Luke L.
Yelp
Kei Coffee House is another one of several restaurant/cafe brands under Kei Concepts (sister restaurants include Súp Noodle Bar, Vox Kitchen, Nep Cafe, ROL Hand Roll Bar, INI Ristorante, Kin Craft Ramen & Izakaya, QUA, etc.). This contemporary coffee shop focuses on specialty lattes, baked goods, and modern decor.
[Parking]: Fairly easy & free parking within the strip mall plaza.
[Atmosphere]: The cafe has one of the nicest 1st date vibe for a coffee shop in Orange County, but good luck on finding an available seat on weekends. Why is this cafe always so crowded? Many students actually bring their laptops and just camp out at the tables to study. Heck one time I came here at 9:30 AM on a weekday and the cafe was already 75% packed. There's also an outdoor patio area.
[Amenities & special notes]: Utensil are located at the pickup counter. Use self-serve kiosk to earn rewards (if you sign up for the Kei Rewards program). Customers must place an order directly with cashiers for back to school / other special offers.
[Menu]: For drinks, Banana Toffee Latte is the top seller. Other popular drinks include Sweet Corn Latte, Matcha Latte. Banana Matcha Latte, Strawberry Matcha Latte, and Pandan Coconut Matcha. For food or snacks, the top two popular items are Popcorn Chicken and Breakfast Burrito. I asked the staff about Spicy Mayo Egg Sando and apparently they took it out of the menu.
***
Spicy Popcorn Chicken (spicy five spice seasoning popcorn chicken served with a side of yuzu mayo; back-to-school special for $6 on Friday): Not too spicy which wasn't too bad, but yuzu mayo tasted just okay. While popcorn chicken tasted solid, I don't think it was worth $9.50 and thank goodness it was on a special $6 deal.
Longanisa Breakfast Burrito (Tater tots, longanisa sausage, cheddar jack cheese, and scrambled eggs. Comes with salsa roja and aji sauce. Available until 4 PM - $13.50): The order came with salsa roja (red sauce) and aji sauce (green sauce). Green sauce tasted a bit more vinegary than I thought. Sausage had a sweet aftertaste and it was quite an interesting burrito. It was not the biggest breakfast burrito I have ever had, but it was big enough to cut in half & save the other portion later for lunch.
Banana Toffee Latte (Double Shot Dark Roast with banana toffee sauce, oat milk, salted cream foam, and toffee bits - $7): I thought the drink looked really sweet, but I was actually wrong and the drink wasn't overly sweet. They actually had toffee bits to add the extra texture. No wonder this is the best selling drink.
Matcha Latte (hot - $6.50): An excellent matcha latte.
***
B-tier for Popcorn Chicken, a-tier Longanisa Breakfast Burrito, and s-tier Banana Toffee Latte & Matcha Latte. While this is my least favorite Kei Concept cafe/restaurants, I can still see myself coming back here from time to time as long as I continue to stick with their s-tier drinks like Banana Toffee Latte or Matcha Latte.