Greatwall Cafe Local Breakfast

One recent early weekend morning, I looked out the window and saw the sun breaking over the mountains. No clouds in the sky, the weather app predicted it would be a hot and mostly sunny day, so I fired up the bike for a day's ride north.

Two buzzy and wind-blasted hours later, I was in Ipoh, ravenous and looking for a quiet place for breakfast. My usual coffeeshop haunts in the old town area were filled with people. Luckily, I found Greatwall Cafe after a quick glance on Google Maps. It's an open-air cafe with quirky decor (check out the exposed brick walls and big fabric coffee bags) located in one of the pre-war shophouses, surrounded by offices and restaurants that open later in the evening.

There's a wide variety of coffee beans available, from regional Southeast Asian varieties to African and Central American ones. The best part, at lower prices compared to the Klang Valley. The white coffee was strong and not very sweet, just the way I like it. On the other hand, the Vietnamese drip coffee had a weaker, more floral bouquet. I felt the drip coffee was overwhelmed by the sweetness of the condensed milk.

The eggs on toast (RM5) were done just right. Soft yolks that easily split open and spilled their orange goodness on to the thick toast below. Good on them for using traditional thick white bread too.

I've also dropped by Greatwall Cafe for a late lunch on another trip. I had the curry noodles with prawns: the curry was strong, spicy and thick, the noodles were nice and springy and there was a generous serving of prawns too. I'm a fan of strong flavors and this dish didn't disappoint.

There is plenty of parking and available tables on a weekend morning, although the place fills up from lunch onwards. I would expect it to be a busy spot on weekdays from all the offices nearby.