Enjoying Six And A Half

       

Readers have been asking me about Six And A Half after I mentioned this coffee joint in my previous blog. This has spurred me to write about the food served there.

        I first heard about this place when some friends on Facebook showed their seal of approval (by giving a ‘Like’) to this eatery. A check on their Facebook page revealed their location. This eatery and roastery, which opened some time late last year, is located at Pusat Perdagangan Canning. That’s the new block of shops between Petronas Jalan Tambun and the Siamese temple. Apparently, their name came about because that’s their closing time. But that has now changed as they also serve dinner from Fridays to Sundays (Thursdays are their off days). 

        Fans of pork would love this place as it serves many porky dishes. They even have a board that lists the health benefits of eating bacon. I think that’s more of propaganda than fact but I am sure my bacon-lover husband would love it.

        Those who are not keen on oink oink, fear not. You can also find many tasty non-pork fare here. My partner in crime (that’s my mum!) has never been keen on the four-legged creature but this is, undoubtedly, one of her favourite places for Sunday brunch.

        Our first visit here was way back at the end of February. We shared a salmon sandwich and a scone with peach and passionfruit jam. The sight of the alfalfa sprouts in the sandwich did put me off a little but one bite into it changed my mind. It was delicious! And the scone had all the right textures, definitely one of the better ones I had ever tasted outside its homeland. But their coffee (Mummy had a latte while I took a cappuccino) was definitely the winner of the day! It was so smooth and aromatic, and their coffee art was executed perfectly.

Salmon sandwich

Scone with peach & passionfruit jam

Latte

Cappuccino

        A subsequent visit saw us sharing a platter of pancakes, honey drizzled bacon, sunny sides up and tomatoes…so yummy! It was a mixture of sweet and savoury, and that was what made all the difference. It was so good that we ordered this again the next time we went there, but we were feeling rather peckish that day so we also shared their Auntie Pam’s Quiche, which has bacon, mushroom and spinach. This was nice too, but we still prefer the quiches at Tammy’s Kitchen.

Pancakes with bacon, sunny sides up and tomatoes

Auntie Pam's Quiche

        We have since then tried their other dishes like zucchini pork ham frittata, almond croissant, passionfruit cheesecake, tomato soup and laksa pesto with seafood. These were all extremely scrumptious and we look forward to having them again. But there’s a teeny weeny problem : we have yet to try their other food like Mama’s Hot Chicken Pie, yuzu lemon curd tart with berries, 6Half Egg Benny, shakshouka with crunchy Danish, salmon en papillote, etc. Ah no, there’s a bigger problem : Six And A Half keeps updating their menu with new offerings!

Zucchini pork ham frittata

Almond croissant

Passionfruit cheesecake

Tomato soup

My favourite : laksa pesto with seafood

So Mummy, shall we go there again this Sunday?

Succumbing To Sweet Tooth Sunday

        Strangely, for someone who has never had a weakness for sweet stuff like chocolates, cakes and cookies, I had a sudden craving for something sweet today. After brunch, I was seriously contemplating driving to Six And A Half, my favourite coffee-joint, for a slice of their passionfruit cheesecake. I changed my mind and went to the local fruiterer in search of onde-onde, which they sometimes sell. Unavailability of a parking place dashed my plans.
        Ah, well, that's all the better for a slimmer me, I consoled myself. Hubby attributed my sudden sweet tooth to my recent Internet searches for churros in Ipoh, which had then led me to stumble upon a new soft-serve ice cream shop called Hello Elvis. I had dropped some not-too-subtle hints by sending links about Hello Elvis to hubby but he proceeded to soothe me with massages instead. Oh, well, a girl can't be too greedy, can she?
        Plodding half way through my students' essays stirred the sleeping monster (or is it sweet tooth?) and I searched my brain for the nearest answer to satisfy the craving. Smiling smugly, I remembered that I had yet to claim my birthday cake from Starbucks. 

My solution to my Sweet Tooth Sunday

        Ta-da! That was what I sank my teeth in to satiate my sweet tooth. My choice of birthday cake from Starbucks was their lemon slice. I could have chosen any one of their pricier cakes but I never had a penchant for cakes smothered with cream. This sweet and sour cake with lemon frosting suited me fine. All the sugar made me feel a little remorseful but I was quick to quash the guilt by promising myself to attend an additional Yoga class and put in an extra 30 abdominal crunches this week. And I think (and hope) that has put an end to my desire for all things sweet...until thoughts of churros and Hello Elvis surface again.

Being Truly Joyful In Life

        In the streams and ponds of North America, two similar-looking animals but with rather dissimilar work ethics often reside together. 
        One of them, the beaver, diligently and relentlessly works all day, toppling trees to create large river dams for its habitat. It can build habitats so big and intricate that the entire beaver family can be housed there. 

Beaver busy building a dam

        The other animal, the otter, merely catches what it needs to survive so it hunts (works) for only about three to five hours a day. Instead, it spends a lot of time having fun. It is very often seen finding and playing with pebbles, making waterslides to gleefully slide on them into the water and even playing with its food.

Otter enjoying a swim

        It can be surmised that compared to the serious and industrious beaver, the otter seems to be enjoying life at every opportunity. It does not miss out on the simple yet blissful things in life.

        So are you a busy beaver, always working to stay in control, to forge ahead, to amass more or to impress others? Or are you a wise otter who appreciates life and all it offers, delights in life's simple treasures, revels in enjoying life and makes time to savour life?
        
        People often comment that I am usually cheerful and seem to love life. I do have my fair amount of challenges but I endeavour not to let them cloud my life. I appreciate my life and the people around me. I delight in simple things like having brunch with my parents or cooking a meal for hubby dearest. I revel in seeing the world and meeting up with good friends. I make time for me-time. I am truly joyful in life because I know I am living under God's grace and that He will provide for my needs.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"
Matthew 6 : 25

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, or tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6 : 33-34