I don't cry. I eat...at Wanyan Rooftop Cafe, The Klagan Hotel

Of Rooftop Lunches and Big Blue Skies

One can never get sick of the views of the islands from the shores of Kota Kinabalu. Just as one can never get sick of cafes with views of blue skies, boats and the ocean. Perhaps it is the Sabahan in me but the sight of the ocean and islands always put a calm to my heart and a smile on my face.

Klagan Hotel may not be a 5 star hotel but it boasts million-dollar views of the islands of Sabah. Located in Warisan Shopping Centre, Klagan Hotel's Wanyan Rooftop Cafe is where one can get breakfast, lunch and dinner with a beautiful view. The menu consists of the most popular dishes of each cuisine for example: fried noodles if you're craving Sabahan, braised lamb if you're after spices, and the delicious Klagan burger if you're into your burgers like me!

Feeling like Red Velvets

"Cos' I felt like it"

Hey, readers! It's been a while since I've posted anything to do with what goes on in my kitchen. If you didn't know I do have a custom-cake business (Simply Sweet - please visit!). My passion for baking has always been around but I never thought of making it into a business and life always got in the way of me pursuing anything big with it. 

One day in 2011 when I decided not to let everyday life get in the way of my passion like I usually do I took out my mum's mixer and started to make red velvets. And it was also around the same time I started this blog, so as you can see, red velvets have a special place in my heart. It was the first cupcake I made because I "felt like it" and from that afternoon onwards everything changed for me. 

Red Velvets aren't a big mystery. Once you get to know them you'll discover they are a chocolate cupcake with red food dye. Not a big fan of the taste of food dye I don't tend to put the amount of red dye that many recipes say to but it still turns out red. 

One night, because I "felt like it" I started baking red velvets when my friends were over. Not for an order, not for anyone's birthday, but cos I felt like it (and at the same time spoil my friends). One of my friends had her camera with her so started to take photos of me at work. I've never had anyone take pics of me baking and decorating so it was quite a treat to see all these pics (and envision that maybe one day this will be what my baking book will look like! hehe)

I don't cry. I eat...at The Glass- Bar & Grill, Suria Sabah

FOOD WITH A VIEW

The modern cuisine food scene in KK is growing at a rapid pace and The Glass is one of the latest joint to join. Set up in the big round glass sections of Suria Sabah Shopping Centre, The Glass Grill & Bar has one of the best views of the city of Kota Kinabalu. 

Colourful, playful and super convenient from Golden Screen Cinema movie goers, it's a nice casual setting for a quickie pre-movie dinner or a big birthday party with family and friends. There is also a designated bar area with very quirky "cage" booths! 

One Night at The Asylum

Voices from the Asylum

Hey, everyone! No, the Asylum is not where I've been during my absence. I'm sorry for the hiatus from blogging. Due to a couple crazy weeks at work, life, and Simply Sweet, I haven't been able to blog cos' I'd either get cake batter on my keyboard or deliver up a half-baked post (and I don't like doing that to my dear readers!).

I thought I'd kick off with something rather different and non-food related. However, I'd like to think that creativity is food for the soul. For me, when I get creative with a cake or cupcake I am essentially sharing a piece of myself in each cake and cupcake: emotions, imagination and soul.

So, as a person who loves to be creative in all different types of medium having the chance to bask in other people's creativity is not a chance I would pass up! Kota Kinabalu so far has been all about food, mountains, seas for me so to be able to see this side of KK is so refreshing and mind-blowing. KK is not only a city full of amazing food and natural beauty but also colourful personalities. And you can find some of these colourful personalities at The Asylum, the gallery of the Cracko Art Group.

Recent cakes...

Hey, readers~ It's been a while. Here are some recent cakes and cupcakes I've been working on :)

Trying out the tie-dye look

Love the giant cupcake~!

Cupcakes requested by a 10 year old girl- She designed the cupcakes herself!

Hope you're all well :)

Daphne

I don't cry. I eat...Uptown Burger Bakar, Cyber Square Kepayan

THE BAD BOYS OF BURGERS

If you're a follower of my blog, you know I love a good gourmet burger (see: Bombers Burgers, Newport Arms). I tend to order burgers at most Western cuisine eateries. I just love a tender, juicy patty between two thick toasty pieces of bread. Or in the case of Uptown Burger Bakar, you can enjoy a triple-pattie monster!

Burgers are a funny thing. It's a simple concept: A vertical stacking of bread, meat, veggies. However, not all burgers are created equal. As a self-appointed burger connoisseur, in my opinion, if not done properly a simple stack can become a simply suck.

Somewhere between my lucky stars and the Twitterverse, Uptown Burger Bakar owner, Hisyam, came across my blog and invited me to come have a taste of Uptown Burger Bakar's burgers. Not one to turn down a burger invite because that would be SO rude, I accepted (while doing a happy dance) and after a pre-burger workout (these things have major calories yo!) I set off with some friends to Cyber Square Kepayan to look for this cool new burger joint. 

Located in newish area Cyber Square Kepayan, Uptown Burger Bakar is set up in Borneo Copacabana Cafe which is the first corner shop on your right when you drive into Cyber Square. 

The place was hard to miss as it was the first on the corner. And because I knew you can get some shisa action here I knew we were at the right place when I saw the shishas lined up in a row.

Doorless and casual the cafe was the perfect place for a casual dinner. I actually felt like we were at someone's house having a casual BBQ. It seemed like a perfect place for a casual night out with friends.

As you can see on the menu it's limited and to me that's usually a good sign because it means this place is focused on what they're good at! The burgers are not pricey and you can go single, double or triple (if you're real hungry). You can even mix the meats which is pretty cool if you're a little twisted and feel like having your cow and lamb together!

After ordering my double beef burger I took a little peek at the BBQ and, oh my, was it a real BBQ. "Bakar" means "burnt" in Malay but colloquially it can mean "BBQ".  Smokey without being firey and sizzling without being oily it looked like the chefs have really thought this through. Making the perfect meat pattie must be a real art!

Uptown Burger Bakar keeps it all simple and focuses on the meat with lettuce, tomato and cheese as company. Sauces were either black pepper or special sauce which I ordered. My mouth watered as I watched the chefs put our burgers together and I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into those bad boys (the burgers, not the boys!)

Hippos & Love

DIPPING IN LOVE TOGETHER

Valentine's Day may be over but I just had to share one of the latest cakes I made for a sweet couple celebrating a birthday and their 3rd anniversary.

The cake is a double chocolate cake with swiss meringue buttercream shaped as a heart. The hippos are  made using home-made modeling chocolate which I found to be so much better for modeling figurines than using fondant or gumpaste.

Hope your weekend has been a fun one!

Daph xox

Happy Valentine's Day

BAKE = LOVE

You can't buy love. But you sure can bake it :)

Love can mean many things for different people. For me, baking brings me that feeling like I'm floating in the sky and being hugged by fluffy clouds. So what better way to spend Valentine's Day?

Bake red velvets, of course!

Happy Valentine's Day, readers~!

Lots of Love,

Daphne

Shooting the Baker....with Louis Pang!

A VERY SWEET SHOOT

 Last December I had an opportunity to do a photoshoot with the very famous Louis Pang. A local Sabahan who is well known internationally, Louis is often spotted at weddings and any function you can think of snapping away those memorable moments.

Playing around with my cake and books before the shoot

I was lucky enough to win a voucher for a photoshoot with Louis. I have had a phootshoot with Louis before for a group corporate photo which was a little different from self-portraits. However, as a recovering victim of glamour shots taken in 2003 (trust me, the results were awful and I only bought two pictures because I felt bad...) I was rather skeptical about these "self-portraits". But since it was with Louis I decided to go take some pics. I was a little stumped as to what clothes and things to bring and then it hit me: BRING MY BAKING TOOLS!

I even decided to bake a cake. You may have seen this little mint number feature a few times on the blog and the Simply Sweet page. Mint is one of my favourite colours and I'm a big lover of florals so I made something that would represent me.

Come visit www.facebook.com/simplysweet.my

 On the day of the shoot I was rather nervous. Will he make me do silly poses circa 1980s? Will he make me dance around?? Will he not let me use my baking stuff? And most importantly will I even find a photo that I like???

However, all my nerves and anxiety were wiped out when Louis and his team greeted me. Louis and I had a quick chat about what I wanted from the photoshoot and what props I had brought. After a few minutes of conveying how I'm just nuts about baking and all things cake we got down to business.