Top Brew Coffee @ Hartamas & Hot Shots @ Solaris

Checking out a couple of nice new cafes that cater to caffeine-craving customers.

Top Brew is a top pick this month, spearheaded by EspressoLAB's ex-employee JH Yee, who won the 2012 national Malaysia Barista Championship and ranked second runner-up in the regional Food Hotel Asia Barista Challenge.

Yee's awards represent his passion and conviction; the man himself might represent the many hardworking, hugely talented baristas who've become a crucial component of KL's cafe culture.

Yee relies on beans by Lighthouse Coffee of Penang's Logan Heritage for his mean cups of macchiatos, lattes and more, each of which costs south of RM10.

Homemade peanut cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip muffins and pineapple tarts are available to complement these beverages; Top Brew plans to start serving sandwiches and waffles too by next month.

Top Brew's tricky location: inside the commercial row OPPOSITE Hartamas Shopping Center, above Urban Spoon restaurant but behind the storefronts,hidden from the main road.

For now, the outlet opens Thursdays through Tuesdays, 9:30am-6pm, including weekends.

Next up, a three-minute drive from Top Brew Coffee Bar, Hot Shots Cafe deserves to be one of Solaris Dutamas' hot spots.

Hot Shots sells coffee machines, grinders and roasters, as well as freshly roasted beans.

The cafe is calm, spacious and welcoming, enabling customers to relax and focus on their coffee and conversation.

Hot Shots is on the first floor of Solaris Dutamas' most prominent row; it can be spotted from the main road, somewhere ABOVE the line of eateries that includes Pappa Rich, Wau Penyu and most of Dutamas' original outlets. So far, it operates for nine hours starting 9 a.m. weekdays.

Help yourself to a free flow of complimentary cookies here, ideal for accompanying one of KL's thickest, richest hot chocolates.

We liked what we tasted, but we'll leave it to others more knowledgeable than us to comment more constructively on the coffee at both Top Brew and Hot Shots.

To! p Brew C offee Bar,
C-0-7, Plaza Damas 3, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Kuala Lumpur.
Call 016-275-7500 for directions.

Hot Shots Coffee and Tea,
A3-UG-07, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 1300-888-138