Juan Valdez Cafe @ The Intermark, Kuala Lumpur

The opening of famous Columbian Coffee House, Juan Valdez Cafe in Intermark KL, Malaysia adds not only another option for coffee connoisseurs, but also marks a new milestone for Juan Valdez to promote Columbian Coffee, bringing appreciation to Columbia Coffee growers.

Juan Valdez Cafe Intermark is their first origin flagships store in Malaysia; debut in South East Asia; the 268th outlets of Juan Valdez after landing footsteps in  South Korea, Chile, El-Salvador, Kuwait, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico, Aruba, Peru, Panama, and more.

The presence of Juan Valdez started about two years ago, where consumers can find them at the shelves of grocers like BIG, and medium-high end restaurants. The unexpectedly good response of about 600KG packaged coffee products supplied to retailers and restaurants monthly draws the sparks,  giving them the confidence to open up a store in Malaysia, plus another five more within five years.

Span across 220 square metres of area with an inviting interior, Juan Valdez Intermark proves to highlights not only high quality Columbian coffee, but also a comfortable, spacious place  to enjoy a good cuppa of coffee. A whole stretch of wooden elements from floorings, tables to cushioned chairs, adorably match with colourful paintings on wall. You will like the seating areas at front side- leather sofas, wooden coffee tables, red coloured-walls, framed pictures, pendant lamps- It makes you feel like home, the designer type.

Juan Valdez Cafe offers four types of Columbian origins- Huila in medium/high acidity, medium body, soft and clean note; Cauca with pronounced aroma, medium body, silky sensation to the palate with sweet fruity note; Santander with pronounced, precised aroma,silky sensation to the palate with sweet fruity note; Antioquia which has an intense aroma, medium body and a herbal, fruity characteristic.

Get them brew in six types of brewing methods available- syphon, French press, Chemex, Dripper V60, cold dripper and kyoto. We tried out origins brewed using different methods-Syphon and Dripper V60. For our origin, the former brew fares a smoother, fruity notes while the later shows distinct acidity. A lot more to discover with other brewing methods.

Classic Latte RM12/9oz; RM14/12oz

Prefer milk base coffee? Juan Valdez doesn’t disappoint you with their latte, cappuccino or mocha, seeing that this homage to Columbian coffee store has pride with their best of region and single estate grown coffees handled to detail by coffee experts from growing, storing, roasting till delivering.

Arequipe Latte RM14/9oz; RM16/12oz

Arequipe from the latte section caught Summergirl’s attention. It is actually a type of popular milk candy in Columbia, made from sweetened milk. Adding this into latte lends a unique concoction, making the coffee sweeter with a touch of caramelized sensation, almost like eating toffee.

Ice Blended Chocolate RM16/12oz; RM18/16oz

Non coffee drinkers can still be merry with the Chai, Chai-Cinammon Apple, Hot Chocolate and Tea from Milk Bar section, as well as Ice Blended Chocolate from Nevado section, refreshing smoothies from Cold Drink section. The Ice Blended Chocolate is noteworthy, both taste and presentation.  The thick, chocolaty and sweet blended drink is served over an adorable mug, crowned with light whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Food selection in Juan Valdez Cafe focuses mainly on light bites such as sandwiches, soup, tapas, salad, waffles, French toast, pancakes and bread. The heaviest dish you can find from the menu will be pasta and lasagna. Not exactly extensive, but still enough to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Egg Benedict RM17.00

Organic milky bread laid with marinated salmon, poached eggs and dressed with Juan Valdez special Hollandaise sauce. The serving size may not be enough to fill up a hungry stomach, but quality counts. Poached egg is done just right- soft egg white with runny egg yolk, beautifully flowing over the salmon and organic bread once forked through.

Norwegian Salad RM28

For the health concern patrons. Pick from Tofu Salad, Norwegian Salad, Chicken Caeser Salad, Gorgonzola Salad, and Tuna Salad. Our Norwegian Salad showed up with myriad of colours, and flavours of course- Buttery avocado, crisp salad vegetables, smoky salmon, creamy poached egg and cheesy cheese flakes.

Columbian Chicken Wrap RM20.00

 Splendid of ingredients including capsicum, gucamole, red beans puree, cumin and lime marinated & grilled chicken wrapped on home made wrap, just great to balance the plain flavours of tortilla.

Almost Heaven RM12.00

Never leave Juan Valdez without trying their dessert. Almost Heaven goes basic with a delicately soft and creamy texture, sweetness topped up with honey syrup.

Juan Valdez Mystery RM14.00

Nutty bites followed by icy cold, vanilla fragrance loaded ice cream melt almost instantly in the mouth. Uh, no, this is not a cake base dessert. Creation by Chef Natalie from Natelie Gourmet is always filled with surprises and mystery contents.

Lava Cake with Ice Cream RM14.00

Named Lava Cake with Ice cream, we actually expecting a warm, liquid chocolate lava to ooze out from the center of the cake. Our heart sank for a moment, when found out it was just moist cake throughout. But as we tucked in, we got blown away by the extra pillow soft and moist texture. Ohh So good. Paired with a dash of icing sugar on top and vanilla ice cream at the side. For this dessert, melted lava chocolate is not important anymore.

Rejoice! Natalie Gourmet Studio’s macarons, the best macarons in town are available here too! Whole bunch of flavours to pick from, just pair any of them with your coffee.

Photography: Summerkid
Write Up: Summergirl

Address:
Juan Valdez Cafe
Ground Floor, The Intermark Mall,
348, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
How to Reach: Align at Putra LRT and stop at Station Ampang Park, Cross the skybridge to reach Intermark Mall. Juan Valdez Cafe is to the left of main entrance.