinated beef this dish somehow seemed incomplete. Plus the cucumbers and carrots were not very finely cut. A bit too rough for my liking. Also, I think they could have improved on their hot sauce as it didn't taste very authentic. I couldn't feel a Song Joon Ki in it haha.

While it might not be the best place to dine at, I appreciate their concept of cooking healthy food so no harm in giving this place a try. It's not the best but it's definitely not too bad.