Plaster Platter For those whom have been following us for a while, there might be some chance that one might have noticed that Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian is a spot that we do seem to visit on-and-off. The concept had actually first opened their doors quite a number of years ago with their very first outlet being at Woodlands MRT Station (right outside the entrance towards Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange), though that outlet has since closed down for quite some time as well. Since then, Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian have managed to find home at several other locations; one being its IMM outlet, and then the Raffles Holland V outlet which was meant to replace the now-defunct location in Woodlands. It has been a while since we had last heard of the brand, and it seems that Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian had not only opened one, but two new locations across the island — one being at Bugis Street, and the other being at Changi Airport Terminal 2. The location at Bugis Street, which is also the one that we had visited, takes over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of Popeyes there — located in the iconic single-storey shophouse that is right across from Bugis+. The shophouse now looks totally different from how it was when it was still tenanted by Popeyes; the exterior has been given a white-coloured paint job with signages of Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian taking over the position of what used to be Popeyes’ signage, while the interior boasts of a nostalgic theme typical of colonial-era Hainanese coffeeshops — think tables with marble top, wooden chairs and tiled flooring with wooden fittings and metallic grilles around the windows, which is pretty on-point with their other locations as well. It seems that Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian had expanded their menu a little since our last visit — apart from their Roti Prata and Nasi Lemak offerings, items on the menu includes Putu Mayam, Mee & Lontong, Nasi Briyani, Chef’s Special (which includes dishes like the Malay Ginger Fried Chicken with Chicken Rice), as well as All Day Breakfast. Beverages served up at Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian included the usual Nanyang-style Kopi and Teh, as well as items like Milo and Calamansi; just to name a few.
One thing that had made us pay attention to the Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian brand would be their Roti Prata offerings — we had already made our way down to Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian at its IMM location to check out their Mini Nian Gao Prata previously; they also do offer a full-size Nian Gao Prata which we are still pretty keen on checking out, as well as a Crispy Hae Bee Hiam Prata which we don’t seem to recall seeing on their menu previously (but again, maybe it is just us not paying enough attention to the menu). Plaster Prata in the local context often refers to a Prata with an egg that is slapped on top of the Prata, though what really piqued our interest with the Plaster Prata at Cafe O Kedai Kopi Harian was the way that it was being illustrated on the menu. It is interesting to note that there are two ways that one can go for the Plaster Prata here — one can simply order the Plaster Prata from the Roti Prata section of the menu, or go for the Plaster Platter from the All Day Breakfast section of the menu. Going for the former allows one to have a choice to opt between having one egg or two eggs with their Plaster Prata, while going with the latter comes with the default option of one egg for the Plaster Prata — that being said, the Plaster Platter would be more of a bit breakfast platter where one will also get to have other elements like the chicken bratwurst, turkey bacon, chicken ham and salad all served on the same plate. For a Prata dish, the price tag of $11.80 for the Plaster Platter may sound a little outrageous — no doubt that the Plaster Platter can arguably be a local-style big breakfast platter, though some might lament on how the Plaster Platter does come with rather budgetarian accompaniments with the Plaster Prata that just wouldn’t match up against the actual big breakfast platters served up at cafes serving up specialty coffee and brunch dishes.
To really understand the Plaster Platter, perhaps one should really take things back a little to the breakfast grills that are served up at local-style Hainanese Western cuisine stalls at coffee shops or hawker centres — we did find the Chicken Sausage served on the side to be a little bit on the premium side as compared to chicken franks that those stalls tend to serve up; likely a true Western sausage featuring chicken and herbs. The turkey bacon and the chicken ham came with saltish notes; the latter in particular tasting pretty full of sodium. All these have been grilled with a slight crispness that also seemed to have further brought out the saltish-ness of the elements even more. While some may say that this inadvertently made the Plaster Platter feel cheap, that exact flavour hits on those whom seemingly appreciate old-school Hainanese-style Western fare. True to its illustration, the Plaster Prata is served in a form similar to the Roti Sarang Burung (i.e. Bird’s Nest Prata) that we have had at An-Nur Shenton Way Famous / Bull’s Eye from Prata Lahhh! — the prata comes crisp on the exterior with a bit of tension to pull with the fork and spoon, while the sunny side-up in the middle comes with jiggly egg white and a molten egg yolk that eagerly oozes as one pokes it with a fork. The accompanying fish curry on the side did not feel particularly watered down; came with quite a fair bit of vegetables within and carried a bit of tang with a hint of curry spices. For $11.80, the Plaster Prata is something that would probably fit in for those who understand and reminisce the heritage of local-style Hainanese Western breakfasts with a slight fusion twist involving a modern iteration of Roti Prata — definitely returning to their Bugis / Changi Airport locations to give other items like the Malay Ginger Fried Chicken with Chicken Rice and full-sized Nian Gao Prata a go some other time!
