Thursday, October 4, 2012

PAUL @ London

Started off by a family in Croix, Northern France since 1889, PAUL is a famous French bakery in London. It gained its name from their love for good food and the commitment to make the finest and best bread. Everywhere you go in London, you will see PAUL. Visited the outlet right across from Harrods Departmental store. From outside, it looks petite and small, but once you are inside, it is spacious with tons of tables and chairs. Great jazz music are playing softly to create a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere for customers. 

There are many bread, sandwiches, fruit tarts displayed at the front of the store for purchased. PAUL is a self-serviced cafe. Once you have place your order and payment, you have to wait at the end of the line to collect your drinks and food before heading to the condiments bar. 


Cappuccino topped with coffee powder on the top was a bit too strong for my liking. Perhaps the Brits like their coffee extremely strong? Yes? No? I usually don't put sugar into my coffee but because it was so strong, I just had to put some sugar in it to drink it. Strong coffee lovers, this is definitely the cuppa for you. 


Their salmon and cheese sandwich was a big disappointment for me. Reason? The bread tasted like rock and it was cold! It was so hard to bite and chew. It took me ages to finish my sandwich. I have never tasted such hard bread before and I don't intend to try it again. My jaw was so tired from chewing at the end of the meal. The only praise I can give for this sandwich is the fresh salmon and veggies. Kudos to them for that.

I spent about £10 (RM50) for the sandwich and cappuccino. Definitely overpriced but if you compare it from dollar to dollar, it's actually not that pricey.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Cafe @ Haarlem, Netherlands

My host (Peter) took me to Haarlem (Harlem in English) a few days ago. I was told that this is an old town that contained a few hundred years of history. The road, buildings, houses are still very much preserved. It was a very short visit because of the typical Dutch weather - rain. After exploring this town on foot, we decided to enjoy the view of this town with a hot cup of coffee. 
Sadly, I can't remember the name of the cafe. We just decided on one, sat down and placed our order. You can opt to have just a cup of coffee or with sweets (in Dutch it means a slice of cake  / tart / dessert of the day). Coffee + sweets cost me € 3.95 (RM 16). 


The coffee is smooth and not over-roasted. It's not too strong compared to those we have in Malaysia. The fruit tart is served with fresh cream. I've tasted many fruit tart and I always dislike fruit because it tends to be sour. Surprisingly, the fruits in this particular tart is naturally sweet. Both fruit tart + coffee is definitely a perfect combination. 


With such an amazing view and weather, what more can you ask for? It's definitely a rare opportunity to be able to enjoy a cuppa with such a view.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Starbucks CNY Dragon Candy Jar 2012

Spotted this cute little candy jar from Starbucks Malaysia Facebook page yesterday and I instantly ask my friend to help me grab it before it is gone (she works in Berjaya). Not that I am trying to be kiasu, unique merchandise like this usually runs out pretty fast due to limited stock.