Tucked in an industrial building in Taman Mount Austin is Podd Café, opened by the same team behind Vanilla Bean end last year. Promoting the slow living concept, the cafe warmly inviting guests to decompress and relax with their coffee, matcha and bakes.
The 2-storey café prominently featured a modern industrial interior, making use of wooden furniture and concrete floors and walls for a moody feel paired with a raw, unfinished yet contemporary look.
On the first floor, right past the display of baked goods and ordering counter is a coffee and matcha counter/bar where you can watch the baristas whisking and pouring away, and where you can chat with the friendly baristas.
For the indecisive me who wanted to have the best of both worlds, I got both coffee and matcha and a cake to pair with each of them.
My White (RM15, SGD4.7) Coffee, brewed with Brewsmith Coffee Roasters’s espresso blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian beans, was my kind of coffee, light and well-balanced, with a smooth mouthfeel.
The Matcha Latte (RM20, SGD6) was also high in quality. Initially, I was bumped that the only matcha available on the menu (Ajisai from Yame, Japan) was the lowest quality out of the original 3 selections they had, but it exceeded my expectation. There were adequate umami and nuttiness with just a hint of lingering bitterness, a rich flavour in totality. I could not imagine how much better the quality would be if the Kiku (RM30, SGD9.4) or Ren (RM50, SGD15.6) were not in short supply.
I loved that the barista thoughtfully recommended me specific cakes to go with each of my drinks. He picked the Yuri Matcha Strawberry Cake (RM28, SGD8.7) to pair with the coffee – it had layers of sponge, matcha cream and strawberry white chocolate cream, and was subtly sweet.
The Cherry Tart (RM30, SGD9.4), together with the matcha latte, was unexpectedly an interesting and impressive pairing. On its own, the tart was great, with sweet, juicy and slightly tart cherries topped on a bitter chocolate ganache tart. With the matcha, neither masked each other’s flavours but enhanced them instead.
Apart from cakes and tarts, there were also a range of yogurt bowls and their signature waffles on the menu.
While the café is still an underrated gem in JB, I highly recommend the trip here to unwind this year-end.
B03 Lakeside, Jalan Austin Perdana 1, Taman Austin Perdana, Johor Bahru 81100
Mon, Tue, Thu 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sun 11am – 11pm
Closed Wed
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