Cafe de SeOUL in Yangon

I haven't had a chance to blog about all the places I enjoyed during my last trip to Myanmar, so I'm trying to work through my list now and one place I'd like to write about is Cafe del Seoul.

It's a place that mixes both hipster vibe and fusion comfort food. 

We ordered the Carbonara, and they truly get points for creative plating.

It didn't just look nice, it tasted good too.

Since it's a fusion place, you can't miss their Korean Fried Wings, which
comes with potato wedges.

But another must order is their Truffle Fries (Wedges)!

This was the first meal Sam and I had during our trip last year, and we really
enjoyed it.

I love how internationally open Yangon has been. You can include Cafe del Seoul in your must visit places in Yangon if you want a fix of western fusion comfort food. just saying.


Cafe del SeOUL
24/1 Pyay Road, 7 Mile, 
Mayangone Township, 
Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)

Phone: +95 9 971 993711
Open Daily 11am-12midnight

Tien Ma - Yummy Taiwanese Food for a Steal

I love discovering new places in the Libis Area, especially since this is as far as I go when I need to drive myself. One of the new places we like is Tien Ma, a place that offers Taiwanese Home Cooked food at really affordable prices.

Tien Ma is located outside Eastwood, in the very first
location of Starbucks in Libis 15 years or more ago.

Tien Ma has a lot of dishes on their menu, but they are famous for their Xiao Long Bao, which at Php200 is a steal. Just take note, according to my dad, it's not as good as Din Tai Fung, and he's probably right, but at a fraction of the cost, I think it qualifies as good.

One thing I observed from our first visit, is it seemed that there was no dish above Php200 on the menu. Since it seemed on the cheap size, I remember ordering almost everything on it. Hahaha, and surprisingly the servings were quite big,

They also have Truffle Xiao Long Bao for Php240
but I'm happy enough sticking to the regular one.
(Sorry, no photo of that)

I love their Pork Intestine Misua. It's a steal for Php60.
And it saves me the plane fair of going to Taiwan for my
Pork Intestine Misua fix.

The Pork Chop is prominently featured in their posters,
and it was a shock to see it came with 2 generous chops,
with either Mince Pork Rice or Noodles. 

Sadly, it wasn't very good. Just stick to Din Tai Fung if you have a
pork chop rice craving.

What they have that's really good though is the Stewed Pork (Php200)
which is excellent with Cua Pao Bread (Php150). It's actually just the
bread that I think is expensive, but Sofia likes it, it's really yummy so it's fine.

Melt in your Mouth. 

I didn't really plan to blog about the place when I first visited so I don't have more photos. I remember their Hot Prawn Salad was good, but their fried dumplings (which was recommended in a lot of the reviews I read) were definitely not worth ordering again.

It's best to come in a big group, because when I come alone (hahaha, yes, when I have a misua craving), I need to decide if I want Xiao Long Pao, or the Stewed Pork and Cua Pao Buns because I definitely can't eat them all, even if I wanted too. just saying.

Tien Ma's Taiwanese Cuisine

184 Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Ave, 

Bagumbayan, Quezon City, 

Metro Manila

CUT by Wolfgang Puck in Marina Bay Sands

I love impromptu meet-ups, and that is exactly how I got to try CUT by Wolfgang Puck on one of my work trips last year. Reservations are required though, so if you want to pull this off, be ready to have dinner at 9:30pm or 10:00pm. Definitely do-able if you're flying in from somewhere else in time for dinner.

Thanks to the power of social media, Angge and I discovered we would both be in Singapore at the same time, and what better way to catch up than over a late dinner. She initially suggested eating at the hotel, but in Singapore where there are so many places to choose from, I asked if there was anything else she wanted to try and she mentioned CUT, which I also have never tried, so I was willing to give it a go.

I remember calling CUT from the Singapore Airlines Lounge in KL and asking for a last minute dinner reservation. They said they could only accommodate at 9:30pm or so but since I wasn't even in Singapore, it was perfect. They even asked if we were celebrating something and we were... Angge's birthday dinner... though it just so happened to be a week late, but her birthday dinner no less. 

The timing was just right. It gave me enough time to check into the hotel, and search reviews for what to order, while Angge was shopping.

The bread not only looked nice, it was yummy too. But I guess that's what you get for eating close to 10:00pm... very hungry.

They also walk around with a bread basket in addition to what is served on
the table.

Angge and I ordered a steak to share and two sides, creamed spinach with organic egg and mac and cheese.

The steak was yummy, perfectly charred outside and pink on the inside.

It's just a bit weird that they served the steak as two pieces, probably
equally dividing the lean and the fat part is my guess.

Both our sides were rich, but I wouldn't have it any other way, though if you were a bigger group, you could probably order something else for assortment.

The service was excellent. We were offered dessert, but the server whispered to me that we didn't need to order anything if we didn't like anything on the menu as they were coming around with something for the birthday celebrant.

Happy Happy Bithday Angge!!!
Thanks for the friendship :)

I know this is many many months late, but then,
you can also count it as early for this year.

I also found the prices in CUT to be reasonable, as they do not discourage guests from sharing since their servings are big anyway. And I really love how well trained they are to celebrate with you which they inquire about when you make your reservation. I can't wait to go back. I just need to have a reason to celebrate so I get free dessert again. just saying.

CUT by Wolfgang Puck

B1-71, Galleria Level

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands 

(next to the Theatre)

Only open for dinner 5:30pm - midnight

P.S. Cafe an old Singapore favorite that's still so good

PS Cafe has always been a favorite for Singapore, mainly for brunch - in the beautiful Dempsey Hill branch, but it used to be a go to place for late dinner or dessert too, as their Paragon branch was a long walk from where we used to live.

When we had to work on a Sunday, and I had no idea what I wanted to eat, PS Cafe was an easy choice. It's a challenge to get a reservation for Dempsey at the last minute, so it's a good thing Paragon is convenient to visit.

To start, our usual favorite is Caesar Salad with poached egg
and truffle fries topped with parmasan cheese.

If you could only smell how good this is.

We loved it so much, we ask them to drizzle truffle oil on the fries that came
with our burger and they did :)

We ordered a few dishes to share as the servings are quite generous.

Mushroom Croque Monsieur

Bangers and Mash

Burger less the fries we added truffle oil too
More salt required. It was a bit on the bland side.

Then we had a Key Lime Pie to share for dessert because we had no
more space for something as rich as chocolate.
It was very refreshing, but better if served chilled.

Thank you PS Cafe for being a dependable source of comfort food in Singapore. just saying.

Thanks girls for making working on a Sunday fun.

 

PS Cafe Paragon

290 Orchard Rd, 

#03-41/44 Paragon, 

Paragon Shopping Centre, 

238859

Our 25 Euros a night Riad in Marrakech

I've been to Morocco for work around 5 years ago, and while I thought Casablanca sounded way more romantic than reality, I had very fond memories of weekend trips to Tangier and Marrakech, remembering that I told myself I wanted to go back again, and stay in one of the quaint Riads, which is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard, in the Medina, the walled part of North African cities with narrow maze-like streets where the souks or shops are.

What I totally forgot though was when we did the weekend in Marrakech, everything was planned for by the company, so I totally forgot who poor the place was, and how intimidating it can be if you plan to navigate the Medina by yourself. Another thing I overlooked when we decided to visit Marrakech (which came up due to it's proximity to Spain and the availability of cheap flights) was the weather. I never imagined it would be so hot in April (like mid 30degrees hot), which brings me to how thankful I am that we absolutely loved our stay at Ryad Laârouss. 

It was a total steal for around €25, it was basic, but small and cozy, with a nice location (after you get over being overwhelmed - my parents never did! good thing they stayed elsewhere, hahaha) with free bread for breakfast that comes with really good freshly squeezed orange juice and a swimming pool in the courtyard which Sofia absolutely loved.

We had a very hectic journey to Marrakech (because of bad planning due to circumstances that have changed). We flew in from Barcelona where we were supposed to be based for our holiday, but we ended up coming from Segovia so it was an 18-hour journey for us by land and air. We arrived close to midnight but it was hassle free since we pre-booked our airport transfers through the Riad.

Welcome to Morocco! Casablanca transit.

Touchdown Marrakech. Finally! They have a very new
modern looking airport.

Ryad Laârouss

Our room was basic but cozy, with a lot of little details
that I loved.

 

The only catch is our air condition was snuffy (as in
Mr. Snuffleupagus) and there was a loud speaker outside
our window announcing prayers... but Auntie Celit and
Ady's room beside us was totally fine. 

They even had a window that opened out to the courtyard.

All our days in Marrakech started the same. We would wake up at 9:30am to grab some free breakfast that was available till 10am (mostly just bread, juice, coffee and mint tea) but we always brought our own cheese to augment it. Then Sof would swim and enjoy the hotel until we got hungry and we would drag ourselves out for a late lunch (and some exploring when it wasn't too hot anymore) before we came back to rest before dinner.

 

No matter how hot it was in Morocco, I couldn't resist
the fresh mint tea. Best without added sugar.

 

Sofia loved the plunge pool they have in the courtyard.

 

 

 

They also have a rooftop terrace with a Jacuzzi which we tried out, but since it was covered and the water was ice cold too, Sof preferred the bigger indoor pool.

 

 

 

 

Another great thing about where we stayed is it's proximity to the Souks. We were less than 10 minutes away from the end of one, and it's all connected, so you don't know where one ends and another one starts. It's totally easy to get lost, but Google maps makes it easy to follow the dot on small streets with no names so once we got comfortable, we just needed to make sure we could retrace our way back. I'll do a separate post on the souks.

We normally walk as far as Djemaa El Fna square, the main square in Marrakech, which is so full of locals you'll know what I mean when I say the place is overwhelming, then we opt to take a taxi back to the riad.

We had a good four days break in Marrakech. You just have to remember you're visiting Africa when you go, so the poverty doesn't take you by surprise, and you have to come with loads of patience, because airport queues are exceptionally long since they don't have any processes in place to make the simplest immigration and security procedures efficient. You'll know what I mean when you get there.

Yes. You have to walk to board the plane. No buses here to shuttle you.
Hey, it's Africa. just saying.

Up soon, are the souks and where to eat... and yes, I will also be posting about the beautiful places to visit. just saying.


Ryad Laârouss
46 Angle Derb El Gueza Et Derb Jamaa، 
Marrakesh 40000, Morocco

Riad Laârouss is an area, so there are a few riads that share the same name - look for this one: booking.com link