First Look: Kopilicious Has Malaysian Hotpot and “Dragon Meat” Buns

Malaysia’s breakfast culture is so integral that the meal was recently added to Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List (alongside “the practice of opera singing in Italy”, traditional Japanese saké making and the “ artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread ” in France).

At Malaysia’s kopitiams – the country’s ubiquitous coffee shops – roti canai dough is flipped in the air beside carts with steaming vats of curry laksa. Sambals are spooned onto plates of nasi lemak (coconut rice with accompaniments); kaya (coconut jam) and butter are slathered onto pieces of white bread; and mugs of Milo, teh tarik (pulled tea) and kopi (coffee) are always being poured.

Joelle Lim and her brother Wei Lim (who has run Little Bourke Street’s Lim Kopi for the past decade) capture the energy of these Malaysian cafes at Kopilicious, their new Exhibition Street venue.

The extensive menu includes Malaysian staples already familiar to many Melburnians: kaya toast, char kway teow, nine different kinds of nasi lemak and flaky roti canai served with a choice of beef rendang or chicken curry. But the Lims have also “tried to get favourites from every state in Malaysia,” Joelle tells Broadsheet.

They serve pork floss and bakkwa (a sweet and salty jerky-like cured meat sometimes referred to as dragon meat) buns – a snack they say is often sold from motorbike carts in Perak where they grew up. The chee cheong fun (steamed rice noodle rolls) is served Ipoh-style, with curry sauce and toppings such as pork skin and fried wontons.

To accompany, there are kopitiam drink staples including teh tarik, Milo, lemon tea and Malaysian coffee (which is typically twice-roasted with sugar, wheat and either butter or margarine) made using a house blend of four different beans from Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Come dinnertime, Kopilicious transforms from a kopitiam to a Chinese Malaysian seafood restaurant. Stop by for sambal-fried blood cockles, Penang-style lala clams and spicy balitong (sea snails) – Joelle notes sucking a sea snail out of its shell is a skill that takes time to master.

There’s also a take on lok-lok (Malaysian skewers) served in individual hotpots of clear chicken broth or tom yum soup that blends in well with a loosely campsite-themed fit-out with lawn chairs and foldable wooden tables and tent-like booths.

Kopilicious
Level 1/295 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
0370371024

Hours:
Daily 11am–11pm

@kopilicious.au