Cliff & Max — Local services in Petaling Jaya

The good - everything is beautifully presented, from the cave-like interior, to the elegantly presented teas and cakes, to even the well manicured staff in pretty white dresses. A decent amount of tea and dessert offerings that are unique to the area.

However customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I would not call it bad, just that it’s clear the staff was not trained to do anything beyond taking orders, making drinks and serving them. At first I wondered if I was expecting way too much — but the premium price tag (RM150 for 2 teas and 3 desserts) is not really justified without either amazing taste or amazing service. Unfortunately it falls short on both ends.

The first time I walked in, I was simply told the place is full without any effort to suggest the next available time or offer a booking. I booked online and returned the following week. As first timers to the store, and being relatively unexperienced with chinese tea, it would have been great if the staff could explain, well, anything to us, rather than just leaving us with a menu and trays of leaves to sniff. Something as simple as “Do you want some suggestions? If you like something sweet, you could go for a honey orchid dan cong.“ would be good enough. Other speciality coffee and tea places do this, so I don’t believe this is an unreasonable expectation. I don’t think the staff is familiar with their own menu as when we asked for refills for our two teas, they had to clarify with us which ones we ordered and in which cups. I am far from tea connoisseur so I will not comment on how they brewed the tea or how it tasted to me. However I think that certain desserts would have gone better with certain teas, and this is where they could have offered better explanations or pairings. Eg the yōkans were on the sweeter side, and so was my honey dan cong, I ended up switching with my friend who ordered a long jing.

Perhaps we can give them a bit more time to improve as they are a new shop. I do hope this review can be helpful or taken as just personal feedback, not...

I’ve been following Cliff and Max for a long time before they finally opened a store at Ara Damansara. I’d like to first highlight how lovely the whole experience was when I first walk into the store, even though the space is small and it only made sense to make reservations to enjoy the space. I ordered the Yuji set and had it with a friend, the desserts are handmade and really interesting!

I've never had Yokan before and I really appreciate the owner to explain what Yokan is despite how busy they were.

The main goal of this shop is for me is to experience the scented product which Cliff and Max specializes in, I was always a big fan of their Earth scent. The scent soothes me whenever I use it around my home.

it’s only has been a month since they first open their doors to the public, the details and efforts made by the two sisters really impressed me. I highly recommend for people who enjoy tea and please visit Cliff and Max for their curated scented...

We had a very disappointing experience at this café. After coming from quite far with our family, including a young child, we were turned away at the door with no explanation at first. Only later did the waitress tell us that children under 12 are not allowed — yet there was no sign, notice, or mention of this policy anywhere, not online or at the entrance.

What made it worse was how the situation was handled. The owner was on-site but never came out to explain or apologize — instead, the poor waitress was left to deliver the message. It was extremely disheartening, especially for our little one who couldn’t understand why they weren’t welcome.

This place clearly lacks basic courtesy and warmth, especially when dealing with families or first-time visitors. It's one thing to have a policy, but another to handle it so unkindly. Definitely not family-friendly, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone expecting a...