Coffee at Louis with Myself and I

After days of eating just instant noodles and microwaved tteokbokki for breakfast and lunch, I decided to treat myself to a nice and beautiful brunch at Coffee at Louis. My best friend recommended me this dining place. “The food is good, and the place is very pretty and not too crowded with Surabayans,” she said. I’ve been wanting to drop by since months ago, but Surabaya was just too hot for me to function. Yet, finally, I got up today, went to the hospital to do some checkups and brought myself out to eat. 

Breakfast at Louis'

My refillable cup of Creme Brulee Tea

I did some research on Coffee at Louis’ Instagram page, where I scan all the food and beverage on the menu and decide on what I want to have. I obviously settle for the non-carb option, which is the Chicken Salad. But, then, I saw this new dish they have, a dessert menu named Pouched Pear, and it caught my attention instantly. I have never had pouched pear before, hence being unfamiliar with how it should taste, so I gave it a try. 

They have all sorts of cakes and cookies here at Louis'

The staff was a very friendly and assertive man. He greeted me and welcomed me, asking on how many person would be dining today. “It’s just me,” I answered, and he escorted me to the indoor seats, which then I cut as he was pointing at a table for two, saying that I’m going to sit outside because I need to smoke. Still with a smile, he opened the door for me and gesture politely to another table for two in the open. He went back inside, then came back a minute later with a glass of water on the house and an ashtray. 

I love how the place is not jammed-pack with people. It’s easier for me to function in public when there are less people, and I managed to finish all the things that needed to be done with my laptop today in a snap of a finger. 

This fulfills my aesthetic needs

The sight of the indoor seating

My Chicken Salad didn’t look as beautiful as I wanted it to be, but the quality of the food is amazing. The greens were rather cooked as they were topped with slices of grilled chicken, but it’s okay. There were diced croutons here and there, along with slices of baby tomato. The portion of the grilled chicken was rather generous. I got the thigh part of the chicken and, even though I’m more of a breast person, it was delightfully delicious and very much enjoyable. 

I love how the chicken skin was very crispy and savory. I don’t usually like chicken skin, but this one was an exception. The meat was very tender and delicious, and it had this level of umami that was just on point. There wasn’t much dressing on the greens, but I could tell that it was balsamic vinegar. 

Some greens to go with your cup of Joe

My share of Chicken Salad

To be honest, all of the ingredients of the salad didn’t manage to work together as a team as they had their own spotlight of flavor that stood out from each other. Like, the egg, for example. The egg was just boiled and sliced in half, and it was just there sitting on the side of the plate waiting to be eaten. I tried to combine it with all of the elements in the plate in a spoonful of a bite, but the flavor just didn’t merge well. But, hey, it’s a salad. Nothing can go wrong. It’s just a matter of personal choices. 

My first Pouched Pear I've ever taste

Drizzle drizzle drizzle!

After I finished my salad, I moved on with my Pouched Pear, which was cold. I thought, the name “pouched” would make the pear hot from  coming out straight from a pan, but it seemed that I had the wrong idea. 

The dessert was very beautiful and it had, in my opinion, this autumn vibe going on with all the color selection. It came with a tiny cup of spiced syrup, while the pouched pear laid there majestically on a bed of vanilla yogurt, circled with Coffee at Louis’ house made granola. It was a delightful sight for sore eyes.

Autumn-like dessert

I cut through the poached pear to find that the pear was rather tender, like as if it was poached, but still had this crispness of a fresh pear here and there. I scooped some of the vanilla yogurt, along with the spiced syrup and the house made granola, and brought the spoonful of delicious goodness into my mouth. Damn, it was delicious!

I put a bit too much of the spiced syrup into my pear, making it way too sweet for my taste. But, it still tasted amazing. The pear tasted fresh, sweet, and juicy, and the flavor blended well with the cinnamony granola and the solid vanilla yogurt. I have never experienced autumn in my life, but every bite of the dessert pear that went into my mouth felt like how fall season should be. 

I also ordered a cup of hot Creme Brulee tea to go with my food. The aroma of the tea was really like Creme Brulee: all toasty and sweet and caramel like, which blowed my mind. I didn’t put any sugar into my tea, because that’s how I drink my tea, yet it still tasted delicious. 

Guys, in all seriousness, if you feel like having a quiet me-time while still able to enjoy good food, do visit Coffee at Louis. You won’t regret a single second. 

Coffee at Louis

Jl. Trunojoyo No. 69

D.R. Soetomo, Tegalsari

Kota Surabaya, Jawa Timur 60264

Opening Hours:

WED - MON: 7AM - 9PM

Contact:

+61 21 822 3304 6369

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