Since I had the Volkswagen Beetle 1.2 TSI at my disposal with a tankful of fuel, it’s time to head out of KL!
Julie’s (of Indulgence Restaurant) latest venture has been enticing me for the longest time. If you don’t already know, Burp and Giggles (what an orginal name!) serves a medley of burgers with patties that are Julie’s very own recipes with freshly baked buns from her Indulgence Restaurant. Julie’s food has always been slightly on the high side for Ipoh, but that hasn’t bothered me much as I’m of the opinion that if you want Ipoh prices then there’s always hawker food. Moreover I have always been intrigued with her passion, creativity and originality in her ventures.
Her Indulgence Living is truly one of a kind, not just in Ipoh but in Malaysia. She was also the lone brave soul to start a luxury dining restaurant about a decade ago in this sleepy town of Ipoh and proved everyone who doubted that fine dining could command a steady business in Ipoh wrong.
Her latest baby; Burp and Giggles didn’t disappoint. The interior is amazing, and though I have seen pictures of it all over the net, I was still awed by the crafts, artwork, the decor as well as the furnishings.
The very same can be said for Buku Tiga Lima, an adjacent lot to Burp and Giggles.
I shall save Burp and Giggles for another day. Since there aren’t many reviews on Buku Tiga Lima yet, I’ll like to share first on the lovely crepes, hot spuds and bagel I had here just 2 weeks back.
Buku Tiga Lima has rustic furniture and all sorts of nostalgic (some even eccentric) paraphernalias hanging from the ceilings and occupying almost nook and cranny of the cosy outlet.
I was in a real holiday mode so I wasn’t as hardworking as usual in taking pictures. Here are my only “interior” shots – 3 images of the “latterns” in Buku Tiga Lima – simply because they were hanging over my head and I didn’t even had to get up to snap a shot :DD
Apparently this zipper lantern is made up of 1,000 zippers. Try counting if you’re that bored.
An amalgamation of quirky latterns as one parent quirky lattern? It works!
The lattern with shaggy hair. A bit mindbogglingly bizarre this one.
Opened at 8am through 5pm, Buku Tiga Lima and Burp and Giggles are ideal for a little tête-à-tête with friends or a substantial meal. I started my day with the sweet crepe; selecting the Pears, Mars chunk, mascarpone, ginger butterscotch crepe (RM13) since I love pears and I was also intrigued by the ginger butterscotch.
The moment my plate was set down on the table, I nodded in approval.
It looked fabulous; light crepe with thin and crispy edges plus a hint of the wonderful filling oozing out at the sides. I tore at the layer on top to reveal its contents; first to see if it’s worth my RM13, and then to check if the ingredients were adeptly prepared.
The check returned satisfactory result on all accounts.
The final and most important verdict was the taste and it was, I’m happy to report; absolutely delish though a tad sweet from the Mars chunk.
Pushing most of the Mars chunks aside, I cleaned the plate; every bit of the pears, ginger butterscoth (creamy with a bit of heat from the ginger), mascarpone and the delectable crepe itself. High points goes to the crepe really, as it wrapped everything up nicely without being too wet, doughy or stretchy.
Breakfast started off well indeed. Sated, my mind went into writing mode and I chilled in the cafe for a few hours before I ordered my lunch. Lunch was burgers from its sister outlet Burp and Giggles so that would be covered in the next post.
An addition to my lunch was the hot spuds, which is part of the menu here in Buku Tiga Lima.
This is the Braised Lamb Neck and Spiced Beans (RM15). Mouthwatering aroma of braised lamb assailed my senses even before I picked up my fork. The potato had a sweet spuddy flavour on its own which made it rather pleasant to eat. But the lamb neck was marvelous, so meltingly tender and flavourful!
Since I have tried a crepe and a hot spud, I just had to try the bagel next. But I ordered that for tea (yes, I was hanging around Buku Kaki Lima the whole day!) and would have continued to have dinner too if it wasn’t for a last minute change of plans to leave for KL earlier.
But I just had to have my bagel so I ordered a take-away! Yes, that’s obsession for you! 🙂
This is Sister Flo RM14 – Soft egg, spinach, pinenuts, lemon hollandaise and turkey slices .
The soft boiled egg is supposed to be served on top of the bagel but since I’m taking this back to KL, it was packed for me in a separate container instead.
Sister Flo was a substantial “bagel-wich” thanks to its generous fillings. Do note that this isn’t the original chewy bagel but a soft and only slightly chewy kind which goes rather well with the whole ensemble. I doubt our locals here would appreciate the hard, chewy original bagels anyways.
The spinach on top was a bit bland but it’s nothing a little extra hollandaise won’t fix.
Uh huh, I actually ate half of it even before I packed my things to leave for KL! :DD
Craving something sweet just before the ride back, I tried another of Buku Tiga Lima specialties – the Lola: Baby brioche with choice of vanilla, espresso almond crunch or chocolate orgasm ice-cream. RM4.90.
Not bad, though essentially it’s buttered bun with a scoop of very good chocolate ice cream imported from the US.
All in all, I loved the crepes and the hot spuds the most. Kudos to Julie for another successful brainchild and such an original one too. I don’t think there’s a place like this in KL or any other state in Malaysia except for maybe Fat Spoon in Damansara Uptown. In fact, many of Burp and Giggles and Buku Tiga Lima clientele are from other states who have traveled to Ipoh for leisure and made a point to drop in to check out the place after hearing about it through word of mouth/online reviews. Just as she did with Indulgence, Julie successfully added another “iconic attraction” to Ipoh with Burp and Giggles and Buku Tiga Lima.
One would usually say “If you’re in Ipoh, don’t miss out on Indulgence’s desserts, Ipoh hor fun, dim sum, soya bean etc.” Now, remember to add Buku Tiga Lima to your list! 🙂
Buku Tiga Lima and Burp and Giggles (adjacent shoplots)
93 & 95 Jalan Sultan Yussuf, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
05-242 6188
Open 8am – 8pm.
Thanks to Julie and her son who treated me on this day while I was idling in Ipoh seeking solace. 🙂
ooo, let’s see … i think i’d order two of the bagels (the foie gras one and the egg-lamb-feta one), the prawn spuds, the mushroom savory crepe and two sweet crepes, the strawberry-hibiscus-icecream one and the mascarpone-mars one! sounds like it’d be a very fulfilling meal! 😀
Kudos to Julie again!
Omg, omg, omg, the food looks amazing!!! The lamps were amazing but the instant second I look at the photo , the ocd me only thought about how they are gonna clean in…but then when I saw those food…forget about the lamps..
Wow! This is so my kind of food! The crepe looked amazing indeed, would be perfect if with snickers! Hehehe
Heheheh.. I love it too. Can’t wait to head back to sample more. But that will be March.. since CNY coming up and it will be jammed