The Alley Cafe @ Stewart Lane, Georgetown, Penang!

**The Alley Cafe is closed for renovation and they will be opened tomorrow 19/Nov/2014**

***This is going to be a photo-ful blogpost. Haha. 35 photos to be exact! 🙂 Happy browsing! 🙂 If you want a summary, order their strawberry orange cheesecake and churros! :-P***

 

Kaya was invited by Tour Directions to review one of the famous cafes in Georgetown called The Alley. They are famous for their churros and the one-time craze which Kaya feels that it is getting lesser and lesser that is the cronut, a combination of croissant and donut. Kaya heard from one of the bosses that two pieces of cronut sells for US$30++. That’s how ‘powderful’ (meme) the cronut is. Finally, Kaya get to try it! 🙂

To get to The Alley, it is better you use the Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and turn into the lane which is Stewart Lane, besides the famous Kuan Yin Temple aka Goddess of Mercy Temple. Check out KayaButter’s post about the famous Hainan lor mee that sells in the morning & afternoon. You can miss The Alley Cafe because of their misleading signboard. Actually, The Alley Cafe rented this old shop which previously is a shop that sell the incenses. One of the criteria that the owner of the shop set is they cannot bring down the old signboard. Kaya feel that it is good because it can preserve the heritage value. So, don’t get confused when you can’t see the signboard of The Alley Cafe. Do try to get carpark as you are nearing the Stewart Lane as it is quite hard to find carpark at that area especially lunch time.

One of the bosses is very good with arts and a lot of the decoration is done by him and together with the other bosses and friends. 🙂 Enjoy their artworks. 🙂

Oh ya, they do carry Pestle & Mortar, a famous street wear based in KL. The reason that the bosses carry the brand is because they share the same philosophy in doing things. 🙂

Did you notice the green guy? Haha 🙂 Butter doesn’t like him but in the end she drawn this green guy during the Tesco’s Superheroes Campaign. Kesian (a Malay word that means pity) her. 🙂

This is actually sky juice. Very beautifully decorated with numbers and hashtags. 🙂

The Alley Cafe brews medium dark roast houseblend and all coffee comes with double ristretto.

Kaya loves their what-I-call-as private room at end of the cafe. Very comfy with cushions. 🙂 Too bad is that the space is rather limited and seats are not too many. 🙁

Love this drawing. Haha 🙂

Yup, please trust me. I am a #barista. 😛

Salted Caramel Cronut RM8

Nutella Cronut RM 8

These are their signature dishes, cronuts! Kaya prefers the Salted Caramel flavor due to its uniqueness. You don’t always find salted caramel and it gives some hint of saltiness to the flavor. 🙂 Even so, the Nutella Cronut is good too with the good old chocolatey taste. 🙂 The difference betweeen cronut and donut is the multi-layer of the cronut that resembles the croisant. It does give extra crunchiness. 🙂 Do eat it while it is hot.

Churros RM9 (Big, comes with 2 dips) & RM6 (Small, comes with 1 dip)

Churros is a Spanish version of doughnut. Kaya personally feels that it is like the Western version of yew char kway (in Hokkien language) or yau char kway (in  Cantonese) or you tiao (in Mandarin) or what the Westerners call it as Chinese cruller. As explained in Wikipedia, churros is believed to have come from China. 🙂 The churros is created using the star-shaped die and deep fried. Definitely a very good snack or finger food. It is best eaten with the dips. There are 5 flavors of dips for you to choose from, namely, nutella, chocolate, salted caramel, caramel and cinnamon sugar. Kaya personally prefer salted caramel and nutella. 🙂

Strawberry Orange Cheesecake with Mashmallow RM10

This is the highlight of the review. All the bloggers unanimously agreed that this cheesecake is very very good. First bite and it gives you a refreshing feeling and leaves a sweet and light note in your mouth, making you wanting for more! 🙂 The orange taste is not too strong and the strawberry is overpowering. Suprising, the combination works! This is a seasonal cheesecake and not their regular. We insisted and recommended to the boss to include this as their regular. Kaya dare say that this is one of the best cheesecake in Penang. 🙂

Lemon Cheesecake RM10

Rather too sourish for me. Kaya passes. Haha. Good for those of you who are looking for the sourish ‘kick’. A decent cake. Just not my type. 🙂

Black & White Cheesecake RM10

It is called black and white because it is made of black and white chocolate. Good combination with strong chocolate flavor.

Dirty Chai Cheesecake RM10

This is definitely something new for me. Dirty Chai is actually a drink. It is quite famous in the States’ Starbucks. They use Masala Chai, a type of tea spice or sometimes called as Chai Tea to mix it with one shot of espresso and steamed milk. The result of using chai in their cheesecake is a light tasting cheesecake with a strong taste similar to Earl Grey’s tea. A good one if you are avoiding something heavy and you are looking for something unique in taste.

Mocha RM11

Cappuccino RM9

This is a rather unique drink as it comes with peanut candy (kong thng in Hokkien). You don’t usually find this type of candy nowadays due to the dying trade of such candy. It used to be the favorite candy for my parents and grandparents. Sweet & fragrant aroma of the peanut. The boss uses fresh peanut candy specially ordered from a famous Taiping-based producer.

Iced Chocolate RM11

You seldom go wrong with choclate drink.

Chocolate Oreo Frappe RM13

Chocolate Mint Frappe RM13

Kaya ordered this drink. Mint has been Kaya’s favorite due to its minty and cooling taste. This drink does not disappoint. It comes with strong minty and chocolate-y taste just the way Kaya likes it. 🙂 #Nais.

Macho Mango Frappe RM13

A rather normal tasting mango frappe. Kaya will suggest you to order other drinks except you really love mango and doesn’t like other drinks.

Pink Guava Frappe RM13

One rather special drink that comes with sour plum. Kaya didn’t taste it as Kaya didn’t order this drink. Still, Kaya will try this the next time I go. 🙂

Dirty Chai Latte RM13

Thank’s to Jennifer, we get to enjoy a cup of Dirty Chai. She asked whether does The Alley Cafe serves Dirty Chai after talking about Dirty Chai Cheesecake. This drink is not in the menu and you need to ask the barista to do it personally for you. This is a rather special drink. It has 3 notes just like our perfumes. As you drink the Dirty Chai Latte, you will first taste the cinnamon as they do sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the drink. Then you will taste the coffee which is the ristretto. Finally, you will taste the chai at the end of the sip. Quite unique experience. 🙂

Am I a BlueChai? 😛 If yes, please follow me at @johnkhor777 😛

Overall, The Alley Cafe stood out from other cafes in Georgetown by offering some unique dishes such as the churros and cronuts. Their cheesecakes are also very good and their secret weapon will definitely be their Dirty Chai. The decoration and the overall theme is very fresh and new. It does have everything that the young and chic youths & young adults want. The only downsides are lack of parking space and seats. Definitely a great place to chill!

Oh ya, The Alley Cafe opened a new branch in Sungai Petani. Check out their Facebook page below. Congratulations!

Thanks to The Alley Cafe for hosting Kaya and Tour Directions Penang for extending the invite!

Contact Information

The Alley Cafe
5, Stewart Lane,
10200 Georgetown, Penang.
Tel No: +604-261 3879
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/thealleypenangFacebook Page for SP Branch: www.facebook.com/thealley108

Business Hours

Opens Daily

12:00pm – 12:00am

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