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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Charlie Brown Cafe @ Straits Quay, Penang.


Kindly click here for my latest Charlie Brown Cafe review!
When i first heard of Charlie Brown Cafe, the first thing that appeared in my mind was a big question mark, who is Charlie Brown?
I guess, everyone knows Snoopy, am i right?
Snoopy is the pet of Charlie Brown who is the protagonist in the long-running comic strip Peanuts.
The comic strip is branded as the most shining example of the American success story, one of the greatest and most loved comic strips of all time and it has been ran for at least 50 years, not counting in reruns.
But, in the comic, Charlie Brown is such a lovable loser, he fails in almost everything he does.
Besides, Peanuts characters can be found in shops, cafes and even theme parks all over the world.
For your information, there are multiple Charlie Brown Cafe and Snoopy Bakery outlets throughout Asia.
I wonder why they named the cafe as Charlie Brown Cafe instead of Snoopy Cafe.
Our younger generation knows Charlie Brown via Snoopy.
Apparently, Snoopy is famous than the other Peanuts characters.
And, do you know that Snoopy is actually a beagle?

Now, Charlie with his troop of friends invaded Penang island.
The first Charlie Brown Cafe in Malaysia has officially opened today and they have chosen one of the tourist hotspots, Straits Quay.
You will be amazed by its interior and exterior design.
I am sure that they cashed in a great amount of money to beautify their outlet.
Die hard Snoopy fans would be very eager to volunteer themselves as overnight guards.
Pictures and names of every Peanuts character can be found inside the outlet, no matter on the ceiling, on the table, on the wall or whatever.
The founder of the cafe, Charlie Brown can be seen at every corner.
The combination of cartoons and colours produced some sort of happy ambiance.
I have discovered that the cafe can actually function as a playground for kids.
That simply means that i was acting like a child today.
Besides its loveliness, the place is big and super comforting.
You should have no worries in getting yourself a table.
However, it was quite hot when i was there and my friends were complaining the same thing too.
The cafe serves as the perfect site to have a gathering, to enjoy the sea view at Straits Quay and to relive your childhood.


Let's kick off with the exterior cafe designs.







There are too many attractive stuffs inside the cafe.
That is why this page is quite long.
Out of my expectation, there is a souvenir store inside.
It sells a range of authentic Snoopy collectables.
In addition, there is a party room at the back of the cafe.






















Initially, everybody was queuing at cashier's desk but later, they were given a piece of paper with a number written on it and were asked politely to wait at our own table instead of standing there.
This is to ensure that the customers wait for their turn in the queue in a relaxing fashion.
Luckily, my wait was not a long one.
The service crew will deliver your stuffs to your table but i preferred to do it myself.
All i did was absolutely right.
I only waited 10 minutes for my cake and Latte, unlike my friends who spent an hour waiting for their items and yet wrong ones were being served.
My friends have ordered an individual Tiramisu cup (RM10) which was nicely decorated with a Charlie Brown's face.
I did not taste any of it, so i am remaining neutral regarding this dish.
My other half has chosen the Blueberry Citron cake (RM6.90) with a sugar Lucy doll on top of it.
Stories of yellow cake were separated by thin layers of blueberry.
The cake was smooth and soft, in other words, it was made with real ingredients.
Regarding the blueberry, it was fine and i could find some mini blueberries sandwiched between layers of cake.
We were provided some almond cookies (FOC).
The cookies were quite yummy and i believe they were wholemeal ones.
I have selected Charlie Brown Frappa Latte (RM12).
Charlie Brown Frappa is just a metafour for ice blended.
The Latte was overly saccharine and in my friends' case, their drinks were not sweet at all.
Hence, they requested to dulcify the drinks but hilariously, a cup of syrup was given.
Did they expect my friends to mix the things alone?
If so, then what is the point of paying so much for the drinks?
With a price tag of RM12, i would rather go for Starbucks Coffee or CBTL.
Disappointingly, there was nothing on the drinking vessels and plates, not even a label.
From what i have viewed through in the menu, there should be the logo cafe on the glasses.
Well, at least, i had the Lucy doll to toy with.











Other than that, door gifts were offered to early birds.
We received tissues which were packed in boxes.
There was a foldable part in which can be torn off and used as a 10% discount card.
The mini T-shirt suction cups were originally gifts to only those who spend more than RM100.
But, they were given as a compensation for their bad service and bad drinks.
My 5-man group has only received two shirts and i have demanded for three more.
The person in charge was pretty polite and he fulfilled my demand in no time.




In conclusion, i personally felt that the service was quite okay.
Maybe because of i did not really use their service?
We did not try the appetizers and main courses as opaque stickers were used to cover the lists of appetizer and main courses in the menu.
But, i don't know why i could see people eating them.
I was glad that i did not try them because those who were consuming them showed unpleasant facial expressions.
Anyway, one of my friends has questioned the service crew regarding bad service and drinks.
It appeared that the current beverage blender was just a temporary one and the professional one is on the way from United States.
The tables were not numbered and that left a huge negative impact on service efficiency.
Thanks to Jacgy for such useful piece of information and i strongly agree with him.
If you are to pay Charlie Brown Cafe a visit and you could not take any disappointment, please do it after their grand opening.
Today was just a soft opening.

Official Website : Click here!
Lot no. : 3A-1-17 & 18

8 comments:

Yeah, the ambiance is super nice!
but, they have to upgrade their food quality =[

Wah cipeh song lo :)
More then me liau, be song liau :)

Hami more than you? Likes ar? Or picture? =p

alamak.. i guess we go there to pay for ambiance..

Of course, but the price is quite okay for such ambiance.
Besides, according to foodtok (the one above you), he went there another time and claimed that the food there is improved.
Anyway, it is worth for a revisit. =]

1st impression was totally negative when i see a few meters long of queue line up at the couter! Imagine, there is only one counter to take the order! Took more than half an hour to make the order and more than 15 minutes to serve 5 glasses of drinks and total cost over 80 bucks! Hmm... i would rather visit Starbucks or Coffee Bean. Their specialty is about Snoopy and we are there for Snoopy!!! Yeah, guess what, we ordered a coffee and expected to get the coffee with Snoopy logo as printed on the menu which wasn't came with it but it came with just a normal pattern with few cross over the bubble which my grandma can easily style it up. The most funny thing is when we were given a card board with numbering and few lines of word to serve as the prove of pruchases and saw the line of word "Your World My World Our World"! No wonder you keep the customer waiting!

Your feedback is really epic, yyt. I guess they only open a counter, trying to copy the Starbucks and Coffee Bean operation. Unfortunately, the service and beverages are not anywhere near their standard. Having tried out the drinks during their opening, i did not dare to try once more during my second visit. My second visit was purely because i want to get the receipts for an event, not for the food there. Surprisingly, i can see other give ratings of 4/5 or even 5/5 for their drinks and food. According to the management of Charlie Brown cafe, they intended to open at least 5 more outlets across Malaysia next year. I hope they could first focus on this very first outlet which is a disappointment.

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