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2015-10-04
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Full Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/10/kopi-tiam-swissotel-tasting-session.htmlFor over 22 years, Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) has been serving up premium renditions of classic, local Singaporean dishes, in a smart casual setting. Popular favourites such as Carrot Cake and Laksa feature on the extensive menu, and while quality and taste is pretty good, high prices may be a barrier for the everyman / common people to dine at Kopi Tiam (Swissotel). On a bigg
For over 22 years, Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) has been serving up premium renditions of classic, local Singaporean dishes, in a smart casual setting. Popular favourites such as Carrot Cake and Laksa feature on the extensive menu, and while quality and taste is pretty good, high prices may be a barrier for the everyman / common people to dine at Kopi Tiam (Swissotel). On a bigger perspective though, the concept offered by Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) is 1 possible solution to saving / curating our local Singapore food heritage. By making local dishes premium (higher quality ingredients, bigger portions, better presentation), it ensures hawkers can have a better livelihood (more profits), in turn ensuring the continuing legacy of Singaporean food!
Ambience at Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) is a mix of modern and traditional coffee shops. Sturdy, casual wooden furniture in bright colours of orange and green hues line the spacious interior, which is lit by warm, ambient lighting and bright spotlights. Black-and-white posters of traditional Singaporean coffee shop items adorn the walls, while (rather gaudy) touches of Singaporean decor (flags, utensils, mugs, Tiger beer boxes) scream "This is Singapore!".
Service at Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) is professional and courteous, similar to restaurant quality service. Staff are quick to greet and seat you, and when asked, are able to make recommendations from the menu, as well as provide basic descriptions of dishes. I like that they enquired about dietary restrictions before they made the recommendations.Food at Kopi Tiam (Swissotel) consists of premium versions of traditional Singaporean favourites, presented in local rustic style. In general, there are 2 kinds of Singaporean dishes, the 1st category are those dishes which can be improved by having premium, higher quality ingredients, the 2nd category are dishes which can be improved by having more skill / ability / experience in cooking. At Kopi Tiam (Swissotel), the 1st category fares much better, dishes made from spice pastes (laksa, rendang, rojak) are much tastier, and because the ingredients are fresher / higher quality, the dish truely shines. However, the 2nd category (requires skill) tends to fall flat (hokkien mee, carrot cake), lacking wok hei / breath of the wok. Just isn't as tasty as those you get from hawkers who have been frying that 1 dish for over 20 years.
Loved the Local Chinese Salad - Rojak (SGD $16), which was wonderfully balanced with its savoury, salty, sweet, and sour flavours! The fruits and vegetables (pineapple, bean sprouts, cucumber, turnip, kang kong / water spinach leaves) within are fresh, juicy, and crunchy, while the dough fritters are properly crisp. The dark, spicy prawn paste with crushed peanuts is sufficient to coat all the ingredients, yet isn't too thin in texture.
Local Chinese Salad - Rojak
$16
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Signature Kopi Tiam Laksa
$20
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