SEMENYIH, Aug 17 — Some weekends are meant for sleeping in till lunchtime (or even later). Why hurry? We have earned our rest, after all.
Then there are those Saturdays and Sundays when we practically leap out of bed in excitement. A rejuvenating drive awaits us, to venture into parts unexplored, to hunt down a hearty breakfast of champions, the Malaysian way.
Which is how we found ourselves in the New Village area of Semenyih’s old town. In the tiny lanes surrounding the wet market are a good number of kopitiams serving both market-goers as well as early birds.
Specifically we were trying to locate Da Jia Hao Kopitiam, which is known among locals for its excellent char kway teow. The shop itself is in a quiet corner of Jalan Lapan, not far from a temple.
It’s a cosy location which means finding parking can be a challenge for more timid drivers. (Tip: Just park further away and enjoy a nice morning stroll. Observing what folks returning from the wet market have bought makes for a fun distraction too.)
Plenty of people were already tucking into their noodles and sipping on their coffee when we arrived, so once we got a table we made haste in ordering our food and drinks too.
Once that was out of the way, more people watching ensued while we waited. Who are these other early morning breakfast goers?
Certainly the kopitiam owner was very friendly, chatting with regulars and newbies alike. Let’s not forget the name of the shop — Da Jia Hao (大家好) — translates as “Hello everyone!” in Chinese.
The stall owners were more preoccupied with keeping up with the flow of fresh orders. Which meant it wasn’t long till we were enjoying our requisite cups of kopi O and cham. Robust.
Our order of half boiled eggs and roti bakar - a must, naturally - soon arrived after the coffee.
The eggs are exemplary, the gleaming white half-curds swaddling orbs of gold. Burst them and allow the molten yolk to slowly mingle with soy sauce and ground white pepper.
It’s a scene that is repeated every morning in different kopitiams across the nation but this doesn’t lessen how special it is. Every single time. A ceremony, really.
Decent if unremarkable roti bakar, designed for dunking into the half boiled eggs. A slightly longer toasting time would have pushed it into the realm of hits-the-spot.
Consider this the starters, if you will, before the heavier components of our kopitiam breakfast menu make their appearance.
We couldn’t miss out on the coffee shop’s signature curry mee. Here the noodles of your choice are served kon lou (dry style), slick with soy sauce, a bit of curry as gravy, bean sprouts, lettuce, sliced fish cake and chunks of curry chicken.
The bulk of the actual curry is served in a separate bowl, with floating half cubes of taufu pok (fried tofu pouches). Adjust however you like, from spoonful to spoonful, is the idea.
Our last dish is the aforementioned char kway teow, of course. This makes sense given nearly every table orders a plate or two. Full of wok hei.
Besides this popular noodle dish, the char kway teow auntie also cooks fried tong fun and fried rice. Which makes for a very busy lady though she doesn’t miss a beat with all the changes or substitutions: different noodles, spicy or non-spicy, seehum or none.
Every table opts for the seehum though. Given the generous size of these blood cockles, it would be a shame not to. Even those who aren’t fans of molluscs might request some, if only to share them with their spouses or dining companions.
Other stalls offer different local favourites, from nasi lemak and popiah to deep-fried prawn crackers and cempedak. For a relatively small and uncluttered kopitiam, it’s more than we expected.
No surprise that we are tempted to order from these stalls too. But maybe we shall save it for our next visit.
For with char kway teow this scrumptious, who could resist ordering another plate? Not us!
Da Jia Hao Kopitiam 大家好茶室
Corner of Jalan Lapan, Kampung Baru Semenyih, Selangor
Open daily (except Fri closed) 6:30am–2pm
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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