Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice One of the spots that we had been passing by while it was still under renovation was Coi Je Cafe ่ดข็ทๅฐๅฎค; located along Upper Cross Street, Coi Je Cafe is one of the latest additions to the neighbourhood in Chinatown. The shop unit of which Coi Je Cafe had occupied is fairly noticeable; the spot is right across the road from Hong Lim Complex, whilst the stretch of shophouses where it is located at is where one can also find Chiew Kee Noodle House and the outlet of The Community Coffee - Roastery there. Coi Je Cafe does have quite a prominent shop facade; the signage is brightly lit and comes with a background with an orange hue โ definitely one that would intrigue passers-by whom are looking around whilst going about the area. Inside, the same shade of orange adorns the walls; one can also find plenty of posters being hung on the walls of the space as well, with one wall towards the end of the cafe filled with lucky greetings in Chinese. Otherwise, the furniture and fittings can be described as more towards the functional side of things; the dining area comprises of seats mostly catered for groups of two (2) and (4) pax with dining chairs of an orange-coloured cushion that provides patrons a comfortable dining experience. The menu at Coi Je Cafe comes with a decent variety of dishes that one can go for; describing itself as a traditional Hong Kong restaurant, the menu is split into categories such as regular rice dishes, baked rice, curry tomato egg rice, toasts, buns, small dishes and fried chicken wings. Beverages available includes that of Hong Kong-style Milk coffee and tea, Ovaltine, Lemon Sprite, Lemon Cola, Lemon Barley Water and Iced Longan Red Date Goji Berry Honey โ just to name a few.
We did find the menu at Coi Je Cafe to come with dishes that is not only just with a traditional Hong Kong influence, but the menu also does seem to consist of a number of dishes that also has a Portuguese touch that is prevalent in Macanese cuisine. With that being said, one of the items that had caught our attention whilst skimming through the menu was the Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice; something that felt particularly comforting and familiar to us. While the menu at Coi Je Cafe does not describe the elements that come with each dish that they have to offer, the Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice comes exactly like how one would expect a Sweet & Sour Pork Rice dish to have been presented from a coffeeshop stall serving zi-char style dishes. It can be observed from our order that the Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice came with chunky pieces of pork that has been stir-fried with pineapple, capsicums and onions in a reddish sweet and sour sauce; all accompanied with a serving of rice on the side. Digging into the Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice, we found that the sweet and sour sauce here is something to die-for; most places would have the flavours of the sauce slightly muted down and the punchy yet balanced notes of both sweetness and tanginess just struck a chord with us. We also liked how they provided quite a generous portion of sauce that was ample to go around with the entire portion of rice that as served on the plate. Aside from the sweet and sour sauce that impressed us, the stir-fried chunks of pork were equally intriguing; the whilst carrying a light crispness on the exterior, the pork was also easy to chew through โ juicy and tender.
There seems to be also a note of pepper that lightly lingers at the back of at the tongue; probably something added during its marination process โ this helps to provide a slight contrast of flavours that helped to ante up the flavours of the dish and provided the Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice here with a unique twist. Other elements such as the capsicums and onions were carried a soft crunch โ a good respite from all the meat and rice, while the chunks of pineapples provided a refreshing zing on top of that texture that helps to add on to the flavours of the sweet and sour as well. During our visit, we had also ordered the Classic Butter Bun which was also named the ็ปๅ
ธๅฅถๆฒน็ชไปๅ
in Chinese โ some may be misled about the item being a pork chop bun considering the term โ็ชไปๅ
โ in its Chinese namesake. Turns out, โ็ชไปๅ
โ refers to a type of bread that is found in Hong Kong that is almost akin to a shorter and broader version of a baguette โ the Classic Butter Bun being sliced into half and sees melted butter and condensed milk drizzled atop the insides of the baguette. The result is this somewhat crisp bread with a fluffy interior that requires some tension to pull apart; all that with a sweet-yet-saltish note that is pretty comforting to have. Also something that we had ordered during our visit to Coi Je Cafe would be the Ice Fire Bolo Bun; this is essentially the standard Hong Kong-style Bolo Bun that comes with a slice of butter in the middle. Whilst it does come with a crusty layer over the top that comes with a bit of sweetness, we felt that the crust lacks a milky flavour and the dish ended up a little being heavier on the savouriness of the butter instead. The insides of the bun can also be described as a wee bit dry and clumpy; a little cake-like and could do with a bit more moisture whilst keeping the density for a good mouthfeel.
Between the Iced HK Style Milk Tea and the Hot HK Milk Coffee, the former was the more impressive one where the tea comes with just the right balance of milk โ the fragrance of the evaporated full cream milk aptly enhances the flavour and provides quite a good balance with the tea; all that with a smooth and silky texture. In retrospect, the Hot HK Milk Coffee was closer to that of an instant coffee mix that comes with a smooth and silky mouthfeel from the addition of evaporated full cream milk; all that with a slight sweetness of condensed milk โ probably one that would suit the tastes of Hong Kongers at large, though something a little more difficult for locals here to get accustomed with considering the differences in coffee drinking culture between the two regions. One thing that is particularly clear about Coi Je Cafe is its execution of its cooked dishes โ we were definitely impressed with the Nostalgic Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork Rice that they had served up which does come with intricate details which sets it apart from other iterations of the same dish that we have had at zichar-style establishments around the island. Prices of the items listed in their regular rice dishes, baked rice and curry tomato egg rice sections of the menu range between $7 to $15.80; the lowest priced being the Ham Hock Abalone Rice Noodles, while the priciest would be the Curry Tomato Egg Wrapped Breaded Pork Rice. While prices are on the higher end of the spectrum here for such eateries, Coi Je Cafe does bring something a little different to the table to diners here โ definitely looking forward to trying their variety of toasts and baked rice dishes some time soon here!
