[Pork Free]
With over 2,400 reviews on Google, this is undoubtedly one of the most popular Kopitiams in Ipoh. I was in Ipoh on a weekday and decided to drop by for brunch.
There are two outlets next to each other - the original is in a renovated old house while their second branch is in a massive three-storey building.
I decided to try the original outlet since there was no queue and the place looks more charming than the second branch.
Upon showing us our seats, the waiter passed us some menus and we were to write down our orders on the order chits.
Upon ordering, we're asked to proceed with payment at the counter.
The servers seemed slightly disorganised as a few of them wandered around looking for the correct table number - a recent change in the seating arrangements perhaps?
Food arrived within a quick 10-15minutes since it wasn't particularly crowded.
Let's makan!
Iced White Coffee and Iced Wangher Crossover (4.5/5)
The drinks were THICK! One sip and I was definitely feeling more awake.
The white coffee tasted like the good ones served by traditional kopitiams - sweet, milky and really aromatic.
The Wangher Crossover (how fancy is this name?) is essentially "Cham" or a mix of coffee and tea. Prepared with evaporated milk and condensed milk, it tasted nicely balanced and refreshing on a hot morning.
Oh, not forgetting that the iced drinks were served like this so you can have abit of fun pouring the drinks in:
Hot Wangher Crossover (3.5/5)
While the iced Wangher Crossover was delectable, the hot version was far too sweet for my liking. We ended up pouring it into the remaining ice to dilute the drink.
Kaya Butter Toast (5/5)
They really nailed this. Chunky sticks of premium salted butter and a nice slather of fragrant kaya on toasted Hainanese bread. Perfection.
Soft Boiled Eggs (4.5/5)
Nice and runny kampung chicken eggs. Would've liked it served slightly warmer but it's good enough to dip my toast in!
Signature Noodle (3.5/5)
According to the menu, this traditional dish has been around for 100 years. Dark soy sauce noodles topped with minced chicken and fried shallots are served with a side of braised chicken feet, beancurd, and hard-boiled egg.
The dark soy sauce noodles are quite fragrant especially when eaten with the generous helping of fried shallots. Nonetheless, I find the braised sides to be quite mild and forgettable.
Golden Rice (3.5/5)
A simple bowl of rice with minced chicken and copious amounts of fried shallots. The simplicity of this dish makes it quite delicious. The only issue I had was that it was served just abit too cold. This would be great piping hot!
Macaroni Soup (3.5/5)
A bit of an unusual dish so we decided to try it out. The clear soup was flavourful and the macaroni was al dente. Nothing too special about the fried meatball and chicken mince topping. Again, pretty average.
Overall, it's a great spot to enjoy traditional coffee, tea and toast. The toast is so good that I'd be happy to drive to Ipoh just to enjoy it for breakfast! Nonetheless, the other dishes were quite average and you can easily find tastier options around Ipoh at a fraction of the price. If you love taking photos, be sure to visit the original outlet as there are plenty of aesthetically pleasing decor and murals for you to pose with. But do try to avoid peak hours over the weekends as the queues can get quite crazy.
Sabbylicious Makan Rating
Food : 4/5
Price : 3.5/5
Environment : 4/5
Service : 4/5
Must order : Iced Coffee & Wangher Crossover, Kaya Butter Toast
Operating Hours Open Daily (8am - 6pm)
Location
Chang Jiang White Coffee
7, Jalan Windsor, 30250 Ipoh, Perak