A very cute and private cafe hidden in Tanjung Rhu
You have to already know that this place exists before you could ever stumble in here, and even then, you’ll probably still get lost along the way. The Kelapa Cafe is an extremely well-hidden gem in the Tanjung Rhu Villas Resort, tucked away down side roads and the resort’s own shrouded pathways. It is likely that only resort guests know about this place. It is situated on a sleepy end of Tanjung Rhu beach in Langkawi, but Kelapa Cafe’s vibe and menu are redolent of KL’s trendy Bangsar brunch cafes.
How To Get Here
If you’re driving or walking north along Jalan Tanjung Rhu, there will be a narrow but paved unnamed road branching off of the main road. Look for a collection of signs for cottages and villas next to the road which is, admittedly, easy to miss. At the first junction on the unnamed road, you should see the resort’s bright blue walls.
Assuming you’re staying at a resort on Tanjung Rhu beach, you can take the more pleasant route of walking along the beach. This is going to be a lot more difficult for me to explain and you to navigate but let’s try. After you pass the Spider Sports Bar, the beach will curve around a low stone wall with cottages behind it. Follow this wall, and once there is an opening where you can walk inland, take it, even though it looks like you’ll be walking through a resort you’re not privy to. You should eventually get onto a crude dirt road, likely accented with rusty, unseaworthy boats. Take the road that looks like it goes between two resorts. The Tanjung Rhu Villas Resort will be down the first proper road you can take a right onto.
The parking lot will be the first thing you see once you get into the resort but go deeper until you find a wooden sign and gap in the brick wall. Inside is the resort’s pool and reception area. Take the path that goes off to the right of the pool and the cafe will be on your left.
Ambience & Amenities
The Kelapa Cafe is tucked away down a narrow ferny path in the heart of the Tanjung Rhu Villas Resort. Inside the small greenhouse that is the cafe, there are only six tables with one or two more out front on the patio. There is a very green motif going on, with lots of plants and paintings of plants on the walls. With tropical palms visible through the open roof, The Kelapa Cafe feels like a sanctuary in the middle of the jungle. The bookshelves on the back wall have a surprisingly decent collection of bestsellers for guests to read. This cafe is very quiet and private, especially if you come at brunch time like 10 am. There is a chance you’ll get some unusually large mosquitoes in here, so it’s a good idea to spray up before coming.
Diners at The Kelapa Cafe are free to use the resort’s communal area washroom. To get to the toilets, leave the cafe and turn right to walk back towards the pool. Once you get to the pool area, there is an alcove behind the pool slightly to the right. You should be able to identify the toilet by the sign on the door. It’s cramped in this washroom, but it’s clean and has most of the conveniences. It’s a sitting toilet with paper. Soap was at the sink, but no paper towels.
Menu
If you’ve got a craving for fruit on your Langkawi holiday, this is the place to fulfil it. The Kelapa Cafe’s menu makes it easy to feel like you’re making a healthy choice. Often it seems, items are sold out or unavailable so have backups prepared. During our two visits, they were sold out of the special lattes and an eggs benny had to be swapped for the beef version because the salmon was too frozen to cook with.
Pricey mineral water is the only option listed on the menu, but filtered water is available and free of charge. The glass they give you is small, but you can refill it yourself at the dispenser near the pool. It is located next to the reception desk once you walk in.
Food
Our drinks were disappointing. Mark did not like his Americano (RM8), and I’m quite sure that my Double Chocolate (RM8) was just a Milo.
The TKC Big Brekky Platter (RM22) is laden with so much stuff that some elements are buried under each other. Hope you like your eggs swimming in bean juice! It was a relief to see that, for once, the advertised “sausage” was not just a dinky Ramly hotdog. This huge chicken sausage, conveniently and attractively pre-sliced, was very tasty. Not pretending to be bacon and calling itself as such, the “beef strips” were more like fried deli meat, similar to salami. The potatoes had too much of a boiled texture and needed more crisp on them.
The Croissant Salmon Benny (RM25) had tons of flavour. The homemade hollandaise is so rich and buttery, smothering the gooey egg yolk underneath. The croissants are crispier than what is expected, but this is not a bad thing. This dish could have been assembled better. The croissants are cut in half so I think the cafe intended this to be eaten like a sandwich, but it’s far too messy for anyone to eat it that way. The croissant bottoms get too soggy after a while to even pick them up. After one sloppy attempt, I portioned out the ingredients across the naked croissant halves and ate it with a knife and fork. It could have been made better with pepper, but there was none offered or available. Nonetheless, this dish was delicious and one of the reasons why we came to Kelapa Cafe a second time. On the second time ordering, the cafe constructed it differently and it was much more sandwich-like.
Saturday Worthy?
Of the meagre options currently on Tanjung Rhu beach, there are no others like Kelapa Cafe. This is one of the only restaurants that are open for breakfast and serves something other than boring eggs. Assuming you don’t have Four Seasons Resort levels of money, your options are Kelapa Cafe, Scarborough Fish & Chips or nasi lemak from the side of the road when it comes to breakfast in Tanjung Rhu. The Kelapa Cafe’s menu is varied enough in both sweet and savoury options that you could eat here on multiple days, as we did.
Price for 2 Pax: RM63.00
Americano: RM8.00
Double Chocolate: RM8.00
Smoked Salmon Benny: RM25.00
TKC Big Brekky Platter: RM22.00
The Kelapa Cafe by TRV Langkawi
Address: 61, Jalan Tanjung Rhu, Kampung Padang Lalang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah
Opening Hours: Every day except Wednesday, 9am – 6pm
Closed on Wednesdays
Alcohol Served: No
