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| One of the better signs in Kuching. Taken from their Facebook Cover. |
I adjust my expectations accordingly whilst always doing my
best to give the benefit of the doubt to situations that call for it. Hipster
cafés being one of them. With many sprouting like mushrooms and good ones
being hard one to find among the bunch, it does no one any good to come in with
a negative approach.
Rusty Bean & Batter is one of those hipster cafés that
desires you to believe in how good it is. In fact, it tries very hard to inform
you of how good it is from its vintage décor to the custom tumblers with their
logos on them. The pleasant atmosphere is enhanced with the warm light bulbs
that are scattered throughout the ceiling by use of vintage looking pipes.
Hipster cafés can be pricey, and this place is no
exception. It is in fact pricier than most if you are in it to try their
specialty items or their food menu.
I love coffee, so give me a long black or cappuccino on
those cold rainy Kuching nights and I’m in a happy mood for the whole day but
seeing as I was here and the item known as the Rusty Fairy ate up 1/6 of the
menu board, why not give it a try? As they say, when in Rome.. Do as the Romans
do.
If you haven’t been on Facebook or Instagram to see the
flood of pictures circulating the interwebs on it and if what you are
imagining is based on that illustration on the board, do not be fooled. The
cotton candy is big. Really big. And the cup of steamed milk is big as well
while the amount of espresso is tiny. Really tiny.
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| That's a latte a friend ordered next to the "Rusty Fairy". She refused to comment on taste. |
As I drank from the cup after I followed instruction to put
the cotton candy into the steamed milk, then the cup of espresso after, I was
not surprised when the first flavour that came to me was how sweet it was.
Apart from that and the warm body of milk, the taste of coffee I was looking for was
left wanting. It neither mattered what roast the beans were, nor how good the
extraction was when it was busy being drowned in all that sugar and milk.
It must be noted that it was a busy day and the staff were
too busy to tend to the confused look on my face as to how much cotton candy is
to be put into this drink. From blogs I later learned that you’re supposed to
twirl it all while condensing it to be small enough to put into your cup. This
is insanity as I only took 1/10 of that amount
which was more than enough.
What I tried next was one chosen because of its complexity
in its simplicity. The Eggs Benedict. Poached eggs drizzled with a generous
serving of creamy Hollandaise sauce, sitting on a bed of grilled ham and a
toasted buttery English muffin. Simple enough right? You’d be surprised. A lot
can go wrong with making the sauce and poaching an egg.
I did fear though when the cashier mentioned to me that the one who prepared it was only trained by the owner who himself wasn't a chef, but worked in an Australian restaurant.
I did fear though when the cashier mentioned to me that the one who prepared it was only trained by the owner who himself wasn't a chef, but worked in an Australian restaurant.
The Eggs Benedict took a while to arrive on my table but still managed to be lukewarm. The Hollandaise, which is supposed to be creamy and bright from the zest that lemon brings was both runny and had a very flat flavour.
The eggs were poached nicely I have to admit which is quite a feat, but
didn’t come to my plate warm and wasn’t seasoned enough barring the generous
amount of pepper.
The ham that it was resting on was not grilled and crisp
while the English muffin, wasn’t an English muffin but a thick slice from a
French Baguette. If I were to go even further, what was the use of the flat and wilted few leaves of "salad" and one slice of a sad and dull looking tomato?
I’m not trying to knock the fact that you’re not using
all the essential ingredients, but for RM16.90 for a plate I should be getting
what I paid for.
Don’t get me wrong. This absolutely is a nice place to
sit and chat with your friends while enjoying the ambience accompanied with
comfortable seats, beanbags or sofas while listening to Indie music, but it can
be lacking in the food and beverage department in terms of what I’ve had. I’m not
saying that you can’t enjoy their food and drinks, but if sweet drinks and
marketing gimmicks are what you’re into, this is for you and you are free to part
with your hard earned money as you please.
