Sunday, October 18, 2026

[Tasting] Ms DURIAN - For the Love of Durians

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I must have been living under a rock, as it was only recently that I had discovered that durian coffee is a thing. Was definitely intrigued and thanks to Ms Durian (a homegrown brand established since 2019), I had the opportunity to try not just durian coffee, but also some of their signatures; cakes and desserts.

While I don't have any strong cravings for durians through out the years, Mao Shan Wang happens to be my favourite durian variety for its bitter-sweet ratio, aroma and flesh texture. Am not a desserts person but I do enjoy eating cakes, especially those soft fluffy ones. 


delivery pack

what's in my bag


Boxes were clearly marked with stickers to indicate the goodies inside. 


Cakes


Whisky MSW Durian Cake (front) and The Original MSW Durian Cake (back)



The Original MSW Durian Cake (Slice)



The Original MSW Durian Cake (slice) @$14

 thin coating of Madagascar vanilla chantilly cream

close-up view of the two layers of pure Mao Shan Wang in between vanilla sponge cake


Whisky MSW Durian Cake (Slice)


Whisky MSW Durian Cake @$16


close up view of the meringue top and durian layers in between chiffon sponge


Both slices were lovely with soft fluffy texture and pleasant aroma of the real Mao Shan Wang flesh. The Whisky version had a slightly more pronounced bitter-sweet profile in comparison to original. I thought the meringue top made the cake a tad prettier and added a fun texture to the cake. 

Appreciated that the chiffon cake was made with less sugar and in turn, made the cake enjoyable without being overly sweet.


MSW Durian Craquelin




MSW Durian Craquelin (box of 5) @$20

MSW Durian Craquelin


Okay, I did a Google search to find out what are craquelins. In summary, a cream puff with crunchy cookie disc on top. Does this means "I eat to learn and learn to eat."


inside, is what matters


When it was fully defrosted, it felt almost like having the actual durian flesh (albeit a more moist and creamier version) sandwiched in a small puff. But I was in a bit of a hurry the other day, and tried it before it managed to defrost properly. Hence, it became somewhat of a durian ice-cream sandwiched in a small puff. 


Durian Coffee


Durian Coffee @$15


Cheers to the first durian coffee in my life! Was in a mix of apprehension plus a whole lot of intrigue when deciding on this durian coffee. Curiosity won, and happy that I tried. I liked it. 

At first sip, I thought the durian flavour was rather soft. Then I realized that probably need to shake the bottle first? Did that and took a big sip after and that's when one could taste the bitter sweet of the durian flavour. Quite yummy with all the creaminess. And yes, still can taste the coffee. 


Durian Coconut Milk Pudding


Durian Coconut Milk Pudding @$7.10

top view

have a bite

It was cute and mild and shared the same durian intensity as the egg tart. Didn't detect any hint of coconut though. 


MSW Durian Egg Tart


MSW Durian Egg Tart @$8.50 (per piece)

looks pretty~

egg and durian layers

The egg tart and the pudding shared the milder durian intensity of only 2-stars. In comparison, if you prefer stronger durian taste, go for the MSW Durian Craquelin.

There's the convenience of island-wide delivery, or one could drop by the cafe to explore more. The online order menu and dine-in menu are available at Ms Durian website. 


Here's wishing Ms Durian, a Happy 7 Years Anniversary! 


Ms Durian | Speciality Bakery & Cafe

Address: 11 Kelantan Rd, Singapore 208604

Website: https://www.msdurian.com/

Contact: 69620057

Business Hours:

Daily 9 am–10 pm



Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Bonjour Ma Cuisine @ 39 Craig Road

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Finally had the opportunity to try this breakfast/brunch place. A super quick meet-up with Tiara. Reservation is recommended and one would be informed that there is a strict 90-minutes dining limit. Arrived at the place at 955am and was informed that the table would have to be released by 1130am, which suited our meet-up timings.

Place was quite easy to find and is a few steps away from Mondrian Duxton. I chose indoor dining though the courtyard looked pretty chill. 

Was seated immediately once staff had verified the reservation. 

table for 2

The next table was just an arm's length away, so we would be smiling at the other table if our gaze chanced upon each other.

sparkling water @$6.50++


The online menu looked exactly liked the one in the shop, except that one could click on the online one to look at the photo of the selected dish.

Since I was still waiting for Tiara, I entertained myself by briefly chatting with the staff. Friendly folks who didn't mind the interaction if the restaurant was not too busy.


Lillet Mule @$18++

Lillet mule was refreshing and light. Let's eat since Tiara had arrived.

croissant au beurre @$5.50++

scrambled eggs @$12.90++

Coquelet Francais Roti (French spring chicken) @$24++

Was impressed by the size of the buttery croissant and at the same time, amused  by the size of the spring chicken. Keke. Spring chicken took about 25 minutes to prepare and staff probably had feedback from prior diners about the size, so all these were duly warned when I placed the order.

Croissant was as expectedly flaky and tasted good. The organic eggs were of a lovely yellow hue and we enjoyed it with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. 



I liked the spring chicken with its crisp thin layer of skin and well cooked meat that retained its moisture. The chicken was well seasoned, so it was good on its own. Tasted similar to quail. And yes, one person can finish off the entire spring chicken.

crepes chocolat and chantilly @$7.90++

Ended our meal with a light dessert of crepes, served with chocolate sauce and chantilly cream.

Thanks Tiara for the treat and the meet up!


Bonjour Ma Cuisine

Address: 39 Craig Rd, Singapore 089677

Website: https://bonjourmacuisine.com/

Business Hours:

Mon: Closed

Tue - Sun: 9 am–2:30 pm




Saturday, August 1, 2026

[Travel] Across the Causeway - Saturday Day Trip 2026 Version @ Johor Bahru, Malaysia

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Breakfast 1 (10:04 am)

皇家咖啡店 WONG GA KOPITIAM




This coffee shop has a drinks stall (obviously), an economic rice stall, duck rice/noodles and a beef noodles stall.

Spacious place and there was a table available. One can place order at the various food stalls and the staff will bring it over when it is ready. Pay when served. 

For drinks, you can order via the order chit placed on the table (which we didn't notice) or via the staff, or at the drinks counter. Cashless payment is available. Recommend to order and to pay direct at the counter.

assorted braised - tofu, duck gizzard, pig skin and ear

braised duck (portion for 3 pax)

kway teow kia (dry)


Our breakfast was mainly from the duck stall. Paid RM60 for the duck, assorted braised and a bowl of kway teow kia. Food was good.

mixed beef soup (RM15 - large)


For the beef soup, it was different from what I imagined it would be. Suggest to order it with noodles instead of without as the soup tasted better with the noodles.

cham (tea and coffee mixed)


I liked the cham here but probably better to go for the less sweet version. 



Address: 141&142, Jalan Lumba Kuda, Bukit Chagar, 80300 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Business Hours: Daily, 6 am–8 pm




Breakfast 2 (11:07 am)

13 Units Hong Kong Cafe - Danga Utama


shop front



Do you think we'd be here to eat say, just a bolo bun? Never. Haha! Let's see what we ended up with.

bakes on display

merch corner



Staff was friendly and we got our table almost immediately. However, after placing our orders, we asked the staff if we could move as the place didn't get the fan coverage. He was rather nice about it and warned that the table nearby had strong air conditioning and if we were ok with that.

themed concept

menu

might order this if I hadn't had breakfast prior


The hardcopy menu looked like it had seen better days. Order via the QR code. Liked that for the drinks that we had selected, one could choose the less sweet option. 



HK chee cheong fun (plain)


The rice rolls were more sweet than savoury. Tasted like dessert. 

pistachio egg tart


cross section view


nornal egg tart


We were happy with the egg tarts. Crispy, flaky shell and good flavours from the pistachio and egg custard.


signature ice milk tea

ice-lemon tea


Hehe, that tiny piece of mahjong tile on the ice-lemon tea drink cover, can be plucked out and take home by the diners.

bolo bun with butter

nissin noodles with egg and luncheon meat

steamed milk custard



Total meal costs around RM95.


Address: 60G, Jln Pertama 1, Pusat Perdagangan Danga Utama, 81300 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Business Hours: Daily, 10 am–10 pm







Entertainment and Tea Break (3:00pm - 5:00pm)

Chun K Music Family Karaoke 纯K

The first KTV place that we went was inside a shopping mall but it was strictly for members' registration only but it was fully reserved. Hence, searched around and decided on Chun K as it accepts walk-in and was available. 

We took the RM99++ 2 hour package which included a jug of drinks (choose 1 from 3 selections), some fruits and snacks.

Song selection was alright, service staff was polite and helpful. However, one of the mic at times no sound or sudden burst of sound. Not sure if it is a technical issue or our voice needed better control. Hmmm.


Address: 37, Jalan Austin Heights 8/3, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Contact: +6072886648

Business Hours: Daily, 2 pm–3 am






Pre-Dinner Snacks (7:05pm)

B&B Bakery

This shop sells one of the larger sized shio-pan that I've encountered thus far. The Penang shio-pan size was similar to Singapore. 

dining space outside the shop

shop front


I bought a couple of flavours for breakfast but my bro at the fancy flavours while I tried the yam mochi and the normal shio-pan. One could also add selected fillings into the plain shio-pan inside the shop, to customize the bun. 

shio-pan with additional butter fillings





Address: 1, Jalan Kasa 7, Taman Sentosa, 80150 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Business Hours: Daily, 9 am–8 pm



BBQ Dinner (7:40pm)

Tanba Japanese BBQ 炭马烧肉专门店(Twin Galaxy)

shop



One could opt for either hot-pot or BBQ in this same shop. That night, we observed more people having hotpot than BBQ.

We chose the RM198+ per pax Basic Course package for the BBQ.

BBQ package


wasabi and yakiniku sauce

I was wondering why Hence kept asking me if I need to get the sauces from the sauce counter. I didn't as I was using the sauce available on the table. Turned out, the sauces from sauce counter were already charged at RM8++ and wet tissue at RM1++ per pax.


charcoal ready


Was a tad skeptical on the tiny pieces of charcoal for the BBQ as it looked like it might not have enough fire. No worries there as the meat pieces served were pretty thinly sliced. 

tiny plates per serving order

beef karubi


fresh lettuce is a must 

kimchi is recommended


let's start cooking

munch on karaage while waiting

next round of orders

can request for staff to replace the grill once it got too much char on it

beef fried rice


Hmm, not too sure about the beef fried rice. Didn't like the rice texture here. 

matcha ice-cream


Cold tea, iced water and dessert are included in the package. For dessert, one could get the aiyu-jelly, matcha or vanilla ice-cream or the marshmallow. Hence and Tracy recommends the aiyu-jelly. 

The place was pretty packed during dinner time on a Saturday evening at 730pm. 



Address: Twin Galaxy, 01-03 #01-05 #01-06, Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir, Taman Abad, 80300 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia


Business Hours: 
Sun - Thu: 12–11 pm
Fri-Sat: 12 pm–12 am


This trip was made possible by Hence, Tracy and Ivan. Thank you for the company!
 
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