Neighbour Club in Pasar Seni
Malaysians love coffee as much as we enjoy a cheeky spiked drink. So it stands to reason that several cafe-by-day, bar-by-night establishments have been popping up on the streets of KL to Penang.
A new one joining the ranks of cafes in Pasar Seni, KL, to deliver your caffeine jolt is Neighbour Club, under Johor’s popular JWC Coffee Roastery group. The vibey spot is more than your typical coffee spot – it serves unique caffeine drinks and cocktails on tap during the day, and hides a little secret asking to be unveiled when dusk falls.
Being huge suckers for coffee and cocktails, we dropped by the cafe to bring you this review.
Ambience at Neighbour Club
Amongst the jumble of old and new establishments in Pasar Seni, Neighbour Club blends in effortlessly with the amalgamation of retro and edgy aesthetics that it exudes.
The cafe scores major points for its strikingly yellow signage displaying its name in large fonts – rest assured, you won’t miss it amidst the clutter and flurry of the area.
While its exterior has a laidback and chic vibe to it, the colourful posters and vivid yellow plastic chairs against white-tiled walls, simple steel door and window framings, and an overall stripped-back decor, come together to create a retro look reminiscent of a old-school Chinese establishment.
Vintage ornaments perched on sleek wooden cabinets, and prominent plastic placards and posters plastered all over the walls, further adds to the vibes here.
Inside, the cafe stays loyal to the theme by juxtaposing retro and contemporary elements – foldable hawker-style tables and plastic crate chairs, in a mod concrete-decked space. vintage ornaments perched on sleek wooden cabinets, as well as prominent plastic placards and posters plastered all over the walls.
Drinks and desserts at Neighbour Club
As another project and concept store of JWC Coffee, Neighbour Club serves up the usual caffeine-fueled beverages, but its house-made creations are the true gems here.
Our interest was especially piqued by the row of taps lined against the wall behind the bar counter that gushes out cocktails. Better yet – these are available during the day.
Signature drinks
With exceptional beans and remarkable brews, the cafe’s usual coffee offerings like espresso and cold brew will impress you enough. But if you want to spice up your daily cup of joe, its signature drinks make for excellent and exciting choices.
Priced at RM12, most of these drinks contain coffee but in amounts that are perfect for non or light coffee drinkers who prefer their beverages caffeinated but sweetened.
We started with the flavour we were most intrigued by – the Kaya Butter – and one hesitant sip widened our eyes.
The fusion of the adored local breakfast flavour in the foam cap amps up the already rich earl grey-steeped oat milk latte base with its cordial pandan notes. It was a more substantial beverage than our habitual orders, and rather satisfying.
For the highest refreshment value, the Guava Fizz nailed the summer picnic concoction vibe – the ravishingly flushed-coloured drink bursts with flavours of saccharine pink guava and piquant cranberry, and had a dome of bubbly foam that never fizzled out. We were bemused to hear that the drink also contains Ethiopia Coffee, as we struggled to taste this amidst the fruitiness and sweetness from the other ingredients.
The Neighbour Dirty was easily the standout cup and our top-pick. Velvety, creamy, and bold, the caramel-infused espresso melds well with the creamy Eisbock milk, making each sip a gorgeously buttery one.
The Matcha Coconut was the only non-caffeinated drink of the bunch, but that did not make it any less decadent. The flavour balance was pitch-perfect with its base of mildly-sweetened coconut milk and the blanket of vibrant Isuzu Matcha foam that added depth with its earthy profile.
Cocktails on tap
Before the jitters from when the caffeine hits, we dove straight into the tipples that called out to us on an especially hot afternoon. The draught cocktails (RM16/cup) from Neighbour Club were dispensed straight from taps and served to us in no time at all.
Champagne Night stood out to us with its distinct taste of champagne and Moscato wine that was musky, light, and refreshing all at once. The slight notes of chamomile added a soothing quality to the clear elixir, every swallow a smooth lull.
Bright and bold in its aesthetics and taste, the Pink Elephant is a blend of citrusy gin, pink guava kombucha, and interestingly, capsicum. The Ginger Bell had a similarly fruity profile but with a sharper and bolder aroma from the cognac taste of Hennessy VSOP, as well as the tang of apple and ginger.
Flaming brownie
Neighbour Club does not have an extensive food menu, but any dessert served here is a showstopper.
Setting things on fire does not sound favourable in the kitchen, but the cafe’s Flaming Brownie (RM26) was definitely deserving of a spectacle. A hunk of walnut-studded brownie and its crown of vanilla ice cream was doused in Cointreau and flambéed, yielding a dark, brawny, and oozing dessert with lots of character.
We wanted to be wowed by the taste of the dessert as we were by the flamboyant presentation. But the brownie itself had more of a cakey texture, with a lacklustre chocolate flavour instead of the intensely dense one that a brownie should typically yield. The vodka-soaked bits tasted odd against the sweetness of the cake and ice cream, missing out on the complexity and elegance that a spiked dessert grants.
Merch at Neighbour Club
The cafe dedicates a fair amount of space to an assortment of quirky merchandise from its own brand, as well as products of collaboration.
This includes an adorable range of enamel pins, T-shirts, tote bags, coffee pods and beans, mugs and tumblers, kombucha gummies, and even bak kwa.
The cafe may be blatant about its impeccable coffees and cocktails, but it has a fairly huge secret tucked away within the establishment itself. At the close of day, patrons are welcome to uncover the mystery at its large wooden cabinet, but an advice – try not to break the chicken while you’re at it.
The verdict
Coffee brewing isn’t rocket science, but Neighbour Club treats it as such with its experimental drinks that come out looking and tasting like such a craft, we’re not about to complain.
Breaking the mould by featuring an immersive bar that serves draught cocktails on tap, the cafe has claimed a spot on our list of sanctuaries to hit up when we’re in the mood for some delicious fun, day ir night.
Address: Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 10am-10pm | Sat & Sun 10am-12am
Contact: Neighbour Club’s Instagram
For more food features, here’s Flaaah’s new collaboration cafe with Ono and Oranje Tulip’s freshly made and authentic stroopwafels for RM9.
Photography by Jia-Ju.
Cover image adapted from: The Smart Local Malaysia.