Kedai Kopi Wang City @ Iramanis

The other day our friend, Elaine was talking about a coffee shop in Foh Sang that serves delicious ngiu chap. Both Oliver and I have never heard of a ngiu chap place in Foh Sang, so we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, it was already past 1.30pm and the coffee shop was in the midst of closing.

One staff told me that usually the shop stays open until after 2pm, but today they've run out of meatballs earlier in the morning. Business must be really good. Anyway, with heavy heart, we drove off and decided to see what Iramanis has in store. Enter Kedai Kopi Wang City.

First look

Located next to Capstone Christian bookstore, Kedai Kopi Wang City looks no different from the rest of the kopitiams around it. The menu are almost all written in Chinese, with the exception of some dishes which are shown in pictures, so you'd have to ask the staff to recommend which dishes to try.

We liked that the kopitiam is clean and quite breezy--as opposed to some kopitiams that can be quite hot and stuffy. 

Food & beverages
Kedai Kopi Wang City specializes in fish and seafood dishes. Their signature dish would be the kon lau mee with fish slices / wonton / fish balls in a choice of bitter gourd or ham choy (pickled mustard cabbage) soup (MYR6).

Another notable dish is the Korean fried noodle (MYR6)--a dish resembling Hokkien noodle and served with chicken breast meat, diced cucumber, potato and topped with sprinklings of sesame seed.

Other dishes on the menu include the pan mian, rice with minced pork and assam curry fish head soup.

As for drinks, you can order the usual soft drinks as well as nutritious homemade barley drink and lemongrass drink (MYR3).

Lemongrass drink

Barley drink

Verdict
Oliver and I decided to try two of this kopitiam's best-sellers--I picked the kon lau mee with assorted seafood in ham choy soup while Oliver ordered the Korean fried noodle.

I was satisfied with the portion size of the kon lau mee. I'm usually very particular about portion sizes, but this one was just nice. It tasted delicious too! Best of all, the soup didn't have an oily film on top of it. Healthy and yummy!

Kon lau mee soup

The Korean fried noodle looked and tasted just like a plate of Hokkien fried noodle. The portion size was also decent. 

Korean fried noodle

Following the main course, Oliver also ordered the homemade fish tofu that is made of fresh dory fish. The fish tofu (MYR4) comes in four pieces per plate and was probably the priciest item on the menu. The fish tofu tastes good but its mushy texture might turn some people off.

Fish paste tofu

Food Buddy rating: 3.75/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Price: 5/5
Food & Beverages: 4/5

Chef Tan's - Coffee. Food. Home @ The Peak Vista, Likas

It was our first time visiting The Peak Vista. Initially, we had wanted to check out October Cafe, since many people had posted photos of it on Facebook and Instagram. Unfortunately, it was full when we came. So, we picked Chef Tan's Cafe.

First look
At first glance, the cafe looked spick-and-span with rustic chic wooden furnishing and a homely ambiance. As we walked through the door, the delightful aroma of freshly-roasted coffee beans filled the air. Ah, bliss!

Food & beverages
We had a look through the menu, which disappointingly didn't have plenty to offer. This outlet basically serves a selection of kopitiam-style Chinese cuisine with a small addition of Western favourites e.g. steak, lamb chop and fish & chips, and finger foods.

Another main offering of this cafe is its coffee selection (hence the yummy aroma!). You can get your caffeine fix from the regulars like the Americano, espresso, cappuccino and cafe latte. If you like something vintage, go for the Vintage 'Kopi Botol', which is basically chilled black coffee in a bottle.

Price
Best thing about this outlet is probably its selection of coffee that has a price range of MYR3 (hot) to MYR7 (cold) -- waaaay cheaper than Starbucks and taste just about the same, if you ask me.

As for food, the price-range for the main courses starts from MYR8.80 to MYR23. I'd say not bad, but if it's Chinese kopitiam meals you're looking for; you can order the same food (pork chop, BBQ pork rice, ginger beef, etc.) at a kopitiam and pay less.

Verdict
I decided to order a bowl of herbal chicken (MYR10.80) and one Vintage 'Kopi Botol' (MYR3), while Oliver ordered the Signature Hokkien Pork Chop (MYR10.80) and a cup of cappuccino. For dessert, we had a plate of chocolate waffles, oink! 

I personally loved the herbal chicken as it was very tender and juicy -- probably slow-cooked for hours in a pressure cooker. The herbal taste was also very prominent, in a delicious-non-medicinal way, with a hint of sweet rice wine. The meal was also generously-portioned, so I was reasonably pleased. My only complaint is that the broth turned out a little bit oily. 

Herbal Chicken

Vintage 'Kopi Botol'

The Signature Hokkien Pork Chop was not as generously-portioned as the Herbal Chicken, but there were an additional serving of salad and an omelet on the plate to complement the pork chop. The pork chop was also slightly different from the normal kopitiam pork chop as it was served with black pepper sauce. 

Signature Hokkien Pork Chop

Despite the extra effort in making good ol' pork chop original, it was nothing much to shout about. Not exactly something you'd come back for again and again.

We would probably come back to have coffee and to bask in the yummy coffee aroma! As for food, as certified 'food economists', we'd still prefer to pay under RM10 per meal :).

Cappuccino with flower on top!

Chocolate Waffles with sprinklings of cocoa powder

Food Buddy rating: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Food & Beverages: 3/5