T.O.S Coffee Bistro @ De Garden, Ipoh
December 20, 2009 | 8,598 viewsDe Garden is projected to be the next hip place to hangout, be it for the retail outlets, or for the admirable number of eateries destined to open very soon. The row of shops (about 60 outlets in all) are all painted in whites, punctuated with funky elements of reds and blacks. I’m never that appreciative nor descriptive of designs and ambience, hence pardon the amateur-ish comments. But to sum it all up, De Garden really does lend a touch of class to the generic/lacklustre designs of the other retail outlets in Ipoh.
The FIRST F&B outlet to open for business @ De Garden – T.O.S (Taste Of South) Coffee Bistro
If the name De Garden somewhat reminds you of another shopping centre (or lifestyle mall, or whatever they fancy the good old shopping complex to be now), that’s probably because the concept vaguely resembles The Gardens @ Midvalley, Kuala Lumpur. The barren whites for the design, the simple layout which screams elegance, and some tall palm trees at the compound fronting the main road of Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. Some extra foliage would have been a welcoming touch though.
A notch above the average kopitiams, T.O.S took it to a whole different level when it comes to the interior design
Initially projected to be fully operational by December 2009, but as of today, only one cafe has started operations – Named T.O.S (Taste of South) Coffee Bistro.
Serving a rather plentiful array of local and international delights, T.O.S is supposed to be famous for its brand of southern delights, from the various curries and rendang to Katong Laksa, Mee Mamak, and even some Western fares such as Spaghetti and Chops.
Wait. Famous is a rather loose term to use here, for the curries recommended were served in less than 10 minutes. Possibly less than 5, but I was not keeping track. Readily-cooked curries are okay with me, for you can’t hope for freshly prepared curries at any one time. But at least re-heat the curries properly before dishing them out in front of the guests, in their most lukewarm manner. Even cold, when I tasted my first spoonful of the gravy.
The “Ying Yong” Curry Rice (RM8.50/USD2.40) is one of their recommended signatures, pairing a bowl of Monster Curry Chicken and Cinnamon Curry Chicken with white rice. Comparatively speaking, I preferred the latter for the taste was not that psychedelic, compared to the very sour (nope, I don’t even bother to use tangy nor appetizing) Monster Curry. No vegetables was served together with the rice and curries, as evident from the shot above.
Okay, so the curries did not succeed in pleasing us. How about the other specialty then? The Spaghetti with Special Wanton (Meat Dumpling) and Mushroom Sauce (RM8.30/USD2.40)? The pasta was okay, smothered in the thick and creamy mushroom sauce. But the garnishing of shredded seaweed was a little off, for the taste did not match at all. And the dumplings were horrendously salty! The minced meat (chicken, as NO PORK is served at this outlet) was probably marinated with too much salt or soy sauce, rendering the dumplings almost inedible. The management should take note of this.
Beverage-wise, the Gula Melaka Ais Kacang (Shaved Ice with Mixed Ingredients) (RM4.50/USD1.30) came with measly red beans (not the larger, kidney beans variety), diced jelly, two pieces of attap seeds, strips of grass jelly (cincau) and topped with some corns from the can. The mix of gula melaka (palm sugar syrup) and evaporated milk was rather nice though, not too sweet yet milky/creamy enough to render the concoction from being bland and dull.
The Bubur Terigu was indeed the more familiar Bubur Gandum (Wheat Porridge) or “Mak Zhuk” in Cantonese. Not sickeningly sweet, but still comforting enough, this bowl of sweet dessert was potentially the best item that afternoon. At RM3.50/USD1 per serving.
I never set my expectations sky high, for I’ve been repeatedly disappointed by several kopitiams, cafes and bistros in Ipoh previously. Most recent abysmal experience was at the newly-opened Station 1 Cafe in Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh, a short walk away from Olivenz Cafe, and directly behind Sky Corner. Trust me, you DON’T want to go there. Except maybe for a drink or two.
T.O.S sets a fairly too ambitious menu, as in the case of many ‘Char Chan Teng‘ (Hong Kong style of cafes) in Malaysia. The curries do hold certain potential, for I’ve never tasted good curries in kopitiams (aside from the rather good Laksa at Pak Li’s Kopitiam in Klang Valley), and wacky combination of curries may attract the crowd to have a full meal instead of merely a drink. They do serve their own interpretation of the Portuguese style of gravy, which was explained to me as Japanese curry. Ho-hum.
The service was good, attentive and never intrusive. This, albeit the lengthy amount of time I needed to browse the menu from front to back and repeat ad nauseum. The bistro is pork-free, and there is even an al fresco dining area on the outside.
Location & Contact Number :
T.O.S (Taste Of South) Coffee Bistro
13, De Garden,
Jalan Teh Lean Swee,
31400 Ipoh,
Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-549 5393, 6012-212 8813 (Alan)
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP TO DE GARDEN @ IPOH
De Garden is situated next to Courts Mammoth, which is opposite of Jusco Kinta City of Ipoh.
T.O.S (Taste of South) Coffee Bistro @ De Garden, Ipoh | Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog…
De Garden in Ipoh is a new lifestyle shopping experience, with 60 shops projected to open by the beginning of 2010. A lot of eateries are supposed to open in Ipoh, for the first time….
Nice ambiance. Food presentation wise is good as well. 🙂
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wow,the interior surely look different..bet tats bcos of the new location.
the food looks nt too yummy for me hehe..
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going to visit this new place soon…^.^
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What a weird combination of food served here. There’s Chinese-tasting curries, creamy pasta, some Malay dessert – all in one spanking cool looking kopitiam. Sounds like a case of schizophrenia. Even I’m confused.
But De Gardens look like it has potential to grow. Hope more makan stores will open up.
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Nice environment, but the food is like typical kopitiam style.
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 12:19 am
Yeah, ambience was good, but the food sure was not.
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hey J, thanks for letting me know about this.. looks pretty good.. tonight we were like cracking our heads where to go and ended up in bercham food court….sigh…
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 12:09 am
!!! I was eating somewhere there only! Hahaha.. such coincidence. Opposite of the food court, in fact.
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hmmm, looks like the area has potential, though this specific outlet seems so-so … i’ve only been to ipoh 2 or 3 times, and it’s a nice place to visit, but it’s kinda always struck me as a place where there’s no real growth, since many of the young adults seem to move to kl, singapore, etc … so even the new, hip restaurants appear to cater to teens rather than relatively affluent white-collar workers. do correct me, cos i’m probably wrong! =)
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 8:32 am
Sean, truth be told, you’re not far from the truth.
A lot of trendy cafes that cater to the younger crowd opened as of late, and probably more in the works.
The same can be said about Kampar, a town populated with students, whereby you’ll see a lot of new cafes sprouted esp at the Bandar Baru area.
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j2kfm,
Thanks for the warning … uhm … review. I was curious having saw this new place from the main road but I’ve no urge to try it. I’ve sort of lost hope in new fancy hip dining places, cafes, kopitiams in Ipoh serving good food. Worst is when paying expensive prices for lousy food in tiny portions. Good for nothing places unless you’re in for the air-con, wifi and in this case, the fancy comfortable environment while catching up with friends.
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 8:40 am
Hi Stanley.
T.O.S may be a prime location for catching up with friends over a drink or two, but for the time being, the food needs a lot of improvement.
But good thing that they’re eagerly trying to improve themselves (refer to the next comment below by T.O.S themselves).
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Please give us some time to improve our food, we will keep in mind, thanks for your review!
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 8:35 am
Greetings, management of T.O.S.
Glad that you are taking the initiative to seek out for feedback and reviews on the net.
That’s a major step forward, especially for new outlets on the scene.
And you’re most welcomed. The review was based solely on personal opinion.
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hahahaha speechless…
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Haha they opened just in time for the coming festive season Xmas and CNY …smart ! The food just like kopitiam style. And they are quick to look out for food blogger like you LOL! See see and they are going to improve their food after reading your comment! Good for us thanks to you :)))) Keep up the good work James . When I open my Elinluv’s Tidbits Corner please do give me a good review * wink
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 8:44 am
Thanks Elin. Wait, so there’s an outlet in the works?! I’m eagerly anticipating for that.
So we can try your well-loved creations. 🙂
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[…] T.O.S (Taste of South) Coffee Bistro @ De Garden, Ipoh … […]
eh, near my relatives plc.. must check out during CNY! yay!
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New place! but the pricing slightly high for Ipoh though, do you think so?
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You said the food wasn’t good…but your pictures say otherwise wor. LOL! =P
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Looks can be deceiving ?!!!!! 🙂
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nice decor.
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An honest review, thks!
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wow.I’m attracted to the ambiance and its modern arrangement more than the food ;P
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I can only say that the whole place looks so magnificent. But how come there is curry dishes? I thought only coffee? :p
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Time now is 12.22am…at night lah, Christmas…and it is so noisy….can hear the din and the irritating DJ’s voice over here, my home sweet home, and I’m fuming mad liao. Wonder where i can buy stink bombs….10 dozens should do the trick…
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I went to TOS just now at about 1:15pm, I sat down, a girl there asked me to get up cause they are not ready to open yet.
I asked her about the opening time. She said 1:00pm. I said its already past that. She turned away and just walked off.
When she returned I asked her again and she said. Cant’ you see we are not ready!
That is probably the last time I am there. Reminder….today is 3rd day of Chinese new year, Papparich next door was already very packed and they were yet to open and with rude waitress too.
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
This is bad. Poor service will not get them anywhere. Thanks for sharing, Tham.
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T.O.S Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:13 am
will keep in mind, thx for comment.
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i like tos very much the service is good but the price is little too expensive. i been there many times but what i feel horrable is on the 5 day of chinese new year around 12 am me and my frenz around 6 of us were sitting outside for more then 10 min seems to no one notice us. WHY IS THERE SO FEW SERVICE CREW WHERE ARE THERE???????
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wow i am grateful in tos because me and my gf went on the 14 of feb we have a great time the ambience were good and the light is deem that makes us more romantic, besides this my gf was happy with the food espicially tos chicken chop mushroom sause my dear love it very much, that day we sat untill 3 am. lastly tos is a good place for us and so do all the teenagers like us !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
from king kong love jane
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is it Halal?
i would like to try !
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On 16th of February I made a comment and I said I won’t go to TOS again.
Well, today i were there for lunch and I’ve ordered the beef steak and its the most pathetic piece of beef steak I ever had.
It looked worst than a piece of burger patty from the supermart.
They said they’ll improve their food, but never did.
That probably is why every eating place in De Garden was almost packed and they were not.
And probably that was why we were there this afternoon.
I am sure I am not going there again. EVER!
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J2Kfm Reply:
May 23rd, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Thanks Tham for sharing your experience. I never knew they serve steaks as well.
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Hey dude, I find the food at T.O.S. ordinary only, you should go try out the food at Lite Desire, which is located at the 1st floor, opposite Bohemia Room. There they serve fusion food which I find it to be above average. Chiao~
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it’s already closed since last year december and become another dimsum shop (sorry that I dont know their name) =)
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LiLian Reply:
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:41 am
the Shanghai restaurant is called Dragon One. is it still operating? the last i went the food is not that nice and poor service. maybe it was just newly opened that time and the staff has no proper training yet? everyone seems to keep praising Lite Desire and Brownies and I still haven’t got the chance to go there yet!!!
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An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment.
There’s no doubt that that you should write more about this issue, it might not be a taboo matter but usually people do not discuss these subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!
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is it halal bistro? pls recommend halal & affordable cafe or steamboat in ipoh tq!
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