One dessert seems to have a special spot in many people’s hearts –Japanese soufflé pancakes. Light enough to enjoy after a heavy meal and a truly glorious sight to behold, these pancakes are hard to say no to.
Neighbour’s Coffee Bar has created their own version with their most popular being the Matcha Azuki Fuwa Fuwa Pancake.
These light-as-a-cloud pancakes are topped with sweet red bean and a slightly bitter matcha cream that makes for a perfect symphony of flavours.
The black sesame gelato on the side adds a cooling bite and rounds off the flavours. For those who prefer a sweeter note, a drizzle of syrup does the trick.
Speaking to FMT, café founder Nicholas Khoo, said that he hadn’t actually tried the dessert for himself when he was experimenting with its recipe.
“Back then there was a stretch of time when business was not going well, so we decided to branch out to feature more food on the menu,” Khoo said.
Seeing as Khoo and his wife and co-owner, Angie Wong, love Japanese culture, the pair played around with soufflé pancake recipes, a popular dessert in Japan, while adding their own spin to it, and it soon became their café’s main selling point.
Besides the yummylicious soufflé pancakes that are great for dessert and make for a somewhat sinful breakfast or teatime snack, the café’s savoury offerings are also Japanese-inspired and make for a hearty meal.
Like the Karaage Curry Rice Bowl, for instance. This dish comes with a serving of rice, chicken karaage, an in-house special curry sauce and scrambled egg, topped with pickled cucumber. Savoury and scrumptious, this curry rice bowl is not too spicy, with the crunchy fried chicken acting as a perfect protein choice, yum!
A recent addition to the menu is the Shoyu Glazed Eel Roll. Eel is not for everybody, but for those who love it, this is a must try.
The glazed fish is sandwiched between a soft brioche roll, then slathered with namban sauce, known ordinarily as tartar sauce. The serving is also accompanied with a salad on the side, a gentle reminder to eat your greens.
It goes without saying that running a business with your significant other can be tough, no matter how stable the relationship is.
Khoo and Wong said that while it took them some time to get used to the idea of working together, at the end of the day, communication and trust are vital.
“With Angie manning the accounts and marketing while I look after the operations, we have since learnt to trust each other’s judgement in our respective areas, and that has definitely helped us avoid a lot of conflicts,” Khoo said, smiling.
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Neighbour’s Coffee Bar
A-G-1, Seri Gembira Avenue
No 6, Jalan Senang Ria
Happy Garden
58200 Kuala Lumpur
Business hours:
9.30am-6.00pm (Monday-Thursday)
9.30am-10.00pm (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Contact: 012-2387185