Illustration by Fig & Ginger, drawn from the review. The venue's own photo is on its way.
Specialty coffee and brunch café in Pudu (Jalan Galloway), Kuala Lumpur
VCR
The Wardens' House on Galloway
VCR lives in a small black house on Jalan Galloway, built in 1927 on the quieter edge of Bukit Bintang. Old houses like this one usually come with a story, and the café is happy to tell you its version over the counter. It opened as a café in 2013, between the towers and malls, and helped teach this city what a third-wave coffee bar could be.
Downstairs is narrow and dim, with the machines and the baristas and a counter of cakes doing their best to distract you. Upstairs is airy, with rattan chairs and a little more breathing room. The team has included competition baristas and Brewers Cup people, and VCR now roasts its own beans. The habit of rotating single origins rather than hiding behind a house blend is the tell: these people want you to taste where coffee comes from.
Food is the brunch canon with a few detours. Older menus listed Turkish-style eggs, a Scandinavian breakfast plate and a three-layer banana cake with dark chocolate ganache called the naked king. Check what is on the day. There are now seven VCR and Stacks outlets around town, from Bangsar to TRX. Go to Galloway anyway. It opens at 7.30am daily, and the early hours are the best ones, when the street is quiet and the courtyard is cool.
- Order this
- Whatever single origin the barista is excited about, Turkish-style eggs, if still on, The naked king banana cake, Valrhona hot chocolate for anyone who does not drink coffee
- The damage
- $$
- Go
- Early, from 7.30am, before the Bukit Bintang heat and crowd arrive; daily until 5.30pm
- Find it
- 2 Jalan Galloway, 50150 Kuala Lumpur
- Website
- vcr.my