Kopitiam Cafe

I decided to try this new place and judging by the photos the food looked good. What we didn’t know was that they served it in to go boxes. We reached at 8:30 the place was going to close at 9. The nasi lemak chicken curry smelled of fish. It was tough to eat that out of a to go box. Don’t get fooled by the photos on the menu where they show actual plates. Never going here again.

I love the Chicken Laksa. It’s the right amount of spice. I also enjoy the Kaya toast.

Second time at Kopitiam, and I still love it. It’s pretty true to what you’d expect at a food court in Singapore, and probably my favorite place for roti prata, nasi lemak, chicken curry and laksa.

Very interesting place. We ordered our drinks and our main foods from our friendly waitress and after she checked us out, she walked in the kitchen and proceeded to make our food. We figured they must be really understaffed. Before we got our food, we had some reservations about the quality of the food because obviously anyone can make it. However, surprisingly everything came out A-​Ok, especially their popcorn chicken. The food was flavorful, despite us hearing her microwave some parts of the dishes.
The reason for the 3 star is because I believe it’s important to keep the magic of what’s behind the kitchen away from the customers. If we’re watching you microwave this, unfreeze that, no matter how good the food is, we’ll question why we’re not just eating at home.

I have been here a few times. I tried their peanut pancakes and thumbs up to them as no other Malaysian/​Singaporean restaurants served this right. I like thevcurry puff too. Entrées like curry mee, mee Siam and nasi Lemak are the average side. I was disappointed at the roti canai (it looks like those that you can get from the frozen department at the Chinese grocery stores), but the curry dipping is good. I bought the Groupon five for $ 25. No regrets but if it’s not because of the five visits pass, I won’t be coming back so often.

If this business wants to take off, owners need to work on sprucing up the place and customer service. Two tables were taken up by unopened boxes and cleaning products. Makes the place look cheap and takes away seating in a relatively small café.
As for the food, I’m not from either country but have had my fair share of Indonesian, Singaporean, and Malaysian food over the east coast and bay area.
I tried the kaya toast, curry puff, and teh tarik. The tea tasted legit, acidic which I liked, and not like something you can get from Starbucks. Curry puff was a good savory snack of mostly potato filling.
Customer service is very poor.
My order came out in pastry bags and when I explained I wanted my food «for here» the man serving me (owner?) LAUGHED and said «it’s okay» and where to get napkins.
I sincerely regretted tipping him beforehand. He did not offer to put my extremely flaky snacks on dishes so I could eat them properly and the bags were not even big enough to put my food without touching the table.
Usually businesses like this never come around because owners just don’t get it. Hopefully the food is enough to bring you back.

For the Singaporean coffee and tea, I’m a fan. I like the yingyeong (half coffee, half tea).
For the snacks, i got the Curry Chicken puff pastry and popcorn chicken. I will come back again to enjoy these specialty foods.

I come here often because it’s near by my job and Seafood City (Filipino supermarket). Every time I walk in the restaurant they always greet me with a smile especially the owner. She knows me already since I come here so often. I have noticed that during lunch hour is when they are busy. Most times there are plenty of seating available. I usually stop by here for their Singaporean coffee with pearls and coffee jelly added. The coffee is strong and bitter which I love from time to time.
In terms of their food, I’ve ordered the Chicken Curry (extra spicy) as well as the Chicken Laksa. I love how spicy the dishes are. On the go, I usually order the popcorn chicken with extra (6x) chili powder. It taste a lot better with the chili rather than eating it plain. The first time I ordered it, I wasn’t aware of the chili powder until my coworker told me about it. Also, I have tried their curry fish balls. However, I wish they could fry it a little longer. The curry sauce on the other hand is filled with so much flavors. Love the seasoning they put to make the sauce.

Exposition:
«Kopitiam, literally means coffee shop (coffee in Malay and shop in Hokkien), is commonly found all over Singapore and Malaysia. It serves as a place for common folks to eat and drink, or just gather around to chit chat or gossip about the latest news.» (
, 2011)
Singlish:
Food just okay wat. I try Nasi Lemak, and coconut rice too moist lah. Don’t expect food too shiok, milk tea is Tak Kiu (Milo, the Australian brand). Come here late at night with lots of friends and chitchat liddat. Come alone too boh liao. Auntie very nice leh. Decorations very nice too.
West Coast English:
So I don’t actually know anything about Singapore, but when I came here the other day, I was looking to try something new. I shouldn’t have come here alone because I felt really out of place. I mean, the food is OK if you just want a bento box, but it’s not a restaurant. Instead one should come here for drinks and desserts to facilitate conversation with friends. Kopitiam’s set up that way; nice ambiance and red metal chairs for that «hawker centre» vibe.

Mixed feelings after trying out this place. I had a craving for Singaporean– Malaysian food (especially the kaya toast and the dry spicy fried fish). They had the kaya toast. Wasn’t bad but wasn’t something memorable. I have had better Kaya toast at the changi airport.
The roti prata was pretty decent.
The Thai coffee and tea were extremely sweet– I will skip that the next time.
The options for vegetarian and seafood is extremely limited.

I’ve visited the square where this place is located numerous times, eaten at neighboring restaurants, and decided to try out a new place with my mom. We came in, and were somewhat discouraged to order because there weren’t anyone else except the ladies behind the corner. We thought «hey, there’s no one. is this place even good?» But I’m so happy we still went ahead and purchased our entrées. We ordered the curry noodles and chicken curry.
The chicken curry came out of the kitchen first and my mom and I fell in love with it instantly. Yes, the spice hits you three seconds after you put it in your mouth, but it’s something you can handle for it dies off. I would suggest that you stray away from the noodles. Yes, I ate it. Why? Because I wanted to get my money’s worth LOL. It was bland and needed more spice to give the mouth a «bang» per se. The side dishes that accompany them are great! I definitely love the dried fish and what seemed to be fish paste.
I’m so sad that I just found out this place weeks before moving away for university, but I will definitely be coming back to this place to eat when I visit home. Oh, did I mention the price is totally affordable?!

Always wanted to try this place out because of my interest of Singaporean and Malaysian food and culture. But this place is purely the worst representation of the two countries. Ugh! Left here with only disappointment. Of course, had to get the teh tarick or pulled tea. The tradition of pouring or «pulling» this tea through the air cools the tea and produces a foamy head. I watched the barista take the chilled pitcher out of the fridge and fill my cup up. Not only that, the boba was sitting outside. It tasted like a plain half ass Jell-​O shot and gummy bear.
The food was gross. Can’t described the curry. Maybe just a liquid with spices. The roti was a disappointment.
Should of knew to turn around when there was no one inside during the busiest time on a Saturday…

This place used to be the MOST authentic Singaporean restaurant but it’s now trash…
No nasi lemak with fried chicken anymore, arguably Singapore’s best dish and this restaurant’s best dish as well. Why?!
Ice Kachang machine is also down.
Curry puffs take 15mins to fry…
What a nightmare visit…
They don’t even pick up their phone to confirm what they have or don’t have…
Prices here are also INSANE! Not worth it anymore…
You just lost your biggest fan…

This is absolutely one of my favourite restaurants in SillyCon Valley. Very authentic Malaysian/​South-​east Asian food, which is hard to find. Most other Malaysian restaurants are too Americanized.
I absolutely LOVE their curry chicken nasi lemak and roti prata, which I’ll order almost every time I’m there. The other favourite of mine is their laksa. The owner Toca is awesome and really welcoming & friendly.

So I was really looking forward to coming here since my boss is Singaporean and recommended this place. Place is a small casual café and you just order at the counter and seat yourself. I got the roti and seafood laksa (I’m a total laksa addict). The roti is good, but it didn’t seem homemade. More like the frozen ones you get at Ranch 99. The curry dipping sauce that came with it was great though, so I would get it again. The laksa was disappointing though, since I was totally looking forward to it. The broth was so bland and flavorless that I was really disappointed even though it came with a great amount of seafood (shrimp, fish, fishball). The teh tarik was good though. We also got curry fish balls, but it’s more like the fish balls were cooked separately and thrown into the bowl of curry. I was expecting the fish balls to have the curry throughout. Others in my group got the curry rice plates and they all loved their food.
All in all, I might come back to try the rice plate, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to make a trip here.

Kopitiam Café has singaporean eats which i’ve forgotten about.
boba tea available. eatery is small with less than 10 tables inside and a few outside.
drink: americano coffee (lg 2.3)
–smooth, robust, earthy taste
–added leftover creama from K0w and it tasted fab!
drips:
–understaffed, not serviced right away
no problem, took a minute or so to figure out menu.
fast, courteous service once they were ready.
–décor, ambience upscale (dimly lit).

BF and I stopped in here for a snack since we were starving but couldn’t eat a lot since we had a to attend a party shortly after. We were in the Seafood City plaza and decided to eat here after seeing roti and popcorn chicken on the menu posted on their window.
I believe this used to be a pizza spot but is now Kopitiam. This café is pretty much another variation of a Quickly or TapEx as they have smoothies, snacks, and boba. But they also have Malaysian soups and other small meals.
We ordered roti pata and popcorn chicken. The roti and curry sauce were delicious, and the smoothies seemed to be made with fresh fruit. The popcorn chicken was just as average as any other milk tea place has ‘em.
Nice addition to the plaza, and I wouldn’t mind stopping in again for a snack.

(3.5 stars) A friend recommended this place to me and told me to try their Laksa. Hungry after work one evening, I decided why not?
Small coffee shop looking place. I came in during an Open Mic but it was either during rehearsal or just really dead… beyond that, place looked desolate and I even questioned if the place was open for business. Eventually I found a worker who took my order and I ordered the Laksa to go. Came out in roughly 5 minutes and the lady was nice to walk up to me and hand it over.
The soup was a good portion. It definitely did not leave me hungry or way too full, which often happens after eating a soup meal. They didn’t skimp out on the steamed pork slices and soft boneless chicken meat either. Although the broth was tasty and a little spicy, it was lowkey bland and I felt like something was missing. Still good though, but for the price I paid of about $ 8, I might be better off getting a bowl of phở.
I hear from another friend they have cheap lunch combos though. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be back to try that out…

Sure, you’ve had American-​ized Chinese food, and fake Japanese food. Maybe, you’ve even had authentic Korean food, but it’s not likely you’ve had Singaporean, Malaysian, or Indonesian food. This is your chance.
In my experience, I’ve seen four such restaurants in the whole country, and I’ve only eaten at one other.
That restaurant was Penang in Philadelphia, which is huge with a multi-​level dining room. Kopitiam Café is much smaller, like a kopitiam – or coffee shop. They have a few dishes to go with your drink.
My first thought was to order Roti Canai (which they didn’t have), and Nasi Lemak. It’s a combo I really like. I noticed they had a «we don’t have» something message over the Nasi Lemak photos. I tried the Laksa – basically, noodles in a spicy broth, and an iced lemon tea. It was over $ 12, which I found a bit expensive.
It was a very short time and the person who took my order finished with my tea. I got a straw and went to sit down, and the other person who had been behind the counter had my bowl of laksa. It looked amazing.
More than that, the taste was really good. Even more, the noodles were fresh, the broth had plenty of taste, and the meat was of excellent quality. This made it worth the money.
I was messaging a friend in Singapore at the time, and he wanted me to send a bowl over to him. That says a lot about the look. I’m feeling good about my experience at the café. I should return soon.

A party of two went to Kopitiam Café on a Sunday afternoon, and there weren’t many people, so plenty of seating. We were looking for a study spot, so it was really important that they had good seating, many available outlets, and free wi-​fi. Seating was okay — not too comfortable, so you won’t fall asleep (yes, the full authentic Asian tiger mom treatment for you). There were at least three tables that had outlets right next to them. Wi-​fi was okay; unstable, but still worked!
We were kind of hungry so we got
— Kaya toast: Meh. The bread was dry and tasteless, but the spread was nice and sweet.
— Laksa: The noodles were definitely better than what we had in Shiok (chewier, not as thick). The broth was great, deep flavors that balance spices with the embracing sweetness of coconut milk perfectly.
— Teh Tarik: The milk tea here is quite strong. It leaves a strong (read: bitter) aftertaste in your mouth.
— Yin-​yan: Half coffee and half milk tea. I liked this a lot better than Teh Tarik. The coffee somehow mitigated the strong tea in Teh Tarik, and it tasted like very milky but strong coffee.
I’d definitely come back for a nice study session, and next time I am here, I’ll probably try their Roti!