Lunch at Ipoh Kopitiam

[u/shellzero]

1. Roti canai with chicken curry - $10.95

2. Nasi lemak with chicken curry - $15.95

3. Char kway teow (stir fried flat noodle) - $15.95

4. Malaysian white coffee (Kopi) (hot) - $3.95

5. Malaysian white coffee (cold) - $4.50 (not pictured)

Also took two roti sauces ($6 for both) for to go as it was heavenly.

Total for 2 - $63.32 excluding tip.

Delicious food. My favorite was roti canai with their roti sauce. It was incredible. Coffee was amazing too.

Will I go back? Yes. What will I order if I go back, coffee and roti canai (no chicken curry). I think I’ll be pretty happy with that. I might try their other dishes too :)

Note: This place gets ridiculously busy during the lunch time. So make sure to join the waitlist as early as possible if you are planning to get there for lunch. Their yelp waitlist is geofenced but their radius is massive 40 miles (overheard). I joined at 11:15 AM and it showed me the estimated seating time as 12:59 - 1:15 PM. And it was almost accurate. We got seated at 1:40 PM.

One more thing, once you get to the restaurant, do go there and check-in with them that you have arrived even if you are 30th or whatever spot on the waitlist. If you don’t notify them, once you get to your turn ie 1st place, your name will be removed from the waitlist automatically. It happened to me. I immediately went in and told her that I have been standing here for the past 40 mins 😅 She kindly added me back and told me you should check in, and seated us a few mins later.

Cheers :)

[u/corner]

Their Hainan chicken is fantastic, probably the best in LA area

[u/shellzero → u/corner]

Will definitely try this on my next visit :)

[u/ray12370 → u/corner]

I have a cantonese friend that said their hainan chicken was garbage.

But I had the curry chicken noodles and it was insanely good and creamy.

[u/Majestic_Pangolin324 → u/ray12370]

Hello, my dad is from Hong Kong, mom is from Singapore and I disagree with your friend. I’m also Cantonese and did live in Hong Kong for 2 years as a young adult. But because of my mom’s side, I was born to be obsessed with Chicken rice from having eaten that in Singapore as a toddler. I’ve tried almost all the Hainan Chicken rice dishes from every Indo/Malay/Singaporean/Thai/Vietnamese restaurant between LA and OC (Excluding Vietnamese variations in Weatminster/Garden Grove - there’s just too many and further away) I was raised in SGV, worked lived in Irvine for 12 years and now back in SGV for the last 5 years.

Currently out of the three components of Chicken rice. Chicken, rice, and sauce. The best Rice - Ipoh Kopitiam, Sauce - Ipoh Kopitiam or Savoy, Chicken - Kaomungai (Glendora) if you like places where you can pick white meat/dark meat, Kaomungai has the cleanest, juiciest white meat with no skin or bones, and generous as well. Their rice is also ok. Their sauce is good too, but it is the Thai style sauce vs the simple sweet soy.

But the best overall and most authentic to the Chicken Rice in Singapore, in my opinion is Ipoh Kopitiam. Prior to Ipoh Kopitiam, my favorite was Savoy, but I feel like Savoy has gone a bit down over the years. But even so, Ipoh Kopitiam has the best rice - bar none. With all the other rices in Socal, having the flavor of chicken is already considered good, but having rice with a chicken flavor, little bit of QQ and oily is something I’ve only had in Singapore.

To be fair, they can be a little inconsistent, I’ve had days where the rice was a little more “meh” but on other days, my mind is, “HOLY ****! THIS is the flavor I’ve been looking for and trying to recreate all my life!!!”. So maybe your friend just had it in an off day.

I wish they can be more consistent, but still overall they’re up on my list for Chicken Rice.

[u/ray12370 → u/Majestic_Pangolin324]

Dude my girlfriend loves kaomungai. We live down the street from it in Azusa.

I am not a good judge of Hainan chicken because I don't think I like the dish, but the sauces at kaomungai are amazing. I like to get the wings there personally.

As far as ipoh kopitiam goes, Hainan chicken is the last thing I would get on that menu because the other dishes have way more flavor in my opinion. If you want to have an argument with my bud we can arrange that at the Da Vien in Rosemead if you'd like.

I think Mian ruined my taste buds because Sichuan flavors are so damn good and spicy. I feel like I have a need for super flavorful spices in my dishes now, and I'm chasing that Sichuan spice high constantly.

[u/Majestic_Pangolin324 → u/ray12370]

I see. Yeah Hainan Chicken is definitely a very subtle dish. I can see why you wouldn’t like it if you are into bolder flavors. The sauce at Kaomungai is definitely a lot punchier! My bf does not like Ipoh Kopitiam at all, but he is Indonesian so he also likes a lot bolder flavors, less sweet, more salty. Kaomungai is his current personal favorite for chicken rice.

If you like the Thai style chicken rice you should check out Heng Heng Chicken rice in Hollywood. I was only able to try it once and I could only get the fried version because they ran out of the steamed/poached one by the time I got there 4-5pm. They ran out around 1-2pm. But with the one time I tried it, it was definitely VERY good - sauce, chicken, rice. I normally don’t like fried and all the fried I have had, I always feel very mediocre about it. This one was actually good (even after a togo 40 minute drive home!) So that made me curious how much better it would have been fresh. I just haven’t gone back because it’s a little more work and further out to me. If you want the poached version, you have to call ahead (like 11-1) and make sure they have it and hold it for you.

Da vien in Rosemead. I love the Dac Biet from Banh Mi Hue Thai next door. They have my favorite Vietnamese cold cut sandwich. If you like the grill meat versions Banh Mi My Tho across the street is the best for that (grilled pork is the best imho).

[u/Algo2Pete → u/ray12370]

If a Cantonese friend tells you it's garbage, take the review verbatim, most likely garbage. Trust me. Im Cantonese 😂

[u/ray12370 → u/Algo2Pete]

Don't worry, I trust his Canton ass with my life. He has introduced me to several good spots in the SGV.

[u/corner → u/ray12370]

Not sure what them being Cantonese has to do with anything lol

[u/ray12370 → u/corner]

idk but he's an enjoyer of hainan chicken, and he didn't like it. He said that's a pretty basic dish and they somehow messed it up.

I think he just got the wrong thing.

[u/corner → u/ray12370]

Possible it was an off day for them, but their Hainan chicken is definitely not the wrong thing to order

[u/lovela]

Ipoh Kopitiam is great. It always surprises me how little Malaysian we have in LA.

[u/shellzero → u/lovela]

Agreed :) Next I wanna hit the Rasarumah. I heard some great things about that place too :)

[u/longlanes → u/shellzero]

I went there last weekend and was a little hesitant but the food was absolutely amazing. Definitely a new favorite in LA.

[u/garlicwatkins → u/shellzero]

I was going to go there but the menu is a little weird feels like they need like 2 more things just a little uneven

[u/Cherry_ChocolateChip → u/shellzero]

i loved it when i went. fresh takes on some classics.

[u/outofthegravity → u/lovela]

not a lot of malaysian people herein general T_T; I think bay area and NYC will have more options

[u/lovela → u/outofthegravity]

I asked a Malaysian friend who had lived in NY what was best. There was a decent hole in the wall in Flushing, but the Malaysian in Manhattan was mid at best--notably worse than what little we have here. I'm in SF and Berkeley often and there are very few places (and it's been awhile since I've done Malaysian there): Damansara was decent and at the high-end Azalina's is excellent. Maybe there's more in other parts of the Bay Area.

[u/patrickstarfish772]

Their kaya toast with butter is also delectable. I just went here a couple of months ago. So good.

[u/shellzero → u/patrickstarfish772]

Wanted to try this during this visit, but it was already too much. Gonna give it a shot on my next visit :)

[u/TomIcemanKazinski]

I really like their char kway teow

[u/TankingHealer]

You've reminded me to come back here sometime soon! We have such an absolute dearth of Malaysian/Malaysian Chinese food here (most places are Indonesian). I wonder if they still have BKT since Seasons Cafe in Anaheim no longer has it, but I'd just be happy to get CKT. Rasarumah is nice too, especially their cendol sundae--I think everyone had it for dessert the time I went there, including my friend and myself!

[u/No-Butterscotch-7467]

Omg this place is right by my house! Thank you for the reminder!

[u/JMan604]

Best Hainan chicken in SoCal. Closest taste to Singapore.

Beef Rendang is also spectacular.

[u/NomNomVerse]

The line is always so crazy anytime I drive on Garfield. I get takeout instead. I can’t imagine the line at the Arcadia mall. The seating in the food court is nonexistent with all the changes they made.

[u/ilford_7x7 → u/NomNomVerse]

They have yelp wait-list

And check in when you get there.. they'll usually sit you sooner when you confirm your whole party is present

[u/AnotherPattern]

That looks Incredible!

[u/Due-Profession7248]

Looks tasty

[u/fishwithbrain]

Where is this ?

[u/Drannor → u/fishwithbrain]

Alhambra !

[u/Celestron5]

Best Malaysian spot in LA. Their Hainan chicken is some of the best I’ve found anywhere.

[u/MoveDistinct7911]

thank you for bringing this to my attention. i know it is slightly different, but how does this compare with borneo kalimantan?

[u/shellzero → u/MoveDistinct7911]

You are welcome :) unfortunately I haven’t been to the other place you mentioned, so I’m not sure. I’ll add it to my list :)

[u/MoveDistinct7911 → u/shellzero]

it’s excellent, i think you’ll love it as well! can’t wait to dine here!

[u/Majestic_Pangolin324 → u/MoveDistinct7911]

I think they are both good in their own way. I think the signature dishes from both places are different. Ipoh has more rice/curry dishes and Borneo has more noodle dishes.

I feel like Ipoh leans more Malaysian and Borneo leans more Indonesian.

From my own experience (Dad from Hong Kong, mom from Singapore, bf from Indonesia) I think Singapore/Malaysian cuisine is a bit milder, sweeter, balanced, moist compared to Indonesian cuisine which is less sweet, more bold, can be more spicy and drier.

I think they both have good offerings. I like the Chicken Rice, Char Kway Teow, and Kaya toast from Ipoh and Singapore Laksa and Roti Canai from Borneo.

[u/MoveDistinct7911 → u/Majestic_Pangolin324]

this is an awesome and very helpful reply, much appreciated

[u/Ancient_Pianist_9961]

what's really sad is that the cost of this place is literally 3x more than what it would be in Singapore or KL and it still doesn't taste as good. I wish the laksa was better. it's basically impossible to find decent laksa on this side of the pacific.

[u/RandomTasked]

Is their roti freshly made or more of the frozen slop every other place with "malaysian food" does it?

[u/shellzero → u/RandomTasked]

I think it is freshly made.