Monday, September 27, 2010

over-rated?

we had to make a day trip to mersing & so took the opportunity to have breakfast at the famed kluang station coffee shop.













yes, the same one that spawned many other kopi-tiams throughout the country.














the same one where a couple had their breakfast before saying their matrimonial vows.

we had the works - nasi lemak, half-boiled eggs, toast buns & the trade-mark coffee, the latter being smooth & very "kaw."













but seriously, i probably won't be able to tell the difference between this & other brands of kopi-tiam coffee.

like the moon-cake, could this also be over-rated? don't know if it's over-priced because my friend paid the bill.













had a brief chat with Chang, the proprietor whose grandfather started the business. he's really a hands-on guy - making sure the coffee is prepared the way his father taught him. perhaps that's why business is flourishing.

27 comments:

Medie007 said...

wow. didn't expect the original shop to be such. :) then it has come a very long way...

TZ said...

Not sure about the first Kluang station kopitiam... the branches in klang valley. The coffee only so so, i could not taste the different. So yet to pay a visit to the original Kluang station :p

Reanaclaire said...

once famous.. very difficult not to be poor already.. :) chinese saying..

doc said...

Medie,

very humble-looking, just like any other coffee shop.

doc said...

TZ,

if a coffee connoisseur like you says there's no difference, then it must be true!!

i found the kluang station by GPS.

doc said...

Claire,

true, unless the company is lehmann, AIA or bank bumiputra.

Yvonne Foong said...

I made friends with a cabin crew supervisor on my flight to L.A. for the Gamma Knife Radiosurgery last year. He bought me a packet of Kluang coffee when he visited me at home later. I told him that it tastes nice so he brought many more packets on his next visit. But coffee is addictive. We normally drink Nescafe 3-in-1 and addicted to it. We were not addicted to Kluang coffee so we only drink it when our supply of Nescafe runs out and we forgot to replenish. :P

missyc said...

Not overated. I still believe best 'kobi O' 'hoilam theh' are those brewed hands on *yes* by hainanese lang :D

Atmosphere, acquired tastebud also makes the difference. I tried newer fancy pricey kopitiam chain here, still can't beat the old fashioned kopitiam anytime.

doc said...

Yvonne,

you have to watch those 3-in-1 mixtures - too much sugar!! but what often baffles me, is that the less sugar mixture, eg. 2-in-1, still costs the same.

doc said...

missyC,

there is not a doubt in my mind that the hainanese "invented" the coffee shop & chicken rice in malaya, & up till today, still serve the best coffee & chicken rice.

however, it didn't occur to me to ask Chang his roots.

Yvonne Foong said...

gosh... this is no good. I dreamed of ordering four coffeeshop bread-and-butter toast last night, deciding how many toasts will I get when I say one toast and two toasts. Then when I opened a packet of Nescafe 3-in-1 this morning, your opinion of the sugar content came to mind. But I decided that sugar supplies me with energy and drank it nevertheless.

It's creepy. I also want to become a doctor like you so that what I say makes a deeper impression in others.

Adino said...

Mmmm the food looks delicious from the photos

doc said...

Yvonne,

you are still young & energetic, so a little more sugar may not be harmful. at my age, when things slow down, i don't need that much. so i only use half a packet of 3-in-1 & add a little more nescafe (from the bottle) & a creamer pack. this way, i only consume half the sugar but still get a decent cuppa.

btw, not all impressions i make are good! ha ha!

doc said...

Adino,

the more i think of it, the more i'm convinced the same stuff is served at the franchised kluang station outlets, only the ambience is different.

Yvonne Foong said...

Oh, you have a secret recipe. Why not just make a full cup with the Nescafe, creamer and sugar?

Anonymous said...

So this is the original Kluang station that started all the ball rolling.

The nasi lemak is quite nice.

doc said...

Yvonne,

no secret recipe; it's just that i have my own 3-in-1 coffee already & it's just a tad sweet.

doc said...

Mei Teng,

you have been there before? i felt the nasi lemak was just like any other.

missyc said...

never did like 3in1 2in1 etc too bland, too sweet, no taste & no oomph..
the best cuppa is Nescafe with Ideal/Carnation Milk & if like sweetened with Condensed milk just the way hainanese made.

doc said...

MissyC,

yes, if one has much time on hand, that's how a cuppa should be, even better with some toasts/scones.

unfortunately, many are all caught in this madness called work, so just have to settle for a 3-in-1.

Unicorn Girl said...

does the ' kopi 'taste the same as the ones in KL ??? Price wise - I'm pretty sure it's much cheaper :)

Unicorn Girl said...

does the ' kopi 'taste the same as the ones in KL ??? Price wise - I'm pretty sure it's much cheaper :)

Hello Kitty said...

I used to like Nescafe 3 in 1 too. There must be some additives which gives it the extra aroma and taste! Or maybe it's because of the individual packaging which helps maintain freshness. 3 in 1 is convenient too, especially when I travel. But I do the same - mix 1/2 packet of 3 in 1 with nescafe coffee powder and milk. Then came the story abt coffee mate or the likes being the cause of high cholesterol problem. I am still loyal to nescafe though, with low fat UHT milk. Am not really into OldTown coffee or Kluang coffee or Pappa Rich coffee or the likes which makes me feel jelak.

doc said...

UC,

i'm such a lousy coffee connoiseur, they all taste the same!

if the outlet is a franchisee, then they should cost the same, except maybe at airports.

doc said...

Hello Kitty,

i also have to admit that nescafe & old town packs are two of the better coffee & i'm pleasantly surprised you also drink your 3-in-1 like i do.

we should have a chat over coffee sometime?

viv said...

on the subject of coffee, there's this stall in imbi rd market that serves the best hoi lam cha which is what locals call cham (coffee/tea). can hv ur coffee fix, breakfast n do some marketing as well.

doc said...

hi Viv,

thanks for your tip.