Review on Monkeycup Cafe @ JCT Penang

I couldn't remember since when Penang suddenly filled with plethora of cafe, especially in town area. This MONKEYCUP cafe stand out among all not because of the grandness or the cushy sofas, but because of the excellent coffee they serve!

Caffe Cappuccino
P/S: Cappuccino is the best coffee to compare with, why?
Taste the natural sweetness of lactose from the milk froth
and the unique roast flavour of the coffee beans...
Then you'll know which type of beans suit your taste best :-)

The moment they pull the doppio ristretto (they serve only doppio, ie double shot - good news isn't it?) you can smell the strong coffee aroma from the collecting counter! When you get hold of your serving tray with your coffee (recommended cuppucino for taste testing) and a complementary cup of plain water, you will definitely be tempted to sip your coffee immediately when you see how the foamy milk wobble between your hands XD

Caffe Mocha

The coffee texture is so solid that it can support the teaspoon if you place it on top of the foam (a barista from heritage cafe told me that's the basic test to see if the coffee texture is good).

Before I take the first sip, I used to place the cup right under my nose to smell the coffee aroma. True enough that the aroma is so rich and tasty, that when you take the first sip, the milk is so smooth that it will lay a silky path for the perfect shot of espresso to spark all your senses (no joke! you'll know the difference when you actually tasting it!). Personally I'm a big fan of dark roast coffee, so the thick smoky flavour suit me just right :-) That coffee taste will hover for hours (that is if you didn't drink anything else after the last sip of the coffee) and you'll surely feel each breath is filled with the full & rich coffee taste <3 p="">

The coffee taste is really rich and unlike any coffee you can get from anywhere else... So I asked the type of beans they used for my new cup of poison, and the secret is revealed --- PEABERRY beans. The friendly barista took a few beans to show and explain to me that it is a rare coffee bean whereby it is in a round pea shape instead of the half bean we normally see. I'm no expert of coffee beans, so I believe Mr.Google will explain it better than I can on this peaberry...Google up! :-p

They also serve smaller volume of coffee like macchiato and piccolo latte, that way you'll get to taste more coffee

(I've split my visit to experience all available beverage)

I've forgotten what coffee is this... @_@ too much coffee~ "Crunk"

(instead of drunk by alcohol, drunk by coffee... so therefore - crunk)

This coffee art is not available actually...
I begged the barista to draw one for me to take picture :-P

Normally I wouldn't recommend iced coffee,
because you wouldn't be able to actually taste the coffee. But this signature of theirs is a MUST TRY!

<~ ICED DOICETTO
      P/S:   Doi is mountain in Thai language
                So together it means: something sweet from the mountain
                So ya, this is a cup of sweet and roasty coffee for those                     sweet tooth

NON-COFFEE BEVERAGE

For those wants to stay away from caffeine, I would recommend their signature Milkyway!
It will melt you away ;-)

Or you can try their
SEXY GREEN LATTE
(hot) XD

 Or you may try

The fruit juice is unlike what you'll get from average coffee shop cause it is not just the liquid, but also the goodness (fibre of course) of fruits!

Currently only the following is available:

OJ - Orange Juice
AJ - Apple Juice
CJ - Carrot Juice

(personally I think it's really cool to order the fruit juice by just saying "give me OJ/AJ" and the barista knows exactly what juice to serve XD)

Best thing about their fruit juice is:
~ Pure fruit! NO artificial flavouring, NO sugar & NO ice

CAUTION!!! This is REAL POISON   XP

ICED GREEN LATTE
P/S: It will be your new poison

Once you take a sip
(instead of a bite) of it,
you won't faint immediately
like in the tale of
Snow White
But you are guaranteed to feel the urge to take another sip of it!

HOW THEY MADE IT

Lucky me, I get to taste the

freshly roasted peaberry beans

FUN FACT:
Do you know that not necessarily the finest grind beans will bring the best taste out of a coffee bean?

Do you know tamping with the right amount of force is the fundamental step
in order to pull a perfect shot of espresso?

It is important to make sure the micro-grind coffee beans is levelled to ensure the balanced taste of it

Learn about coffee while enjoying them is simply awesome :-)













 







See how the essence of coffee was pushed into the honey flowing form...

simply art

The next BIG step is the Milk Chemistry...

Frothing the milk at right temperature is utmost important to bring the sweetness out of the fresh milk and also to create foam milk which will finish the coffee in a solid texture



then...



The final step is for the skilled barista to pour the coffee art

tadaa... a beautiful Rosetta

Tulip art

I was so tempted to try it out...
I mean to experience how it's like
to be able to draw a coffee art with
milk


















I'm not a qualified barista... so what I can do is to give you a virtual tour of the cafe...

The coffee space...

The open-counter concept is creative whereby you can observe how your drinks is made...

Do you know by looking at the preparation process of a food/beverage
It actually affects your mind as to the taste of it?

 

The ceiling lighting is superb!
You will mistakenly thought you're actually looking at the stars in the sky up close ;-)

The beverage Menu

This space is big enough for an ad hoc meeting room or a function room

Best thing about it is:

It's Free of Charge!!

The room is available upon one week prior booking (depends on availability of course) and upon you buying drinks from them :-)

This hallway table is ideal for couple that enjoy the privacy and soft music...




























The monkeycup garden 

The toilet sign is the most creative design

I found in this cafe... love it!

This is the most environmental friendly cafe I know

P/S: you will not find any article in this cafe that is made

out of newly chopped off wood.

All of them is recycled wood!

Monkeycùp Café
Tel: +6012-209 5536
36C, Jalan Chow Thye, 10350 Georgetown,  Penang.


Current business hours: 

Coffee Bar: 9am~12am (Fri, Sat, Eve: 9am~1am)

Kitchen: 12pm~3pm & 6pm~9pm (Kitchen close on Sunday)

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When I published the first blog on monkeycup cafe a month ago, the kitchen is only at "coming soon" stage, so when I first saw the Menu board outside the cafe, my first thought is "Finally! Food in cafe!". I haven't get to taste all of them on the menu yet, but nonetheless, allow me to share what I've tasted and what mesmerised me this time ( n___n)~b

I have to say, I'm quite surprise to see Thai food on the menu of a cafe in Penang! It's not a common choice for a cafe, but again, like all great invention in the world, there's a first in everything.

When I compare the price of the food with other restaurant or cafe that offer affordable luxury environment, I'm of the opinion that the price is comparatively reasonable.

From personal experience, I used to fill my stomach elsewhere before going to Starbucks mainly because they do not offer meal in most of their store. Normally if I want to get a filling lunch, it would've cost me around RM10. Adding that to the cost of a cup of venti size ADL, it would cost me around RM25 for a meal and coffee. On top of that, I had to travel between the places for food and drinks. Now this package here at this cafe really satisfied my needs at one go.

It's not much variety if you were to compare it with the Startbucks' food display, but you'll need only one poison to be your excuse for revisiting... ;-)

And... I found mine! XD

CREME BRULEE!!!

I'm honestly excited to see so many of them lining up in the display unit :-D

And

These are all non-baked cheesecake... 

Watch out! Moose on the loose!

Just kidding... it's Mousse in the jar!

I really miss the aroma rich peaberry coffee...

So please forgive me for taking the sip before taking a picture of the beautiful latte art...

:-P

I requested for something special this time for my blog picture, and the barista is kind enough to serve this rose art for me :-)

Introducing... my favourite dessert:

Creme Brulee

The well-torched caramel top crust is clean without the burnt polka dots and when you hit it with your spoon, you can hear the caramel glass gives the real nice click sound, certifying its solidness. It's so fun to crack the caramel glass open ^_^

As to the brulee, it's with smooth and pudding-like texture. I'm totally amazed that a creme brulee this good is sold only at RM8.90! If you have read my other blog on creme brulee I found in Malacca, they were sold at RM15 and RM14.80 respectively. 

I would rate the creme brulee at 8.5 out of 10.

But if taking the price into the equation, I would give it a 9.5 out of 10!

Mango Mousse Cake               

This dessert is recommended as coffee-mate if you think the creme brulee is too creamy... well again, not everyone like the same thing, so give the fellas in the display unit a try to find out your own favourite dessert as coffee-mate :-)

You might be thinking "why dessert before meal??"

Well, they need some time to prepare the meal, so I decided to have some dessert first.

Of course, you may request them to serve the dessert after meal...

So now here's the meal:

Phat Thai

It is something like the Penang Char Koay Tiow, but it's actually a Thai style stir-fried rice noodles. You need to stir it up right before you eat so that the vegs is fresh when you eat it.

I would caution those afraid of spiciness to draw in the chilli powder gradually to make sure the taste suit you just the way you like it.

But if you dislike the fresh sprout taste, maybe you can try some other dish as it is part of the original recipe taste of Phat Thai. Or maybe to stir in less of the sprout before you eat if you're still interested to try it out.

Crab Fried Rice

I got to confess, this dish is awesome! The taste is balanced and with enough vegs as most of the time when we order for fried rice, there would either be very little vegs or no vegs at all...

Best thing of this dish is... they serve fresh crabmeat!!!

Som Tum

This is green papaya salad. Its taste is sourish spicy... So do let the chef know if you would like it to be less spicy so that they can tailor it to your spicy tolerance. 

But I would recommend to try it at its original taste, cause it's kinda exciting to feel the spiciness and then water the spicy feel with the green latte :-P (That's my personal preference)

Croissantism

 

So I heard that this is their best selling meal and I know why... it's because the croissant is crispy solid and when you bite into the fillings, the cheesy scrambled eggs will melt in your mouth, and you can feel it snuggle every single taste-buds.

The salad dressing is the secret weapon in this meal, as it stroke your taste-buds well to awaken them to the natural taste of the fruits (mini tomatoes) and the vegs.

Angelababie

The name of this dish is really causing a lot of speculation and imagination... XD

And yes, the dish taste just as sexy as its name. So get tangled with the thin spaghetti or the "angel hair", the mushrooms and chicken ham, and you'll find yourself dancing tango after you down it with a shot of coffee...

Personally I find it very authentic in the sense that the original spaghetti is serve with just enough sauce instead of serving the spaghetti submerged in the sauce like what we're getting from most restaurant these days. So if you would like it submerge in the creamy sauce, perhaps you can ask the chef to prepare it that way...

To put it simply, this cafe has become more welcoming to me. Personally I really enjoy the little corner in the cafe where I can enjoy some privacy and the comfortable coffee space with the soothing background music. So definitely I'll be coming back for more excellent coffee and the yummy creme brulee :-D

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It's been a while since I last visited Monkeycup Cafe as I was outstation. I got to say I'm stunt when I saw their chiller when I enter the cafe... you can see it for yourself:

The space is all filled up with jars of non-baked cheesecake! Although I'm not really a fan of cheesecake, but the flavour they offered really tempted me to taste them all out. So I really did try each of them each day of my visits together with my favourite cappuccino.

Non-baked Cheesecake by Alex Koe:

PROFILE: BABANA

TOPPING: Banana cubes with caramel

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

Rich in banana flavour in every bite! Should scoop it from the top to the bottom to taste the combination texture of the banana fruit, banana flavoured cheesecake and the biscuit bottom.

Personally I like the creamy texture of the cheesecake probably because it is free from the odd gelatin taste

         

I know, It's not a typo! They actually named it "baBana". When I asked them as to why they call it as such, they prompt me to sing the suddenly famous "Banana Song" of the Minions which sounded like this "ba ba ba, ba ba na na"... lol

PROFILE: BLUEBERRY

TOPPING: Blueberries jam

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

It taste like the conventional blueberry cheesecake where you get to taste the blueberries separately from the cheesecake unlike the babana cheesecake. The sweetness of the blueberries is well-balanced with the sourly cheesecake.

PROFILE: GREEN APPLE

TOPPING: Sliced fresh green apple

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

The apple flavoured cheesecake is made to leave your breath in apple freshness. Personally I like this cheesecake because it's not coupled with sweet topping and the aftertaste is soothing to me. It is a much light cheesecake compared to others.

\

PROFILE: GREEN TEA

TOPPING: Green tea powder

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

It's rich in green tea taste and sweet-free. It has got a bit of sourly taste due to the cheese they used coupled with the unbaked condition. This would be a perfect match ('matcha') to the iced green latte to make a perfectly green day ;-D

PROFILE: OREO

TOPPING: Oreo Biscuit

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

It has got a blend of oreo cookies in the cheesecake, so it's rich in oreo flavour from the top to the bottom. The base is oreo biscuit instead of the ordinary biscuit base. This is the ordinary but tasty dessert for those sweet-tooth.

PROFILE: STRAWBERRY OREO

TOPPING: Oreo biscuit

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

In each bite you take, you can taste the strawberries like you're actually eating one while eating oreo biscuit. It feels luxury to taste both chocolaty oreo and strawberry at the same time. Personally I like this cheesecake more than the ordinary oreo one as you rarely find anything like this elsewhere.

PROFILE: STRAWBERRY

TOPPING: Sliced fresh strawberry

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

To my surprise, I can taste the strawberry fruit in the cheesecake like I'm actually eating a strawberry. Initially I thought it was a strawberry flavoured cheesecake like those strawberry flavoured ice-cream, apparently I misjudge it from its look.

PROFILE: PASSION FRUIT

TOPPING: Chocolate mini love-letter

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

The passion fruit flavoured cheesecake is a bit sour like the actual passion fruit. When taken with other sweet desserts, it will balance the taste. When taken before meal, it is very appetising.

Personally I'm quite worry that they're going to serve it with the actual passion fruit topping. Thanks to my boss, I had some very unpleasant experience of the passion fruit seed stuck in between my wisdom tooth and gum for hours before I could finally remove it. T_T

Thank goodness they're very thoughtful in this sense.

PROFILE: PEACH

TOPPING: Peach cubes

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

The combination of texture from the topping to the biscuit base, is like Christmas. You got to really feel them with your tongue and embrace the unique taste and texture to get your present. :-D

The peach flavoured cheesecake is really smooth like yoghurt (but I think it's probably because I left it for some time to take photos) :-P

PROFILE: PEANUT

TOPPING: Peanut grounds

HOW IT TASTE LIKE:

I'm not sure how many people did it, but I once took a few scoop from the peanut butter bottle when my mom wasn't looking when I was really young :-P

This is the one that will bring back the memory by filling your mouth with nutty rich flavour.

At first I thought why would they took the trouble to fill the cheesecake in a jar, then they explained that that way they could better preserve the freshness of the cheesecake by preventing the cheesecake from exposure to the air in the chiller.

If you did pay attention to the chiller display, you'll notice that all those cheesecake jars are without their respective topping, that too is due to their aim to serve the desserts as fresh as possible, just like their coffee, they both taste best when fresh!

P/S: The trick of eating this cheesecake in jar is to scoop it from the top to the bottom so you taste the textures of the whole column!

Other Desserts

Other than the cheesecakes, their signature Peaberry Tiramisu is a MUST TRY item! I got to say, of all the tiramisu I had elsewhere, this is the most unique one I've ever tasted! Read on to find out why I said so ;-)

PEABERRY TIRAMISU by Alex Koe 

(RM10.90)

My new favourite ^_^

Due to my personal medical reason, I'm a little concern when deciding to give the tiramisu a try. But to my utmost surprise, their tiramisu is alcohol-free! 

This is a great news for all isn't it? By this it is officially the dessert everyone can enjoy!

Although it was made without one of the key ingredient of tiramisu, to me it is nothing less than the usual tiramisu served in any other restaurants or cafes, but rather more outstanding as to how they manage to preserve the unique characteristic of tiramisu and at the same time, making it consumable to general public at large!

Their Peaberry Tiramisu have a mysteriously moist layer that gives the irresistible sensation to your tongue and ignite your taste buds. So watch out for it ;-D

Okok, the truth about that mysterious moist layer is their Signature Peaberry Espresso freshly brewed just before making the tiramisu.

Awesome isn't it? I'm stuck to this dessert mainly because of the unique aroma of the Peaberry coffee. XD

CHOCOLATA     by Alex Koe

(RM4.90)

It taste like the dark chocolate bar with nuts which goes just right with the americano.

The legend has it that the marrying of chocolata & americano is the taste of happiness.

Although I'm not a fan of americano, but when I tried it in its prescribed combination with chocolata, I do feel much better after having a long day.

THAI COCONUT ICE CREAM

(RM8.90)

The coconut ice-cream is rich in coconut taste topped with peanuts, chocolatechips and some bread pieces. When taken on a sunny afternoon, it feels like the cool breeze in summer! XD

AFFOGATO

(RM9.90)

when ice-cream meets espresso...

I think I don't need to tell you how it feels or taste like and you already feeling it in your mouth...

 

CREME BRULEE

(RM8.90)

My all time favourite... now taste even better!

The brulee texture is much smoother than before and more rich in vanilla taste. They told me they're working on thin crust for the crisp caramel top. Personally I prefer the thin crust than the thick because it feels more crunchy than the thick one. (Albeit I once thought the creme brulee taste better with the thick crust)




But again, when it comes to taste, it's all about personal preference hence it could be very subjective and vary from person to person.

So, enough of the desserts, let me show you the updates on their menu:

Menu (As at 10-10-2014)

 I didn't have the stomach to try all of them, so allow me to introduce some that I've managed to try out:

TERIYAKI CHICKEN BURGER

(RM15.80)

Much videos and photos of the 'before' and 'after' makeup of burgers we can see on the internet... but not in their case, the Teriyaki Chicken Burger is actually as thick as it looks. But the problem is... I can't fit it into my mouth without getting sloppy  (>.<'')

PLAIN CROISSANT

(RM5.90)

The plain croissant is pretty crispy and goes just nice with the honey and butter. When coupled with the coffee... mmm~ it brings out the best scent of the cup of coffee you take with it! (At least it did to mine ^o^)

SALMONIE

(RM11.90)

This is actually the small croissant topped with cheesy scrambled egg and smoked salmon dressed with their special sauce and sprinkled with a little bit of black pepper and served together with a garden salad. 

The portion size is just nice to go with other desserts (I just couldn't leave the cafe without having a dessert... it's like they're waving to me in the chiller XP)

If this Salmonie if not enough to fill your stomach, don't worry, you can always customise your order for Croissantism. This is their hidden menu:

The "recipe" for the hidden menu is                         CROISSANTISM+SMOKED SALMON, so it is served with the big croissant instead of the small croissant.

SARDINE PUFF 

(RM6.90)              

I waited a for about 15mins for this pastry and upon enquiry, I was informed that they wanted to make sure that it is fully heated up before serving it as it was kept chill enough to ensure its freshness. So I would recommend the ready-to-serve desserts if you're really hungry and needed something to eat like in less than 5 mins.

Other than their menu, they've done some upgrade to their cafe layout. So here goes the virtual tour in the cafe:

There's one very interesting new deco in the cafe that you won't miss for sure, that's their coffee cup art deco:

Here's some of the art you can find in Monkeycup Cafe:

If you're genuinely a Monkeycup's coffee maniac, you would have noticed that each and every cup of your coffee is presented with the up-to-quality coffee art

so I seek their permission in taking the insight photos of their secret weapons to share with you all

But, but, don't mistake that it is all because of the milk pitcher they used, anyone who ever tried pouring coffee art would know that it takes persistent practice to pour even the simplest coffee art. 

Although many have said that the coffee art does not necessarily reflects the quality of the beverage, but I think here it does... Not only it is a pretty mark, it also shows that the barista made it with care and consistency :-)

Monkeycup Cafe

Tel: +6012-209 5536

36C, Jalan Chow Thye, 10350 Georgetown, Penang.

Kitchen Close on Sunday

Kitchen only Open at Lunch (12pm~3pm) & Dinner hour (6pm~9pm).

Business Hours: 9am~12am (Fri, Sat, Eve: 9am~1am)