KopiTiam On 282
Filed Under Curt Hennig | Posted on April 20, 2008
A reader rang to say if I like Singaporean food, I might be
interested in an Eastwood eatery called KopiTiam On 282. KopiTiam
is a fabulous word, a combination of the Malay for coffee and the
Hokkien for shop to describe a traditional breakfast and coffee
stop, a stall or a cart where you might get eggs and coffee and
malted chocolate, as well as lunch snacks.
There’s already a Kopitiam Cafe in Ultimo which has been cooking
up roti canai, Hainan chicken and satay for years. There’s one in
Canberra, too, and they’re both really places where you go for
lunch and dinner rather than breakfast spots.
So is the relative newcomer. We turn up at KopiTiam On 282 (the
street address on North Road) late one Saturday for lunch. We roll
back a large sliding door and step into a cool, small,
wood-panelled space with a lace curtain tied like a ponytail.
There’s a kind of genteel, 1950s air about the laminate tables
with faux burl wood pattern and the timber alcove near the door
where tea cups and bowls are displayed as in grandmother’s dining
room.
A brass elephant adorns a corner shelf near a couple of
black-and-white prints of Singapore, circa 1955, and a petite woman
with dark short hair emerges from behind a counter to seat us and
give us menus.
Next to us a young boy and his baby brother are feeding and
being fed by their parents from bowls of noodles and rice. Big
brother is waving around his spring roll, dunking it in a dipping
sauce and calling, “Mum, look at this”.
At another table, under a blue wall the hue of a school shirt, a
couple is tucking into lunch. He blows his nose on a napkin, a sure
sign of a chilli hit that has loosened the sinuses.
Girding our own nasal passages, we order the nonya laksa, satay
sticks, crispy belachan chicken and the wonderful sounding tau eu
bak, braised pork cooked in dark and light soy, five spices and
garlic, with hard-boiled egg and tofu.
I say the tau eu bak sounds wonderful because we don’t get to
try it. Our hostess returns from the kitchen to say that the chef
thinks we have too many meat dishes and why don’t we try the otak
otak (”very popular”) mince fish in banana leaves instead?
We try to order a noodle dish but our maternal mentor advises us
against it. “It would overwhelm the flavours of the rice dishes,”
she says.
Chastened and enlightened, we wait - but not for long. The
moderately sized beef and chicken satay sticks arrive quickly,
slightly overcooked. They are beautifully spiced with cumin and
coriander, however, and the mellow sauce of roasted peanuts and dry
chillis is clearly home-made.
Next is the belachan chicken, strips of firm thigh fillets,
marinated in a gentle prawn paste that gives them a subtle, anchovy
flavour. Flour is lightly dusted over them and they’re fried so
they curl into moreish snacks. House-made achar achar, vegetables
blanched and pickled in light vinegar and sugar, is wonderful and
so is the sambal.
The otak otak is a smooth, delicate mousse, almost like a
quenelle slab with banana leaf. A distant tang of kaffir lime and
slow-acting chilli sound through. Don’t let the airy texture fool
you, it’s rich and intense, and to temper it you need the cooling
rice sticks, cucumber and lettuce that are its sidekicks.
The lovely laksa, with its noodles cooked just right and a
delicate coconut broth, has a whiff of lemongrass and something
indefinable. We ask our culinary counsellor, whom we now know is
the co-owner, Dinah Sim, what is the mystery aroma? Laksa leaf, she
says.
To finish, who can resist a dessert with the name of bo bo cha
cha? Sweet coconut milk is poured over crushed ice with cubes of
soft sweet potato and taro, and another secret ingredient.
The chef, Dinah’s husband Anthony, has come out by this time and
he offers a clue. “It’s a bit like vanilla but not.” Ah,
pandanus.
You can also have cassava and coconut cake, so yellow you’d
swear it contains egg yolks but doesn’t.
If you like Singaporean and nonya style food, cooked with
invigorating authenticity, you too will be interested in KopiTiam
On 282.
That’s the reason a bunch of university students will make the
trek across town tonight to feast on kway chap, rice noodles and
tripe braised in a dark soy sauce rich with ginger, cloves and star
anise.
DIGEST
Food A mix of Singaporean and nonya, cooked
honestly, with few short cuts.
Atmosphere Wood panelling and Chinese teacups in a 1950s-flavoured
coffee shop.
Service Attentive, informative and keen to make
sure newcomers will come back again.
Value Excellent, dishes from $5.50 to $13.80
Noise Low
Recommended dishes Nonya laksa, belachan chicken,
otak otak, bo bo cha cha, cassava cake.
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