his is still one of my favourite coffee places in Hong Kong, Coffee Assembly. I have been here a few times now and each time, the coffee has been tremendous. What makes it enjoyable also is that I have gotten to know the owner quite well (she is a good friend of my high school friend, M). She is a great barista and what’s more, she is also a tremendous chef! You are bound to have a great coffee and scrumptious food, and most importantly, I totally and utterly enjoy the atmosphere!

Check out some of her design, smiley face on my cappuccino

I wanted something sweet (surprise surprise), so asked L if she could make something sweet but light. She made me these scrumptious mini banana crepes like, sprinkled with chocolate sauce and icing. It was scrumptiously good.

It’s hard to find ‘good’ coffee in Hong Kong. Coffee Assembly has to be one of my favourites. It’s a shame that it wasn’t close to where I lived, otherwise I would have gone every single day. It’s a great place for a hang out place, I most certainly enjoyed it.

http://gastronomous.wordpress.com

Saturday afternoon. What better place to be than a small upstairs cafe a little off SoHo?
[JMEC]

It's a little difficult to locate. It's rather discrete. Walk up only ONE flight of stairs, at the middle landing, not any more. Actually it's the first landing. The door on the left. You don't need to press the doorbell. Just walk in. But there might not be any seats, because it's quite small, and there aren't many seats. I think this little cafe would accommodate a maximum of 15 guests.

I had a caffe mocha.
Frankly, frankly speaking, I did not really enjoy it. Possibly due to my recently-developed caffeine intolerance. It didn't even taste good in the mouth. I think, a bit too bitter for me. I expected mocha to be sweeter. I ordered mocha for that reason - didn't really want to taste very strong coffee. You would ask me why I visited Coffee Assembly in the first place. Honestly I did not come for the coffee, but for the company, which I enjoyed very much. Thanks.

Specialty: Latte Art
If you're interested, look up something called 'micro foam'. It is essential for making good latte art. visit this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfoam

All-day breakfast:
Almost identical to what we had at Cafe Corridor. The breakfast consists of: scrambled/sunnysideup egg, fat cheesy sausages, 2 piece of buttered toast, hash brown, a small bouquet of salad leaves. Very standard. What you would expect of a Hongkie-style all-day breakfast. I would be delighted if they upped the quality of those sausages..i mean, it's not that difficult to purchase higher-quality bangers. Cocktail sausages are for kids.

Service
Quite attentive. The barista (and possibly owner) noticed that I had only consumed 1/3 of my cup. She asked me gently whether it didn't suit me. I told her it was fine, just that I didn't really feel like drinking the whole cup (especially after it grew cold. Lukewarm coffee tastes pretty bad, and slightly sour too ) She smiled at me and said that, if I didn't like it, she would brew another cup for me. Way too nice. That's how you keep your customers coming back for more (good service)!

four cups of coffee, two all-day breakfasts, a good dose of healthy conversation and a failed attempt at revision last us three good solid hours at Coffee Assembly. It was a pleasant afternoon.

We only had a cup of coffee there after lunch, very interesting cafe, it makes you feel like being in the living room of your own home.
the coffee was good with a lovely cat head foam on the surface.
Nice area to chill and talk with friend, for a lazy sunday afternoon.
will try the food next time.
make sure you have spare time to wait...cos there is only one person serving...and she is the boss i assume

Searching for an appropriate coffee shop to "hea" with my friend, coffee assembly pop up in front of me.
First, this shop is not easy to be found. We nearly gave up after passing the entrance once.
However, when we entered, I felt the relaxing atmosphere there. That's what a coffee shop should have. We took the window seat. Sitting there is comfortable asthe buildings are not as crowd as you expect in central.
I ordered Espresso Macchiato, and my friend cappucinno. The espresso has good aroma, however a bit bitter and acidic for me.
What surprising was my friend's cappuccino. We have been waiting for almost 20 minutes for the cappuccino, and the girl making coffee brought us the coffee and said, "I haven't made good and smooth cream for the first cup, so I put it away and made another one. " After 5 minutes, she even brought us another cup of cappuccino. So warm, so enjoy.
I don't realise there is affocado. Will try it next time.

Elgin street, I have been there for some times already, it does give me a lot of memories, but really not notice this cafe. On last Saturday, I got some kind of feeling, search for Coffee shop in OpenRice, and I can find this one. OK, have a try.

I know this is a sister cafe of Cafe Corridor. It should be great.

I arrived in Elgin Street, walk for the whole street and still cannot find this. Search from the beginning and oops, I can see their ad. Ok walk upstairs. Open the door. OH... I m the first one who visit the shop. The time is around 3.45pm. Nice. I like this. I dont like noisy. I hate crowdy as well. This is what kind of cafe.

I take a seat just at the corner of the cafe near the windows side. After settle down, I talked to the lady (later on I know she is called Lily), and I wanted to have a Cafe Latte. Then after a few seconds, I asked Lily, is there any food I can try? She thinks and thinks and suggested "All day breakfast" or "Mushroom and eggs on toast". Finally I ordered Mushroom and eggs on toast. At that moment, my friend called me, and said he wanted to join me for the tasting of coffee. Ok I showed me the path to go.

After that, Lily asked me "do u want to take the food first and deliver the beverage to you after your friend arrived?" Oh very nice and warmth feeling. I said ok good. I like this suggestion.

Later on, the cafe is almost full. My friend also arrived. Drinks are ordered and my friend requests if he can have a Latte with a KITTY pattern on top? Sure is what Lily replied.

Finally I spent around 3 hours there. Nice cafe, nice environment, nice coffee and nice service.

I must go there again to enjoy the moment again!

NB: I noticed that they use the brand Greenfield milk. hm... What I personally think that this milk is not that ok, but from Cafe Assembly, its not that bad.

Found this place on openrice.com, and my friend booked for lunch because everyone's comment seems to suggest this place is always packed.

On a Friday lunch time, we were the only customers there, and Lily, the very nice lady basically spent all her time preparing for our egg-wrapped-rice and coffee. Honestly, the caffe latte here has been the best I have tasted in HK. How I wish I could have a cup of Lily's latte every morning.....

The rice was nice, though I would not say it was amazing because this is a coffee place, not a restaurant at the end of the day.

The atmosphere is simply relaxing and this is the perfect place to be on the weekend..... with a book.... but I am told it is very packed on the weekends......

On a hunt for nice coffee /tea places, and came across this well kept secret coffee lovers place in soho.. you may just missed this place when you walk by, tucked inconspicuously on the 1st flr at the lower end of Elgin st..

Place is a small cosy nest, enough for 10 people the most..and its a nice chillout spot, u can order a cup of coffee to hang out and watch the world goes by...the lady behind the counter, the "barista" if i may humbly call her, is a friendly lady and will chat with you ..while brewing your coffee. There's a whole menu of coffee selection, to suit your mood and palette of the day...and indeed she does make coffees with a cat smiling right back at you...awww... a very simple food choice available too, but heck , its the coffee that matters!

This is a coffee place with passion ....for those seeking fast and on the go, take from any starbucks or pacific place, don't crowd this lovely place!

In addition to Antique, another little hideaway place in the SoHo area which I frequent is the Coffee Assembly. (during Thursday to Sunday only because they are closed on the other 3 days) It is a cozy and clean environment for a coffee break, a chat or a moment for personal reflection. I love the sofa seats where you can really just sit back and relax. As the name suggests, it is purely a place for you to enjoy coffee. Of course they do offer a few food items, but coffee is the key here! Also, it is the friendly staff that really brings me back again and again to this wonderful hideaway. They treat customers as friends, they really want you to appreciate the coffee and the joy of it as well. A genuine dedication to coffee.
I needed a moment of personal reflection during lunch break so there I was, arrived sharp at 1pm when they open for the day. I ordered an espresso made from their own TERRA - Earth blend. It was surprising smooth and soothing. I usually have their FUOCO - Fire blend but I personally prefer my selection today. If you want to check out the details of their blend, check out their website. Sorry to those latte art lovers, I did not order a latte today so no pictures of any latte art. I know I am being picky but if there can be more sunlight coming from windows, it would be a great place to spend a day on the weekend to just read under natural sunlight and have a few cups of great coffee.

Likes:
* Cozy environment
* Very friendly staff
* Great Coffee
Dislikes:
* Limited operating hours (a cup of great coffee in the morning would be nice, but I know I am asking too much ... haha)
* Can be very crowded (and a bit noisy) during weekends due to limited seating spaces
Original Blog: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/07/coffee-assembly-soho.html

After hearing about this coffee shop, finally had a chance to stop by with a friend today.

The shop is located not on the "main" Elgin Street, but the part connecting Elgin and Hollywood Road. The sign is not obvious, but the shop owners prefer this way so that they can enjoy meeting customers and making their food at their own pace (doesn't mean they're slow of course).

I ordered an American, a thick toast, and a salad, while my friend ordered Vietnamese coffee and All Day Breakfast (hash brown, eggs, sausages, salad, and baguette with pesto sauce).

Both cups of coffee were good. Smooth and not bitter.

The thick toast was nicely toasted. Even after 10 minutes, it remained crispy at the surface instead of soggy.

The salad was fresh and served with pieces of sweet mandarin orange.

Coffee Assembly is a place if you want a relaxing, cozy time. They've books and magazines for customers to read as well as board games. You also get to chat with the owners who accommodate all your choices.

I know I'll definitely go back very soon!