The First McCafe @ McDonalds, Ipoh Garden East.

 McCafe has opened its first outlet in Kota Damansara somewhere middle of last year and undoubtedly it was a hit among the KL-ites. It was not surprising at all since I can see my FB contact's frequent check-ins/photos uploaded in places like Starbucks and Coffee Bean.... or the cheaper option, ChaTime. And its not like its a yumchar session or gathering, its just a typical WORKING afternoon, a coffee break/tea-time sort to say. The market seems to be there in KL and McDonalds Malaysia do not want to lose out on this opportunity. But the question is how well will McCafe fare in places like Ipoh?

Opened last week of 23 March, I did not miss out on the hype and went this morning for a quick breakfast. I did some survey on the pricing and found out that the coffee are reasonably priced. You can get a good cup from RM4.50. The iced version and the ice blended version is around the RM7.50 range

They also serve a few cakes, brownies and muffins. And for the desserts, the same can't be said like the coffee price. They are not cheap, ranging from RM3.50 for a small slice of butter cake to RM9.90 for a small slice of cheese cake.

 For those who do not take coffee, they have mango frappe and iced/hot chocolate as well besides a few  blended coffee series

 Nevertheless, try to refrain from the tea. I mean, why would you wanna pay RM5+ for a cup of Dilmah tea. You can brew it yourself at home, IMHO.

For the McCafe in Ipoh, the setup is very simple indeed. Coffee brewing machine with milk frother and 2 trained staff. However, the wait for our drinks was a bit long, about more than 5 mins. We later realized that you can order from the main counter and collect your drinks at the McCafe counter so customers are spared from lining up twice.

 The Cappucino (RM4.50 - smallest cup at 8 Oz) - a bit light to my liking. The coffee art is simple, its supposed to be an "M" I supposed.

 The Mocha. This somehow tasted better ask the chocolate partnered well with the coffee aftertaste. RM5.50 for the Mocha. There is an Espresso Machiato at RM3.80, additional shot at RM1.80 which has quite a full bodied taste which will wake you up from a sleepy morning. In general, I find the quality and taste justified by the price we are paying, though real coffee aficionados, or rather STARBUCKS HARDCORE FANS will say that this is just generic substitution nowhere near to be compared. Well, at half the price, not much complaints right?

The counter display an array of desserts and the sample cup size for takeaways for 8 Oz, 12 Oz and 16 Oz. But for dining in, they serve you in porcelain mugs just like the photos previously. Since we are done reviewing the beverages, lets move into the food they have to offer.

The Chocolate Chip Muffin (RM5.90) is moist and soft with generous chocolate chops which are mostly melted and blended well with the muffin texture. This get a thumbs up for me. My mistake for ordering this since my partner ordered another chocolate item. If I know it earlier, should have went for the Banana Walnut instead...

The Chocolate Brownie (RM5.50) is abit of a letdown. Though both reheated, I still find the chocolatey failed to give a punch to my taste buds. The light chocolate drizzle did not do much justice and I somehow gave the winner spot the the muffin instead. There is a Chocolate Lava cake (RM7.50) which I'm aiming to try the next time, perhaps that would have higher expectation to deliver satisfaction.

So, a new hangout spot perhaps? To kick start your day or perhaps an alternative gathering spot. Head to McCafe inside the McDonalds outlet in Ipoh Garden East. From the pamphlet, it was clearly stated that it opens at 7am but operating hours depends on outlet. Since this is a 24 hours outlet, I think it would be until midnight? Till then, have a great weekend! (Kimberley Chen's AI NI looping and playback while I was writing this post. Goodnight ^^)