Top Brew Coffee Bar. — Pictures by CK Lim
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — I started this year curious but not altogether smitten (yet) with coffee. Twelve months and a few hundred cups later, I am officially a java junkie.
Sure, I used to tell my friends that I enjoy a decent brew, that's all. Soon it became evident I was spending my spare hours hunting down new cafés and espresso bars the way they expended theirs watching television or window-shopping at the malls.
Clearly, I was more than simply an aficionado.
I have been bitten by the bean bug.
Most days I start the morning with a freshly pulled shot of espresso at Top Brew Coffee Bar. Run by the 2012 Malaysian Champion Barista JH Yee, this small and unassuming café isn't decorated to the nines to impress but then again, it doesn't need to.
Many of Yee's customers come after hearing about his skills at pulling shots or crafting delicate latte art but most return for his charm.
Very few baristas can explain your cup of coffee to you without you feeling unintelligent for not understanding the industry-specific jargon (unless you are a coffee geek already). Half of the pleasure comes from his gentle explanations of why your single-origin (say a Yirgacheffe) espresso tastes different from an espresso blend; it's show-and-tell as he lets you try one cup then the other.
Yee is eager for a challenge too: one hot, sunny day I asked him if he could make me an iced black coffee that isn't as bold as some Americanos tended to be or too diluted.
He came up with the idea of giving a shot of espresso an ice bath while hand-grinding and brewing another portion of the same coffee using a dripper. When both halves were combined the Iced Double Black was born: a refreshing and light iced coffee with the buzz from the espresso but none of the bitterness.
The Brew Culture. — Pictures by CK Lim
On rainy days I head to
The Brew Culture, where the warmth from lamps made with recycled milk cartons (covered in a rainbow of whimsical illustrations) and furniture handmade from rescued wooden crates welcome me.
The baristas and co-owners Hiew Kuei Yin and Jeffrey Ng are ex-engineers who, like many engineers before them (myself included), have abandoned their former industry for a different one. In their case, the hum of a coffee bean grinder and the hiss of steam-wand frothing milk.
This self-crafted and designed café looks like a Jimmy Liao drawing come to life with colourful characters popping in the strangest corners and a giant sunburst radiating from one wall.
Instead of sitting down you can opt to stand at a high table or at the window bar, perfect for taller customers who enjoy a good stretch. There are no rules here; just relax and be yourself.
You can watch Hiew brew single-origin coffees using the pour-over method (customers may also choose other options such as AeroPress, French press and Chemex too) or listen to Ng explain how they dry used coffee grounds before packing them for customers to take home as a deodoriser or fertiliser.
Nothing is wasted here. Especially the quiet moments spent contemplating life, the universe, and, of course, coffee, while the raindrops continue to fall outside.
Await Café. — Pictures by CK Lim and Await Café
Some afternoons I'm so lazy that it's a bother to even consider moving beyond the limits of my neighbourhood. How fortunate am I that
Await Café is but a hop and skip away from my home?
Perfect for languid weekends when you want to stroll into a café with no energy beyond merely nodding at a bean scribbled on the menu and sipping your coffee until the caffeine kicks in.
Formerly colleagues at a magazine, writer Jane Lee and graphic designer Jenny Lee have teamed up to bring a slice of the quirky Taipei café scene to the quiet suburb of Taman Desa.
Tiny leafy plants in small pots of soil or bottles of water line the window sill; plenty of natural sunlight helps chase the blues away. Flipping through a random volume from the bookshelves can transport you to Cobain-era Seattle or Cinémathèque Française of 1960s Paris.
Here is a sanctuary you can imagine almost-lovers Céline and Jesse from the films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset sharing a cup of coffee while escaping the world outside.
Let time pause for a while as Jane slowly drips hot water from the swan-like spout of a coffee kettle into the carafe of freshly-ground beans below. Let this be a meditative, mellow hour.
Artisan Coffee Bar. — Pictures by CK Lim and Artisan Coffee Bar
Then there are other hours, faster and fuelled with less melancholic musings. Some of us like our coffee late; for those seeking one final ristretto before midnight,
Artisan Roast is the place to go.
I used to frequent their flagship café in TTDI with the now infamous coffee chart (the wrong option would lead you to the gentle suggestion "you're in the wrong café") and wall-caricatures of highly-buzzed aboriginal tribesmen and turquoise-tressed sirens.
These days I am drawn to Artisan mastermind Michael Wilson's second café housed in Bangsar Village II. At Artisan Coffee Bar, you are more likely to hear Adele and Coldplay drifting over the speakers than Tom Waits or The Smiths.
Families and corporate suits gather here; fewer rock stars abound. Friends or strangers, it doesn't really matter; you rapidly discover you are chatting with everyone. Conversations and coffee go together like, well, an espresso and foamed milk.
When Morrissey sings the refrain "There is a light that never goes out" over and over again, you believe. (Especially if the said lights are encased in modified French presses and dangled over the espresso bar.) There is always time for another cuppa joe.
Typica Café. — Pictures by CK Lim
And really, where better to have that last cup to celebrate an incredible year than to return to my coffee "A-ha!" moment? For me, everything started at
Typica Café when I first had a cup of siphon-brewed single-origin coffee.
Fitting then, the café's name in Chinese — Dou Yuan — means "the origin of the bean", which truly brings me back to when I was unable to taste the difference in the coffees I drank. The process of learning to appreciate the subtle nuances and the depth of flavour a cup can deliver has been humbling to say the least.
The wooden benches made from old Chinese medicine shop signages; the mismatched tables and chairs; the hand-stitched stuffed toys peeking out from their hiding spots; the unhurried stir of a ladle over an aromatic stew of water and grounds; an occasional alley cat strolling in to sunbathe against the glass walls: Typica is the sort of café you would like to call home.
We come here on weeknights to meet up with regulars after work, just in time to say goodbye to the siphonist Mei Ying as she departs after a long day and to say hi to café manager Kai Yin as she tries guessing our orders. Maybe it's just a silly game but we all enjoy it. It's part of our café story.
Kenny's favourites for coffee in KL:
Artisan Coffee Bar BV2
UG, Bangsar Village II at 2, Jalan Telawi Satu, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-2202-0345)
Open daily 10am-10pm
Website: http://www.artisanroast.com.my
Await Café
9-1-5, Jalan 3/109F, Taman Danau Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-7971-0978)
Open weekdays (except Wednesdays) 11am-8pm; Sat-Sun 9am-8pm
Website: www.facebook.com/awaitcafe
The Brew Culture
B-1-6, Plaza Damas 3, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Open daily (except Tue) 9am-9pm
Website: http://www.facebook.com/the.brew.culture/
Top Brew Coffee Bar
C-0-7, Plaza Damas 3, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-6206-3062 and 016-275-7500)
Open daily (except Wed) 9.30am-6pm
Website: http://www.facebook.com/topbrewcoffeebar/
Typica Café
GL-08, Ground Floor, Shaw Parade Plaza, Changkat Thambi Dollah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-2145-2811)
Open daily 11am-9pm
Website: http://typicacafe.blogspot.com
* Kenny is brewing something. Find out more at http://lifeforbeginners.com/cafestories
The Malaysian Insider :: Food
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