It seems MCR is developing a human intelligence network that is highly effective in identifying great (Melbourne Quality) coffee in places you would not expect. After posting my Starbucks confession, Trev from WA identified The Corridor as a place worth visiting. It’s funny, before reading the suggestion, I did dinner with a friend here and had to meet him at Times Square, less than 5 min from my hotel.
I waited for about 30 mins and wandered about the place and actually spotted The Corridor, and made a mental note to check it out anyway. It could have gone either way I guess.
After breakfast this morning, one of my coffee compatriots Errol, agreed to join me for a coffee, and so off we went. This was the type of placed you might find in Melbourne, and quite a contrast to the polished hallways of the malls here like IFC. The experience generally caters to highly affluent people, but this was great, it was a place where anyone could go. They roast their own (how about that!!) and the barista was a lovely and highly skilled young man called Mabo(?).
The first 3 beans in Hong Kong, this will be hard to beat. Check out the vid! Oh! and by the way… free wifi!!! what else can u ask for?
Glad to see MCR has come to HK and gave three beans to my most favourite cafe in Hong Kong. It would be great if you guys could keep exploring and tell me more hidden gems in Hong kong
Good stuff!
Very surprising. To hardcore coffee players in Hong Kong, Cafe Corridor has a lot of problems here and there, never stable enough. If Corridor is 3 beans quality, I would highly doubt the quality of other 3 beans coffee shops, and it render 2 beans as undrinkable. :/
Thanks for the comment. I enjoyed my coffee in CC but of course I only went a couple of times, I don’t know what the consistency is like. The three beans was pegged against HK quality, it would not have been a 3 in Melbourne, but it was very good. Even 1 bean is a great achievement by our standards, but each town has its own levels. I liked CC, they did well! We all have varying tastes of course.
Agree that C.Corridor is good, even improving bit by bit, but it has had some fair share of consistency problems from bean to cup. Coffee Assembly and Essenza in HK are also owned by Felix!
The Coffee Scene has improved tremensously in HK during 2009 to 2010 indeed, thanks to enough people crying foul and saying enough is enough, of bad coffee.
SO whilst it might be encouraging and a nice gesture to suggest a place is worth 3 Beans (but rated on a downsized scale relative to Melbourne coffee), please think about those of us who live there and still hoping for that little more in the cup! Use 1 global consistent scale! Also, please no more Starbuck reviews as I have serious trouble being convinced by someone who even drinks it to rate our Coffee. And Vergnano 1882 is not local roasted either, its from Italy – that brand in fact has been covered on MCR if one goes back a few pages.
Updated list of shops in 2010, at least equal to, slightly worst or better than C.Corridor in HK:
Barista Jam (Now THIS, is true 3 beans. At least the shot is tuned like ten times a day!)
FUEL Espresso (2-3 beans)
Coco Espresso (1-2 beans)
Soulmate (1-2 min. Corridor beans)
Essenza (1-2 min. Corridor owned)
Coffee Assembly (1-2 min. Corridor owned)
Dane’s Coffee (Guaranteed 3 Beans)
Crema (2 min)
Oscar’s (1 min. Barista great, pity machine temp surfs.)
Initial Cafe (1-2 min. Italian Blend a bit too Robusta based though.)
Epoch (1-2 min. Great team of baristas, pPity they use Illy!)
Cafe Golden (1-2 min.)
There are a whole heap more cafes out there nowadays which have opened during 2009-10 and are rising stars – prob worth around 1 bean or close enough, I can think of like 10 or 15 shops in this category. Might post here the list when I can recall them all : ) Hope this helps for future exploring in HK!
I bow in appreciation! Thankyou thankyou!!!