Sunday November 8, 2009

New kid on the block

Story and photos by RENITA CHE WAN

There’s another kopitiam outlet in town, and it comes with the tagline ‘Kopitiam with a new kick’.

KOPITIAM outlets seem to be springing up everywhere these days, and they seem to be giving not only their like competitors a run for their money but also international coffeehouse chains like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

To name a few, there are Old Town White Coffee, Uncle Lim’s Cafe and Pappa Kopitiam. In fact, according to Wikipedia, there are no less than 100 brand names of modern kopitiam operating in various parts of Malaysia.

Hainanese Chicken Chop

And now there’s another, well, newish, kid on the block. It’s called Kopi Oh!, and from its tagline “The kopitiam with a new kick”, it looks set to wow the kopitiam/ coffeehouse business – well, at least in the Klang Valley.

Located in the PJ State area, Kopi Oh! is in business for the second time around, having opened up a few years ago in Cineleisure Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

One of its specialties is three-layered tea. Concocted with a mix of tea, evaporated milk and palm sugar (gula melaka), it goes down like an ice-blended Frappuccino but is truly Malaysian in nature. And it only costs RM3.20.

Chicken Slicer French Toast

“Make sure you stir up the three layers evenly until it becomes a smooth buttery colour. That’s the best way to drink it,” says Ng Taw Heng, manager of the kopitiam. His brother, Ng Tow Choon, is the owner.

This tea goes very well with Chicken Slicer French Toast, another house speciality. The French toast is slightly burnt, giving it a crispy texture on the outside. But it is quite creamy and soft on the inside with a good buffer of sliced chicken ham.

“My family and I love travelling. We usually go to other food establishments to get ideas that will inspire us to create new and innovative dishes,” Ng says.

And that was how the Burmese Rice dish became part of the Kopi Oh! menu. It comes with a silky smooth gravy, which complemented the rice and egg dish very well. Interestingly, only the whites of the egg are used, and egg whites can be a nice treat.

Proud manager: Ng Taw Heng is always coming up with new ideas to attract more customers to his ‘kopitiam with a new kick’.

A menu on vegetarian dishes is also available.

“We used to operate this kopitiam in Cineleisure Damansara about two years ago, so we are not really new in this industry,” says Ng, adding that the PJ outlet was opened only a few months ago.

However, business at their former location wasn’t as brisk as he had hoped for and they eventually closed. But all the while, they hoped an opportunity to try again would come by, and that it did!

“When we heard that there was space available here, we were very excited and started planning from scratch,” Ng says.

“So far, the business here has been good and hopefully we will get more new patrons and come up with more delicious dishes!”

Another must-try is the Hainanese Chicken Rice. Although this dish can be found almost everywhere, the one here is so satisfying that giving it a miss would be a shame.

Be sure to order some fruit juice as well as it helps to wash down the heavy meal perfectly.

For those who crave spicy food, the Tom Yam Fried Rice is worth trying. Made with chunks of chicken and slices of eggs, bird’s eyes chillies and a lot of pepper, it has that extra zing to it. The verdict? Mouth-tinglingly spicy yet very tasty.

Looking around, I noticed that a lot of customers were ordering the nasi lemak with rendang ayam and Hainanese chicken chop dishes. Both are served in generous portions so be sure to have a big appetite when you go for them.

And what special coffee has it got to earn its name as a kopitiam outlet?

“The coffee here is homemade and is priced at only RM2.40. I guarantee you that you will be coming back for more once you taste this,” dares Ng.

Kopi Oh! is at No. 20, Ground Floor, Jalan Tengah, Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03-7960 2292