Recommended New Cafe (Kid) on the Block

There are more and more new cafes in town and even out of town.

Good news for us coffee lovers.  It may seem expensive to fork out RM7-10 or 11 for a such a small cup of coffee to some, well, only us coffee junkie will understand.

Hey, there are more serious coffee lovers out there who pays much more for specialty coffee.  I've yet to reach that level.


Anyway, here are two new kid on the block, less than 6 months old.  Currently, my top favourite. Mainly because the coffee suits my taste and location is very convenient to where I hang out and about.




Standing Theory @ SS2

Address:

• 26, Jalan SS2 / 103, Petaling Jaya

Benjamin Coffee&Tea @ Desa Sri Hartamas

Address:

• 40 Jalan 24/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur

Coffee in Love

I first blogged about this outlet - HERE in May last year.

Since then, I've been spoilt by choices. Quite a few cafes that serves equally good coffee mushroomed around town, especially within Publika or around the Solaris area.  I admit I've not been to Coffee in Love for quite some time.

Business must be tough with so much competition.

It was nice to be back :)  Check out the cups. They're handmade I believe, by the inhouse artist.
I think the volume of these cups are bigger than the regular cups at other outlets, not too sure. It does look bigger and it took me longer to finish up.  Better value for RM10?

Look...there's a surprise at the bottom of the cup ♥♥♥

They're currently on a buy 1 free 1 promo in conjuction with their 1st year anniversary, not sure till when though.

Check them out : https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeInLoveCafe/info

Practice makes Perfect

When they first started in May, I joked but honestly gave my feedback as a coffee junkie.  

1. I couldn't appreciate the foam, I had to push it away, it wasn't creamy enough

2. I couldn't differentiate the latte and cappucinno, latte had too much foam

Well, I know them personally, so I had to be honest, in a nice way :)

Two months later... I honestly find it as good as one of my favourite cafe (Coffee Societe - I was just there on Wednesday).  And, it comes with my favourite biscotti - baked in-house.

Wheatz & Grainz has just been promoted into my Foursquare's Favourite Coffee Place list

Check out my earlier post on them HERE

Address:

46, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, KL

(Same block as Continental Tyre near Hong Leong Bank)

Opening Hours:

Closed on Mondays

My wish came true

Wishes do come true, so keep wishing!

I've always wished for the having convenient drive-in access to good coffee.

Finally..after years..literally YEARS...of waiting..it's happening!

Source : https://www.facebook.com/espressolab.asia

Unfortunately, I don't drive to work anymore :(

But heck..it's still great news!

Thank you Espressolab, and please ensure that the goodness of your coffee will stay consistent (if not better) in all your outlets wherever you are.

Two Reasons Why I'm Still Awake (Again)

1.

2.

Yes..lesson not learnt.

3.54AM..



No wonder they called it Coffee In the Dark.

What you pay for..

Yesterday I met someone for a work meeting at a bistro at a hotel lobby. Guess how much was the latte / cappucino ?  Yes..it was a fairly big glass  / cup and we sat there from 4 till 7pm.

But still... each drink was RM25! wth.

If I knew earlier..I would have suggested to cross the road to Pacific Coffee at Farenheit ..each of us can have many many cups for RM25!

Not that I picked up the bill la..but still.



So..ya....I just wanna say..that price doesn't come with quality all the time.


As you may have read in the recent posts..I was going hoo haa about LewisGene...a new humble outlet at Solaris Dutamas.

RM13.90 with pancake

Well..not a posh environment..but..its cosy and comfortable. Why not?!  For RM13.90..you get really good coffee and snacks.  Go figure.




And then..there's my all time favourite, Espressolab at an open corner at Garden's Mall.  Limited seating..not exactly air conditioned. Pretty open setup as seats are located along the first floor link walkway of Gardens - Mid Valley.

RM10

But it's really really good coffee for RM10.  And..it's really kind of nice sitting in the midst of the the hustle bustle..especially when the weather is cooling.



This was from Jin Yi by Cofffee Ritual, when they first started in D'sara Uptown.  Looking awesomely good at RM7.50.

RM7.50

And this.......

I don't even know what to say about this.  It was from some posh bistro and cafe.
Some biggie with several outlets across town...

And no.. the pic was taken before I took any sip..it looks exactly like this when it arrived.  LEt's not even talk about taste...


And guess how much it was?  I can't remember the exact price..but it's definitely double digit..RM12..13 may be.

Paying for the environment so to speak..
 

Coffee in the Dark

Coffee Societe FB page

It's 4am, I'm wide awake.

I knew it..one cup is my max..hence I didn't go for the free flow option.

But the coffee tasted damn good..and my friends kept ordering one after another.

Iced latte - Latte - another Latte
Latte - Flat White
Iced Latte - Flavoured Cappucinno - Cappucinno


I couldn't just sit there and be satisfied with one cup..


Jenny offered me a quarter of her flavoured cappucinno...

We asked for only half to one shot..as mild as they can make it..it tasted mild..so I forgot all about the danger of imsomnia.


When Jenny couldn't finsh her third cup..I gulped down almost half of it.



Now I'm paying the price.




4.05am .... no sign of sleepiness.

LewisGene | espresso, tea & machines

Here I go again..

Always happy and excited to discover good cafe...

Simply love this one.

LewisGene | espresso, tea & machines
Open daily from 8.30am till 12am
Solaris Mont Kiara above Chilla Cup

Discovered this place last Thursday.

I went back on Friday, we were there from 9pm till past midnight.  This place comes alive at night!  It was buzzling when we left eventhough it was so late.

Simply love the environment. Nice music to chill and relax.  Staff are nice and friendly.  Coffee was good of course.

Was there again yesterday evening..it was very quiet..hardly any customers, but it felt so cosy and comfortable....love it love it.

Cappuccino and pancake

They have this great promo between 2-7pm (not sure until when) : Any coffee with snacks choices like pancake, waffle (with ice cream!), frech toast or muffin for only RM11.90.

It's RM16.90 with a slice of cake.

Latte and French toast

Great value for money isn't it?!

Wondering which are my favourite coffee now?


In order of preference:

• Espressolab at Gardens or Publika
• LewisGene
• Coffee Societe

CoffeeSociété

Yes, I keep changing my preference, which is healthy sign isn't it?  It just shows there are healthy competition and everyone's (providers and consumers) raising the bar higher and higher.  Erm..for those who are stagnant ....sorry lar. 

Currently ranked first in my preferred coffee joints list.

I never liked Red Velvet until I came here 

CoffeeSociété

Solaris Dutamas @ Publika

Block D4, Level G3, Unit 3A

Why I pick and choose my Coffee

Source: lattelisa.blogspot.com via WSL on Pinterest

TiPsy Brew O' coffee

We stumbled upon this place by accident.  It was post Salomon run, after dim sum lunch in Puchong, as usual we wanted coffee. Good coffee.  We've been spoiled by Espressolab, you see.

Chris suggested we go checkout SetiaWalk, however, we weren't sure if there are any good coffee place in there.

Tipsy Brew was the first cafe that we came across actually.  It looked comfortable, we smelled good and strong coffee aroma.  Normal consumers would have walked in straight.

But we can be quite an abnormal lot.


I checked Foursquare for tips under Tipsy Brew..(only found one).  Also checked Forusquare for other cafes in the area.  Found a few others, many choices.  Nice place this SetiaWalk.


My Iphone was running very low on battery, I joked that we should choose the one that offers Iphone charging haha.

We walked around..passed each and every eatery and cafe.

In the end, Chris decided tat we should pick Tipsy Brew.  And so we went.



We made the right choice.

Firstly, the waitress found me a charger . Lol.

Secondly, coffee was good.  Better than good, if you ask me.

Environment was very good too.

And lastly..what ticked our hearts..:

SO INCREDIBLY CUTE!

TiPsy Brew o'coffee
C-07-G, Setia Walk (Persiaran Wawasan), Puchong

EspressoLAB

My taste and expectations for coffee keeps going higher and higher mainly because there are more and more good cafe serving better coffee.  Thumbs up! 

My current no.1 choice : espressoLAB

Their main place is located at Solaris Dutamas but they only open on weekdays office hours plus it's not really a cafe, the setup looks more like for training and research although they do serve walk-ins and trust me..coffee is excellent!  Top class.

I've always complained about hanging out in Mid Valley / Gardens Mall cos I can't find any good coffee there.  Guess what!

EspressoLAB started a little outlet at Gardens - EspressoLAB@The Gardens

Every single time I'm there..day or late night..I couldn't resist a cuppa.

Even though it may mean sleepless nights.  A normal serving is given two shots of espresso but when it's late night I always ask for half shot..still I ended up wide awake till 3am.

That shows how good the espresso is isn't it?

Dragonfly with CoffeeinLOve

Coffee in Love was one of my preferred coffee joint, they used to be uniquely located inside a plant nursery off Jalan Sri Hartamas.  I was lucky enough to catch them just a couple months before they ceased operations.

No fret..they are back....in style~

Think Tattoo..and.... Coffee.

Hard to marry the two right?  I know.. I had to ask "is this a cafe" before I stepped in during my first visit?

Now branded as Dragonfly/ CofeeinLOve, it's located in Publika, Level UG (near GNC, same level as the food court).

It's currently the one and only with such concept in Malaysia - Tattoo/Cafe i.e. a cafe within a tattoo parlor.

Read more about this cool concept HERE. Facebook page HERE

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the tattoo 'chamber'.  But you can check it out  HERE

As for coffee, it's still GOOD.  Check out the cream crackers.  Only from Penang..I heard.

I don't mind stopping by again for a good cuppa.  Not too sure about the tattoo though.

  

Recent Coffee Adventures

Gone are the days where we were satisfied with a cup of home made instant coffee.

Gone are the days where we go ooh ahhh over Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 

Gone are the days where we go ummph over Ipoh White Coffee.

It's complicated.  While I still enjoy my neighbourhood coffee shops' Kopi, I cannot deny that I do love Latte and Cappucino equally and I crave for a good cuppa quite very often.  Despite the fact that they cost so much more than Kopi.

And, goody goody we are so blessed now that there are more and more cafe mushrooming around town serving very good quality coffee. Relatively cheaper too!! than "you know where".

Her are my recent top picks.  Absolutely brilliant ! 

I've just concluded that it's so true that .."when the coffee is good, you don't actually need sugar".

Cappuccino @  Jin Yi by Coffee Ritual
Price : RM7.00 (TBC) - tax free at the moment

My current favourite:

Jin Yi by Coffee Ritual

(Formerly known as Coffee Ritual)

I blogged about CR here and here

They have recently moved to a new location in D'sara Uptown - same row as Killiney.

Note that they are on the 1st floor.

Latte @ Coffee Chemistry
Price : Can't Remember, should be around RM7-9

 The latte was sooooo gooood that I couldn't resist ordering another one!

Baby Latte @ Coffee Chemistry
Price : RM6.00 - I think, cheaper than the standard size but stronger!

Coffee Chemistry Cafe

Went all the way to First Subang Mall to try.

I've gotta be a coffee junkie to go so far out just to try coffee =')

Latte @ The Red Bean Bag
Price : RM8 (TBC) 

The Red Bean Bag

Conveniently located at Publika

Should be a good place for breakfast too 

Cappucino @ Coffee In Love
Price : RM7.50 (TBC) - tax free at the moment

Coffee In Love

Definitely good value for money for such a big mug of good coffee.

Currently located at a very unique location inside a plant nursery at Sri Hartamas. 

Well, it's kind of hot and humid in our kind of weather..but it's really a pretty cool place.

Unfortunately, they are moving very soon...to Publika..I heard.

Ooh..all my favourite cafe are in Publika now \o/  Plan B, Red Bean Bag, Coffee in Love, The Bee..woo hoo~

Coffee Galore in Vietnam

I know I complained somewhere about being tired of Vietnamese coffee and all..well, that was after we had tons of it.  In all kinds of shapes and sizes actually.

The very first cup stole my heart.  The guide was clever to take us to the best on our very first try..or may be it was a coincidence that it's situated near our first stop - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

We opted for the most basic..the traditional way and it costed VND45,000 almost equivalent to a glass of latte back at home.

The very first cup at Trung Nguyen Cafe

Initially, I thought we were being ripped off. Typical mentality of a tourist.

But we realised soon enough that price comes with quality.  Through out the trip, we had our caffein fix at different places at different price range.

The cheaper ones were around VND23000

Look the same, doesn't taste the same

They may be using the same brand but the consistency and thickness ain't the same.  Not even close.

We even had a cuppa in the village.  It's 3-in-1, around VND20,000, about MYR3.00, well we were in the mountains..freezing cold..we were willing to pay for some comfort.  It was also a nice experience having coffee in a small hut-shop in the middle of a village.

3-in-1 version at the village

Awesome one.

 This was a bomb!  I think it's one of the best.  I can't remember it's name nor the price..don't remember it being expensive at all.  The cafe was located near the Lao Cai-Hekou (China) border.


While we were bored and mission-less during o one night stop at My Tho, we stumbled upon the Lac Hong Cafe.  My Tho is an extremely quiet town in Mekong Delta..there's absolutely nothing to do there..apart from strolling by the river watching the locals waiting and boarding the ferry to and fro work / home.

So..we were closed to ecstatic when we found Lac Hong Cafe  :D

So cosy...

Drinks as usual were extremely good and inexpensive.  I still wonder how they manage to make their iced coffee thick and full of taste ..even after all the ice have melted.  It's simple...they don't mind putting in more coffee powder, hence, earning less margins ~

Look out for this sign, if you happen to be in My Tho!

After My Tho, we 'landed' in Can Tho.  It's much bigger than My Tho.  More people. More shops..but it's like being stranded in Kampar for a night.

This is when the smartphone, WIFI access and Foursquare comes in very useful.  We scanned Foursquare for notable places that fellow users had checked-in before, and Cafe Hop Pho was one of the few that we thought we should try looking for it.

Even in a small town like Can Tho, almost every hotel and cafes have free wifi access, some do not even need passwords.  

So..we managed to locate Cafe Hop Pho using Foursquare's map direction ..it was just a short walking distance from our hotel.

Ta daa..we were so impressed when we saw the place !

I miss Vietnamese Coffee now : '')