SEREMBAN, March 14 — We often make the half hour trek down south to Seremban for an impromptu breakfast.
Be it homemade spinach noodles with poached chicken at Shiang Kang or butter kopi and thick butter toast at Kedai Kopi & Makanan Saudara, our first meal of the day in this friendly town is guaranteed to be hearty.
Which is why sometimes it is good to take a mid-morning caffeine break… at least before lunch.
For this purpose, one great option is Heirloom, a rustic style café somewhat hidden along Jalan Seng Meng Lee. The café is spacious and homey as it is housed inside a single-storey bungalow.
Spacious and homey: the café is housed inside a single-storey bungalow. — Picture by CK Lim
Upon entering, we didn’t waste time in ordering a couple of coffees, one pour over and one latte. Something simple to wake us up properly after a heavy breakfast.
The barista asked us if we’d like anything to eat. Besides speciality coffee, Heirloom has a wide variety of pastries and baked goods on rotation.
Easy options such as wholewheat bagels and pain au chocolat as well as sourdough rolls seasoned with Thai basil. Those with a sweet tooth might prefer the canelés, lemon madeleines or German apple cake.
We were tempted but stuck with just the coffee this round. (We still needed to save some space for lunch later!)
For the pour over coffee, we chose Colombia Fincamigos Tabi beans from Contour, happily surprised to see the PJ-based roaster represented here in Seremban.
Pour over coffee (Colombia Fincamigos Tabi from Contour). — Picture by CK Lim
These beans were wash processed, with extended fermentation. The resulting flavour profile had notes of orange blossoms and lychee. A delightful brew.
While waiting for our coffee, we took the opportunity to look around the café. Its décor could only be described as eclectic.
Bric-à-brac filled the room, from a turquoise suitcase record player to elegantly framed prints of birds; the one of raptors was particularly stunning.
There were a few pots of plants here and there, both indoor and outdoor. Big, leafy Monstera with their Swiss cheese fenestrations; delicate and petite philodendrons, climbing up coco coir poles; even evergreen and fuss-free pothos, their ivy-like vines sprawling down to the floor.
The eclectic décor, from a suitcase record player to framed prints of birds. — Picture by CK Lim
A feature wall was adorned with used coffee bags from different roasters around the world. Many of them were from Australia, such as Proud Mary, Axil Coffee Roasters, Industry Beans and Market Lane Coffee – all based in Melbourne, one of the great coffee capitals.
Others came from a greater distance, including California’s Chromatic Coffee Co. and the Texan “nano roastery” Driftwood Coffee.
There was even one called Manhattan Coffee Roasters, which isn’t based in Manhattan, but Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. One – Ona, from Canberra – was founded by a former Olympian, Saša Šestić.
Perhaps these spent bags of coffee beans are the new desktop globe: you can trace cities and countries, journeys and stories, roasting styles and flavour profiles from one continent to the next.
Tamping and pouring. — Picture by CK Lim
Once the barista was done with our pour over coffee, she commenced to prepare the espresso-based latte. Measured movements: weighing the beans, tamping the grounds, pulling the shot and pouring the steamed milk onto the espresso, the glass held at an angle.
For espresso, the barista told us that they are using Ethiopia Arbegona Sidama from The Hub Coffee Roaster. These heirloom beans were natural processed, with notes of mango, pomegranate, peach and flower honey.
This meant our latte had a floral profile that stood out nicely against the carefully poured milk foam. Just what we needed.
Now all that was left to do is to relax with a good filter brew, simple latte art and comfy rattan chairs. A clumping philodendron completed the picture of domesticity, its green leaves lulling us to quiet bliss. A lovely respite… until lunchtime, that is.
Relax with simple latte art and a comfy rattan chair. — Picture by CK Lim
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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