ZUS Coffee (Aeon Mall Tebrau City)

Review Rating: ⭐⭐ (Below Average)

Address: FK2, First Floor, Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre, 3, Persiaran Desa Tebrau, Taman Desa Tebrau, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia (Located within Aeon Mall Tebrau City)
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3bZiGTAyYwBKtp847
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)

Americano (Iced, No Milk, No Sugar) = RM6.90
Mushroom Chicken Deluxe = RM10.90

Service Tax 6% = RM1.01

 Here is the Full Menu of the Eatery/Restaurant.
Prices are Accurate as of the Date of the Post.

Credit: Comic Strip was Borrowed without Permission from Mokumentary. (I couldn't reach out to them to request permission as they disabled comments on their post. So I guess the next best thing is to give them credit instead.) Do give them a visit, their Comic Strips on Malaysia Life are Hillarious!

Controversy Background:

This is apparently a Homegrown Malaysian Coffee Brand that recently had a Very Amusing Controversy. To cut a long story short, so some Malaysian Commentators thought that the Company's Logo represents "Zeus", a Deity of the Greek Pantheon.

The pronounciation of the word "ZUS" also sounds similar to "Zeus". Because of this, they're calling for people to boycott as it supposedly depicts the Visage of a Pagan God.

Even more Amusing, the PR Team for ZUS Coffee was somehow still able to provide an Amazing Explaination Story. Apparently according to them, the Image on the Logo is actually some Ancient Ethiopian Goat Herder who first discovered Coffee. (Below Image taken from a Reddit Post)

Sources:
https://mothership.sg/2023/11/zus-coffee-boycott/
https://weirdkaya.com/some-msians-call-for-boycott-of-zus-coffee-over-its-logo-but-others-feel-it-doesnt-make-sense/

As a Singaporean and Outsider looking in at all this, its not my place to comment and all I can say is we can only Silently Observe I guess? Can you imagine what would happen if the People who actually Boycott realize what "Nike" (Sporting Goods Brand) actually means? They'll probably blow a Coronary if they ever found out. *snigger*

Kudos to the ZUS Coffee PR Team, that was an Interesting Turnaround Reply. (regardless if it was effective or not) Before this Controversy, I have never even noticed this Coffee Outlet. So I guess at least they managed to convince me to Patronize and give it a Review. Even Bad News is Good News I guess.

On to the Actual Review:

The Outlet at Aeon Tebrau City is basically a typical Small Mall Gourmet Coffee Outlet. Imagine Starbucks but Much Smaller, Not as Famous and Not Starbucks. There weren't any Customers when I visited (Boycott probably still going on)

The Staff didn't look particularly Cheerful nor Grumpy. She gave me the impression that she's just "Existing". I did appreciate that she was able to at least provide me a Recommendation for something that has Zero Milk and Zero Sugar though.

Americano (Iced, No Milk, No Sugar) = RM6.90

This tastes exactly how you'd expect an Americano to taste. If you have ever drank an Americano before, you'll know what I mean.

Though I feel the Caffeine here is Noticeably Slightly Stronger. Uses one of those Biodegradable Straws. Nothing else to say really.



Mushroom Chicken Deluxe = RM10.90

This is a Faux Croissant-like Chicken Sandwich with some Sliced Button Mushrooms slathered in some Mushroom Sauce. I use the word "Croissant" very lightly here though. This tastes NOTHING like a Real Croissant, more like a Typical 24-Hour Convenience Store type of Limp Overnight Rethawed Pastry.

Protein is a Very Sad and Lifeless Looking Piece of Rethawed Chicken Patty that surprisingly was a tad bit Juicy. The Whole Thing tasted exactly how you'd imagine it to taste: Sad and Salty. Not far off from a Typical Convenience Store sort of Reheated Overnight Stuff. I even saw the Staff reheat it in a Microwave after I ordered. Paying Premium Money for a Convenience Store Pastry. Ughhh.

Nothing really special about this Place, its just another Regular Gourmet Coffee Drink Shop you'd find in a Mall. Coffee was Average but Alright. The Pastry however really was Sadness itself. If Sadness was a Sandwich, this would probably be how it looks like. The Amusing Controvery was really the one thing that had it going for this place.

At least the Customer Service of the Staff was Basic Average. Nothing special of course, but like I mentioned, she's just there just to Exist. Oh and the Controversy did make me Chuckle a little, so there's that.