Badass Coffee is a pretty decent alternative to the likes of Starbucks or The Coffee Bean. At the time of writing, I've made three visits to the outlet in Tropicana City Mall. The café's mainstay to being a viable competitor to the aforementioned coffee giants in Malaysia appears to be their beans, known as Kona beans that hail from Hawaii. These beans are supposedly among the best in the world, and rare enough that the café sells 2 blends of it, the 100% Kona and the 10% Kona blend, with the latter's beans mixed in with normal imported beans (most likely from Brazil or Africa). 100% blend brews cost roughly twice as much as their 10% counterparts (e.g. espresso, au lait, cappuccino, etc).
I've given the Au Lait (both 10% and 100%) and Latte a try (don't ask me why they have both on their menu, I thought they were supposed to mean the same thing in French and Italian). Although I'm pretty certain anyone who's had their taste of Melbournian coffee will find this nothing to shout about, I can say that the taste of the 100% blend is rather rich and smooth, albeit a bit bolder than I'd like. Add the fact that they used Australian milk (Farm House) with their brew, and it makes for a rather pleasing taste altogether. As for the 10% blend, I found it slightly too diluted (could be the fact that I had it iced), but it was fresh and free of that sour aftertaste I sometimes get from Starbucks coffees.
The latte didn't really taste much better than the 10% Au Lait, but it was probably better to me because it was hot, and again better than SB and TCB's offerings, probably just based on the milk used.
I haven't tried enough food here to be able give any sort of solid verdict, but I have had the Oxtail Soup on my first visit (which was unfortunately without my camera, thank God for mobile phone cams), which turned out to be pretty good, if a little starchy. I intend to give some of the pastries a try on my next visit.
The café's surroundings are softly lit and comfy with a choice of outdoor and indoor seating, and there's the standard free Wi-Fi connection for the regular netbooker who drops in. The staff are friendly and patient, ask them anything about Badass and Kona and they'll try their best to help you :)
*Those who visit 8 times or more will also be granted a VIP card that entitles them for discounts on stuff bought there, including merchandise.
