Oldtown Cafe, Medan Ipoh

Most of you in Ipoh would have noticed the "new face" of one of Ipoh's famous white coffee brewers - Oldtown Cafe. I'm not too sure who are its owners, but it's probably safe to say that Oldtown is somehow connected to the Nam Heong kopitiam (best known for its instant Old Town White Coffee, sold virtually everywhere). Maybe someone can enlighten me further here ... anyhow, on to my lil review!





Oldtown Cafe has several outlets in Ipoh, but the one I'm reviewing here is located in Medan Ipoh; just beside Tesco. Look for this place no problem wan ... you pusing-pusing around the Tesco building sure you can see, since its signboard is sooo big ;)

The very first thing you'll notice upon approaching Oldtown Cafe is the very dark "wood" veneer walls and black-painted facade, lending it a very warm and modern look, yet preserving a old-world kopitiam charm from the pre-war Malaya period. Indeed, wall-sized photos depict scenes of life in then-Malaya in sepia tone. Hell, it works for me ;) The outlet is actually 2 shoplots renovated to 1. The left lot as you approach its twin entrance is air-conditioned and for non-smoking patrons; the one on the right is not but ventilated by old-style fans and opens out to a side lane. Seating consists of both booths, aluminum cafe-style sets, and my favorite - marbletop coffee tables and stools.

Enough about the decor - how's the food and most importantly, the coffee?

First, the food. Here's one of the more popular items served the Ice Fire Polo Bun. Sorry la, it's sooo good, I whack two-thirds oredi before remembering to take the photo :oops:



It's a toasted custard scone-of-sorts with a thick slice of frozen butter in between :evil: Those got heart problems wan, bring your doctor along before consuming this aa ... Next time I go again I take a photo of a *complete* bun ok? Solli, solli ... Moving on, here's yet another kenot-tahan-whack-first-take-photo-later snack called the Oldtown Peanut French Toast -this wan, doctor's attendance also good idea:



Ok: the French Toast, I had to at least slice it apart for you to see what's inside, right :razz: It's peanut butter sandwiched between 2 thick slices of bread, coated with egg ... and deepfried :shock: It's served with a cut of butter on top, which I had spread over after it melted; hence the glistening in the photo, hehehe ... And then the all-time breakfast serving (but everyone does it anytime these days) buttered toast with half-boiled eggs.



I noted that they use brown wheat bread (not to be mistaken for wholemeal) for their bread concoctions, and only use the white ones on the items labeled as "old town"-something ... Before you start thinking that all they serve for food is bread, lemme tell you they got some pretty great-tasting rice and noodle dishes too, starting from the curry mee (left) and laksa (right):



The Ipoh-style chicken-n-shrimp koay teow soup:



And the curry chicken rice:



The coffee. Ah ... the coffee is rather disappointing, really. I had assumed that there will be a master apek coffee brewer in the house, but no ... The coffee and tea drinks are all made from instant 3-in-1 sachets - *just* like the ones you can buy off supermarket shelves :shock: It was such a huge disappointment, really ... but then to be fair, the mix sachets are pretty good (for 3-in-1's) ... just *never* as good as a freshly brewed cuppa.

I kinda like their white coffee with hazelnut flavor. Always liked hazelnut-flavored coffee. The way I do it myself is using Coffee-Mate's Hazelnut Flavored Creamer + Nescafe ... Not sure how they get the hazelnut into Oldtown coffee mixes, though.

So ok - overall, a nice place to hang out with friends over a cuppa and snack some before any meal. I like it enough to go there 2~3 times a week :razz: Prices are, of course, a premium over your neighborhood kopitiam - figure in about an extra 60 sen over your kopitiam prices per cup. Food prices are premium also, but not so much that you'll yell murder considering the "ambiance".

It's always the ambiance, right? Here you can come and sit around in your t-shirt, shorts and slippers; no problem wan. Girls all come here decked up for the night out or look as if they are inviting you to bed, hehehe ... but it's cool. 'Thing is ... where else can you go for Ipoh white coffee at night?? The best white coffee kopitiams all close after 7pm ...

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