Coffee Loft Cafe in Johor Bahru, Taman Molek - Where Coffee Meets Art

I have been happily cafe hopping, trying out the trendy cafes that sprout up all around Johor Bahru :D

Coffee Loft in Taman Molek opened about 6 months ago and had already created a buzz among the cafe going crowd in Jay Bee.



Inside Coffee Loft, the decor looked simple yet it felt sophisticated and trendy while feeling homely and inviting. I came here twice and both times I lingered long after the coffees were sipped and drank :P

It felt good here.



I like the bright, open, airy and spacious feel of the space. There is a kind of raw, unpretentious honestly and confidence in this place.




Large paintings with bold, colourful motifs brightened up the whitewashed walls. The paintings created an interesting contrast with the raw finishing of the walls and floors, attracting attention to themselves. The contrasts accentuated the beauty of the paintings.



Don't laugh. I like this painting the most. I felt attracted and attached to the friendly bear :P  And those eyes, there is something about those "goondu" eyes (looking lost....). 



More bears. 

These colourful bears are used as paper weights to hold the receipts down at the table and to indicate to the staff which tables have been served.

My first aromatic cuppa at Coffee Loft that brought me back again.

A nicely drawn flora latte art on creamy deep brown crema.

The coffee is a blend of Brazilian Arabica for a nutty taste, Guatemalan for chocolaty flavour and sweetness, with Sumatran for that familiar bittersweet robustness and rounded body.

I enjoyed this blend a lot.



My friend Mandy's pretty Baby Cino. She said it was mainly sweet tasting with a slight coffee, chocolaty flavour.

I concurred with a little sip, though this is not my type of coffee :P 



Came with Jo-Hann, a coffee enthusiast, for my second visit. Jo-Hann loves his Flat White. I had a Caffee Latte. Jo-Hann said this coffee was as good as any he had in Perth, Australia where he is studying now.



Jo-Hann and I shared this Tiramisu. Both of us liked this. The dessert was kept chilled and dusted with chocolate powder before serving. The rich creamy layers had the texture and taste of ice ceam. The spongy layers were moist yet slightly fluffy, while the lady fingers were saturated with coffee liquor.

After our coffees, Jo-Hann and I hung around awhile (lepak in local terms) at the cafe.


Click on the photo to view the video

Managed to catch friendly Barista Rex in action :D



We met Shawn, a partner at Coffee Loft. Shawn launched Coffee Loft soon after returning from university in Manchester (UK).

Shawn said the idea behind Coffee Loft was to bring art to all, so that everyone who have a coffee in Coffee Loft can enjoy art works at the same time.

Hence, Coffee Loft's tag line: Where Coffee meets Art.

The pieces now adorning the walls at Coffee Loft are by international award winning Johorean artist Hoe Say Yong from Yong Peng, Johor. 



Shawn pointed out this award winning painting by Hoe Say Yong at the main entrance to Coffee Loft. It depicts turquoise hued sea water and fish. 

Water, in all it's infinite forms, is a major theme in Hoe Say Yong's work. Hoe Say Yong said “The reflection on the water gives the image a new perspective, thus driving your imagination to come up with the rest”.

Hoe Say Yong's life long inspiration is his father who hand painted cinema bill boards and posters for a living. Yes, back in those days, billboards were hand painted with cat 漆 (paint) by painters perched high on bamboo scaffolding. When I was a boy, I used to spend hours watching painters at work and ogled at those paintings at cinemas. 

We couldn't afford cinema tickets at the time.

The cinema bill boards gave us a glimpse of what the movie was about, thus driving our imagination to come up with the rest.

Thanks to Coffee Loft, I am introduced to the fascinating work of Hoe Say Yong and I shall be back to be exposed to other artists, along with enjoying a nice cuppa cappuccino.



Restaurant name: Coffee Loft Cafe 
Address: No.29, Jalan Molek 1/12, Taman Molek, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Jeh1r
GPS: 1.528334,103.789150
Hours: Mon - Thu: 12:00 pm to 11:00 pm | Fri - Sun: 12:00 pm to 12:00 am
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 24 Jul 2014

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