Offering over 90 years of Italian coffee tradition, illycaffè has opened its latest outpost in the Klang Valley, marking a new milestone in Hartamas Shopping Centre.
The illycaffè experience has become an immediate hit in Hartamas - when we visited on a recent Friday, the cafe was bustling with families and friends enjoying an afternoon catch-up over sandwiches, pastries, cakes, coffee and coolers. Hot meals are available too.
Spread across the cafe, illy's silver-and-red cans and symbols illustrate the heritage of this Italian family-run brand, which was born in 1933. Fun fact: illy invented the first automatic coffee machine, the predecessor of contemporary espresso machines!
Today, the Trieste-based brand serves coffee throughout the world, including five of its own outlets in the Klang Valley - the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur flagship store, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Sunway Velocity, KLIA 1, and now, Hartamas Shopping Centre.
illy takes pride not only in offering 100% Arabica coffee but the top 1% of the best Arabica beans, ensuring satisfaction in every sip. Its signature blend showcases nine types of coffee bean origins, roasted in Italy and exported internationally, harnessing top-notch production technology to bolster the consistent expertise of its coffee bean curators.
Indulge in gnocchi and Caprese cake while sipping an illycrema for a time-honoured taste of Italy in KL!
If you're looking to learn more about illy Malaysia, check out illy.my
illycaffè's coffee concoctions keep customers coming back, with many intriguing drinks to discover, including the illycrema - creamy-cold coffee, velvety, rich and refreshing, evoking a frozen cappuccino with the texture of softened ice cream. It's soothing, with a caffeine kick!
The Hazelnut Frappé is dense and frothy, a double shot that packs a delicious punch, enhanced with chocolate and hazelnut cream for notes of nutty cocoa sweetness. It uses an authentic hazelnut spread, free of artificial sweeteners or syrups, so the flavour is natural and nuanced.
Greco all’Italiana is lovingly layered with freshly frothed milk topped with espresso freddo greco - fantastic for fans of cold coffee with milk, mixed for a comforting creaminess.
For hot, humid days, illycaffè's affogato is an amazing antidote - artisanal vanilla ice cream, decadently textured, melting gently in a shot of illy espresso, blanketed with whipped cream and cocoa powder for a heavenly dessert and drink in a single tall glass.
Craving the classic? Order the Caffelatte - full-bodied and nutty with dark chocolate hints, channelling nine Arabica bean varietals for a captivatingly harmonious complexity, brewed to precision and perfection.
Non-coffee beverages also abound, such as the Strawberry Blossom Tea Ade - this rejuvenating hibiscus tea is steeped for at least 12 hours to extract its entire flavour, mingling with fresh Cameron Highlands strawberry slices and puree, elderflower and subtly fizzy soda water, fuelled by floral and fruity fragrances.
The Frothtea series features freshly brewed Sri Lankan tea, focusing on uplifting flavours of fruits and herbs with only a mild sweetness, free of added sugars. The froth on top adds airy allure to the Lemon & Mint Frothtea and Peach & Mint Frothtea, icy-cool and idyllic.
Newly introduced, the Strawberry Kiss is the seasonal treat to beat the heat - refresh your lips with this cold brew of 100% illy coffee in its strongest form, well-balanced with the tartness of strawberry and the zestiness of lime.
For warm, savoury fare, The Big Breakfast is a complete, crowd-pleasing hearty meal - oven-baked eggs and tomato cream gnocchi with mushrooms, beef bacon, blistered cherry tomatoes, chicken sausage and sourdough toast.
For massive appetites, the Club Sandwich is double-layered with creamy egg, crunchy beef bacon and tomatoes in pillowy toasted bread, complemented by colourfully crackly root crisps crafted with beetroot, parsnip, carrots and potatoes.
illycaffè also upholds Italian culinary traditions in its vegetarian-friendly potato gnocchi recipes - the Gnocchi with Tomato Cream boasts a slow-cooked tomato sauce with béchamel, while Gnocchi al Pesto is a wholesome bet with basil pesto and pine nuts.
For pastry pleasure, sink your teeth into the Sourdough Croissant, fabulously flaky with the finest butter, Sourdough Pain au Chocolat and Sourdough Chocolate Twist, both hand-crafted with luxuriously robust chocolate.
Crepe cakes include the best-selling Sea Salt Caramel Crepe Cake, delicately delectable with caramel, almonds and cream cheese, and Lemon Cheese Crepe Cake, tangy with lemon and cheesecake.
Finally, the illymisu is a playful twist on Italy's renowned tiramisu, charmingly and conveniently served in a trio of styles - Classic, Chocolate or Strawberry - to please the palate.
PG-01, Ground Floor, Hartamas Shopping Centre, 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Taman Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Other outlets in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Sunway Velocity and KLIA 1.
