World MOST Expensive Coffee

Bali, located at the east of Java is one of the most beautiful place to be in Indonesia. Here is also where the most expensive coffee - Civet coffee are being produced. 

What is Civet Coffee? 

Wikipedia:-

Civet Coffee refers to the beans of coffee berries once they have been eaten and excreted by the Asian Palm Civet. Coffee cherries are eaten by a civet for their fruit pulp. After spending about a day and a half in the civet's digestive tract the beans are then defecated in clumps, having kept their shape and still covered with some of the fleshy berry's inner layers. 

Despite being in contact with faeces and pathogenic organisms, the beans contain negligible amounts of the enteric (pathogenic) organisms associated with feces. Moreover, the "cherry" or endocarp surrounding the bean is not completely digested by the luwak, and after being collected, the farmer performs thorough washing and removes the endocarp.

Yours truly had the opportunity to try Civet Coffee since I was in Bali for a week of work-holiday trip with a few friends. Can't miss out on that opportunity right? 

On our way back from Tirta Empul (Temple of the Holy Water), my driver/tour guide took us to one of the Civet coffee production village. Hidden along the small roads is a small tiny village covered with coco trees and various plants that are part of the coffee / tea production. 

Each visitor will be given 7 small short glasses of drinks that they produce for tasting. 

Bali Coffee: Strong and smooth. 

Hot Cocoa: Nothing special. Tasted like mild milo. 

Ginger Coffee: This combination just doesn't work. Coffee is coffee, ginger is ginger. Both tasted like a car crash. 

Ginseng Coffee: This is another combination that I dislike. The ginger has covered the original taste of the coffee. 

Ginger Tea: I love this even though it's a bit too sweet for my liking. The taste of ginger in this tea is strong and perfectly good for those who have wind in their stomach. Level of sweetness can be adjusted based on your liking. 

Lemon Tea: Tasted just like the normal lemon tea. 

Roselle Tea: Too sour for my liking. I just think that fruitty tea that are sour doesn't work for my taste bud at all. 

Civet coffee is not part of the coffee/tea tasting, it has to be purchased separately. A small cup of civet coffee (almost similar to the size of an espresso shot) like the one below cost me about RM 15. 

The texture of the coffee was smooth but aroma and taste is not as strong as Bali Coffee. I am not sure how many Civet coffee lovers out there, to me, I find that there is nothing much to shout about except for the price. Hey, at least I've tried the most expensive coffee in the world and I know how it taste like. 

Kraze Burger @ Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Bumming around Marina Bay Sands looking for some coffee and food? Perhaps Kraze Burger might be a good choice. Established in 1998 in South Korea, this comic decorated burger place specializes in premium hamburgers. They aim to create the best burgers. In my opinion, they serve coffee that kept my friends and I up the whole night.  

Coffee in Kraze Burger are served in big mugs. It was smooth but lack aroma and there are just too much foam for all the coffee. The cappuccino looks like a cup of foam milk which was a little deceiving. We thought they had the wrong order! For the money that you are paying, it's worth it. 

The Club is part of the Healty Burger Kraze menu and it is madness! Divided into 2 portion:-
Portion 1 - Grilled chicken + fried eggs + bacon in a whole wheat bread stuffed with lettuce;
Portion 2 - Chicken breast + bacon + egg + lettuce + sun ripened tomato + cheese in whole wheat bread.

This sandwich is suitable for big eaters. Girls, if you really want to try this, find another person to share it with. The portion are pretty huge.

If you are looking for a healthier choice - without all those bacon, eggs, too much meat or dressings; Ham & Cheese is the the best choice. Homemade gourmet ham, romaine lettuce, lettuce, homemade pickled, cheese, onion, sun ripened tomato stuffed in a white baguette that leaves you with no guilt at all. I personally love the texture of the baguette, it was soft and chewy. 

Here also serve soup. If you are not too hungry or just looking for something to warm the tummy, perhaps you can try the Soup of the Day. The cream of mushroom served with some cream on top and croutons is good. Texture of the soup is rich and thick with tons of mushroom bits to chew. Even though it is not as good as the Soup Spoon in Raffles City but it still works for me.

Address:

2 Bayfront Ave, #B2-54/55,
Marina Bay Sands,
Singapore 018956

Thai Milk Tea @ Pattaya, Thailand

I am in Thailand again. Just last month I was in Bangkok and now I am in Pattaya attending a conference, singing and leading worship with an awesome team. Taking a break from the conference, a few band members and I decided to take a trip to the nearest man made floating market. Besides the usual food that you find in Thailand e.g. sticky mango rice, fried insects, crocodile meat so on and so forth, there is a small tiny, old looking cafe here. Walls made of wood, decorated with old glass bottle of soft drinks and menu written on a tiny black board. 

Wooden tables and stools are part of this cafe furniture. The best part of this cafe is the view - surrounded by tall grass and a small lake next to it. Since the water is crazily hot, iced Thai Milk tea is the best solution to quench your thirst. I personally find it too sweet for my liking. The thing that shock me is the colour of the tea - pure orange which kinda reminds me of the Klang river (LOL). Condensed milk is definitely used to gives sweetness but it doesn't cover the original flavour of the tea. It may look very milky, but it is not. 

If you happen to get a chance to taste this, give it a try. Do not let the colour of the tea keep you away from it. 

Black Canyon Coffee @ Bangkok, Thailand

Black Canyon is a famous cafe here in Bangkok and also in Malaysia. They serve a variety of authentic Thai food, pasta and western food with a twist of Thai flavor in it which is simply delicious especially the fiery Tom Yum soup. If you are in for something hot and spicy, this is definitely the place to be. 

This particular Black Canyon that I've visited here is just small one in Central Festival that serves coffee and desserts. There are wide varieties of coffee, hot or ice blended, you name it, you got it. For non-coffee lovers, wide variety of ice chocolate and tea are available for you. Since it was such a hot day here, we decided to share a cup of Black Crunch Frappe - ice blended coffee with Oreo  It was delish! The balance between the Oreo and coffee is perfect and it wasn't too sweet at all. One of the possibility that you may not enjoy this drink is the powdery texture from the cookie. 

2 cakes that we managed to try is:-

Green Tea Roll
I don't quite like the cake texture as it was dry. But the green tea cream in the middle was nice. It was rich, moist and the green flavor is strong.

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Unlike the other cheese cake that uses digestive cookie as the base, this particular cake uses dark chocolate cookie instead. It was delish! The cheese in the middle is soft rich. Only problem I have are the blueberries. Pure blueberry jam was used and I didn't like it. Yes it is different from the usual ones that I had but I just don't like this one. 

Overall, I think Black Canyon do best with their food and beverages, definitely not cakes. A lot of improvement needs to be done in that area. Perhaps that is just not what they are good at.

Coffee Beans by Dao @ Bangkok, Thailand

Coffee Beans by Dao is a must visit whenever you are in Thailand. This café is not link or related to the usual Coffee Bean that we know. My friend KJ who works in Bangkok recommended this café to me. Located at the Ground floor of Siam Paragon (and some other shopping malls as well), this café is well known to almost everyone. Queuing is a must especially during lunch and dinner time. This is not just some café but more towards the high end side.

Their famous and best seller Green Tea Crepe cake is to die for! Every layer of chocolate crème is fresh and the thick green tea crepe is made to perfection. Served with drips of chocolate, every bite is heaven. A piece of advice: always ask the staff if the cake is available to avoid disappointment.

The strawberry short cake is not too bad even though I’m not a big fan of strawberries. Cake texture is moist and the cream is fresh. I have only 1 problem (which applies to most Asian pastries / cakes), the strawberry is sour.

Besides cakes and drinks, this place serves good food too. Dao’s special Pad Thai is very special indeed.  C Thai crackers fried to perfection are used to replace the usual flat noodles in the normal Pad Thai. It was truly a crunchy moment for me. Fresh prawns are huge, peanuts and sprouts are fresh. If you want Pad Thai that are out of the norm, this is the dish for you. But if you have relatively week gums / tooth, stay away! You’ll get pretty tired from all the chewing. 

This is my favorite place to dine whenever I'm in Bangkok. Whenever I'm in town, I will make time to come here for some food. The last I heard, they have opened a branch in Singapore.

Starbucks @ Bangkok, Thailand

One of the reason Starbucks Thailand deserves a review from me is because of the food they offer. Unlike the standard muffins, Australian sausage roll, tuna / chicken finger sandwich so on and so forth, the Starbucks here in Thailand offers a wide selection of food to customers. On our way to Madame Tussaud in Siam Discovery, my sister and I stop for breakfast here. We had ham & egg muffin and BLT sandwich. Each hot food ordered comes with a Tall size orange juice. It was part of their breakfast promotion (awesome!). The BLT is to die for because the filling is bacon (not turkey or beef but PORK). Yup! You got that right! Bet you don't get that in KL right? It was juicy and yummy. It automatically went straight to my no.1 Starbucks sandwich list. The sandwich cost about RM 10 only and it is available in Suvarnabhumi airport (if you want to bring some fresh ones back to KL). 

Since it's February - the Valentine's month, Valentine's themed merchandise are all over the store. Being a collector, how can I not bring these little cuties home right? Sometimes I wish Starbucks in KL would be more creative with their merchandise. *hopeful*

Breakfast @ The Inn Saladaeng

Sawasdeeka! Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand. Near or far, I am still able to bring some coffee experience to you. Currently staying in The Inn Saladaeng located in the hustle bustle of Silom. A very decent, clean and cute place to stay, breakfast included and the price is reasonable. The only problem I have is the not so tasty breakfast. 

Every morning boxes of sandwiches are prepared in the pantry area. It is a weird tasting sandwich. The filling meat floss filling is a mixture of sweet and salty taste. Even the ham and mayo tasted somewhat sweet as well. I can't quite figure out whether there's some problem with my taste bud or it is just plain yucky! Please do not expect fresh brew coffee of some sort. They do have a coffee machine that labels different type of hot beverages like hot chocolate, cappuccino, Nescafe and latte. Hot chocolate was alright while the cappuccino that I had was horrendous. I can't explain how bad it was, all I can say is that cup of coffee I had is one of the worse coffee I've ever had in my life. Then again, this is not a 5 star hotel, there's so much one can offer to their guests.

Perhaps, I should start exploring coffee houses in hotels so I can come up with a conclusion on whether hotels do serve good coffee. What say you?