Oriental Kopi (Bugis Junction)

It has been a while since Oriental Kopi has opened their doors in Singapore with their very first outlet being in Singapore that is located at Bugis Junction — for those whom aren’t aware, the Singapore branch of Oriental Kopi is opened as a collaboration between the original Oriental Kopi in Malaysia and the Paradise Group. The queues at the establishment had died down a little ever since their initial phase of opening, with the establishment seeing little to no queues for those whom are dropping by slightly before typical meal hours. Oriental Kopi takes over the former premises of the now-defunct 88 K Town there; some may also recall this spot being once home to other dining establishments such as the now-defunct Kogane Yama and the now-defunct Chir Chir. The Bugis Junction outlet of Oriental Kopi is decked in a way that replicates that of an old-school colonial-style coffeeshop with the use of wooden furniture and fittings, as well as tiled flooring with mosaic tiles; some of the furniture and fittings also consists of rattan-esque elements that further adds on to the vibes that they are trying to bring out. The food menu of Oriental Kopi is segregated into sections dedicated to Signature Egg Tart, Oriental Polo Bun, Homemade Toast, Homemade Bun, Nasi Lemak, Malay Rendang Chicken, Kampung Fried Rice, Prawn Fried Rice, Malay Fried Rice, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nanyang Curry Chicken Rice, Kampung Mee Hoon, Oriental Chicken Hor Fun, Penang Char Kuey Teow, Oriental Prawn Mee, Mee Goreng Mamak, Chicken Herbal Soup with Rice / Noodles, Traditional PanMee, Mee Siam, Malay Rendang Beef, Oriental Laksa Mee, Dry Curry Chicken Mee Pok, Vegetarian Laksa Mee, Vegetarian Nasi Lemak, Local Street Food and Oreintal Dessert. The beverages section of the menu in the meanwhile comprises of Oriental Other Beverages, Oriental Coffee, Oriental Tea, Oriental Cham, Cincau & Soya Milk, Milo & Royal Chocolate.

Given our previous visit to Oriental Kopi in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, we were most curious on how the Oriental Signature Nasi Lemak from their Bugis Junction would fare against that of what is offered at Oriental Kopi outlets in Malaysia. The Oriental Signature Nasi Lemak from Bugis Junction comes with all the elements that one would expect out of a typical Nasi Lemak dish — this would include that of the Pandan-infused rice, Ayam Berempah (i.e. spiced fried chicken leg), peanuts, anchovies, sambal chili as well as sous-vide egg that is in place of the typical sunny side-up. We had always remembered the rice being served up with the Oriental Signature Nasi Lemak from Oriental Kopi to be somewhat unique; one that came with a very light hue of green that is quite unlike the neon green ones that one would typically come across for those infused with Pandan in Singapore. The flavours of the rice does seem like a cross-breed of the more gingery style of Nasi Lemak rice that some establishments are also known to serve up alongside the ones that get infused with Pandan here. The fried chicken leg in the meanwhile does come marinated with turmeric; all that whilst being fried to a beautiful shade of golden-brown on the outside where the batter was crisp and not thick — the meat being all tender whilst the chicken leg also came with fried crumbs that added on to the textures and flavours of the fried chicken. The anchovies does still come with a crunch as well as a hint of saltishness, while the sambal chili seems to come with a deeper hint of sweetness likely hinting at the use of Kecap Manis whilst coming with a spicy kick that should be tickle the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to moderate hints of spiciness. The sous-vide egg is definitely a refreshing change from the usual sunny side-up; the sous-vide egg featuring soft whites and a molten egg yolk — the yolk eagerly bursting out as one breaks the yolk open.

During the same visit made to Oriental Kopi at their Bugis Junction outlet, we also went for the Penang Char Kuey Teow; the Penang Char Kuey Teow here comes with the usual suspects that include the broad rice noodles, greens, stir-fried egg, fishcakes, beansprouts and prawns. The Penang Char Kuey Teow does come savoury with the rice noodles being consistently wok-fried with the flavours of the dish being pretty even throughout. The addition of the stir-fried egg adds on a fluffy texture to the dish; the broad rice noodles being slippery and savoury, while the beansprouts gave the dish an additional crunch factor. The prawn does come pretty fresh, with the texture of the prawns being firm with a good bounce; all that whilst coming with a hint of natural crustacean sweetness. We also got to try the Double Butter Kaya Toast; it is interesting to note that Oriental Kopi actually carries two (2) variants of Kaya for their Double Butter Kaya Toast — one that comes with the Hainanese-style Kaya which they dub as the “Traditional”, while there is also the Pandan Kaya which we found ourselves opting for. The Double Butter Kaya Toast makes use of toasted white bread here — all coming with Nonya-style Kaya spread atop the bread and sandwiching a thick slab of butter in between. The white bread has been toasted to come with a crisp texture; the bread being of sufficient thickness that didn’t feel too heavy as well — something that some establishments do not manage quite as well. The thicker slab of butter meant that there is a heavier emphasis on the saltish-ness of butter, while the Pandan Kaya adds a hint of coconut-y and Pandan fragrance with a slight hint of sweetness which gives the Double Butter Kaya Toast just the right contrast of flavours here.

A trip to Oriental Kopi will not be considered as complete if one skips on their Signature Egg Tarts — it is worth noting that Oriental Kopi in Singapore only retails their Signature Egg Tarts in pairs which isn’t the same as what the brand does in Malaysia. That being said, the Signature Egg Tarts that are offered at Oriental Kopi at Bugis Junction follows the same as what is being offered in their outlets in Malaysia – one that features a flaky pastry that holds up the egg curd in the middle. The tart base here is light, flaky and buttery — all crisp without being particularly greasy at the bottom; this is something where those serving up such styles of egg tarts do not necessarily manage well. The egg curd here comes all soft and jiggly — we also liked how the egg curd isn’t overly sweet as well; despite being an egg tart that comes bigger than what one would usually expect as well, the egg tart is still a fairly easy way in general. Another item that is not to be missed during a visit to Oriental Kopi would be that of their Kopi (Cold) — just like the one that is being served up at their outlets in Malaysia, the Kopi (Cold) features a frothy look with an overflow; something that seems to have caught on to be the default look of iced Kopi that is served at Nanyang Kopitiam-themed establishments in both Malaysia and Singapore. The Iced Kopi here comes pretty thick though we do recall the same being a little thicker and sweeter in the rendition that is being served up in Malaysia — still quite a rendition of the Nanyang Kopitiam-style iced Kopi that is worth ordering nonetheless given how rich and frothy it is.

Having tried Oriental Kopi in Johor Bahru before, we did feel that the Singaporean version of Oriental Kopi does actually pretty much live to the quality and consistency that the original Malaysian chain had set-up their brand to be — items such as the Oriental Signature Nasi Lemak does appear to be pretty much like how we had remembered it to be, while prices of what they have to offer are kept fairly reasonable despite being priced higher than that of Oriental Kopi in Malaysia despite the conversion from Malaysian Ringgit to Singapore dollars. The various main dishes that they have to offer are priced mostly below $10; pretty reasonable considering how this is an independently-run establishment anyway — very wallet-friendly whilst coming at a pretty good quality for Nanyang Kopitiam-themed dining establishments in Singapore. Queues do seem to be going strong at their Bugis Junction location even after having opened their doors here for quite a while by now; the best times to visit are actually during non meal peak hours on weekdays where there might be virtually no queue to dine-in within its premises, though one would still pretty much have to endure the queues should they prefer to not go through the hassle of crossing territorial boundaries to get their Oriental Kopi fix during the weekends …