Little Allegra, small cafe that’s big on pastries, cakes and coffee

My first encounter with Little Allegra, a hole-in the-wall bakery in a residential estate in Ipoh, had been with its famed cempedak cake at a wedding lunch in Kuala Lumpur. Who could forget the luscious golden fruit covering the cake, its aroma, moist texture and flavour.

Having a slice again of this cake was not possible, even on my recent visit to this café in Ipoh, as the king cempedak used for the cake has only a short six-week harvest, from a farm in Penang and Cameron Highlands.

Still, I was bowled over by the array of pastries, cakes, pies, breads and desserts on the shelves and counter of this little bakery. They are gone in a flash if you hesitate even a minute. We had arrived in Ipoh late morning and the shelves were emptying fast.

We decided on the Avocado Egg on Danish Scroll Croissant, Spinach and Chicken Quiche, Lamb Burger and Seafood Pie. We liked the avocado and egg on the buttery croissant, touching it with the rings of balsamic vinegar on the plate. The Spinach and Chicken Quiche was delicious – the thin crust, the right combination of eggs, vegetables and meat — that I wished I didn’t have to share it.

The Lamb Burger was well put together – a thin, tasty meat patty drizzled with sauce, sitting on egg and topped with vegetables. The warm seafood filling was generously heaped on a croissant base in the Seafood Pie, another good option for brunch.

The three of us continued the savoury part of our brunch, sharing a Fish Soup and Baby Spinach and Prawns Pasta, the specials for the day. It was a lightly sweet corn stew with golden fried tilapia, a special variety reared with Norwegian expertise in northern Perak for export.

We enjoyed bites of the ear-shaped pasta that captured the thick, lovely tomato sauce within them. Little Allegra’s owner and chef Julie Lip brings back unusual pasta from Australia regularly.

Of course we had to have coffee here – the coffee beans are from Kyoto. The latte I had was excellent — the aroma, the slight bitter edge, the right balance of milk and coffee.

The Tiramisu was sublime, chocolatey and moist, with just mascarpone and no cream, within layers of homemade sponge. You couldn’t fault the Raspberry Danish and Lemon Danish with lemon curd in the centre. Both were crusty and buttery, with welcoming tartness from raspberries and lemon curd.

Julie travels regularly to Japan and South Korea to keep abreast of trends in the café scene there. She converted part of her garden into Little Allegra. “The counter was my library,” she said.

The small bakery has lots of charm, with its cosy ambience and a gorgeous garden view through the long glass window. You could take your pick of Julie’s preloved cookbooks, pay for them and read them in the small “library” within the café.

Little Allegra is open from Friday to Monday, 8.30am to 4pm. It’s at 26a Jalan Keliling, Taman Canning 31400 Ipoh, tel: 010 941 5722.