Cafe Barbera, Main Terminal Building KLIA

Airports has always been one of my favourite place in the world and I jump at any chance to be in the airport for the longest time possible. Everyone find it weird but airport gave me this soothing feeling that I find no words to explain.


Cafe Barbera is one of the newest establishment in KLIA taking over the previous Cafe Marche. I'm pretty sure I wrote on Cafe Marche before but I just couldn't find the link. Nevermind on that, we'll just talk about Cafe Barbera for now. I love the settings! It gives me this "leaving on a jetplane" feeling. :p


Cafe Barbera is less known for Malaysians but what we didn't know is that it has a history dating way back in 1870. That's 99 years before Starbucks is founded! Like how most brands started, the founder who hails from Messina, Italy roasted the beans in a small roaster and grew from there. Just looking at the year they were established makes me give them leaps of hopes even before I took my first sip.

The outlet in Bangsar have a longer list of menu but the one in airport is limited to light food and drinks. I find the snacks and sandwiches to be nothing above edible so I'm gonna start with the food first.



The Chicken Focaccia (RM12.90) is a tad too dry for my liking but i thought it was reasonably priced, considering the portion and the fact that this place is located in the airport. I gotta say the foccacia - the bread was very good tho, they just need to work a little on what's between it. :)



Beef Pie (RM10.90) was too dry as well that the beef fillings came crumbly and eating it can make a little mess - something I really don't favour. The taste of the fillings was not too bad, just having it more moist would make the whole eating affair a much more memorable one.



Banana Danish (RM8.90) was the best in the lot. However this pastry needs not much culinary skills to be prepared. It's basically just puff pastry and cooked caramelized banana.

The coffee drinks was disappointingly mediocre. It falls far from the bar I set. While it is noticeable that the beans were of a good quality, I didn't think the end result taste as good as how it smell.

Cappucino Freppe (RM9.90) is definitely one of the worst coffee based drink I've ever had. It was so thick that I felt like I was drinking coffee flavored egg white. Lol. I had to ask for ice to water down the thickness. Seriously, they could just give me spoon to scoop out the coffee instead of a straw.



The Espresso Machiatto (RM7.90) was quite good though. It was quite intense, almost similar to the espresso shots I make every morning before I go to work. The milk froth was also made perfectly.

Cappucino Shakerato (RM 10.90) is the best amongst all the drinks. The bitterly sweet dark chocolate blends really well with the coffee. It was strong yet at the same time sweet - but not overly sweet. I'm going to order this if I do go there again.



The Cappucino Italiano (RM8.90) was well, just ok. It's a very straight forward coffee drink. If you're one who wants nothing more but a cup of coffee, this is the drink for you.

I won't say I totally banned them from my food list because the chances of me visiting them is very high. Coffee joints in KLIA is quite limited and they're one of the good ones if you were to compare them with the rest of the places.



If you really enjoy airports and hotels like I do - as well as a little extra time to spare, try taking the buggy ride for a visit to the Pan Pacific KLIA. They won the Global Luxury Award last year and boy, were their service awesome. For a moment I felt like I was some Datin. The hotel's really pretty too! :D

Have a good week ahead everyone! Can't wait for the weekends again! =X

Food Paradise, KLIA

If you're looking for a quiet and less packed place to grab a bite before boarding your flight in KLIA, drop by their Mezzanine Level where there's this eatery named Food Paradise.



The patrons consist of mainly the employees of MAB (Malaysian Airports Berhad) as it's where the offices are located. I came across this place when I arrive in KLIA a little too exhausted and needed a getaway from the hussle-bustle of departure level.

Unlike what the name suggested, the food isn't exactly a paradise. Lol. I ordered the set meal that came with a glass of coke and fried mee hoon. The food is prepared before hand so it came cold. However, priced at RM 8 per set, this is probably the cheapest meal you can get in KLIA.



While I would not recommend you to visit this place for the food, I would suggest this place if you wanted a more peaceful place to kill your time. The long faux leather bench is pretty comfortable for a quick nap too. ;p



The only problem is that, they have very bad music taste. So, be sure to have your ear phones plugged when you're there.



It's pretty secluded. If you're dating someone's husband/wife and sending him/her off, this would be the perfect place to .. errr.. kiss goodbye. =X

Honey, I'm home

After spending most of my time sleeping for the past three days, I am back to update the blog! I have to be really honest though, I am still numb for the fact that I have finished uni (literally lah.)



Since I was to bring back my three years worth of junk , i was presented with the horror of having an excess baggage of 11kg! (That is even after me throwing boxes and boxes of things that still function perfectly!) It's an obvious decision that for a poor student like me, I chose not to pay for it. The nice MAS lady asked me to check in my initial hand luggage (it'll still be over by 3kg, but she said she'll give me grace for it) but since I didn't scan it, and the queue was so long , I decided not to.



I used to do weights so I didn't actually think the 14 kg hand luggage was unbearable. It was initially 18 kg - I had a 4kg dumbell confiscated by the customs. hmph! The real horror was when I was in the plane. I could barely walk in the plane with two heavy luggage! I was slowing the traffic and people were irritated by me! I know there are some travelers who travel with multiple luggage on board - but I don't do that. I am used to travel light so I really thought that was a bad experience and made up my mind that by all means, I am checking in my luggage when I touch down in KL.



and guess what, with a little sweet talk aka ass-kissing, I manage to check in all my luggages without paying for the excess baggage fee. Tee hee! :D



It's really, really good to be back home. :)

A chapter is closed

"All my begs are packed, I'm ready to go... " John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane.


After spending three years up north, I'm leaving the place for good. Yes, i won't deny there is a tad of bitterness. Not that I like the place, but more like I have accustomed to the place and the people.



I'm still feeling a little numb of the whole i've pre-graduated thing. (still got four months internship!). But ah, it's all good, good, good.

Proper post when i get back home. I need to pack!

p/s : I need a place to stay in Penang for five months beginning June 2010. If you have any friends/relatives/boyfriend/mistress(es) that has a room in Sungai Dua, can you please e-mail me? Otherwise I will be homeless in June 2010 :(

Malaysia Airlines In flight Food

This post is also posted in Malaysia Airlines' Blog : Living Malaysian Hospitality

I know there are quite a lot of people out there who are anti-in flight meal. Well, to some extent it is understandable because they are not generally very tasty. But for me, I actually find it quite exciting. Perhaps because it incorporates two things I love - the aviation industry and food.



I've always wondered if Malaysia Airlines recycle (as in reuse) the boxes ? I'm sure it's not cheap so it will be quite wasting to throw away. At the same time, if they really do reuse it's quite disgusting also. :p



Nasi Lemak is definitely one of the most served food on board for Malaysia Airlines. Based on my experiences, any flights before 10 A.M you're sure to have Nasi Lemak. (and usually the other choice is fried bee hoon.)



The rice is a little too soft but taste wise, it is still edible.



With all the hype of being nice to the mother nature, MAS has join in the pact too! In some of their flights, they serve their meals in eco boxes like this.



You know, i've been flying MAS since I was seven years old (I'm 23 now *cough*). And while their food has improved a lot over the years, delicious was never the adjective to describe the food on board - albeit still tasting above average.



However, for once, I actually really thought the "chicken satay with peanut sauce and rice" was really nice. I finished it and almost asked for second servings. Haha. Kidding .. kidding. :P



I love fruit cakes but only home made ones. Commercialized ones tend to be too sweet or too dry. Surprisingly the one MAS was serving was almost on par with home made ones!



It actually takes a lot of courage to be photographing all these pictures on board. The passenger sitting beside me is always giving me weird stares! Heck, there's once this old men thought it was my first time taking the plane and actually taught me how to recline the seats and all. Geez.

I still have a few MAS in flight food review that is coming up! Divided them in two post cause I didn't want this post to be too lengthy.

To all my Christians readers, Hope you all had a blessed Good Friday and a great Easter Monday! :)

My other Malaysia Airlines review :
Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge
Malaysia Airlines Business Class
Malaysia Airlines In flight Food
Malaysia Airlines : Malaysian Hospitality

Leaving on a jetplane

Good times has to end they say. and more often than not, they seem to end quicker.



I'm in KLIA now (Cafe Marche to be precise), waiting to board my next flight.



The sky was gloomy early this morning. Exactly how i feel now. :(

Malaysia Airlines : Malaysian Hospitality

If there is one "Malaysian Product" that I really believe in, it's Malaysia Airlines (MAS). Despite the steeper price, I've always been willing to pay a couple of extra bucks for MAS because of one sole reason - they always made me feel like a "guest".



Just less than a week ago, I find myself in two MAS cabin again, flying back home. The first one was of course no stranger to me, the quad-colored seats.



The second one though kinda caught me by surprise. Leather seats! I actually thought I was on the wrong flight and to be honest with you, I find it degraded the image of MAS. The blue color leather seats reminded me so much of a public bus I took a while ago! And if I didn't told you it was MAS, you would have thought it was Air Asia right?



However, the main reason of me writing this is not to criticize on how ugly their leather seats are but instead, on the cleanliness of the cabin.



Food stains, splashes of water and some unidentified dirt.



The food served were great (really, but it'll be in another post) but when I was served I actually didn't felt like eating when I saw the stains and all. I only ate because I was seating behind two kids who were on top of their lungs the whole flight and I couldn't sleep.



Hygiene is crucial and it disappoint me how MAS (who just won two Skytrax award) could overlook it. Of course I don't expect the whole cabin to be all shiny, but this is a little too much especially for a "5 star airline" who preach so much about their "world class cabin".



Sorry, but this is certainly not the way I view Malaysian Hospitality. :(

Malaysia Airlines In Flight Food

I get a lot of emails requesting me to write a review on Malaysia Airline's in flight food but I never got around to do so even with me flying with the airline quite frequently. Just earlier this month, I was flying MAS again, and for once, I acted all jakun taking the pictures of my food and the plane. ( I'll have a review of the service in another post!)



If my memory serve me right, these "lunch box" theme was started two years ago. It started with the plan of serving passengers with light meals - sandwiches, and curry puffs with the hope to cut some cost as they were facing financial difficulties then. But we Malaysians are so exposed with nasi lemak and the likes , so needless to say, it gained a very negative response. They are now back to serving hot meals, but still sticking with the same theme.



The lunch box came with everything for a full course meal, the appetizer being the small bun (that has shrink over the years), butter, the main course and fruits as desert. You'll also get a small pack of snack - it varies on different flight and I was rather unfortunate on this particular flight to get this chocolate biscuit. =( Hot drinks, juices and soda will be served seperately.



Now, I know everyone is very interested to know about the food. It's slightly blur because the plane was shaking as it was raining outside. I tried taking a few repeat shots but it still turn out blur and the man beside me were starting to think what is wrong with me. Heh.



I'm quite exposed to the food by MAS and most of the time I think they tasted average with all the right flavors and passed the edible line. This particular one is Nasi Tomato with Chicken Kurma (that's what the stewardess told me). I'm a bit puzzled with the latest news saying this was one of Tun Abdul Razak's favourite food and would only be available on 1st of August. But i've eaten it already ?

And to be honest, I was rather grateful they had changed the cold sandwiches to a hot meal. I had the chance to sample the sandwiches and curry puffs numerous times and most of the time, I left more than half of it untouched.



But if you're flying on a short distance, meaning to say an hour flight or less, don't expect to get a lunch box. You'll be served a packet of peanuts and a cup of juice of your choice. I am not very much a peanut person (hehe ;p) but MAS has got the best salted peanuts! Seriously!

Now, Malaysia Airlines, can I have a free flight? :D

Related Post :

Me, flying Malaysia Airlines Business Class (Golden Club)
Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge
Air Asia In flight food

Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge

So since i had i the Golden Club ticket, before i board the plane, i had the chance to visit the Golden Lounge. In KLIA , the lounge is situated before gate A2 and for KIA , if i'm not mistaken it's before Gate 8.



I was rather excited to go in there and had really high hopes after hearing so much positive comments!



I felt small the moment i enter the place. I was probably one of the youngest there excluding those kids with their super wealthy parents.Everyone there looks rich and successful.

I'm sorry but i have no pictures of the place.. coz it's really awkward to take pictures in there. Even when i take pics of the food i ate, everyone was looking at me.

So , here's what i had .

Various Cocktail sandwiches.

They look western but they're actually fusion-style sandwiches. I would say it's a good way to promote our culture since there's quite a number of ang mohs in there.











This is the best!! I was very amazed with the amount of garlic cheese they put and i LOVE garlic cheese!



They also had this special beriani with dhal. It was served it with fish curry and vegetarian curry. I'm not very fond of eating fish , but i would say this is the best fish curry i ever eat besides the one i had at home!



There's wide choices of sweet croissant for you to choose. But these two are my favourites.



There's also an open kitchen beside the food bar where you can ask the chef to cook for you based on the menu given.Since i check in pretty late, i didn't order any of it coz i don't want to feel bloated on the plane later.



They had a wide range of jams, butter , honey .. 3 in 1 beverage sachets, hot chocolate machine..juices and canned drinks.

and lastly.. being a cheapskate.. i took this home.hehe.



Everything is FREE in the lounge.

The lounge was really impressive. Congratulations Malaysia Airlines!