Faculty of Caffeine, Johor Bahru
JB's food scene never ceases to surprise me. It's been a while (10 years to be exact) since I've actually went down and explored this city and its foodie offerings. Imagine the excitement I experienced when we were invited to a whole foodie staycation here. We got to check out a coffee + breakfast specialty cafe right in the heart of JB's bustling heritage site.
Faculty of Caffeine is established by a young chap named Edward, who is also the owner of the ever popular The Replacement Lodge + Kitchen cafe (our review here) that is frequent haunt among KL and Singapore visitors.
Located unsuspectingly in between old heritage shop houses in JB's 'Little India' area on Jalan Trus, it's is hidden gem. It can be hard to spot, but as long as you have Waze, you'll find it in no time.
To start things off, we sampled their savoury waffle menu and started off with The Breakfast (RM21.90), aptly named as such, since the dish comes with a choice of chicken ham or beef bacon accompanied with familiar breakfast food items such as baked beans, sauteed mushrooms and a hash brown.
The highlight was the 63-degree sous vide egg which was cooked to perfection. It's served with a short stack of warm waffles and some delicious mustard seed butter which was out of this world. How could I ever go back to having regular butter, I asked myself.
We were also treated to the fried chicken and waffle, something that really piqued the tastebuds as the flavours meshed so well together.
Up next was the Smoked Duck Aglio Olio (RM18.90) that is rather familiar at first sight but the added ingredients of fresh parsley, mixed nuts, button mushroom and of course, the 63-degree sous vide egg give it a unique flavour profile that will guarantee to satisfy pasta lovers out there.
Fancy something Asian? Try their Unagi Tendon (RM28.90) rice bowl. A simple yet hearty dish comprising of fresh unagi served on Japanese rice with a 63-degree sous vide egg and miso soup. Perfect if you're looking for a quick and filling lunch to get you through the day.
The Seafood Pomodoro (RM19.90) took us by surprise as we were expecting a run-of-the-mill tomato based spaghetti dish but boy, were we wrong! The spaghetti is smothered in tasty pomodoro (tomato) sauce that had a good balance of sweetness from the tomatoes and the slight hint of sourness in a subtle but distinct tom yum flavour and garnished with basil leaves. It's loaded with an array of seafood such as prawn, squid and New Zealand mussels. What a mouth-watering dish!
And finally, you can't go wrong with some nicely done Korean Fried Chicken. Faculty of Caffeine gave it their unique touch by lacing it with parmesan shavings and serving it with a side of spicy Korean chili sauce. Simple and beautiful.
While we've stuffed ourselves silly with their delicious mains, we insisted on trying out their dessert offerings. Banananuts (RM15.90) pays homage to the ever popular banana fritters à la mode dessert that we all know, but with a twist.
The bananas are actually brûléed, giving it that crispy caramelized texture on the outside but retaining its soft center. The dessert comes with a short stack of waffles, maple syrup and to top it all off, vanilla ice cream with Nutella. This right here is my personal favourite.
If you're looking for 'lighter' dessert to cap off your meal, go for the Maple & Butter (RM13.90) instead. Short stack of waffles, maple syrup and mustard seed butter. Sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to go. Bear in mind, we had an additional serving of the waffle as it was just that good!
The grand finale was the The Tiramisu (RM22.90) which was created for serious chocolate lovers looking to satisfy their cravings for cocoa. Vanilla ice cream on piping warm short stack of waffles covered with chocolate crumble and espresso and accompanied by a rich Mascarpone chocolate mouse bar and finger biscuit.
What I appreciated the most during our meal here is the level of detail and thought that went into every single dish served at Faculty of Caffeine. They've done a tremendous job making these dishes unique to them. I'd be thrilled if they decide to open one outlet in KL! In the meantime, do check them out when you're in JB and be amazed!
Faculty of Caffeine
3106, Jalan Trus, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor Open daily from 9AM-6PM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/facultyofcaffeine/