Taiwan, Asian Coffee Mecca - Who Knew?

Not us, until research for a story on coffee in Asia led us to the island last June.

As we relate in an article in today's (Friday's) Wall Street Journal Asia 'Weekend Journal', Taiwanese are serious about their java, and that makes the island one of the easiest places in Asia to find a superior cup. I'm not sure where else in the world, other than Japan, you're more likely to find nothing-special neighborhood cafes serving siphon coffee brewed by the cup with fresh beans ground a la minute.

(The piece also includes my sidebars on coffee culture in Malaysia and Vietnam, and a writer in Japan contributed a piece on that country's java scene.)

And some photo out takes here.

***

The photo above wasn't taken on Taiwan, but in one of our favorite Malaysian kopitiam (coffee shops): Sin Yin Loong in Ipoh, an old tin mining town a couple of hours north of Kuala Lumpur. 

The beverage of choice at Sin Yin Loong is a local specialty - 'white' coffee.

While regular Malaysian-style kopi is made with beans roasted with butter (or margarine) and sugar (the latter 'burns' on the beans, making Malaysian kopi extra dark and not a little bit bitter), beans for white coffee are roasted with butter/margarine only. The result is a lighter but very rich, smooth, and almost caramel-y brew that really stands up to ice; it's always served sporting a thick head of whisk-induced froth.

When we were in Ipoh last March - for only a little over 24 hours - we spent a disproportionate amount of time drinking in white coffee, and Sin Yoon Loong's homely ambience. Whenever we stopped in for hot or iced (and a piece of the shop's justifiably famous cream-filled sponge roll) -- whether it noon, 2pm, 5pm, 7:30am, or mid-morning (the stuff really is that addictive) --  the place was consistently packed. 

In recent years white coffee has become a bit of a gimmick in Malaysia; it's served at regular and chain kopitiam (such as Old Town White Coffee, established by Sin Yoon Loong's across-the-street-competitor), and you can even buy it in instant powdered form. Just add water. 

But it was at Sin Yin Loong that we had our first taste of the real deal, no other version comes close. The locals seem to agree.

Sin Yoon Loong, 15A Jalan Bandar Timah, Ipoh Malaysia. 60-52/241-4601. 7am till evening.

 

Comments

[J2Kfm]

yup, I agree. the competitor (Nam Heong) may have better promotional strategies, but still .... SYL serves better coffee.

http://www.j2kfm.com/sin-yoon-loong-white-coffee-madras-coffee/

though you should check out Nam Chau's white coffee, and their equally delightful dry curry noodles, Ipoh style.

http://www.j2kfm.com/nam-chau-dry-curry-mee-old-town-ipoh/

[Jarrett]

Seoul, too, has an incredible, nascent coffee culture. I was there a few weeks ago and passed at least two dozen places serving shade-grown, organic, and free trade coffees in a couple blocks. Many were roasting in-house, and you can smell the toasty beans in the alleyways off of Samcheong-dong.

The sophistication of the processes and attention to detail (individual electronic thermometers over the gas burners heating individual pots, for instance) and the amount of equipment these places have is really impressive. The final results were also pretty extraordinary (but quite expensive).

The Insadong/Samcheong-dong area gets my vote for best coffee in Asia. I'm still dreaming about my coffees there (the chill in the air helped too).

[Xander]

I did have a fantastic cup at Fong Da, but I will admit that my coffee exploration in Taiwan didn't delve much further than that. As usual, you're inspiring my curiosity, and making me miss Asia. I'm sending you my airline bills. -X

[Robyn]

Thanks J2Kfm -- will do when next in Ipoh.

Thanks Jarrett -- though I will have to take that recommendation with a grain of salt (not necessarily the same salt used in 85C's sea salt coffee). After all, you're the guy who disparaged Malaysian kopi but then sung the praises of Malaysian kopitiam-style kopi in Trang. From what I remember of the latter, it's very reminiscent of the former.

Xander - there's some great stuff in Taiwan. And by the way, it's me who should be sending YOU airline bills, seeing as you're partly responsible for us heading to Taiwan in the first place!

[Lynn]

When I mentioned the temptation of spending more time in Malaysia than planned, I had Ipoh in mind, so thank you! We aren't going to skip Chaing Mai, but I will do all I can to see Ipoh (the photogenicity alone!) even if just as a daytrip from KL.

That coffee sounds sublime.

[Lisa in Toronto]

Thanks for the link to the article. I was curious about the vacuum process, and never understood it well before.
I am sending a proxy to sample the Taiwan coffee next week.
mouth-watering!

[Preeta]

Bestill my beating heart! Oh, Ipoh, Ipoh, and white coffee! On the same street as Sin Yin Loong is Thean Chun (the "House of Mirrors"), where we used to eat weekly at one point. This was more than twenty years ago, so I can't vouch for the quality of the food now, but back then it was spectacular, particularly the kuay teow and the caramel custard.

[juegos de estrategia]

wow, nice blog, keep working
greetings, soulheroes.com

[moowiesqrd]

I recently traveled to New Zealand and I was floored that espresso was taken really seriously over there. I never had a bad shot or a bad espresso drink. Even the worst weren't bad, just not great. Here in San Diego, espresso can be really hit or miss... the baristas either know their thing or they really don't, so it was nice to be in a place where most baristas knew how to pull a decent shot.

[Herb Holmes / L.A.]

Robyn,
Great Splendid Table this past weekend. I am very interested in learning how to roast coffee beans with butter (and with or without sugar), making white coffee and the recipe for the cream sponge roll you've got on your site. Other ideas too. Please send your email address so that we can communicate directly
"Off Blog." That was a delicious interview.

Thanks,
hh