One Cafe, Kuchai Lama

What seemed like a wannabe cafe turned out to be quite a nice place to hangout for decent coffee and bread.


One Cafe sounds very much like a very wannabe Malaysian name for a cafe, and I didn't really expect to even try it out. It's located beside Phoenix Eyes, right in the corner of the area, one turn away from the back lane of a row of shops. If it still confuses you, it's opposite the Continental car service lot, which is a few lots next to Secret Loc Cafe.


It's not a place that you would really notice, but it should really come to attention for their beverages and their breads.


The cafe layout reminded me of Donutes in Bandar Puchong Jaya - a window facing outside for coffee orders and collection. The counter and menu opposite the entrance, and beside the entrance are an assortment of breads and buns in displays.


There are both indoor and outdoor seats, the indoor seats being assorted into casual chat tables, tables along benches which are more suitable for work, and a red sofa in the corner - for those who likes to snuggle. The cafe is small, though - the sofa is situated right outside the back room and washrooms, but there weren't any foul smells traceable, so I shall assume that they have very hygienic lavatories.


Self-service is how this cafe works - you order and take your own food and beverage to the table. Oh, and there are more baked selections toward the left side of the counter (on the right, if you're ordering). The baristas were pleasant and friendly,


The prices were very affordable, to my delight. Chatime notwithstanding, most artisan and novelty coffee joints charge about MYR10-15 for a standard cup of latte or cappucino. The prices here are about MYR2-5 cheaper than the standard market price (not including Starbucks and CBTL).


A selection of coffee and teas are available, and this would be a perfect place for afternoon tea (or coffee), or a place to just chill. I went at night - the lights were yellow and quite dim, probably more suitable for a small, quiet gathering than an actual chat-over-coffee event.

No banana for scale.

I chose a mocha roll off one of the display trays - the size of it is roughly the size of my hands put together, filled adequately with chocolate. It was soft and springy, but no coffee was detected throughout the devouring of the baked good.


The SO ordered a tiramisu coffee, which I finally satisfied my craving for a matcha latte. It's actually hard to find a good matcha latte because so many of them are so laden with milk and/or sugar that it just overpowers the robust flavor of matcha.

It comes with a long, slim popsicle stick as a stirrer.

They both came in Starbucks-esque paper cups, complete with a Styrofoam sleeve, and the beverages were likely shaken, not stirred (or chucked into a blender to foam up). I was daft enough to forget to sample the tiramisu coffee, but I was very satisfied with my matcha latte.


Now, I have a tendency for very sweet food, so my sweetness tolerance may differ from others, but I found it just mildly sweet enough, while the flavor of matcha had the spotlight to itself for once.


Overall it was a good place to just chill, and if need be, work in a nice and quiet environment. I personally love cafes that are cozy, dim, and quiet (dim meaning no glaring white lights, preferably yellow lighting). And it would be a place that I would visit quite frequently due to the quality of it's wares, staff attitude, and the environment. Also, one must not forget WiFi, accessible with the password: coffeeandtea.


Location - 8.5 / 10 (relatively accessible, but parking might be a problem during the day)
Atmosphere - 8.5 / 10 (absolutely lovely, quiet enough, but might not be for you if you prefer brighter cafes)
Food & beverage quality - 9 / 10 (maybe it's my low standard, but it's hard to find a good matcha latte)
Price - 9 / 10 (super inexpensive)
Value for money - 9.5 / 10
Service - 8 / 10 (not really applicable, but the s

taff were nice and pleasant)


1CAFE, KUCHAI LAMA
No. 52A-G, Ground Floor,
Jalan Kuchai Maju 6,
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama,
Kuchai Entrepreneur's Park,
58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Photos edited with Fotor app
Address info taken from Kuchai Address

Brew&bread Coffee Bar, One City Mall

After spending about 15 minutes to half an hour burning our skin on the rooftop of One City Mall, we checked out the rest of the mall, and chose Brew&bread for a cuppa. It wasn't really a we-were-there-for-the-coffee thing, but it would be silly to go up to the roof for a while then leave the mall.


The first thing that intrigued me about the place wasn't the pastries on display, or the interior design - not yet. It was the fact that the door was - to me, at least - revolutionary. It's like a combination between a swivel door and a normal door. Just go take a look - I was absolutely fascinated.


One of the main USP of the shoplot designs (at least for those on the ground floor) is that each lot is split into two floors, so to each lot they have about half an extra floor above the original lot ground for space.

From the ceiling hangs a massive black lamp shade with two other lamps within, which is one of the few eye-catchers within the cafe.

Orange and yellow toned lights gently illuminated the mostly black coffee bar. The counter is right in front of you the moment you step into the cafe, and the menu is written in chalk to your right. Along the door, there's a bookshelf with magazines and books for your reading pleasure while you enjoy your cup of coffee. Apparently, the staff also has a sense of humor, and tries to engage that humor in others for tips.

Cement benches and wooden tables and chairs accented with bronzed plumbing pipes provide an earthy and comfortable ambiance. The water station is right beside the pastry display, which is perpendicular to the order counter. I'm guessing one of their specialties is cold drip coffee, as they are displayed along with the pastries and desserts. There was also a large cold drip contraption directly behind the water station.

The man of my life~

We sat in the back corner, with a view of the street outside. A thunderstorm started shortly after we sat down, so we sipped our iced hazelnut-flavored flat whites which enjoying the dance of lightning in the distance.

Then I noticed another little detail that got into my way of watching the lighting - their "curtains" were made out of scaffolding. Talk about reusing materials and being hipster.

Last date before GST and my first day of work 😄 #AlanxKellie

A photo posted by Kellie Low 紫倩 (@thecheanie) on Mar 31, 2015 at 9:11am PDT

Overall, the coffee was alright - I've had better hazelnut coffees, but their overall ambiance was enjoyable, almost perfect for business meetings, personal working, and quiet discussions.


No service or government tax applicable, though I think GST is implemented already. No WiFi that I observed.


Location - 6.5 / 10 (the mall isn't all too accessible to me, and there's nothing else to see there, and I'm seldom the person to go out of my way to go somewhere for a cup of coffee)
Atmosphere - 9 / 10
Beverage quality - 7.5 / 10
Price - 8 / 10 (average price - our bill came to MYR28 for two cups)
Value for money - 7.5 / 10
Service - 8.5 / 10 (staff were courteous and attentive, switching on more lights when it got darker outside)


BREW&BREAD COFFEE BAR @ ONE CITY MALL
Ground Floor, G-CF-02,
Skypark One City,
Jalan USJ 25/1,
47650 Subang Jaya,
Selangor.


Info from: Strings of Memories (address)
Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Photos edited with Fotor app

Tinterland Selfiii Coffee & Bread, Seri Petaling

I like to call the newly developed area in Seri Petaling the Radin Bagus area, since all the roads are named Jalan Radin Bagus anyway.

Among the several cafes that popped up following the subsequent shoplots after Jalan Radin Bagus, Tinterland Selfiii Coffee is one of them. The unique selling point of this cafe is suggested in the name of the cafe - you can order a cup of coffee with your selfie on it, making it more special than any other barista coffee art.

Tinterland is located in the more "rural" part of the new shoplots, but is on the same row as Coffea Coffee - just turn in from Jalan Radin Bagus opposite Super Chili Pan Mee, go straight on and there it is.

The entire cafe uses mostly wood accents - wooden board floors accented with angular metal details. The cafe is divided into the indoor and outdoor section, with bar-style tables with tall stools, and tables for various party sizes. A wooden shelf displaying loaves of bread that makes the place seem like an actual bakery.

As opposed to other coffee joints, the staff comes to you with a menu as you take your seat. And as opposed to a lot of other coffee joints that I know, Tinterland has little to no local staff, which is what I prefer personally, as it's a little hard to order customized coffee if you can't effectively communicate with your server or barista.

I went there at a little over 11.20 p.m. with my SO, so there wasn't much of a crowd. Lighting indoors was yellow, but bright enough to give off a nice, almost homey ambiance. Dainty individual cakes and desserts as well as full sized cakes are displayed next to the cashier counter.

A selection of hot coffees and teas in pots, as well as iced beverages and frappes are available, as are some actual meal options, which I didn't bother to browse the menu for (so much for being a blogger).

I made the embarrassing mistake of heading straight to the cake display where I was greeted by a member of staff, who I assume is also not local. While I attempted to order an opera cake and coffee, the staff informed me that I had to order coffee from the staff that attended to us, and then refer to the staff who served us for the cake.

First of all, there were a few staff standing around when we sat down, and while we were in plain sight of each other, NONE of them approached us with the menu, but continued to just stand around staring at us.

When one of them finally did approach us (with atrociously long nails), I tried to order the opera cake from him, but he directed me to the cake display. With some difficulty, we got what he was trying to say - you first order your coffee from your server, then you order your cake from the counter with a referral to your server (to identify bills, I guess).

This was how it was served to us - on its side. Immediately unimpressed.

The opera cake was pretty much unceremoniously delivered to us while we were ordering our beverages. An opera is basically a tiramisu, but in cake from - almond sponge soaked in coffee, stacked in between layers of chocolate and hazelnut cream. The most notable other opera cake I've tried was from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and that was how I defined a good opera cake - moist, rich, with thick layers that adhered well to each other.

Opera cake right way up - MYR 10. Easily shared between 2-3 persons.

At first I thought they resorted to using some sort of rolled out bread as the almond sponge, but it turned out to be just rather unattractive-looking sponge. I think something they could have done to improve the aesthetics of the cake was maybe to sprinkle some cocoa powder over the top a la tiramisu, or drizzle melted chocolate over it. I liked the orange chocolate ball decor, but perhaps there's another way to put it on the cake than an unattractive splat of chocolate.

It wasn't too rich, but it seemed to me that it had been in that fridge for an entire day. There wasn't too much of a coffee flavor except for one particular bite halfway through, and the layers started to fall apart three-quarters of the way through.

本來是一個人的孤獨咖啡，變成了兩公婆一起喝咖啡～ 😋 #vscocam

A photo posted by Kellie Low 紫倩 (@thecheanie) on Mar 22, 2015 at 10:18am PDT

Banoffee Frappecino (left) - MYR 14.90; Lychee Lemonade (right) - MYR 12.90

I ordered a lychee lemonade for my SO, and a banoffee frappe for myself (toffee, not coffee). The lychee lemonade was decent, but tasted a little too much of lychee than lemonade. The frappe was decent for the first few sips despite the very artificial flavors, but then it the absurd amount of sugar in the beverage just leaves your tongue numb and your entire digestive system upset. I worked out about 4 hours later, but still felt really sick halfway through.

To be honest, the only reason why we went to that cafe was because I originally planned solo coffee at Coffea Coffee, but the SO wanted to join, and he had some stuff to do that delayed the plan. Coffea Coffee closes at 12 a.m., so I assumed their last order time is at around 11 p.m. Tinterland's closing hours clocked at 2 a.m., so yeah.

In conclusion, not a place I would visit again. Hipster cafes make better cafe and edibles.

No charges for service and/or government tax applicable. WiFi password: selfiii123

Location - 6.5 / 10

Atmosphere - 8 / 10

Food/beverage quality - 4 / 10 (terrible... just terrible, especially for my frappe)

Price - 7.5 / 10 (pretty much the same as other novelty coffee prices)

Value for money - 4 / 10 (I could better coffee and cake elsewhere for almost the same price)

Service - 4 / 10 (slow staff, communication problems, attitude can be improved, etc. etc. etc.)

TINTERLAND SELFIII COFFEE AND BREAD

No. 29, Jalan Radin Bagus 3,

Bandar Seri Petaling,

57000 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel.: + 6016-666 7033

Operating hours: Monday - Sunday, 9.00 a.m. - 2.00 a.m.

Info taken from: Tinterland receipt and OpenRice.my

Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Edited with Adobe Photoshop CC (apparently you can still use it after your trial ends)

Library Coffee Bar, Avenue K, Jalan Ampang

The coffee culture is pretty much a thing in the mainstream world, and as I mentioned in my Coffee Cottage post, coffee bars and cafes are mushrooming all over Kuala Lumpur.

The Library is a popular chain of bars among the modern city night-life - it's in many hip areas frequented by the young and trendy. They've come up with the Library Coffee Bar at Avenue K, replacing Stage club along with Johnny Rockets. It's a coffee bar where the baristas don't wear Starbucks-esque aprons, but smart vests with a shirt.


Memories came flooding in when I stepped out onto the foyer - in 2012 I waited here for Miyavi, and that was one of the best nights of my life. I could visualize where the stage was, where the VIP area was, and where we headbanged all night to Miyavi's performance... *sigh*


My friend from high school Erwin works there, and I've been wanting to try out the place for some time. And I did, along with two guys, on the day that Erwin wasn't working. Which wasn't too big an issue, and I got to try out the stuff there anyway.

BOOKSHELF. And le people =D

You'd be a little bit confused, because there's a Johnny Rockets podium right outside (both Johnny Rockets and Library Coffee Bar share the same entrance), but once you get past the bright colors representing Johnny, you'd be welcomed into a rustic cafe and the delicious aroma of waffles cooking behind a glass divider.

Sound-proofed walls dominates the upper floor, highlighted with dim lights.

There are two levels to the coffee bar, both dominated by a hipster-ish bookshelf. The lower level is brighter, giving the place a more lively atmosphere; while the upper level, with an actual bar with bar stools, small arm chairs in a corner, and some couches oozed a more laid-back and cuddly feel. It isn't as mainstream as a Starbucks joint, but it was definitely reminiscent of a Starbucks joint - I would say the difference in atmosphere, as the Library Coffee Bar definitely oozed more class.



We ordered a drink each. Well, I ordered drinks for the both of us. My regular would be a green tea soy frappe at Starbucks, or a Pure Vanilla at CBTL. I ordered a hazelnut white coffee for him, and I tried out the pure vanilla. The prices were pretty much like Starbucks or CBTL, but I preferred how deliciously creamy yet light the pure vanilla turned out to be!

What our dates usually looks like if we're not puffing away or talking.

We were later joined by Ronnie, whom I haven't seen in ages and refuses to post a shot of his sick robotic arm tattoo. I didn't get a shot of his macchiato, which came in an espresso cup.


I need to rant about my obsession with espresso. Not the coffee itself - heavens, no, it's way too strong for me; but with the word itself. Espresso is the Italian word for the strong shot of caffeine that's used in a lot of coffee-based beverages now, and it is NOT to be confused with EXpresso. You neither spell it nor pronounce it as expresso. ESPRESSO is the way to go. The Italians and I will thank you very much. End of rant LOL.


Location - 6 / 10 (central, but I wouldn't drive all the way to Avenue K just for a cup of coffee)
Atmosphere - 9.5 / 10 (I love rustic, homey, snuggly atmospheres)
Beverage quality - 8.5 / 10 (I can only rate for the pure vanilla - hazelnut is not really up in my hood)
Price - 6 / 10
Service - 9 / 10 (friendly, efficient, and professional)


LIBRARY COFFEE BAR
Business hours: 8.30 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Lot G-8B, Avenue K,
156, Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel.: 603 2181 6077

Coffee Cottage, SS15, Subang Jaya

Burger bars and coffee bars are mushrooming all over Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, and places like Coffea Coffee and BurgerLab are places that the young people now frequent, especially given the now higher income and higher ability to spend, as well as the modern culture of posting everything on Instagram.

Coffee Cottage - the home of barista coffee and felines

While catching up with my friend a few weeks ago during a jogging meet-up, she shared to me a location called Coffee Cottage, which is known for the cats within the cafe. In other words, a cat cafe. Perfect for those who love cats and enjoy a good cup of barista coffee!


Since the boyfie and I are pretty much feline fanatics, we made semi-impromptu plans to visit the place after having pork noodles, which is within the SS15 vicinity. The place is next to Espresso Lab, on the upper floor. It's a small-ish place, with several tables (smoking and non-smoking), as well as a specified area where all the cats live and play.

Flat whites with basic latte art

Each person who enters to play with the cats have to have ordered one dish and/or coffee or other, and don't worry, you can take the food in with you as long as you keep the cats from consuming them.

I spotted Garfield first before we went in - he snoozed most of the time in a corner.

There are two glass doors at the entrance of the kitty area - one door has to be closed before the other is opened to ensure that the cats stay in. You're required to disinfect your hands before entering the kitty area, and there's a supply of kitty teasers you could bring in with you to play with the felines.

The tabby - Alvin. Playful, but not too fond of human contact.

*RAWR!*

There's an assortment of breeds and ages of cats, with some more social than others, and some more accepting of being picked up and cuddles than others. We ordered a flat white each just for the sake of ordering, and just moved into the kitty area.

Boyfie playing with Puddle with the teaser.

Puddle and Garfield were the two kitties that appealed to us and played with us the most. Well, Puddle was the one who played with us the most, and let us cuddle it to sleep. Garfield mainly slept in a corner, while I became a partial bitch and woke him up to play LOL


Because it's an interesting concept (the book cafe concept is no longer relevant, regardless of how nice it seems), youngsters and hipsters alike flock to the place - c'mon, SS15 is basically the heaven for people from Taylor's University, Taylor's College, INTI Subang, Sri KL, and whichever other campus which is within that area.

Selfie with Puddle - he's a natural selfie poser :D

And a selfie with Garfield - I sent this picture to my dad, and he said the cat didn't look too happy XD

Personally, the coffee wasn't much to shout about, though I do appreciate the latte art. The overall layout of the cafe and the location is also pretty convenient and comfortable. The cafe is open from 2p.m. to midnight, and is closed on Tuesdays, so plan accordingly if you feel like a dose of coffee with felines.


Location - 8.5 / 10 (parking could be a problem, unless you park inside Asia Cafe)
Atmosphere - 9 / 10
Food/beverage quality - 8 / 10
Price - 8.5 / 10 (you pay for the atmosphere)
Service - 9.5 / 10 (the staff are super friendly!)


COFFEE COTTAGE

2p.m. - 12a.m. (closed on Tuesday)
1-1, Jalan SS15/8A,
Subang Jaya,
47500
Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel.: 603-5613 0078
Coffee Cottage Facebook