Coffee is currently riding a huge wave of popularity right now, with specialty cafes popping up all over Malaysia. But when it comes to coffee cocktails, there are only a handful of cafe/bars that actually do them well.
For instance, there’s Dissolved Solids in Petaling Jaya, and Small Places in Penang.
Well, you can add Kohi Kame Coffee Mixology to that list now. The newly opened cafe/bar in Kota Damansara, Selangor has a familiar face behind the drinks menu – Shawn Chong, founder of Bar Mizukami, and a veteran in the Malaysian bar scene.
True to its name, Kohi Kame takes “coffee mixology” seriously. A major part of the menu comprises unique and innovative drinks that reflect a mixologist’s approach to coffee as a base.
For instance, the Espresso Old Fashioned is made with espresso, chrysanthemum, sugar and Angostura bitters.
Meanwhile, the “Adapted Classics” section consists of non-alcoholic coffee-based riffs on classic cocktails like the negroni and highball.
There are currently three signature cocktails on the menu proper. The Spicy Sweetheart is my favourite, with rich flavours of whisky, espresso and cocoa, and a spicy undertone from pimento liqueur.
Coffee Bean Shop is a clarified vodka-based cocktail with coffee and coconut flavours enhanced by a streak of salted caramel on the nose and finish.
Last but not least is the showstopping Not Guinness Not Ramos, a take on the Ramos Gin Fizz, but with whisky, “Kopi-O”, espresso, cola, vanilla and honey.
Unlike the iconic classic cocktail, however, the signature tall head of foam is not created using egg white, but with a technique and combination of ingredients that Chong himself came up with.
Here’s a little Malaysian bar history for you: Chong is also one of the co-founders of pioneering cocktail bar Omakase + Appreciate, alongside fellow industry stalwart Karl Too (who sadly passed away in 2024), which helped kickstart the KL cocktail scene back in 2014.
In 2016, Chong and Too decided to open a cocktail bar named Sparrow, located behind a cafe called Olfactory Bulb. Unfortunately, opening a cocktail bar in Kota Damansara was an idea that proved to be way ahead of its time; the bar was shuttered within a year.
Fast forward 10 years later and Chong is “back to try again” in the exact same location, this time with Kohi Kame.
In an Instagram post, Chong paid tribute to his late friend Too, whose last project was a also coffee mixology place, and explains that while he has always been super sensitive to caffeine, he does love coffee as a flavour.
“Flavour, I know. I hope my team and I have put something together that will excite your senses and maybe reinvent your perception,” he wrote on his Instagram page.
If you’re a coffee lover who is interested in trying unique and innovative coffee cocktails, then do give Kohi Kame a try.
