Bing! Your coffee, Sir.

There is a Café called Bing Coffe Company in Kuching and it is simply a jade. Tucked in an old bazaar along Jalan Padungan which is lined with rows of old shop houses, it’s façade strikes as a subtle welcome to passers by. Repeat customers have no problem locating this place either. However, there is a simple trick to entering this premise which is from the side and the door looks more like the ones used for a walk in freezer; crude rustic aluminum feature. I was like ‘Huh? Could this be the main entrance? Oh what the heck! The worst thing is I could end up in the kitchen or the pantry, or even the freezer! And so it was that I discovered a lovely caffeine joint in Kuching during my last trip in November 2005. Another entrance is through a small rock garden at the back.

Once inside however, a cozy and warm feeling blankets you. The décor makes you stop on your tracks, walk gingerly and gaze at every nooks, crannies, bends and curves. You will want to explore the Balinese setting, complete with a portrait of Buddha and some ornaments which looked like they were snitched from a nearby temple. My head turned left, right, center and behind to soak in every little detail.

I was so curious about the place that I asked if there was a seating area upstairs judging by the staircase I saw beside the counter. The waiter told me otherwise and said only an office is upstairs. 'Probably Bing's administrative office', I thought, and left it at that.

I noticed it was a self service joint and head to the counter to order the usual; a double espresso. ‘This should be good. They serve Illy’, I thought. Free flow of ice water refills accompany whatever you order here. And the espresso was great. I’m not an expert but I know a good espresso when I have one. Even a Starbucks' outlet manager friend of mine said they make the best Illy espresso in town! He’s been there a couple of times as well.

Although he strongly thinks that the lighting and ambience does not fit a café's profile. A little too dark-ish and gloomy he said; most probably would suit a lounge or a bar instead. A cafe should be a briliant and cheerful place to match the strong scents and the bubbly scenario it usually promotes, to induce more purchases, he added. But to me, the red and orange tones and rays of yellow lighting, coupled with bright sphere shades, toned the place just right. Small ambience lighting here and there and a trendy bare plastered wall make up for the somber base lighting. You be the judge. Drop by that place and let me know what you think, if you're in the neighborhood that is.


I also learned that they provide free wi-fi and my second visit the next day proved this to be a popular hotspot. People were enjoying their coffee with a good surf on the net. But you don’t need to bring a laptop and surf to spend a large chunk of your day here. Groups of people were having times of their lives chatting, exchanging fun stories and juicy gossips, or even closing a business deal; ordering second and third helpings as they curled up the sofa and hugged the stashed pillows.

Did I get paid for this? Yeah, I wish! But why all the praises? Well, I just think they deserved it. Plus, the setting allowed for many nice shots for which, proper credits should be in order. But because I was too shy to position myself for good shots and angles, and don't want to stick out like a sore thumb, I shot with haste, hence the shaky and blur pictures.

Oh, since I didn’t have any meals either, there is no food for review here. You can find some F&B reviews and more pictures by following these links;

http://www.mum-mum.info/2004/09/bing-bing-bing-as-promised-posting-on.html

http://www.sixthseal.com/2004/08/the_bing.html

bing coffee company sdn. bhd.

no. 84 pandungan road 93100 kuching, sarawak

Phone : +60-82-410 188 Fax : +60-82-259 188

Email : info@bingcoffee.com

Bing me up, Scotty!