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Monday, December 5, 2011

Coffee Atelier ~ Not just about Food

Located on Steward Lane where Kopi Cine & Bon Ton used to be, it has now been remodeled and rebranded as Coffee Atelier. Coffee Atelier comprises a few pre-war shop houses from no 47 to 55 and now boast suites for stays, an art gallery, a coffee museum as well as a cafe of course. The proud owners are Lorina and Stefan Gehrig and they are really a very lovely couple who would be more than happy to share with visitors their love for this place (and its food).
The Cafe is aptly named 55 Cafe after the number of the building. How simple and elegant way of naming. Its worthy to note that the building here was built in 1927, and that means its over 80 years old! It's just amazing how these old buildings can withstand the test of time, and after so many events through history, continue to stand tall and proud. So without ado, lets start looking at some of the delicious goodies which is served here.

OK, to keep your suspense abit longer, I start with some general pictures of 55 Cafe and its building facade!


This is how the building look like
Colorful corridors

OK, here comes the food!
This is the garlic with mushrooms. Lightly garnished with pea sprouts, this is a very delightful appetizer. Of course, this applies to those that likes garlic as the whole garlic is fried and then mix and cooked with the mushrooms, infusing all with its pungent taste. I like it though and it goes great with the toast.
This is the cold cut platter. It comprises various ham, bacon and salami (beef). Meat lovers would love this I'm sure.

This is a unique dish which is the grilled brinjal. It has a good taste as the brinjal is soft from the grilling and with the spices, give this one a try!
This is a cheese platter with 4 types of cheese including blue cheese. I'm not an expert when it comes to cheese but from sampling the limited amount here, I'm sure it will please cheese lovers.
This is another of their signature dish which is the meatballs. Again, cooked in a tomato paste and with the meat well marinated and spiced up, this is surely deserving as a signature. Look closely and you will notice the sprinkle grounded olive on top to give it that extra bam!
This is probably one of the highlights which is the prawn gambas capane! I hope I spell it correctly but this is just fantastic. Its bite size wrap with a large prawn inside! This is juicy and flavored well and I'm sure everyone will love it. A must try. Show them this picture if I got the name wrong :p
This is another prawn dish and this one too is good. Its called Gambas Aljillo and features large prawns in a olive oil and dried chilli dressing which is actually a pretty good combination, especially to go with the toast.
And here, we have a selection of pastas and its important to note that their portions for the pasta is pretty big. From talking to the chef, the amount of pasta here is at least 220g per serving compared to the typical 160-180g thus do expect a big plate here. Overall, their pastas a pretty decent, but as mentioned, probably order it as you eat if you go in a group as you might not be able to finish it all alone. Thats because you need to reserve some space for the next section!
Carbonara with penne or spaghetti

Spaghetti with a meat sauce
This one is vegetarian and called Al Gorgonzola. It has a very thick cheese flavor to it so its a joy to cheese lovers again
Aglio Olio with Smoked Salmon
So what was it I was asking you to save your stomach capacity for? Well its desserts of course and those available here will make you salivate easily!
This is a very moist chocolate brownie serve with some icecream and fruits garnishing
This is a creamy custard which is again a wonderfully prepared dessert
Another highlight is this one which is the cheese cake. If correct, its a really special cheese cake which will appear on the menu soon. So do keep an eye on it. The creative use of the dried slice strawberries really makes the cheese cake colorful.
Just look at all those dessert
And then there is the Creme Brulee. Again, very well prepared with just the right amount of sweetness. I always find if the Creme Brulee is too sweet it really overwhelms the flavor.
After all those sweet pickings, we were served coffee. They still have coffee from Kim Guan but they also serve some of their house coffee which is one of the most aromatic around town.
You name the style they probably have it. Latte, cappucino, black, cold, etc
Well, thats the food. I would also like to show you some pictures of their art gallery too!

The coffee museum. Here they have lots of posters talking about coffee as well as the heritage of this place

And then they have the suites which is available for rent as prices less than RM400. Each prewar house is split into upper and lower levels. For less than RM400 per night, you get a whole floor. The upper floor even have 2 bedrooms and each is fully air conditioned so you don't have to worry about it being hot.
Some of the antique furniture at the common lobby of the suites
Another view of the common lobby
The queen size bed on the lower level
The large and comfortable wash area as well as bathing room
This is how you go up to the upper floor
The master room on the upper floor. The windows overlook the street below. Its really romantic at night
Just look at all those comfortable looking pillows
This is the smaller room upstairs. Good enough for the kids
The upper floor open toilet and bathing area. Pretty interesting design with the open rain shower
I would really like to thank the owners of Coffee Atelier for hosting this, namely Lorina and Stefan as well as their great manager there. Also thanks to Your Food Review, HTC, Squarelet, IN Penang and Visit Penang for organizing this Heritage Food Trail!

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