Uncle Fung Coffee Stall – LA
In Alhambra, this Indonesian coffee, tea, and snack shop from Uncle Fung should become a chain
Orange County residents know Uncle Fung’s brand solely from the mini-chain of Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean restaurants (Uncle Fung Borneo Eatery) that were previously in both LA and Orange Counties before closing their Buena Park location. But there’s more to the story: its namesake owner originally founded Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine in Alhambra, and in 2024, his niece opened Uncle Fung Coffee Stall immediately next door. Despite the similar name, this young Indonesian coffee, tea, and snack shop has its own distinct identity – one so compellingly different from the region’s now numerous Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese cafes that we’re already dreaming of returning for a second visit.
A superficial scan of Uncle Fung’s printed menu doesn’t necessarily do justice to its distinctiveness, and that may be by design. The first column lists common espresso and latte choices ($4.50 to $6.25), and the last some Japanese matcha and hojicha lattes ($7 to $8.50), collectively covering today’s most popular coffees and teas. Look inbetween them and you’ll start to see the Indonesian references – pour-over single-origin coffees from Java and Flores, Indonesia, artisanal “kopi” drinks made with palm sugar, coconut water, Horlicks cream, pandan, salted cream and Milo, and/or coconut cream, and non-caffeinated marjan, passionfruit jam, and Milo dinosaur options.
To find their Indonesian food options, you’ll need to scan the clear display case at Uncle Fung’s counter or look at their Clover-based digital menu online. On our visit, seven items were available: a grilled glutinous rice log filled with shrimp sambal and toasted coconut (Pulut Panggang Ebi), crepe rolls with potatoes and carrots (Risoles), red tortoise-shaped glutinous rice cakes filled with mung bean paste (Angku Kueh), pandan crepe rolls with palm sugar and coconut (Dadar Gulung), pandan-coconut rice triangles with palm sugar syrup (Kueh Lupis), Nai-Nai’s Banana Bread, and a Chiffon Pandan sponge cake. Five additional items are listed on the digital menu, and appear to rotate with the others: alternate Chiffon cakes in orange or chocolate, alternate rice and sweet potato cakes (Talam Ebi and Talam Ubi), and an alternate pandan-coconut cake (Putu Ayu).
In addition to serving as a solid representation of the snacks one would expect to enjoy with coffee or tea in Indonesia, this collection manages to perfectly canvas sweet, savory, and in-the-middle options that can match whatever mood you’re in. For instance, we ordered a Horlicks cream topped latte ($8), which combined espresso with the sweet and mildly exotic flavor of Ovaltine, and worked equally well with the savory sambal-filled rice rolls, neutral glutinous rice/mung bean tortoises, and palm-sweetened coconut triangles. We also ordered a Clear Heart White tea, which arrived unsweetened with tangerine, rose water, and allspice accents, and particularly benefitted from the sweet cores of the pandan crepes.
But someone looking for a purely savory experience could have one of the teas or coffees with the Risoles, which resembled Chinese egg rolls in look and size, but differed in texture and flavor. Instead of the super-crispy outsides and cabbage-heavy insides of flour-wrapped egg rolls, Risoles were only a little firmer than soggy, and the dominant flavor inside was buttered potatoes: the product, apparently, of being made with a bechamel sauce that was in no way texturally apparent by the time our roll was served. Although they’re not cheap at $3.75 per roll – in the middle of Uncle Fung’s individual item prices ($2.75 to $4.25) – they’re apparently quite labor intensive, and not commonly available outside of Indonesian restaurants.
After an underwhelming experience at Borneo next door, Uncle Fung Coffee Stall delivered more distinctive options and flavors in a really nice space. Like the Uncle Fung restaurants before it, this Indonesian cafe experience offers a unique alternative to visitors, and we wish we had a location to visit in Orange County. We liked or loved everything we tried, and would certainly return for more.
Stats
Price: $
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2024
Addresses
19 S. Garfield Ave. Unit C
Alhambra, CA 91801
626.427.1569
Instagram: @unclefungcoffeestall