The Charm of Ipoh Old Town: Burps & Giggles

It was a visual feast the moment we stepped into the rustic, but quirky Burps & Giggles, occupying two pre-war shoplots in Ipoh old town (Ipohans should have no problem recognising the old U.S. Peter dressmaking signboard).

Burps & Giggles is the third and latest brainchild of chef and restauranteur Julie Song (the first was the famed Indulgence, followed by Allegra) – a tapas (or more accurately known as “pincho“) bar and bistro. Big, heavy main course are not their forte as they focuses primarily on small bites but if you must have something more substantial for the tummy, they serves burgers, pastries and sandwiches too (baked fresh daily from their main kitchen in Indulgence).

Word of mouth about this place has been all over Facebook, so when we dropped by one fine Sunday, as expected, the place was packed to the brim. We eventually chose to sit at the bar top with natural lighting from above. We had Harvey (RM16), a fish burger that was grilled instead of the conventional deep fried. Studded with coriander and mint leaves, coupled with a tarty Thai-infused dressing and abundant of chopped veggies, the patty has a texture resembling firm tofu.

My Jammy (RM18), combination of Angue beef patty, jalapeno, cheese, tomato jam, onion and tomato doesn’t look very appetising but alas, the patty was juicy and moist (luckily), with add-on thick cut fries (I opted for truffle oil but couldn’t really taste the subtle flavour of it, probably my tongue is overwhelmed by the beefy taste of the burger).

Feeling a little greedy, we chose something else from the pastry counter as well. The Passionfruit Sugee Cake has a crumbly texture but I like the tangy topping which complements the cake, however, my sister finds the topping too sour to her liking. She finds her Banana Muffin fares better, though.

If you’re looking for some light bites after lunch hour or to “lepak” with your friends over couple of drinks and cakes, do try out their tapas after 3pm daily – I heard they serves quite a mean spread of it.

Burps & Giggles (Halal)
93 & 95, Jalan Sultan Yussuf,
30000 Ipoh, Perak.
(Behind Kong Heng in Ipoh old town)

Tel: 05-242 6188
Business Hours: 8am – 8pm, closed on Tuesdays.
Email: burps.giggles@indulgencerestaurant.com

Want more pictures? Try sharonisme and EatDrinkKL.

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Christmas Sweet Treats @ Butter Tree

For my entire 29 years of life, I have not thrown Christmas party once. But this year, I’m hosting one and yes, I’m decorating my first Christmas tree as well! I’m actually very excited about it; just think about food, decorations, ambiance, laughter of friends at the dining table….

Oh, by the way, if you haven’t plan what to get for our Christmas dinner (especially dessert), may I pique your interest on Butter Tree?

Butter Tree (Ara Damansara and Happy Mansion) are the new additions to the group who also manage Food Foundry and Huckleberry Cafe. While Food Foundry focus on casual dining and Huckleberry on cafe-style, Butter Tree gears more towards bakery and pastries. Their Happy Mansion outlet is located at the same spot where 6 2 10 Nasi Lemak and Grill used to be.

So, back to their Christmas goodie offerings. For this festive season, all Butter Tree, Huckleberry and Food Foundry outlets are preparing a variety of sweet treats starting from 1st December 2011 until 1st January 2012 (one whole month) and they are ONLY available for pre-orders (one week in advance would be ideal). There would be Christmas-themed cookies, such as (from picture above, top to bottom) The Nutcracker (chocolate, banana and walnut cookie), Carabells (cookie with crushed salted cashew nuts and drizzled with caramel) and Gingerbread Mans Land (honey gingerbread cookies. Cookies will be sold as a ‘scenery’ with buildings, angels, snowflakes, crescent moon etc.)

These might not look pretty but they taste pretty good. These pistachio cookie with chocolate ganache filling, dipped in a smooth layer of dark chocolate are known as Dark Prince. Sweet outer casing with a chewy texture – definitely something good to keep a kid’s mouth busy on the dining table!

If cake is in your menu, you might want to get this on your dining table, the Jack Frost. Chocolate-hazelnut cream encased by buttery, vanilla sponge, then topped with roasted almond flakes and creamy frosting – this baby has our highest vote for the day! The vanilla sponge was moist and fluffy, paired together perfectly with the heavenly hazelnut-milk chocolate cream filling. The freshly roasted almond flakes lend a crispy texture to the cake.

Last but not least, we have Sugar Fairies, which are soft vanilla cookies with raspberry-white chocolate cream filling. The cookie took us by surprise as it crumbles very quickly as soon as we got it onto our hands. The raspberry filling has a nice tangy-sweet combination of flavour but we found that it was slightly too sweet to our liking. We gave our feedback on this, and hopefully, they will look into the matter immediately.

All the above items are ONLY available for pre-order, where it would be best to pre-order one week in advance to avoid disappointment. For pricing, kindly refer to their FB page HERE. You could pick your orders from any of the outlets listed below:

• Food Foundry, Seksyen 17
• Butter Tree, Seksyen 17 (Happy Mansion)
• Butter Tree, Ara Damansara
• Huckleberry Cafe, Bangsar Shopping Centre
• Huckleberry Cafe, Pavilion KL

Check out what My Story and Eat Only Lar has to say.

Butter Tree
BG-1, Happy Mansion,
Jalan 17/13,
Seksyen 17,
46400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.

Tel: 03-7831 2237 (Ara Damansara’s outlet)

Chocolate Peanut Buttercup – A Slice of Heaven

It’s been quite some time since I last tasted Just Heavenly‘s cakes. They have now branched out to several outlets under the name A Slice of Heaven over the years. When they did a small contest on Facebook to promote their latest creation, the Chocolate Peanut Buttercup cake few weeks back, I took part on it without putting much hope that I will win…. and ta-dah, I did win! Okay, they chose 10 winners based on the correct answer and I was one of them. The reward – a RM50 cash voucher to buy their creations and I used it for Jack and Xavier’s double birthday celebration.

JHP’s cakes are always decorated in a “minimalist” approach – no fancy decorations are required (best of all, those “decorations” can be eaten!). Available in three sizes/weights; cupcakes, 6 inch and 9 inch, it is made of moist chocolate fudge cake coated with roasted, creamy peanut butter frosting and decorated with black and white chocolate chips.

The birthday boys (and guests) loved it loads. It’s a perfect harmony of sweet, salty, savoury and rich – a slice of heaven indeed! A bit sinful, but who cares? :p

For a full address and contact number listing of their outlets, click HERE.