COCONUTS HOT SPOT – Does Yaw Min Gyi really need another café? The owners of Meringue, the newest light eatery to open on Bo Yar Nyunt Street, must’ve asked themselves the question. There’s a café opposite. There’s a café next door. And up the road, and around the corner. And so on and on until the middle-class, expat-heavy enclave opens up to the rest of the city.
Fortunately, where there are foreign freelance nomads – consultants, businesspeople, NGO workers – there’s a seemingly insatiable appetite for coffee and baked goods.
On a recent afternoon, Meringue – the second, after one opened in Ahlone township last year – was quietly humming with the whoosh of the coffee machine and the tip-tap of laptops. The customary coffee-shop indie-pop soundtrack played softly. Passersby stared in through the wide front windows.
Like its predecessor, Meringue’s décor is simple but inviting: white walls, blackboards, plenty of wooden furnishings. Soft orange bulbs hang from the ceiling. It’s very cozy. A long bar against the street-facing windows, with stools, is a people watcher’s paradise. In the back, there are comfy pillow-padded benches and even a table for kids, or, er, very small people, complete with miniature wooden chairs.
This isn’t a lunch place. There are a few savory specials – tuna waffles, on a recent visit – but the selling point is the sweet stuff. The tiramisu, especially. Served in glass jars, it’s deliciously creamy and rich. A blueberry sponge cake (K3,500) was irresistible, slathered with cream and topped with juicy berries. Brownies and carrot cake slices were equally tempting, washed down with a full-bodied cup of coffee. A cappuccino (K2,800) was nicely frothy but rich.
Does Yaw Min Gyi really need another café? Probably not. But on account of the tasty brew, cozy seating and very speedy wifi (shhhhh), we’re very glad it’s here.
Meringue is located at #30 Bo Yar Nyunt Road, near the corner with Nawaday Road, opposite Press Office Café.
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