Organica Lifestyle @ Bangsar (featuring KindMeal)

Disclaimer: One meal is sponsored. Reviews are solely mine and do not represent the views of the sponsor.

I finally managed to check out Organica Lifestyle after knowing of its existence for quite a while. As its name suggests, it serves delightfully healthy food that are meat-free and advocates healthier lifestyles not just for food - they also run yoga and pilates classes. 

Its location may be a bit of a hassle to discover for those who are not familiar with the area. If you're coming from the NPE or Federal Highway (through Mid Valley), just make sure to turn left after the Petronas station and then to your immediate right turn. Look out for the white house with brown gate and you'll be on your way to a healthy meal in no time.

As much as this is actually a restaurant, it still looks like a home from the way it is designed. To me, it was as if my Pinterest pins came to life.

These images show the counter you'll see where they do their juices and what not. Behind is the kitchen where more magic happens. From the looks of it, one can tell that they to not cater to crowds or massive groups which is actually great because the setting truly looks like a healthy getaway as you indulge in good food and be around the friendly people who work there.

My friend and I went for 3 dishes: 

Great Life Bowl (RM28.00)

Quinoa Nasi Lemak (RM29.50)

Veggie Fritters (RM29.50) [which is actually the "Green Lantern Set" on KindMeal]

The Great Life Bowl, more like colours of the rainbow in a bowl, is basically a salad with a quinoa base. It includes ingredients like carrots, tofu, cauliflower, broccoli and purple cabbage which are then topped with their signature Tahini Dressing (tumeric and honey are the primary ingredients). This dish is a little dry but if you're the type who prefers oil-free food, this is what I recommend going for. 

The quinoa nasi lemak was interesting. I've never had this much quinoa in my life, what more with a vegetarian curry and having the conventional peanuts being replaced with pine nuts. I regret not asking how they did the curry because it is absolutely packed with flavor and is still so yummy even though it is practically meat-less. Go for this if you're looking for local delight with a twist.

These veggie fritters are from the "Green Lantern Set" under KindMeal and they are my favorite of the lot! If you're familiar with the Indian vadai, this tastes almost exactly like it. These glorious fritters are crispy on the outside yet so soft and moist on the inside, textures that won the hearts of my friend's and mine upon cutting up the first piece. And who knew that a creamy lightly-salted feta-avocado-beetroot dressing would do so well with feta cheese?! The next time I buy vadai from a mamak restaurant, feta should be the next thing to get on my list. Good lord, I'm still not over it.

The Great Life Bowl and Green Lantern Set both come with their own drinks but unfortunately, they were out of mint so they couldn't make the cold-pressed coconut mint juice for us. We settled for a beetroot based juice, not that I'm complaining. 

So if you're a blogger reading this, what if I told you that you can get one of these meals for FREE?

KindMeal is currently offering free meals to bloggers or those with Facebook fan pages with the hopes of encouraging more food lovers to experience meat-free cuisines and sharing their food stories with people.

Who/what is KindMeal?

They are Malaysia's first meat-free lifestyle platform, offering a unique angle towards promoting restaurants and cafes, with the primary objectives of saving animals, health, environment and money. Basically they're meat-free advocates so if you're a vegetarian/vegan, this is your place to go.

Who runs Kind Meal?

They're operated by PetFinder.my, Malaysia's leading animal welfare portal, a platform for animal lovers and rescuers. 

How can I get on board?

All you need to do is look for KindMeal in the app store, download it and you're good to go. They use digital coupons (go green!) and you no upfront payment, booking or any form of printing is required. You need not worry about having to use your coupons because if you choose not to, just allow them to expire when they do and you can obtain more coupons after. 

- Thanks for having me on board, KindMeal! :) -

Information

Address: 15, Jalan Tempinis 1, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening hours: 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. every day except Mondays
Contact no.: +60 12 704 8565
Email: hello@organicalifestyle.com
Website: www.organicalifestyle.com

LA/PA @ Bangsar

Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating frequently these days (I really try though). Hope you all celebrated Chinese New Year well and ate to your hearts' contents! I was in Penang again for Chinese New Year and managed to explore even more new places. Should I do a blog post about it? Let me know if you're keen in the comments :)

Have you heard of this food app called Burpple? No? I suggest you download it now and start following all those hungry foodies! Before I continue, please note that Burpple did not pay or ask me to mention them whatsoever. I am genuinely telling you about how great this food app is when it comes to looking for food and also sharing the ones your recommend! I'm typically a little lazy to write extremely long reviews these days like the ones on my blog unless there is something I have to say. Other than that, do check out more of my favourite places on my Burpple profile HERE.

Three Burpplers and I met up in Bangsar a few weeks back to catch up because it truly has been a while since we all first met last October. LA/PA (pronounced as "lapar". For non-Malaysians, it means "hungry") is one of the newest places to makan in Bangsar so naturally we collectively decided to meet there.

As usual, parking was a nightmare so I parked at Bangsar Village II to skip the tedious, endless rounding and rounding.

Here's are some quick snaps I took of the menu. We went during brunch so we ordered 4 out of 5 items of the "Breakfast" section along with a cup of coffee each. The coffee was pretty ... meh. Nothing to shout about.

Provencal French Toast [RM19.90] of dark rye loaf seasoned with herbs de provence made with kale, basil pesto and feta cheese.

Fair warning to those who are appealed by its name, this is a savoury dish and may come off as oddly otherworldly to some.  I was impressed at the seasoning but thought it would go better with the conventional pasta. One of the Burpplers didn't fancy it considering french toasts are normally served sweet here in Malaysia. Nevertheless, it was a great thing we tried it for a new experience. The price is a downside because of its puny portion. 

Bread Basket [RM12.00] of assorted house-made breads served with garlic herb butter, spiced brown sugar & raisin butter and Bonne Maman jam. 

This is something definitely worth ordering if you're not particular about a wide variety of flavours. For that price and that amount of bread and spreads, it's a great breakfast right there. I love garlic so the garlic herb butter was a bliss to my tastebuds. 

The only fault with this was not with the dish but rather the kitchen. Our spiced sugar & raisin butter had a plastic wrapping around it. Luckily, one of the Burpplers decided to investigate it before consuming (we thought it was gelatine!). The waitress briefly apologised, took the entire dish back to the kitchen and returned with all the spreads replaced. We discussed if we should ask for a refund but decided to just let it slide.  

Pancakes & Orange Quinoa Compote [ RM19.90] of fluffy buttermilk pancakes served with spiced orange and quinoa compote, Indonesian long pepper and vanilla bean whipped cream.

The picture looks as unenthusiastic as I was when I took my first bite. The presentation made it a bit hard to grab a good picture of all 3 pieces of pancakes (or maybe I'm just a horrible photographer). Photo composition aside, they were just average pancakes lacking the fluffy texture to live up to its description in the menu. They were not all fluffy, based on what reviews are saying. They were more like a cross between fluffy and chewy. Some may like it, but sorry I don't. The quinoa was a redundancy on a plate and the orange could be just the wrong type or the wrong fruit even. It's sad to say that none of us enjoyed this over-priced breakfast. 

Duck Eggs in Purgatory [RM21.00] made with Australian spinach in creamy garlic sauce, a dash of paprika and served with baguette.

Another garlicky type of food, but this one saved me from leaving with a disappointing brunch in my stomach. It tasted so good and well flavoured even though the eggs were a wee bit overcooked. Very satisfying dish! 

Maybe they're trying out new flavours, maybe they're trying too hard to add a twist to the classic. But one thing's for sure, it'll be a while till my next visit.

Information

Address: 15, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.

Opening hours: 8.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. every day

Contact no.: +60322014395

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lapabangsar?fref=ts
Website: http://www.lapa.co 

Review: q-Switch Nd:YAG Laser for Age Spots @ Premier Clinic, Bangsar

Disclaimer: Sponsored treatment. Reviews are entirely my own. Pictures unedited unless otherwise stated. 

Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been traveling the past 3 weeks and sort of getting back into reality for a week. Traveling does detach you from some things like contacting friends and for me mostly, catching up with my television series (Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke Girls anyone?)

Before going into details of my travels, here's a quick review of a sponsored treatment at Premier Clinic's new Bangsar branch. I underwent yet another laser treatment for my face this time for two reasons:

1)Having to travel the next few weeks after, I could not undergo any treatments which would require my skin to not be exposed to sunlight after it is done.
2) I would have gone for the chemical peel/skin peel but my dry face does not have any serious cases of acne, pimples or oiliness which is what the treatment primarily calls for (Nothing to be proud of. Having a face like a desert is also not a good thing.)


Pre-Treatment

Here's the setting of the reception area.

Their usual layout of brochures.

The counter.

The waiting area.

During consultation, Dr Elaine explained my options thoroughly and helped me weigh between them as she highlighted the pros and cons of each treatment I was interested in. Having done the laser hair removal on my underarms about more than a month before this, I could still proceed with yet another laser treatment. Both Dr Elaine and Dr Kee, who performed the first treatment on me, made sure I was well aware that I should not to laser treatments more often than once a month.

Here's what Dr Elaine told me about the two options:

Chemical Peel/Skin Peel: Particularly for those with oily skin, uneven skin tone, acne and superficial pigments. You'll feel a bit of tingling when the peel is applied on your face. Other that, it also exfoliates your skin.

Laser Treatment: It is definitely more painful than the former but a numbing cream will be applied 20 minutes before the treatment. It's also tightens your skin and removes most fine hairs. Note: Application of numbing cream does not mean the treatment is pain-free. If your pain threshold is low (like mine), you'll still feel a bit of pain.

I went with the latter because the first treatment would be a waste on my skin. Dr Elaine did a "light version" so that the recovery will be easier.



During the Treatment

All set!

Dr Elaine's assistant (who is a lady, if any of you are curious) applied the numbing cream on my face and I was allowed to relax in the treatment room for about 20 minutes for the cream to settle.

White mask for relaxation - just kidding. That's the numbing cream.

Dr Elaine at work (Note: This was taken because the treatment actually started.)

Like the first one, there were two sounds I could hear while Dr Elaine began - firstly was the sound of the vacuum and secondly the sound of the laser. The entire experience was no comforting one in general. The first stage of the process was more painful than the second. Especially when the laser gets closer to the nose, the burning smell is not the most pleasant thing. 

Nevertheless, the second stage of the treatment was not as bad. The laser felt more like it was a daddy long legs spider gracefully dancing all over my face - as horrifying as that sounds, trust me it isn't that bad. 

Dr Elaine's pain threshold is probably like mine. She completely understood that I was dislike the pain and she was therefore performing as delicately as she could. 

For the curious ones, this is how the laser machine looks like.

Post-Treatment

The light treatment did the job well as my face felt more refreshed and clean - too clean it felt. The feeling of my skin was as if I just went through some major exfoliating process to remove every single bit of imperfection on my face. 

I typically apply moisturiser twice a day (currently using Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream) and also sunscreen (currently using HerbaLine's Sunscreen Lightening Cream with SPF25) to protect my skin from being too exposed to the unforgiving sun. Dr Elaine said it was ok and that I should just continue applying those two products daily after the treatment. 

With Dr Elaine outside the clinic [edited image due to overexposure]

I'm very pleased with the results though I wish I could see how long it would actually last without having to travel. Thank you, Premier Clinic Bangsar, for the treatment! 

Information

Address: 40, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Operating Days: Mondays 2.00 – 700 p.m., Tuesdays – Saturdays 10.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.
Closed On: Sundays and Public Holidays
Office Number: +60322822263
Mobile Number: +60126625552 (Contactable 7 days a week between 8.00 a.m. - 10.00 p.m. via phone call, texts, WhatsApp or Viber)
Email: contactus@premier-clinic.com 
Website: http://www.premier-clinic.com/
Facebook page: click here!
Parking: Public parking spaces
WiFi: Available