The Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur has long been known as a hub for coffee culture. This city of 2 million is home to the tangible cultural heritage institution of the kopitiam, a traditional style of cafe / snack shop that serves copious amounts of coffee and tea alongside local delicacies, including the iconic kaya toast smothered with coconut jam, butter, and a soft-boiled egg. But here you’ll also find a deeply rooted specialty coffee scene, one that we’ve been covering for the international reader community at Sprudge since 2015.
This story you’re reading today is actually our third guide to Kuala Lumpur in the last decade; the most recent edition was published in 2019 and covered more of the downtown area between Bukit Bintang and Chinatown. Since then the city has undergone a major transformation in its pursuit of specialty coffee perfection, with new places popping up seemingly every month. The majority of this new class of high-end coffee shops are located in the suburbs, where rents are more affordable and the cafes can benefit from regular visitors who don’t only pop in quickly on the way to work. These coffee shops act more as a social hub for people to taste, talk, and learn about new coffee varieties and processes, becoming the equivalent of a local pub in a majority Muslim country where alcohol is not the driving force of social life.
The suburb of Petaling Jaya is perhaps the best-known of these coffee districts, and the best shops are all spread throughout its octopus-like streets. Ranging from tiny hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop shops brewing single-origin Ethiopian coffee and baking delectable in-house pastries, to uber modern shops that openly sport international design and cultural influences, to roasters set in neighborhood streets where visitors can taste a multitude of different beans before choosing their cup at the counter.
Nestled amongst the extremes are some hidden gems where coffee is the ultimate driving force, and the surroundings are obscure enough to make you feel you have discovered a secret treasure trove, yet not so far that you’re put off by the commute. Petaling Jaya is connected by the local metro and train system, so getting there is a breeze.
In this guide, the coffee shops mentioned are all places we feel are pushing the Kuala Lumpur scene forward, mostly in the Petaling Jaya suburb, but with a couple closer to downtown if you are short on time.
One Half Coffee Roastery
This two-branched pinnacle of caffeine pursuance lies in the hipster area of Taman Paramount, separated by a short taxi ride. One Half Coffee Roastery is the beehive of the entire operation, roasting in-house, selling coffee-related products for the nerd in us all, and dazzling with a sleek minimalist coffee tasting table to sit at and watch the baristas create perfection. This is coffee excellence of the ultimate plateau, with manual grinders being used for certain beans, electric for others, and a whole myriad of drippers and filter papers to adapt for flavor profiles. Many of their baristas are award winning in the Malaysian scene (helmed by Keith Koay who won the Malaysian Barista award three times), so you are in the safest of hands.
The One Half crew are disciples of Nordic “light roast” style, which means everything from Panamanian Geshas to less common Malaysian Liberia coffees roasted with a gentle touch. Their Ilaica branch serves more as a casual environment to get a great cup of coffee, pastries made by legendary Doudoubake, and even a clothing and accessories store with rotating Korean-style designers. Out front they have a vending machine selling analog film and cameras.
Simply put, this is one of the most on-trend and internationally minded specialty coffee bars in KL. If you’re after a truly Third Wave experience, but with distinct Malaysian influences, make sure this cafe is on your itinerary.
Fade by SB
Opening the door here you could be mistaken that you were transported to a tiny cafe in Koenji, Tokyo. The simple wood paneling, corner windows, and small counter give off a distinctly Japanese aesthetic. There is a quiet buzz at Fade by SB, forged by a team working together in unison who know their roles and love what they do. All the cups and saucers are bought at thrift stores, the furniture is mismatched, the wood panelling largely unpainted or undecorated, giving this an unpretentious calming atmosphere.
The focus here is on Ethiopian coffees, which are used for both espresso and filter coffee options across the cafe’s service. Pastries are baked in house, and the shop’s almond cookie is very highly regarded by locals. The vibe inside is calm and serene; you can read a book here, and the music is never played too loud. (The music in KL cafes can sometimes be deafening.) Any neighborhood in the world would be glad to have a cafe like Fade by SB, but you can only find it here, in Petaling Jaya.
Pohutukawa
Pohutukawa happens when you combine an Ikebana store (a Japanese flower arranging discipline) and specialty coffee house in the same floor space. The result is a quiet central oasis, opening into a larger room with communal tables for laptop workers and a tiny counter overlooking the street below for more reflective souls.
The coffee shop runs its espresso machine hard, but also specializes in pour-overs that they grind from a rotating choice of international beans. Apart from coffee, Pohutukawa are famous for their tea menu and desserts, with everything from burnt cheesecake to grapefruit Genmaicha chiffon cakes on offer.
The second floor location of this cafe is charming, and feels like a refuge from the city life below. The Ikebana store spilling out into the cafe makes the space feel special, like a secret garden of fossilized objects. Ultimately what matters is the coffee, and here it’s great.
Kita
They say location is the ultimate selling point for most businesses, but in Kita’s case, it’s the opposite. Purposely elusive, hidden at the end of a nondescript hallway leading to an English Language school on the ground floor of a shopping mall in Bukit Bintang, nobody is finding this place randomly.
However, for those in the know, this coffee shop run by the inimitable Rain Lee (2022 Malaysian Barista Champion and renegade incense lover) is the perfect spot to drop in during a shopping trip and enjoy a delicious espresso or pour-over. Apart from coffee, they have a dynamite milk pudding and some plant-based meal options.
Rain travels often between Malaysia and mainland China, and hand-picks beans to showcase some of the up-and-coming roasters from across China. If you’re into experimental roasting and trying coffee from a country more famous for its tea, then next time you’re in Bukit Bintang, hunt down Kita. Please distrust your instincts here; when you think you’ve walked down the wrong hallway, you haven’t.
Toothless
Toothless roast their coffee behind a car workshop in Petaling Jaya. You can instruct your taxi to drop you off at the front and walk around—past the car garage and a nondescript cafe—and Toothless will appear housed in a glorified shipping container.
Known for roasting their coffees light-medium and offering multiple in-house options along with a separate menu with handpicked beans from the cafe’s favorite roasters the world over, you can mingle with locals while you grab your pour-over and sit in the small nook at the back.
The shelves are stacked with beans for sale and the staff are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. They tend to tread a fine balance between clean, washed coffee and some more modern techniques such as thermal shock or co-ferment preparations from their guest series.
For those on a bonafide coffee pilgrimage, it could be an idea to book a hotel in this area since One Half, Fade by SB, and Pohutukawa are all nearby.
Ghostbird
Ghostbird is an ideal destination for any kind of coffee drinker. Upon entry, a visitor is confronted with a wall of coffee gear, a roasting/packing room to the left, and a long three-tiered table stacked with beans, thermos flasks and tasting note cards. Before you head into the main cafe, you can pick up a small cup and help yourself to coffees that take your fancy, then, upon singling out something that tickles your fancy, head on in and order. Of the myriad of coffees on the tasting table are everything from Colombia Gesha, Kenya, jackfruit-forward local Liberica, and additional offerings from Central America, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.
The main cafe is a spacious hideaway cooled by massive air conditioners, and its bar is stacked with every gadget known to man: AeroPress, V60s, Orea drippers, siphons, and of course espresso. At the counter, you can even smell the different beans on offer and sample various types of water they use to show how much of an impact it has on the end flavor. The crew are all meticulously prepared for any questions, glad to guide you, and patient with beginners.
Ghostbird feels almost like a “School of Specialty Coffee” for people ready to open the floodgates and dive into their new obsession. Located behind Mid Valley Megamall makes it an easy reach for people staying in any part of Kuala Lumpur.
For explorers who want nothing more than to spend a month dissecting KL’s coffee scene, may we suggest the following to add to your lists: Afloat, Contour, Curate, Kuro, Ting, Airplane Mode, and The Roast Things. For even more options, consult past KL coverage on Sprudge.
Benjamin Sand is a freelance journalist and the creator of The Mouth. This is Benjamin Sand’s first feature for Sprudge.
