Breakfast in Macau

This is the delicious blueberry egg tart I had for breakfast at Starbucks Macau. What a way to start the day with creamy tart and Americano.

Me, coffee and cafe

I love coffee; the aroma, the taste and the after taste.

Home-made Api kopi tubruk served strong and hot is enough to kick-start my morning. When I have coffee outside, the ambiance is as important as the quality of the coffee. Nothing annoys me more than having the aroma of my coffee polluted by the smokey environment. A cozy place is my preference. That translates to nothing glamorous, loud and flashy. These criteria eliminate many "coffee places" in Jakarta which are located in crowded malls where people hang out to see and be seen.

Coffee helps me unwind (wierd as it may sound). I like to just daze and unwind over my coffee either browsing through magazines and newspaper or scribbling on my journal. The new addition to my cafe habit is writing my 2 cents worth on Twitter.

My new favorite in Jakarta is Antipodean in Kemang and in Singapore I've found a great place along the river away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Kith.

Hope you like them as much as I do.

Coffee

An except from Taylor Clark's book "Without coffee, half of Western civilization would be crippled by blinding headaches; morning commuters would wonder around in a daze...In short, coffee growers prevent the world from descending into animal-pelt-wearing, fire-god-worhispping anarchy".   That's from the book "A double tall of caffeine, commerce and culture.  Starbucked. ", a must-read for any coffee lovers.

I had to laugh and couldn't agree more that I tend to measure how "civilized" a place is by the presence of Starbucks.  Although Starbucks doesn't serve the best coffee, I am still a fan.  Starbucks provides me with reliable coffee when I need a caffiene fix.  Stabucks provides me a place to meet friends and hang-out.  Starbucks provides me with a place to rest when I'm weary.  Starbucks provides me an escape when I need to be alone.

Starbucks is not present in Vietnam yet.  I'm sure Howard Schultz has the country all mapped out as his next target market.  How can he afford to miss this upcoming economy with growing affluent of young population especially when Gloria Jean's is here?

With all the local cafes in this country and with a similar Starbucks concept in the local chain, Highlands Cofee, I do crave for my Caramel Macchiato at times.  And yes, add a pastry to my order please.

The Starbucks Experience

Starbucks means more than coffee to me.  It's a recollection of my experiences in the States as a student.  Starbucks had started to mushroomed throughout the States then.  Even in the suburb of Arcadia, I recalled a Starbucks nestled in a corner along Huntington. Used to drop by this place to grab my vanilla latte on the way for my commute to college.  Just stepping into the aroma with the music is enough to sooth my nerve and prepare me for the LA traffic.

Weekend is for Starbucks in Pasadena.  This is at the corner near a supermarket and it has a livelier vibe.  Sunday morning over LA times and latte is the best way to kick-start the day.
Starbucks has always been a place where I prefer to go alone.  I cherish the time to reflect and gather my thoughts while I enjoy the warmth of the coffee and the bitter sweet taste it leaves behind.
Such are moments in life I relish.  And such are little things in life I treasure.

To my tall latte...salute.