Z Bakery and Coffee, Ipoh

Z Bakery is situated at Jalan Bandar Timah. Coming from a one way street, just pass the crossroad whereby Nam Heong and Sun Yun Loong is situated and Z Bakery is at the corner shop facing the 20 storey flats. Spanning a corner shop lot, the downstairs houses racks of freshly baked pastry and also a display chiller for the likes of Macarons and their cakes. There is a "Kenny Rogers" styled counter if you wish to order main courses such as Roasted Chicken or Pasta meals. Why Kenny Rogers? Because their modus operandi is the same, pick 2 sides to go along with your meal and the sides looks somehow similar. Anyway, it was just a late afternoon tea, so I decided to just randomly select some staple items to evaluate their competitiveness among the many cafes mushrooming in sleepy town of Ipoh (whereby people are still paid with salary range from the past decade)

The Tiramisu looks decently neat and classy in appearance. However, taste wise it was rather bland. Not only was it missing the punch from coffee liquor, I could barely feel the kick from the coffee espresso. I wouldn’t pay RM11 for taste a slice of “coffee sponge cake”. I would’ve just admired it from the display counter for free. Seriously, this is not KL and there are so many cafes around, if you really don't stand out, I don't see why people should come again. Ok, I'll do them some slight justice: the salted caramelized crushed nuts on top is the best for this Tiramisu.

 

The Black Forest was forgettable also (Together with its price of around RM8+ since the bill is no longer with me). With blackcurrant pulp sandwiched between two layers of cake, the chocolate shell surrounded it somehow eased the attempt to finish it. Seriously, I expected far much more if I am paying for this price. At least it should be above the standard of some bakery or cake shops nearby your housing area. Remove the chocolate shell decor, and I would think twice of ordering this. 

I forgot the name of this item. It is like some pancake with cream and raisin. However it was simple yet forgettable. It is priced at RM3.90 if I am not mistaken.  The Chocolate muffin is also priced the same

Ok, at least I am spared from biting into a cupcake. This is indeed a muffin. Denser and slightly coarse texture but the melted chocolate chips made it hit the marks in my book.

The Mocha was somehow the saving grace. Despite no attempt on crafting some coffee art, the version here blends a right combination of of chocolate and coffee flavour. The milk was frothed well too. This justifies the price tag of RM9

 

It was nearly full on the first floor on a rainy Sunday afternoon. They boast more than 30 tables easily which mostly are coffee tables and sofa settings for couples.

However, by just relying on relatively food coffees is not enough. I think they need to buck up more with their cakes. It is okay to charge a premium (Refer photo above for the price list of the beverages) but please incorporate premium ingredients too to justify your price tag. Ambiance alone (and colourful and artsy food presentation alone) will not be at your advantage for long, eventhough this is the few rare cafes which choose to open till night (around 10 or 11pm?) 

If you have additional disposable income to splurge as if GST has no toll on your budgeting and you are bored with all the 80 over cafes like in Ipoh, then you may want to give them a benefit of your doubt. Here is a photo of their shop if somehow you missed the directions as described at the beginning of this article.