New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Department of Hospitality Management
Janet Lefler Dining Room
Memorandum
To: Prof. R. Abreu
From: Keon Blair
10/04/2018
Re: Kopitiam
In Pete Wells latest review; he visits the Kopitiam café on 151 East Broadway. Kopitiam is a Malaysia style café where the owner Kyo Pang pays homage to her hometown but recreating the coffee and tea parlors scene from Malaysia where she grew up. This café was originally located on canal street where they only served 4 guests at a time from a counter with a limited menu.
During the week you get top end service; you get to sit and enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast you can dive into the thick-cut French toast battered with Milo malt-chocolate powder. For lunch and dinner Kotitiam has a variety of appetizers that includes Pandan leaves wrapped around a kind of chicken sausage; ground five-spice pork rolled inside bean-curd skins and fried; fried strips of mackerel sausage with a curry-leaf sauce. The rice gives off a coconut and Pandan leave aroma that catches Pete Wells attention. They also serve a tiny dried fish with Kopitian fries with peanuts that forms a caramelized crust that erases the distinction between sweet and savory. Pete started off the article with a little sarcasm because he had to wait a while for a barista to pour his milk. On the weekend the place is extremely packed; there is a sign in sheet with ceramic garden stools, so customers can sit and listen for their names. Sometimes it would be so busy that they would have to ask they guest if they received their food yet.
Usually when you hear about a restaurant where you must ask the guest whether they received their entire meal you would not want to visit that restaurant; but at this Malaysian style café everyone one seems to be lined up waiting because the food is extremely good, and they don’t mind the wait. I would visit this restaurant for this purpose and because I never had Malaysian food before. I would also try her cakes too because she is also a good baker. Even though Pete Wells gave this café a one star I would recommend it to someone else.
Providing Over 70 Years of Quality Service to the Hospitality Industry
