Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Part of the Melaka 2013 series …

Calanthe Art Cafe @ Jonker Walk, Malacca – Proudly serving coffee blend from the 13 states of Malaysia 

I apologize for the gaps between posts. I started writing again for Yahoo Malaysia’s MakaNation segment (published every Friday), and in the midst of juggling between work and life. It’s a vicious cycle.

On this bright and sunny Saturday morning, let’s skip the ramblings and talk about coffee in Melaka. This particular art cafe named Calanthe Art Cafe on Jalan Hang Kasturi that is within the vicinity of Jonker Walk that is extremely popular among the visitors to this beautiful heritage town.  

Of being unabashedly rustic, original and creative; Calanthe Art Cafe brings charm (and coffee, of course) to the table. 

Although the initial impression was that Calanthe is but a mere follower of the artsy-fartsy cafe trend (very apparent in Penang, and slowly creeping to the other states), the story behind how the coffee lovers started this establishment and how they source their beans from all over the country is pretty inspiring

It’s a real gem in the middle of the tourist hotspot that is Jonker Street/Walk, whereby there are not a lot of places where you can rest your feet and escape from the heat in the late afternoons. Geographer is a popular choice for beer, while Jonker 88‘s durian cendol was but a mere pale shadow of its former glory self. The last I visited was sometime back in May/June, and the cendol tasted bland and a jarring difference from the previous visits few years ago.

While all-day cafes are a dime a dozen in Georgetown, Penang, this is not the case with Melaka. Hence, locating Calanthe Art Cafe in the midst of perspiring helplessly from the stroll around the Jonker Walk area is a blessing. And to know that they serve beyond conventional coffee (or worse, 3-in-1 white coffee) is the icing on the cake.

You can glance at their menu from their website HERE. Aside from coffee, they do serve a pretty mean Nyonya Laksa as well, though after the double brunches/lunches at Long Fatt and Teo Soon Loong Chan, we had more than enough to satiate the hunger pangs.

The K.I.M (RM9.55) was a fruity blend of coffee; espresso with pina colada syrup and coffee jelly, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. The rich, dark-brewed Sabah coffee on the other hand was a robust blend that needs no milk or sugar, and should be savoured black to discover the full-bodied flavour.

Calanthe Art Cafe is a place where you can literally spend hours here either snapping away, slurping away or engaged in some deep reading or thoughts.

After all, we do need some time away from the mad season right?

CALANTHE ART CAFE (www)
11. Jalan Hang Kasturi
Melaka 75250
+606-2922960
Business Hours: 
Sunday: 8:30–23:00
Monday–Wednesday:12:00–23:00
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 12:00–0:00
Saturday: 8:30–0:00

Various scenes from Jonker Walk; come here earlier (around 5pm or so) to photograph the stalls and what they have to offer before the sun sets. And see how they set up their stalls and prepare for the night’s loot.

“So, what have YOU got planned this beautiful weekend?”