KopiBar Centrepoint

For an easy and simple lunch today, we decided to go to Kopi Bar in Centrepoint. As the name goes, Kopi Bar is a kopitiam cum bar serving both the usual kopitiam fare and also alcohol.

Interior of Kopi Bar

The deco of the place is simple with a little ‘waterfall’ ( an overflowing giant chinese pot) in the middle of the cafe. I guess it symbolizes the overflowing of good luck in chinese.

Our orders that day were:-

Nasi Lemak RM8.00

Hainanese Chicken Rice RM6.50

Rosebuds with mixed fruit juice RM6.90

Hainanese Chicken Rice

This place is famous for their Hainanese Chicken Rice, which is priced at a very reasonable price based on the portions you get. Plus, there’s an ongoing promotion where you can add on a plate of beansprouts to go with your chicken rice for only RM1. Its really worth it.The chicken was very tender. You can request for the chicken thigh or breast and no extra charge, unlike the coffee shops outside.

Nasi Lemak

The other dish was Nasi Lemak which came in a very big plate. The piece of fried chicken was quite big, but on the even bigger plate it came on, it looked small. The nasi lemak was alright and the portions was generous.

Rosebuds and mixed juice tea

We ended the meal sipping on hot tea. The rosebuds and mixed juice tea is one of my favourites. I love rosebud tea, the rosebuds gives it that extra fragance. We ordered the tea hot which came in a big pot enough for 2 people to share. But you can try ordering it cold as well, cause its really refreshing =)

Kopi Bar

LotG106, Ground Floor,

Centrepoint,

Bandar Utama,

47800 Petaling Jaya.

Tel/Fax: 03-77106966

Non Halal

Opening Hours : 11am -11pm Daily

www.kopibar.com

PappaRich Kopitiam

This weekend, I find myself at Papparich kopitiam having afternoon tea. This is a really nice place. Nicely decorated interior, comfortable seats and also free wifi. It really gives the kopitiam fill because it uses alot of wood in its interior, giving that nice warm feeling.

The interior

I  ordered what would typically consisst of a kopitiam meal.

Milo Dinosaur RM4.80

RM3.80

Half boil eggs RM2.80

Milo Dinosaurrr

For those milo lovers, milo dinosaur is the thing to drink. The milo is thick and topped with a heaping amount of milo. The powder milo forms little chunky milo bits when mixed in with the cold milo underneath. So yummy.

Steamed bread with kaya and butter

I really like the steam bread here because it comes out hot and straight from the steamer. Because its steamed the texture is lighter and fluffier. I always put the kaya and butter on straightaway, so it’ll melt into the bread, give it that extra flavour.

Half boiled eggs

The half boiled eggs are like any typically half boiled eggs, but its something that you must order at kopitiam to complete the experience.

All in all, its a nice place to come and relax, surf the net and just chill out. Though you have to pay for parking which is a real pain. Parking is RM2 per entry.

Pappa Rich

Unit C-21-01,3 Two Square

No2. Jalan 19/1,

46300 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor

Tel: 03-7957 2323

Fax:7955 6232

www.papparich.com.my

The Starbucks of Malaysia.

The Kopi Tiam has been around for decades, all the way back to the days of our grandparents and World War 2. Since then, it has transformed itself into a social past time for aged retirees, to the modern day, local equivilant of Starbucks and Coffee Bean.

Drive around in any large shopping district of Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya and you’d be hard pressed not to spot a Starbucks or Coffee Bean somewhere in the area, you may even find both! But look a little harder and you’ll probably find a Kopi Tiam nestled somewhere amongst the big boys, minding it’s own business and raking in all the cash.

The resurgence of an olden day past time which was more favoured by uncles and aunties who wanted a place to gossip and chit chat the day away has recently made a comeback. And what’s more, it’s the young who are frequenting the Kopi Tiams you see dotted around Malaysia.

A thing of the past, present and future.

You Sell Space? We Sell Space Too

The business model of the established coffee outlets like Starbucks and Coffee Bean are that they are not in the business of selling coffee, but selling space. Take this business model and replace the ‘Ice Blendeds’ with ‘Kopi Ais’, the ‘Muffins’ with ‘Roti Bakar’ and you have yourself a Kopi Tiam.

But selling space is no new thing for Kopi Tiams, they’ve been doing it for the longest time. 50 years ago there may not have been WIFI or airconditioning, but a Kopi Tiam was somewhere you would go with friends and just chit chat the day away, over a cup of black coffee, a piece of toast smothered in kaya and butter and two nicely half boiled eggs.

Getting In On The Act

The money generated by a Kopi Tiam can be quite staggering if it’s done correctly. For this reason and for this reason alone, the number of new outlets appearing all over Malaysia has been steadily increasing day by day. There are so many that in a single area, like Damansara Uptown, you can have 2 Kopi Tiams and 2 Starbucks no more than 500 metres away from each other.

There are many ways to start a Kopi Tiam, the easiest of which is to become a franchisee, where the parent company will provide assistance in almost every aspect of opening the outlet, all the way down to training the staff. However, this is probably the most expensive option as there can be very heavy royalty payments paid to the franchisor. However, you do get the benefit of a known brand name.

The other route to go down would be starting up your very own Kopi Tiam and creating a new brand for yourself. You’ll need to do everything from the training, decorating, stocking and recipes yourself, but it can cost you a whole lot less.

I prefer tea actually.

The Young and The Hopeful

Go into any Kopi Tiam now and I’ll bet you that 70% of the crowd are young, working adults or college/ university students. It’s a place to go and chat with friends, do some work or broker a business deal. It’s a trendy place to be seen now, although not so long ago they wouldn’t have been caught dead in one them.

Providing you with free WIFI for frequenting an outlet has made the Kopi Tiam a place where students and even working executives can congregate and do some work. A place where entrepreneurs and businessmen can meet clients or answer emails while they are out of the office. A place where these dame business deals can be made or broken.

The humble Kopi Tiam is slowly turning itself into a hub for the young and the business minded alike, a place for generation Y to sit and aspire.

So be it whether you want to run your own Kopi Tiam, sit and enjoy the atmosphere with family friends or do a little business, I think the Kopi Tiam experience is going to be around for another 50 years to come.

Pak Li's Kopitiam

Recommended by our friend Val to check out this kopitiam. We were told the cendol here was good and cheap. So onwards we headed, to Pak Li’s Kopitiam situated in Kota Damansara.

Pak Li's interior deisgn

Very nice ambience. Like a typical kopitiam, old stools, marble tables and lots of people. Oh yes and free wifi. ( You will have to get the password from them). Looking at the menu, we realised one thing, the food and drinks here were really really reasonable. Almost half the price of what we would usually pay outside. No wonder it was packed.

Pak Li's Cendol + Gula Malacca

We ordered our cendols and it came in little glass bowls and the servings were just right for one person. Not too much and not too little. The packed shaved ice was packed in nicely into a tiny ice mountain on top of the usual cendol goodies (jagung,red beans,santan) topped with green cendol on the top. Another perk is that you get to control your own sugar intake cause they give you your own gula malacca to pour over it.

Controling our sugar intake, DIY cendol

The cendol was good and refreshing. We all loved it. If we weren’t so full we might have gone for seconds. Great place to come to unwind, have a drink and  a dessert. Plus the price is so reasonable. Our cendols only cost RM2.60 each.

So if you are in the area and feel like something cold and refreshing and cheap head on over to Pak Li’s kopitiam. We did..=)

Pak Li Kopitiam

47-1, Jalan PJU 5/11,

Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,

47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Halal

Tel: 03-61418608

Opening hours : Thurs – Sun 8am-1am

Fri, Sat and Public holiday 8am – 2am