To be honest, the hot chocolate at some cafes tasted as though it was a 3-in-1 Milo drink. It is so not worth the extra bucks for me (that's why I seldom get hot chocolates at cafes nowadays, unless it's really good).

So, I looked up the Internet and got a pretty easy hot chocolate recipe that doesn't even take 5 minutes!

You'll need:
→ 237ml (1 cup)  milk
→ 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
→ 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
→ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence (to enhance the flavour)
→ 1 pinch salt (again, for a better taste)

Whisk 2 tablespoons of milk, the cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the cocoa, sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour in the rest of the milk and whisk over medium heat until it's hot. Then, stir in the vanilla and you're done.


Who am I kidding.
I'm quite a lazy person so here's my LAZY way to prepare it (it may not taste as heavenly as the hot chocolate prepared using the method above but it's good enough).

First off, put the cup of milk into the microwave oven (make sure that your cup is microwave-friendly) for about 30-60 seconds to heat it up. Then, stir in the cocoa powder, salt and sugar until they fully dissolve. If they are unable to dissolve, heat the cup up a little more. Add in the vanilla and stir well.
There you go! A cup of hot chocolate without having to light up the stove.


There are quite a lot of variations to this recipe. You can...

1. Drink it as it is, or...



(sorry for the bad quality pic. it was a lazy day. hahah)

2. Freeze them into chocolate cubes using an ice tray and plop them into a cup of milk.

3. Freeze it and blend the mixture for a cup of cold chocolate. I havn't really tried making cold chocolate yet but it really seems like a good idea.

Feel free to add in some whipped cream or marshmallows too :D

Now you've known the lazier way to make hot chocolate, why not give it a try? Grab a book and enjoy your drink!

Located in WOLO Hotel, Bukit Bintang (which is more or less opposite the H&M at Lot 10), Tous les Jours (too-leh-joo) is a French-Western bakery owned by a South Korean company. It literally means "Everyday" but well, Tous les Jours is a better name for a bakery.

I've walked past Bukit Bintang numerous times and I passed by the bakery quite a few times before I finally found the time to grab a bite there, since quite a few friends recommended it.







Both the interior and the exterior of the bakery are splendid. It is a fusion of old and new (since I still havn't got the hang of architecture I have nothing to add). It is also a good place to gather with a few friends and talk over a cup of coffee and pastries.







You can get anything from a sandwich to a madeleine, to a baguette there.



The croissant was a little too buttery but the apple pie is quite good, according to my mom.

My friend got me a strawberry milk bun once. I'm not a huge fan of strawberry but the bun is quite OK and it's not too milky.



They also sell jam there. Someday I'll get one and try it, who knows?





There are lots of desserts too. I wanted to try so many but I could only choose one as I couldn't get anyone to share it with me.
(OK. some photos are from my phone camera so the lighting is not too good)

After some consideration, we decided to go to Ben's at Pavilion to celebrate one of my friend's birthday. To be frank, I've never been to Ben's although I've wanted to go there since forever. We didn't expect the place to be quite full at 2-3pm but it seemed that we've forgotten about afternoon tea.





So anyway, the ambiance there is quite good but it is a little stuffy towards the back of the restaurant because it's on the top floor of the building and also, the heat spell here lasted for almost a month (which is about month without rain. trust me, it's devastating).



Although they mostly serve Western food, you can find a few local dishes as well. For me, I'd rather take the Western food. Being a student, I had a budget. Therefore, I chose to share with some friends of mine.





Ben's: To eat is to love.





We ordered a Grilled Pesto Chicken, which is awesome. It was recommended by one of my friends as she likes it very much. Now, I'm officially a fan of grilled chicken. The chicken wasn't too soft nor too hard and the avocado feta enhanced the taste of the sandwich. Thumbs up!
The sandwich comes with a salad and some chips. We requested some tartar sauce to go with the chips to give it more flavour. It is also good without the tartar sauce.



Our Mushroom Lasagne. I'm not a huge fan of lasagne to start with but one of my friend wanted to try it so it's on the table. I had a few mouthfuls and I don't know, maybe I'm just not the lasagne kind of person... it wasn't too bad after all.



Also, a Spaghettini Pomodoro, which is basically a tomato-based pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and herbs. Even though it seems common enough, the spaghettini is quite good.



This. This is a must-try. I've only had a spoonful (or forkful?) of this. Their Golden Soft-shell Crab Spaghettini is heavenly! Even though it is written "curry leaves and cili padi", it is not too spicy. The sauce is not too creamy and you won't feel bloated or nauseous even after finishing a whole plate by yourself (some creamier ones do tend to make one feel nauseous after a little while).



For dessert, Chocolate Truffle Torte. Each of the three words in the name of the cake is on my top favourite list of food. They use dark chocolate so that it's not too sweet (darn. did I mention that I LOVE dark chocolate?). What's not to love about truffle anyway? By the way, the cold glass of milk is not meant to be poured onto the cake (which was what happened shortly after the cake was set on the table.. such an unfortunate incident indeed. but the cake still tastes good despite the incident).

All in all, it is a very good place to eat and to hang out with friends but we kinda rushed because we threw my friend a surprise party after that so perhaps I'll just swing by again in the near future. ;)

Visit the Facebook page of the Ben's outlet in Pavilion.
You could download the menu from their website or check for available outlets there too.