Huggin Hippo, Ara Damansara

Ara Damansara has a new dessert destination: Huggin Hippo, first born in Langkawi, now with two sister cafes in the north, Smiling Buffalo in Langkawi and Huggin Hippo in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. 

With a retro-tropical theme framed by leafy palms, this is a relaxing getaway for house-baked croissants, generously glazed with pistachio and Biscoff spreads, plus gelato in flavours like pistachio or pulut hitam. 

Olivia Cafe, The RiverCity

Olivia Cafe is launching its new space in Sentul, a cobalt-coloured, community-centric corner with heart, heat and heritage.

Specialities span Portuguese roast chicken, chunky and convincingly tender, finished in a brick oven, glazed with garlic butter or piri-piri sauce, served with Mom’s vegetable-flecked fried rice, like a hug from home.

Monkey Coffee Cup, Taman Tun Dr Ismail

Spearheaded by Seoul-born siblings You Shin and Gina with welcoming warmth, TTDI’s new Monkey Coffee Cup swings into the neighbourhood with the cheeky cross-cultural charm of Korean and Italian inspirations.

Fun fact: Monkey Coffee Cup’s playful primate mascot pays homage to Penang’s dusky leaf monkeys, born with the orange fur that mirrors this cafe’s primary colour, known for living in small families in the trees. That family-first focus is part of this cafe’s ethos.

An Italian-built oven is the kitchen’s tile-clad centrepiece, firing up hand-tossed, fire-kissed pizzas, proofed and pulled in plain sight with Korean flavours.

Go for the Gang Nam Bulgogi Pizza, a punchy pleasure with beef bulgogi, black olives, sweet corn and arugula, served with pickled radish and a mayo dip, paired with yuzu ade.

Monkey Coffee Cup’s selection also spans Hong Dae Buldak Pizza and Buldak K Rice, bold and blazing for spice-seekers.

Yoyoo Cafe, Klang

Founded by a friendly sister-and-brother team, Klang's new Yoyoo Cafe is a slow-living, serene-sipping sanctuary with Japanese tea-room ambitions amid a gravel garden with potted citrus trees.

Warmed by natural sunlight through pinewood-framed windows, Yoyoo evokes Muji-style minimalism for mindful enjoyment of heartwarming bowls and handcrafted bakes.

In the morning and afternoon, this quaint quietude sets the stage for salmon chazuke, mentaiko pasta and egg mayo shokupan. 

All-day attractions include decadently dense and buttery scones (by founder-baker Yoyo, who previously studied in Japan for two years), available in flavours like garlic butter or creamy yam with adzuki bean paste. Pair with sakura lychee and yuzu fizzy sodas.

Fun fact: Yoyoo's thoughtful space in an industrial enclave includes complimentary use of an arcade machine for sixteen-bit stress-busting.

Mofika Roastery Coffee, Klang

Step through the iridescent entrance, evoking rainbow-hued brushstrokes on steel, into Klang's new Mofika, brimming with life and liveliness.

Delightful design speckles this old-town neighbourhood space, from white-etched coffee cherry illustrations to driftwood displays and kokedama ferns mounted beside russet-toned walls. Cloud-blue fabric panels billow overhead, with sunbeams streaming through a skylight. 

Catch the caffeinated choreography throughout Mofika's sleek modular workstations, from the roasting to grinding of beans to the brewing of beverages like the Eden Rush espresso blended with jasmine tea and apple juice.

Comfort food conjures international inspirations, from Balinese-spiced pulled pork toast to chicken satay onigiri, tom yum squid ink pasta to pandan kaya waffles.

Mofika Roastery Coffee belongs to Klang’s ‘M’ movement of cafes that includes Mahogani, Manual, Manyflow, Morigin and Medium.