Jin Yi by Coffee Ritual – Damansara Uptown: Mutton burgers & fab coffee!

After the disappointing Kaffa Coffee session, we took a walk across the square to Jin Yi by Coffee Ritual, right above Seri Penang and opposite Uptown 7, the multi-storey carpark for Uptown. Uptown area is notoriously popular with DBKL towing “services” so it’s advisable to park your vehicles in proper areas. The parking fee is negligibly RM1-RM2 per hour and there’s always space at the upper floors. Sure beats getting your car towed!

Coffee Ritual has been around for the longest time. It’s debut lot was at Section 14 (the corner lot where MBuji is located at now) and I went before to grab some stroopwafels from a friend. They did serve food and good coffee back then and at its current location in Uptown, their burgers and coffee is the focus of the interest.

Beef and chicken burgers are the norm, but mutton burgers ain’t for sure!

Nadine ordered some sort of iced tea, Kevin a siphon coffee, Liew a cappuccino and myself a nice juicy mutton burger!

When it was served, I cut it into half to take my usual cross section shot of the patty. It was alarmingly raw looking and pink and I was rather taken back at first. However, after a  15 minutes rest, it didn’t look as bad.

I thought it was cooked just right, firm, juicy though slightly too salty for me. The mutton gameyness is bold enough to assure you that’s it’s indeed mutton, but not too overwhelming. However, be forewarned that the patty did come laced with fat (the white specks you see below) and can be a bit “wet” or moist, depending on how you look at it.
For me, I find it enjoyable enough eaten with the sweetness of the pineapple, gherkins, adeptly fried fries and really wholesome wholemeal bun.

Happy with the burger, we got down to business with the caffeine.

Cappuccino: An absolute must for coffee-with-milk fans, with the sweetness of the milk and hardly noticeable bitterness. The only down point is you get only the sweetness; but it’s good for those who do not like to taste the acidity in their coffee.

DeGayo Gayo single origin (Indonesia), Syphon method: Smooth, full bodied with hints of acidity. Overall taste was sweet and notes of bittersweet, but also minimal bitterness in the cup. When drank after the temperature drops, this is a smooth drink which should suit most black coffee lovers.

Then it’s my Hot Chocolate! Other than Artisan Roast and Butter + Beans at Seventeen, the hot chocolate here is one of my personal favourites! While everyone goes on search for the perfect cuppa, I’m on the lookout for a cup of excellent hot chocolate. In my personal definition, that’s one that’s rich but not cloying but with a velvety chocolate mouthfeel yet not sugary sweet but bitter-sweet.
A bit too much to ask for? I don’t think so.

Jin Yi’s Hot Chocolate came close. Very close. One of the owners explained that the cocoa powder used is sourced from Singapore but they found it to be too sweet in its original form. With some in-house tweaking they now have their own recipe which I can guarantee you to be quite fabulously satisfying.

Though the space is tight and the furnishing simple and bare, the cuppa, food and the service keeps regulars happy. I am for one, already a fan.

Last but not least, a Royal Chocolate Cake to round off our time here. We were told it is popular, but it didn’t quite rock our boat. Other than the thick chocolate coating, the moist sponge inside is pretty ordinary. Jin Yi doesn’t have a cake chiller to display their cakes so you have to ask them what are the cakes available for the day.

For more of my coffee stimulants, surf over to:

* Artisan Roast TTDI
* A RAW COFFEE session with Michael 
* Coffea Coffee, Telawi Bangsar
* The Brew Culture, Plaza Damas
* Top Brew Coffee Bar, Plaza Damas
* Butter + Beans at Seventeen, Section 17 PJ
* Malaysia Barista Championship 2013 – Media coffee appreciation workshop
* Kaffa Espresso Bar, Damansara Uptown

Map and Address below: Jin Yi by Coffee Ritual – Damansara Uptown