Jessica Qi Qi: Foodie Hunt

I'm sure many of you are quite familiar with the name The Alley cafe, for I have heard not just one or two ravings about the cafe. Upon hearing all the lovely feedback and seeing the positive reviews, I have decided to give it a go. Cafes never fail to excite me as I have a secret little obsession towards them, mainly because of the craving aroused by super nice and artistic Instagram photos taken in the cafes. And it also feels.. "completed"? I just feel super contented very time a cafe is checked on my bucket list.

5, Stewart Lane

George Town, Penang.

Last Friday, Yee Hang, Sze Chyi and I walked to The Alley after watching the finale of the Hunger Games trilogy. (A little shoutout: Three of the previous ones are really great and the finale is no exception! Be sure to go watch if you haven't.) After half an hour or so, we reached The Alley with a slight struggle to locate the exact venue due to our lack of geographical knowledge. In the end, we managed to find it thanks to Google Maps.

The Alley is just next to Guan Yin Teng where the locals and visitors go for prayers. We actually walked pass The Alley several times but we failed to notice it. I think it was because the outer look incorporated so well with the old and historical neighbouring household that it was so easy for us to miss it - like a chameleon that blends in so well with the surrounding. Most of the cafes in the heritage area have been by and large refurbished for aesthetic purpose, but not this one. The Alley cafe is a fusion of rustic and contemporary designs - simple and rejuvenating.

Caramel Latte(RM11)

Latte (RM9)

Affogato with Häagen-Dazs ice-cream (RM15)

I ordered the affogato as it was recommended by a few foodie bloggers. Quote: "Their affogato is a must-try." True enough, I love the how Häagen-Dazs ice-cream blended so well together with the concentrated espresso. I am no huge fan of coffee or anything like that but I love the tinge of sweetness of the ice-cream with the espresso that melts instantly.

P.S.: It was my first time trying Häagen-Dazs ice-cream *yelps*

Churros in large size, with chocolate and caramel dippings (RM9)

This looks amazingly good and tastes absolutely mouthwatering. Churros is the signature dessert of The Alley cafe and I find them extremely scrumptious. It is served in two sizes - the small one (6 churros with one dipping) for RM6 and the large one (9 churros with two dippings) for RM9. The churros was sprinkled with fine sugar and crushed oreos. Crunchy on the outer part and soft on the inner part, it is similar to a fried bread, obviously, because they are made of dough, but the texture is nothing the same. The churros tasted like nothing I have ever eaten before and goes perfectly well with the caramel dipping. There are other dippings for you to choose for besides chocolate and caramel but I would strongly recommend this dessert to go with the caramel dipping. I am a chocoholic but in this case, I personally feel that the chemistry between the churros and the chocolate dipping was not strong enough :P

Another two signature dessert of theirs are Cronut (RM8) and Lemon Cheesecake (RM10). I would definitely be trying those at some point in the future because.. why the heck not?

The Alley cafe is also an ideal place to take selfies with your fellow friends or even Instagram-worthy photos. On the back part of the cafe, there are photo-shoot cards and wooden blocks with catchphrases and local dialects that you and I are familiar with, such as: "Why so serious?" , "Nah! Kinjio" written on them. Some of them are quite funny and cheesy. Unfortunately, as taking a selfie is like looking into the mirror, the words and the speech bubbles are somewhat funny in the photos .__.

To sum our trip up, it was really enjoyable as we chatted there the whole afternoon. The price was not too crazy and.. yeah, I quite like The Alley Cafe. I quite like :)