S.O.C. Snow Or Coffee @ Wangsa Maju

No neighbourhood is immune from the voracious spread of coffee bars, but Wangsa Maju's new S.O.C. Cafe tries to extend its range a bit beyond exotic espressos & designer lattes. 

 It's a place with pleasant vibes, helmed by a friendly team; parking outside is problematic, particularly during daytime, but S.O.C. is a relatively short stroll from the Wangsa Maju LRT station.

 Here's S.O.C.'s 'snow' component: Snow ice desserts, flavoured with the likes of durian (our pick), mango, strawberry & black sesame, adorned with cornflakes, dried fruits & tapioca pearls. Prices start from RM8.90; refreshing enough for a hot afternoon.

And the 'coffee' constituent: Reviving a classic with the espresso con panna (RM6.50), a single shot topped with whipped cream.

 Customers might be curious to check out S.O.C.'s 'SOCagato,' labelled as a signature offering, to learn what makes it special.

 Besides the obvious whipped cream on top, there are also pieces of chocolate at the base, supplying an enjoyable element of extra texture. Worthwhile for RM7.90, especially for affogato addicts.

 Granola's another welcome entry on S.O.C.'s menu, well-constructed here with Greek yoghurt, strawberries, blueberries, nuts, honey & a cup of cool milk. A wholesome order for RM7.90.

S.O.C.'s waffles are also well-prepared, delivering the right balance of crunch outside & fluffiness within. The options for chocolate & strawberry ice cream could be too limited (whither vanilla?), but for RM6.90, we liked it fine (& finished every bite).

 Cakes are available too; S.O.C. is more of a dessert destination, with no savoury selection for now.

S.O.C. Snow Or Coffee

22, Jalan 1/27B, Taman Desa Setapak, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur

Daily, 10am-10pm

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Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

Eat Drink KL: Small Businesses, Huge Flavours is the first eBook to help customers navigate the diversity of independent F&B entrepreneurs who bake & boil in their own kitchens, offering some of Malaysia's finest, most fascinating food products.

This is a catalogue of insights into what inspires our contemporary culinary craftspeople, from Elsie & her sister Jennifer's experiments with tong yuen at home to Eugene & Emrys' escapades with hand-crafted sodas in Tokyo.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings, so bookmark the following permanent link & check back regularly to find out what's fresh: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses

Also, take a look at the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, completely redesigned with a revamped look, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for April-June 2014, including more than 30 new entries for this quarter. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favourites-Apr-Jun-2014 (Link expires June 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link).

MySeafoodMart Deliveries

The ocean's bounty, freshly caught in the morning & delivered to our doorstep within hours: Many thanks to MySeafoodMart, very likely the Klang Valley's best online merchant for seafood, for making this fine feast of fish, crustaceans & clams possible.

MySeafoodMart is ideal not only for households & individual consumers but also restaurants seeking a reliable seafood supply (MySeafoodMart is currently a source for Western outlets such as Damansara Heights' Sitka & numerous Chinese eateries). To ensure freshness, there's even a money-back guarantee (see MySeafoodMart.com & facebook.com/MySeafoodMart for details).

The range is wide: Highlights include this beauty of a Dragon Tiger Grouper (RM60 per kilogram; this entire fish weighs 1.8 kg), specially reared in Pulau Ketam. Scales & guts are removed before delivery. The fresh fish selection offered by MySeafoodMart also includes fourfinger threadfin, estuary grouper, golden snapper, white pomfret & sea bass.

Our recent ultra-convenient home delivery also included 'Super Big Red Prawns' (reputedly called 'Hong Ha' in Cantonese). RM77 per kg, with around 12-20 prawns for each kg.

Ming prawns, also from Pulau Ketam, are available as well, with approximately 30 to 40 prawns per kilogram (RM53.20).

Happy as a clam? At RM17 a kg, these should satisfy most folks. Everything from fresh cuttlefish to flower crabs is offered too.

Frozen shellfish is in stock: Slipper lobsters & mantis prawns caught in the waters of Mersing, with the meat removed from the shells & packaged. Slipper lobsters cost RM35 for each 480-gram pack, while mantis prawns are RM22 per one-kilogram pack.

Time to cook! Hardworking SH & SL started the barbecue, sealing the fish in salt & stuffing it with herbs for a Thai-inspired treat.

Takes an hour, but the result could be worth the labour & the wait. Or steam the fish or bring it to a Chinese outlet for cooking.

Firm, fleshy meat, satisfyingly moist while supplying a hearty, substantial chew. Top marks to SH for perfecting this.

Next up, the prawns (SL's responsibility): Off with their pretty heads & into a cooking pot.

Bringing it all to a boil to extract the sweet savouriness for a rich sauce. The colour's brilliant, the smell's even better.

While things are heating up at the stove, the rest of these big, bouncy prawns are beginning to look extra-appetising.

Testing the freshness of the prawns, we took the risk of sampling one raw with some lime juice. It passed; no problem.

Cooked & combined with the briny broth? Done right, it's a recipe to relish & recommend.

With so many of the Ming prawns provided, SL had to find another preparation to showcase their succulence.

With black rice for a Mexican-influenced creation? We'd eagerly order this one at any restaurant that serves it.

Don't forget the prawn heads; even after all they've been through, they're still delicious to chew on.

Checking back with SH to see what's cooking with the clams.

Two styles of preparation for these beautifully flavoursome clams, one crunchy-fruity ...

... the other spicy-herbaceous, both equally enticing & enjoyable.

What to do with the slipper lobsters & mantis prawns? SL's got 'em covered, with lemon butter sauce.

Plump, wholesome-tasting meat, worked into something that could function as both starter or main course.

Many thanks again to Benny & MySeafoodMart for supplying the main components of this memorably pescetarian meal ...

... & to EC for bringing most of the booze (prawns & Pinot Grigio, a pleasurable partnership).

My Seafood Mart
Ordering instructions and other details at www.myseafoodmart.com
Follow My Seafood Mart for updates at www.facebook.com/myseafoodmart
Tel: 011-1230-8408 (Benny)

 From the creators of MySeafoodMart comes LiveSeafoodMart, which focuses on a more premium range of live seafood, conveniently delivered to your doorstep, spanning Canadian oysters, Boston lobsters, Dungeness crabs & much more.

Our LiveSeafoodMart sampling was top-notch - fresh, succulent molluscs & crustaceans that turned out terrific, whether served raw, cooked with few frills or prepared elaborately (of course, it helps to have friends who are wizards in the kitchen!).

The seafood pairs with all sorts of soups & salads for a full meal. Check out LiveSeafoodMart's website, which also promises delicacies like Canadian geoduck, Scottish razor clams & South African abalone. Thanks to LiveSeafoodMart for the delivery.

LiveSeafoodMart Malaysia

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings (even before they're featured on this blog), F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.

Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 

https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/5106C196432BB23D

Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.

Eat Drink KL: Small Businesses, Huge Flavours is the first eBook to help customers navigate the diversity of independent F&B entrepreneurs who bake & boil in their own kitchens, offering some of Malaysia's finest, most fascinating food products.

This is a catalogue of insights into what inspires our contemporary culinary craftspeople, from Elsie & her sister Jennifer's experiments with tong yuen at home to Eugene & Emrys' escapades with hand-crafted sodas in Tokyo.

This resource will be continuously updated with new listings, so bookmark the following permanent link & check back regularly to find out what's fresh: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses

Also, take a look at the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, completely redesigned with a revamped look, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for April-June 2014, including more than 30 new entries for this quarter. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favourites-Apr-Jun-2014 (Link expires June 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link).