Knock Knock @ Pantai Panorama & Espresso Bar @ Subang Soho

This could be a welcome trend: Caffeine-centric cafes like Knock Knock & Espresso Bar that blossom in condominiums & serviced residences.

 First up, folks who knock on the entrance of Bangsar Souths Pantai Panorama apartments might be pleased to find friendly Okinawan native Megumi Matsuda within, welcoming guests to her new business with homemade cakes & fresh coffee.

Carrot cupcakes baked in the morning, available for the eating before noon. The cafes operating hours are strange (see below), but thats when Megumi, who lives in Pantai Panorama, believes this condos residents are most susceptible to the call of coffee.

 Whether its a nice, hot latte that youre lusting after ...

 ... or an even hotter chocolate that you crave, Knock Knock wont leave you hanging.

Gonna make you sweat though: Pantai Panorama is plagued by slopes; visitors must park in Block 5, a nearly 10-minute walk downhill-uphill from the cafe in Block 2.

Meanwhile, on another side of town, where some customers end up parking illegally on a slope, theres Espresso Bar, a diminutive den with air-conditioned & alfresco seating at Subang Soho (near Empire Shopping Gallery, within a five-minute driving distance).

 Its a pleasantly amiable place too; simple snacks are available, but theyre probably not really the reason that Espresso Bars fans like this place.

The lattes OK, but maybe a little too scalding-hot & one-dimensional in milkiness.

 Knock Knock,
2-G-2, Pantai Panorama Condominium, Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur.
Near the ground-floor elevator of Block 2, several steps away from the pool.
Tell the guards during visitor registration that youre heading to the cafe.
Mon-Thurs, 7am-11am, 5pm-9pm; Fri, 7am-1230pm; Sat, 6pm-11pm; Sun, 9am-5pm

Espresso Bar,
One Soho, SS19, Subang Jaya.
Daily, 7am-2am