The Grumpy Cyclist at Taman Tun: Restaurant Review

Riding proudly into the heart of Taman Tun, The Grumpy Cyclist began wheeling out coffee & cakes this week, putting no brakes on the breakneck spread of cafes in this neighbourhood.

The Grumpy Cyclist fails to live up to the first half of its name: The team that steers this space is cheerful, not cranky, creating a welcoming eatery where pedal-powered patrons might feel particularly at home.

Plenty of room within for folks to stow their bicycles; if rumours are to be believed, The Grumpy Cyclist even furnishes shower facilities so that sweaty riders can freshen up.

More gossip & speculation: The Grumpy Cyclist seems to be backed by a fair number of investors; one of its key operators could be the communications director of government economic unit Pemandu. And for some cafe observers, there are scintillating links to other familiar names: a Cyclist co-owner might be the brother-in-law of the founder of Lids & Finch, while a barista here is believed to be one of the pioneering men behind Podgy & The Banker’s counter.

Cakes

But while the tangled threads of fact & fiction make The Grumpy Cyclist’s origin hopelessly murky for now, what’s irrefutable is the sense of rascally humour that reigns here, from the cash-hungry message on top of the tip jar to the names for the cakes that form the only food offered here so far.