Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop

Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop 尚好 KOPI 台湾早餐店 is one of those new establishments that we had managed to come across when passing through the Telok Ayer neighbourhood — the Telok Ayer area has been seeing an influx of Taiwanese eateries in recent times especially with the opening of Jiak Ba Food Heaven 甲霸食堂(Jiak Bar) along China Street and Bao Wei Tang 爆味堂 that is situated within ICON Link @ Club Street. Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop is the last of the three establishments to have opened their doors; these folks are situated within Far East Square right beside Break & Bake — a local bakery shop within the same building that Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop is located in. Those passing by the area would have likely observed how Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop takes up a rather small shop space; the space primarily operates as a takeaway kiosk, though patrons whom intend to dine-in are able to sit around the four (4) dining tables that each seats four (4) pax that are located along the aisles. The food menu at Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop is segregated into Classic Taiwanese Egg Crepe Roll, Traditional Taiwanese Rice Dumpling, Noodles and Traditional Taiwan Railway Ekiben — it is worth noting that Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop only serves up their Classic Taiwanese Egg Crepe Roll and Traditional Taiwanese Rice Dumpling offerings during breakfast hours, while the Noodles and Traditional Taiwan Railway Ekiben are only available from 11am onwards. Beverages that are available at Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop will include Soya Milk, Nanyang Kopi / Teh, as well as some housemade concoctions alongside soft drinks.

Since we could only choose between the Noodles and the Traditional Taiwan Railway Ekiben offerings, we found ourselves going for the Night Market Grilled Pork Chop Hot Plate Noodles from the Noodles section of the menu. We did feel that the namesake of the dish is rather misleading; whilst we do know that they are referring to the hot plate noodles that one is likely to find in Taiwanese night markets, the mention of “Hot Plate” is rather odd considering how all items at Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop are served in takeaway packaging given the style of operations at the stall. With that being said, Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop does not describe on the elements that will come with the dishes on its menu — it can be observed from our order that the Night Market Grilled Pork Chop Hot Plate Noodles features elements such as linguine with tomato sauce (the only sauce option for the pasta served here), grilled pork chop, sunny side-up and three (3) different types of pickles being pickled cucumber, pickled radish and Kimchi. The use of tomato sauce here felt like a missed opportunity since such styles of Taiwanese noodles would usually come with some sort of peppery brown sauce — the lack of a sizzling hotplate also meant that there wasn’t an opportunity for the sauce to get reduced either; the end result of the pasta does feel rather similar to that of a typical pasta with the noodles done al-dente served with a tomato-based sauce. The slab of pork does come tender and juicy though there is a certain area where it does take some effort to chew apart — the slab of pork does not come with any undesirable porky stench, all that whilst being glazed with a savoury sauce that provides sufficient flavour to the meat. Meanwhile, the sunny side-up comes with soft whites and a runny, molten egg yolk which is a plus point to the entire dish, while the addition of kimchi and various pickles provides a tangy note and a crunch to refresh the tastebuds from the meat and carbs.

Whilst we note that Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop does serve up Soya Kopi, we were feeling a little less adventurous on the day we made our visit there and decided to just go for the Nanyang Kopi. Opting for the Hot variant of the beverage, we did find the Nanyang Kopi to come with sufficient kick of caffeine and well-balanced with a manageable level of sweetness. Having only tried only a limited number of offerings that Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop has on its menu during our visit, we did feel that the items offered at Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop especially for its lunch menu seem to lack that Taiwanese flair that we are seeking from such an establishment — whilst the pork chop in the Night Market Grilled Pork Chop Hot Plate Noodles does somewhat scratch our cravings for proper Taiwanese fare, the pasta itself lacked that feel. We also felt that the offering of Classic Taiwanese Egg Crepe Roll, Traditional Taiwanese Rice Dumpling to just breakfast hours quite limited the establishment’s potential especially given how “Breakfast Shop” is quite literally in the namesake of the shop — we would think that there are patrons who would purposely make the trip here hoping to have Taiwanese-style breakfast dishes at any given time of the day; these would also be the items that might make Shang Hao Kopi Taiwanese Breakfast Shop seem a little more authentic as compared to the Noodles and Traditional Taiwan Railway Ekiben that are available for lunch. Prices of its Noodles and Traditional Taiwan Railway Ekiben that comes with chicken / pork are priced at $7.90 — pretty wallet-friendly especially since they are located within the Central Business District. That being said, it would be interesting to see how these folks would fare in the long run given the competition in the area.