40 Hands Coffee & Some Massive Crowd

I love it when Mum and Dad are away. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents to bits but somehow the equation is as such: parents away = got car = :) However, that equation depends on an assumption.The assumption that Jie is free to accompany me as I really hate driving.

There's a implicit mutual understanding between Jie and myself- when you've gots the car, you've gots to go to inaccessible places and hence we decided on 40 hands cafe. I've heard loads about 40 hands but laziness got the better of me and I didn't bother to google my way to Yong Siak Street.

I'm glad we made it to 40 hands in one piece, we missed a couple of turns but I reckon it will be all worth the hassle when we sip those highly raved about coffee at 40 hands. I sort of expected it to be crowded as it was a weekend brunch hour; however I guess the people vs space was just too overwhelming. People just kept coming in and we quickly choped a seat right at the entrance and ordered. 

It was a tough fight between Eggs Benedict and Big Boy Breakfast, we settled for the Eggs Benedict as the latter's constituting elements looked too greasy. On hindsight, maybe we should have ordered the Big Boy as the Eggs Benedict was really pathetic. At $14, I thought they couldn't have been more stingy with the hollandaise sauce; the sun dried tomatoes didn't really go with the entire dish and the biscuits were super soggy and really unappetizing. Nonetheless, the eggs were done perfectly, with well cooked egg whites and runny yolks.

Eggs Benedict @$14

Heeding the advice of the waitress, we ordered a Meditteran Lamb Sandwich. I guess the Sandwich helped redeem Forty Hands Coffee. The whole wheat toast was well toasted and had a really nice crunch to it; the lamb filling was really yummy too, loved how they added some veggies in it! Damn I should have save that $3 and ordered 2 sandwiches instead.

Meditteran Lamb Sandwich @ $11

I can never resist the sight of carrot cake; especially a tall carrot cake. I thought 40 hands carrot cake tasted pretty different. For one, their cream cheese frosting was more sour than sweet, not that I'm complaining though. I also thought their carrot cake had a really unique crunch to it; it's definitely not your usual crunch from the walnut, I reckoned it's either flax seed or poppy seeds. I wouldn't say this is the best carrot cake I've eaten but at $4.50 I'm definitely ordering it again.

Carrot Cake @ $4.50

I spent about 15 minutes, contemplating whether I should spend $2.50 on a pau. Jie was discouraging me while chomping down her sandwich but curiosity got the better of me and I paid $2.50 for the "world's most expensive Tau Sar Pau", according to the handsome Ang Moh Barista. Not only was the Pau expensive but it took 15 minutes to arrive but to be fair, they did tell me it wasn't ready and would take 10-15 minutes. Thank God Jie is a mega slow eater.

Behold the $2.50 Tau Sar Pau. I usually get my Tau Sar Pau fix from Pops as her Pau is da best- nice soft chewy pau skin enveloping the smooth and not too sweet red bean filling. Pop's Pau is so good I can eat 3 for breakfast and 3 for lunch! 40 hands's Pau was bigger and flater than your average Tau Sar Pau, the pau skin was unusually smooth and fluffy (kinda made me think whether there are added chemicals in it though). The red bean filling wasn't too sweet and was really smooth; however I think the Pau skin stole the lime light. I think the dying question is whether this pau is worth $2.50? HELL YEAH! The pau skin was super fluffy and soft and literally melts in your mouth, with the help of your saliva of course. Sorry Pops, I think 40 hands beat you this time round (lol, I think she will freak out when I tell her I paid RM 6 for a Tau Sar Pau). 

Tau Sar Pau @ $2.50 (pardon my awful tearing skills)

Slowly savoring my $2.50 Pau

You can't not have coffee when you're dining at Forty Hands. Jie got herself a regular Latte while I had  a regular Mocha. I love love coffee but I definitely wouldn't classify myself as a coffee connoisseur. As an average coffee drinker, I would say the coffee here tasted really special. I thought its more robust and had this deeper flavour. I preferred my mocha to Jie's Latte though.

Latte @ $5

Mocha @$6.50

Overall, 40 hands's food did impress me; the filipino lady serving me was really friendly as well. However, it was way way way too overcrowded to enjoy a nice cuppa. I really hope 40 hands would either expand or practise some crowd control as it would be a real pity to lose customers over non food related reasons. I would definitely be back for some sandwiches and desserts but definitely at more odd hours the next time round.