One morning, I dragged my friend out of bed to get to the shops early! Shopping in Singapore is fantastic and we spent a lot of time on their famous Orchard Road. Before hitting the shops though, we needed some sustenance and in order for her to try kaya, I took her to a kopitiam, a coffeeshop. I chose the Killiney Kopitiam in Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road as it was near to our hotel and was also packed.
Kopitiams are not your usual Western styled coffeeshops - there’re no cappucinos, no whipped cream, no fancy-schmancy cakes. The coffee served here is a Malaysian-style, particularly thick, almost greasy brew. Kopi is the Malay word for coffee and ordering it or kopi-o will result in a cup of black coffee. Kopi-susu is coffee-milk and a significantly lighter drink will appear if ordered. Tea is also available but as I never order it, I can’t really tell you of its variants!
I ordered kaya toast. Kaya is a coconut jam - it has the texture of grainy lemon curd but the scent and flavour of sweet coconut. It’s very addictive. The green kind is scented with pandan and the brown has the addition of brown sugar; I grew up on the green stuff and it’s still my kaya of preference. The kaya toast here was made into sandwiches of kaya and a thick layer of butter. Absolutely delectable and the big hit at this breakfast.
My friend wanted to try nasi lemak here but unfortunately, their nasi lemak was quite mediocre. The coconut rice was very lightly scented and a bit dry. The chicken wing was cold and already a little tough, so not at all freshly fried. The same applied to the ikan bilis (the little fried anchovies) as they weren’t as crunchy as they should have been. Nothing to complain about the fried fish ball and the omelette and the sambal that was provided was tasty and made everything go down easy.
There are probably better kopitiams around but at least this one was a nice introduction.
Killiney Kopitiam
Lucky Plaza #01-10
Orchard Road
Singapore
There are branches throughout Singapore and a few in Malaysia too.
Sun, 9 Dec, 2007 at 01:23
Wow, that coffee does look thick. I reckon you could just about stand that spoon up in the middle of it. I think I would be choosing the kopi-susu.
Sun, 9 Dec, 2007 at 16:03
Wow.. that really made me salivate just by reading! I’ve never been to Singapore (or Malaysia for that matter) so this kind of food is all new to me. It reminds me a lot of the cafes we have in Hong Kong though!
The toast looks oh-so-good - I imagine a lovely crunch and soft bread underneath…YUM.
Sun, 9 Dec, 2007 at 20:01
Paula: The kopi-o is jet-black! You know…I think my kopi susu was already sweetened…
supercharz: There are a few Singaporean and Malaysian restaurants in London that I can recommend to you! Do try! Gosh, I haven’t been to Hong Kong yet…I must go one day!
Mon, 10 Dec, 2007 at 01:06
hihi, happened to browse by. Welcome to my country
Need any more food recommendations? Think you’ve tried quite a few of the good stuff though!
Tue, 11 Dec, 2007 at 10:52
Hi ngc0228! I’m no longer in Singapore but when I do go back, I’ll be sure to give you a shout! Thanks!
Thu, 27 Dec, 2007 at 23:34
su-lin:here’s a breakdown of the terms!
teh-o/kopi-o = tea/kopi without milk(with sugar)
teh/kopi kosong = tea/kopi without sugar
teh/kopi-c = tea/kopi with evaporated milk
teh/kopi = tea/kopi with condensed milk (yours!)
hope you find this useful!
Sun, 30 Dec, 2007 at 21:14
Oh, that is useful, iceyuwen. Thanks!