Category Archives: Coffee Lover

Coffee in Singapore Part 2

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I don’t understand why so many Malaysians say that food in Singapore sucks. I think they are just jealous of our neighbour. Just because they use ketchup in their “chow kwei tiau”, this fact was repeated over and over again. Well, there are just as many food in Malaysia that sucks ok. You just need to know where to find good decent food.

I just had some really good food in Singapore. From the cheap SGD3 fish-ball noodles to lovely frog-porridge, SGD10+ gourmet burgers to excellent desserts and coffee.

Unfortunately, i don’t have any photos of coffee to show. Evertime I see some really good coffee, I was too enthralled that I totally forgot to take any pic. Once I finished and have those wonderful after-taste that I realized that I did not take any photos.

Let’s start with BLACK.


This is BLACK @ 111 Somerset. Love their logo.


Their Afogato (the original is Chocolate Ice Cream) with dark chocolate shavings.
But I asked to replace the Chocolate with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Their Vanilla ice cream is not very sweet which accentuate the taste from the espresso shots.


This plain looking “Honey Fig” Ice Cream is anything but plain.
Ok, it looks plain but the taste is really good with bits of fig inside.
As good as any Haagen Daz and priced lower too.


Banana Rum Crumble. Another must try.

Thank you Tony for the lovely treats. Can’t wait to come back for another visit.
Look for the Master Barista if you are going to Black (He is usually stationed at Black @ Hitachi Tower).
But if he is not around, I’m sure his apprentice is more than able to make you a cup of excellent coffee.

Next: Burgers… my favourite kinda food

Located @ 313 Somerset.
The name is HandBurger. If you like good quality burgers, this is the place to go.
McD, Burger King and Carl’s Junior taste like Ramlee Burger in comparison.

My last stop for coffee before coming back to Malaysia.

Spend some time at Highlander Coffee for some sweet espresso.

The lovely Simonelli Aurelia in GREEN.

Had espresso, ristretto and a machiato. All great but the ristretto is the best.
Thank you to Phil, Cedric and Guo Li for the lovely time and all the coffee.

Link to the post on Highlander Supremo Blend.

Bye-bye Singapore. I’ll be back.

Coffee Lovers Gathering again

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Update: 4th October 2009

Thanks to all who turned up today.

Here’s the photos:

First agenda on the menu, Chin shows us the Cold Brew device.


Chin explaining the workings of the Cold Brewer.


Using Brazil Single Origins


Carefully placing the coffee grounds into place.


The Iced-cold water above will drip down onto the coffee grounds very slowly.  The brewing process took about 8 hours to complete and the coffee will be rested another 3 days for the taste to be fully developed.


The resulting coffee is a very intense kinda drink. Do take note that this type of brewing methods produced very coffee that is very high in caffeine content. Those who intend to burn mid-night oil, wanna stay awake at anytime or chasing Champions League matches, give them a try.

NEXT: Balancing Syphon Brewer

Brewed using Columbian Single Origin


This is a really elegant looking device. It brew coffee using the Syphon brewing method but it will automatically turn off the flame. Really cool to see and fun to use.


It even has a tap to pour out the coffee. It is imported from Taiwan and cost around RM500 to RM600.

LASTLY: The humble Drip Pour Over

A really humble and low tech way to brew lovely coffee. This Drip Pour Over only cost RM20 plus.

Side Note:
You can enjoy good cup of coffee without paying a bomb. Even a simple drip pour over can make good coffee. Just remember these few important rules to enjoy coffee at low cost and low tech way:-

1. Get good fresh roasted coffee
2. Get a decent grinder (If you have a decent grinder, the world of excellent coffee will be opened to you)
3. Monitor the water temperature. 90 to 92 Celsius and not boiling hot water.
4. Choose your brewing device like Drip Pour Over, French Press, Aeropress, Moka Pot (All less than RM200)

Also a special thanks to Mr. Tan Bee Leng. Mr. Tan brought us some samples of Kopi Luwak and some Liberica coffee cherries to sample.


Inside the cherries are the coffee beans.
What is kopi luwak? In a nut shell, these lovely red cherries were eaten by a certain type of Civet Cat. Then civet cats love the cherries but their digestive systems cannot digest the seeds or beans from the cherries. So the beans will passed through the cats’ systems. Farmers collect the “passed out” beans, washed them, dry them and roast them. Lo and behold, you got yourselves some kopi luwak. They are very expensive.

Finally everyone is satisfied. Here’s the group photo.

Left to Right: Ana, Fernando, Jane, Iris, Shin Tatt, Tan Yoke Ling, Tan Bee Leng, Cheryl, Wee Chuan, Mun Shin, Zayne and Chris. I’m the one holding the camera and Irving has left earlier.

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT EVENT

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Original Posting:

This Sunday we will be having a gathering at Coffee Ritual.

Coffee Ritual has been my preferred place for a cup of Syphon brewed fresh coffee. This Syphon thingy is a classy elegant device. If you plan to win the attention of someone special over a romantic dinner, preparing a cup of Syphon brewed coffee to share is pretty romantic and cool.

Note: This is not a device for the clumsy. And if your house is messy like mine… (that’s why I didn’t get one).

Coffee Ritual is giving us a special promotion: FIRST CUP FREE.
Guys… order something to eat and pay for it, ok. The food is pretty good.

Venue: Coffee Ritual
Map: Here and here.
Time: 2pm
Date: 4th October 2009
Address: No. 35, Jalan 14/20, Section 14, 46100 Petaling Jaya

After that, give your comments below.

If you are there and don’t know who to talk to or don’t know how to get the FREE coffee… This is the password: COFFEE IN MALAYSIA

See ya, ok.

Kopi Luwak

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At last, a chance to try the infamous Kopi Luwak.

Our friend, Dennis got me some Kopi Luwak from Indonesia. According to his “Reliable Source”, it is the real deal. It was given to him as a gift.

So, in double-quick time (6 hours period), got a few guys to come over to my place for tasting session. At around 8.30pm we  have Dennis the Menace, Ralph the German Bear, Marcus Aurelius + Wife and Kid, Me + my Home Minister ready to see what so great about Kopi Luwak.


70g of Kopi Luwak. They are properly processed. Washed and Roasted plainly. Some find the aroma chocolaty with slight sweetness. No horrid smells.


When you have the Emperor Marcus himself waiting, the barista also sweating lah.


The Home Ministers also giving you the look “This better be good. We don’t want no shity smelling coffee”


Pouring freshly ground Kopi Luwak into the Aeropress


Pouring hot water into the Aeropress. Temperature around 90 celcius I guess.


Stiring well to make sure all the coffee ground is saturated with hot water.


Carefully pressing down the pump.


Extract it carefully into a milk pitcher.


Hey photographer, focus on the coffee lah.


Quiet! The Emperor having the first sip.


Hey, the Princess says it is GOOD.


Errr… maybe Kids really shouldn’t have coffee eh.


No kidding

Well, I actually made 3 rounds of Aeropress coffee using different beans just to make sure their minds are not bias in anyway (don’t want them to be influenced by the reputation of kopi Luwak).

In fact everyone like the Kopi Luwak. It is earthy, full body, no bitterness. Personally I find it surprisingly pleasant. Then I ask the very important question, “Would you pay USD30 for a cup of Kopi Luwak or even RM30 for that cup?”

And everyone answers “NOOOOOO”.

Frankly, it is a decent cup of coffee. Whether you like it or not depends on your taste preference. I would prefer some Ethiopia. I would not pay more then RM10 for a cup. And it does taste better than those Kopi-O Kosong-type you find in regular kopitiam.

Next: My Signature Drink.

FHM 2009 – My Favourite Event of the year

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This FHM is not For Him Magazine.

FHM 2009 is the Malaysia’s Official Food and Hotel show. The previous show was in 2007.
The event held in KLCC Convention Centre on the 11th to 14th August 2009. For Trade Vistors only.

Of course what were really interesting to me are all those coffee players bringing their best for the show. Who was there? Barista Coffee, Bon Cafe, Classic Coffee and Beverage (previously Simplex Maju), Dankoff Coffee Specialist, Mister Coffee and a few smaller players.

Noticeable missing was Coffex Coffee. They had a pretty large booth in 2007.

There were others quite interesting showcase of food technology, pastry art, bakery course, equipments and many more. Of course, one gets to sample some pretty tasty food too.

Ok, back to coffee. Well, I drank quite a few cups of coffee… espressos, cappuccinos, hot chocolate…yum yum yum.

Here are some photos to tell the stories.


Expobar in action in Malaysia. Serving Lavazza. Lavazza is making a comeback too.


Expobar 2 group on display


Here is the Expobar G-10 Single group. Really glad to see the Expobar entering our market. Price is decent and if you have a good barista, it can make you very good coffee.


Nuova Simonelli Aurelia, Official Machine for the World Barista Championship


2 Group Aurelia. Really love the red colour. Really sexy but sexy stuff cost money.


2 Group Francis! Francis! A capsule machine. The IPERESPRESSO.


1 Group Francis! Francis! If all you want is convenience and very average espresso, Francis! Francis! will give you that and looks good at the same time.


The Pressto SuperAuto. Looks expensive. Didn’t bother asking about it. Will make your life easy if all you want is average coffee.


Avanti Espresso. I don’t dare to ask for a drink. First, in such a specialized exhibition with many competitors, and they used UHT milk!!! Not even in a chill box!!! And the espresso extractions I saw were mainly “gushers”.


Korean Stone Coffee Roaster. This guy is interesting. The only exhibitor showing a roasting machine and they were Roasting Coffee thoughout the event. This roaster cost USD5K.


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Another interesting product. Rice Biscuit Maker. This machine can make a rice cracker using only 1 teaspoon of rice. And a rice cracker is produced every 10 seconds. Really cool man. Oh Yes… tasty and healthy too. Imgine they sell for maybe RM5 for 10 pieces. 10 pieces only uses 10 teaspoons of rice man. This machine cost USD5K.

A Brief History of coffee or kopi in Malaysia

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I have always been thinking of doing a story on the History of our Malaysia coffee / kopi culture.

But thanks to Coffee Ritual, no need for me to do so.

Here’s the excerpt:

The roasted concoction mentioned above has creates a beverage known as kopi (coffee in Malay language). If you order a cup of kopi in a kopitiam, however you will ended up with a cup of milked coffee instead. How is this come about? This is a hint that initially the proprietor of the kopitiam did not feel comfortable with the concoction they have created to be served straight black. To hide any undesirable flavour in their kopi, they added lots of condensed milk (fresh milk is expensive). Hence, by default, kopi is served with milk. If you desire black coffee, you should order kopi-O, O is black in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect. Again, be aware that it is sweeten with sugar, the proprietor still find it uncomfortable to serve you a straight black unsweetened coffee. You must order kopi-O-kosong, kosong is “nothing” in Malay language, to get your black unsweetened coffee. Just a word of caution, if you are use to good quality arabica coffee and cannot settled for anything less, just avoid kopi-O-kosong.

Check them out.