Alley John's Cafe: having a drink in true comfort and cozy setting

Every once in a while, I would bumped into a place worth writing about. That could be only 2 possibilities, either the joint is good that I would love to visit again or it is so bad that I would want to warn others. No place for mediocre here. Alley John would fall into the earlier group. That would bring us to another classification. When a place is good, most of the time I would be referring to the food, but once in a while, it is the service and the environment that lift the joint above the rest. And seldom would I find such a place in Kampar. 

Located in Bandar Baru where it seems all the new and "in" places are located, one can find this small cafe in the same building block as Old Town, KBox and Laser Tag. Just turn in after Petronas, look for the small sport complex and just go further down the road. Alley John is exactly behind Old Town. Tucked in a small corner, the place is surprisingly cozy. Minimalist decorated, it really gave me a feeling of a cafe. Not the pseudo- localized version but a place whereby one would enjoy coffee and chit chat with friends. The staff is ever helpful and for a small place, they have their own black dress code. Love it!

There are a few desserts, but everyone come here for only 2 things. In fact, there is only one. They may promote themselves also for "dik-dik" coffee but essentially it is just another way to brew coffee. Ultimately it is the bean that counts. I am not a coffee lover therefore I did not order any. The main reason for anyone to come here is CREPE. Not creep, but the thin batter dessert, usually taken with different fruits. They even relate to Japanese crepe. Well, first of all, they have the basic crepe served with chocolate, or peanut butter, or crushed peanut in different combination (RM2.90). Next is strawberry or banana with either single or double cream. The last which intended to be a meal, is crepe served with heavier food such as sausage or others. The crepe is not crunchy enough and did not gave me any substance of feel. The chocolate or peanut is,well, taste like what they expected to taste like. In a whole, the crepe is probably nice as a light dessert but would not give me the satisfaction like a nice pancake or waffle. (by the way, so far, I have yet to find a decent waffle here in Kampar). However, the custard was surprisingly nice, though a bit small for 2 of us to share. 

You may say that this is probably the Japanese version of crepe. However, I have actually tasted authentic Japanese crepe. Where? In fact, I had tasted the famous Harajuku Crepe (actually Angels Crepe specifically in Harajuku) and I can tell you that they have more substance in the crepe and definitely more creammy. It really tasted like a sweet dessert, so sweet that neither me nor Colleen would put it among our favourite Japanese treat. Anyway, Alley John do make decent crepe, just that I would not come for the crepe but the nice cozy seat. They really make the decent crepe  an enjoyable experience. 

ratings: 3 poink!
comments: decent crepe, but still not Harajuku style (which may not be a bad thing). But that is why it is suited more for a light dessert. Yet to try the meal crepe, perhaps that would change my mind.