A secret cafe that wants to stay hidden.
Kita Coffee doesn’t want to be found. It was certainly a hunt to find this place, and online reviewers didn’t want to give clear directions either! This cute cafe has won multiple barista awards and feels like a special place for those in the know. Kita Coffee might be one of the best-kept secrets in Bukit Bintang.
How To Get Here
Kita Coffee is a hidden gem in every sense of the word. It is inside the Fahrenheit 88 Shopping Centre but not listed on the mall directory or website. The cafe is buried within the service corridors and with no signs directing guests to it.
Enter Fahrenheit 88 through the main doors from the street (where the Bath & Body Works is) and walk straight through the mall. On your left, next to Lot G-32 (currently an Ocean Sports store), there is an emergency exit door. This door will open into one of the mall’s service corridors, and you should see the Inter-Cultural Language School at the end of the hall. Kita Coffee is next door to the school.
Ambience & Amenities
Kita Coffee is a long narrow room. DIY “clouds” and coverings soften the harsh fluorescent lighting. Lots of plants and greenery offset how white the room is. The outdoorsy vibe goes a little too far – there were a few ants crawling on our table during our visit. The windows don’t let in much natural light, and the view is of the building across the street. The table in the back right corner has a turtle tank to enjoy cute entertainment with your coffee. Kita Coffee seems to get some children visitors, as there are several play areas and toys scattered around the cafe.
The toilet is outside of the cafe. Exit Kita Coffee and turn left. At the first junction, turn left again, and you’ll see the washrooms down this corridor.
Menu
The menu at Kita Coffee is wholly vegetarian. The homemade Japanese rollcakes seem to be the speciality at this cafe and come in many flavours. The savoury food options are simple dishes that cater to the students from the school next door: pasta, rice and toast. Don’t expect anything fancy if you’re coming here for lunch. Kita Coffee’s menu consists of cheap, filling food you can mindlessly eat while cramming for an exam.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Food
The Houjicha & Genmaicha (RM13) cake was smaller than I expected. It’s not as large as the typical rollcakes that you find in bakeries, but Kita Coffee makes up for it by serving thicker slices. The cake layer was so soft and fresh, with the pleasurable roasted bitterness of houjicha tea. There was a disproportionate amount of genmaicha cream in the middle with roasted brown rice puffs on top. The tea flavour throughout was impressive. This cake is perfect for those who love tea and don’t like things too sweet.
Saturday Worthy?
I can see us coming back to Kita Coffee. We very much enjoyed our rollcake, and there are interesting options for tea lattes other than the standard matcha. The only negative thing about this cafe is the vibe. There’s no shortage of coffee shops in Bukit Bintang with beautiful ambience. Sitting in a darkened room in a mall’s service corridor isn’t appealing, no matter what the weather is like outside.
Price for 2 Pax: RM38.00
Houjicha & Genmaicha Rollcake: RM13.00
Matcha Houjicha & Milk (hot): RM14.00
Americano (hot): RM11.00
Kita Coffee
Address: Lot D7, Fahrenheit 88, 179, Jalan Gading, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6pm every day except Tuesday, Closed on Tuesday
Alcohol Served: No
