Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Kopitiam food @ Chawan, Bangsar

Chawan Drinks
great drinks for a hot night

I'm getting bored about blogging about Ipoh, hence here's a post on good old Kay-el food. Chawan, the restaurant which took over Devi's Corner in Bangsar finally opened last weekend. For the first day, it was super packed. Since it looked so promising, we joined the crowd to find out what is so great about the place.

Nasi Lemak Chawan
Malaysia's unofficial national dish - nasi lemak (RM12.90)

I like the decor of this place (sadly I didn't snap any pixs, as we sat outside) - they try to recreate old fashioned kopitiam with modern touches - zinc tables, cement benches, long ceiling fans and etc.

Ayam Berempah
scrumptious ayam berempah

The menu is typical kopitiam fare - a mix of Malaysian favourites from North to South. There's mee rebus, nasi briyani - traditional favourites from the Sorth. Lurking from the North, is Nasi dagang with tongkol ikan curry. There's also assam laksa, Ipoh Kuey Teow and the perennial favourite, nasi lemak. For breakfast, food is much lighter with bread and snacks. The more substantial meals are only available from 11am onwards.

Ipoh Kuey Teow
dismal Ipoh kuey teow (RM9.90)

As they have been doing brisk business since they started business, there was little choices left. I wanted Nasi Dagang but that was unavailable hence, I ended up with Ipoh Kuey Teow. Not authentic stuff as they had added loads of stuff inside, I kinda preferred the plainer variety available at Old Town Coffee.

What we were impressed with was their Nasi Lemak. We had a portion with ayam goreng berempah and it was extremely good stuff. The rice was fluffy and fragrant while the sambal was not overly sweet nor spicy till the tongue numbs over. Thumbs up to the fried chicken - aromatic with spices and so juicy. We also loved their drinks - honey lemon and honey lemon tea. Here you could taste the honey versus the watered down versions you get in other places. Coffeelovers will be happy to discover, they serve various types of coffees from all over Malaysia - kinda similar to the Coffeehut in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Although we generally loved the place (even service was very good) but prices are definitely much higher, than your normal kopitiam. (drinks are about RM5)

Chawan
Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar

Halal. Open from 8am onwards till late.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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16 comments:

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

whats with serving nasi lemak at super inflated prices and getting a full crowd??

backStreetGluttons said...

haha, and we thoz Devis Corner was kicked out by the UMNO bunch ! Great to know the 1/2 past 6 Mdm Kwan has now got a formidable alternative next door !

sc said...

saw this place a few weeks back..looked rather quiet, so didnt cross my mind to try it's food. will pop over if i crave for nasi lemak one day :)

Zac said...

Seem not bad...have to try one day

ling239 said...

and i was abt to ask why is there fu-chook in the Ipoh koay teow...@_@

Empty said...

Very nice sharing. Will definitely refer to your blog for food guide.
Thank!

Malaysia Fastest Growing Jobsite @ JobsBroadway.com

Rarebeet said...

ooohh what a great eating trip you've had! Those egg tarts are pretty darn good I must say. Was supposed to go to Chawan for lunch today but ran into some friends and got side tracked! Tomorrow! I am dying to have nasi lemak!

J2Kfm said...

premium price expected for a restaurant in bangsar huh? but the nasi lemak does look tempting enough to warrant a try.
'bored about Ipoh food?' aww ... and there I was looking forward to your subsequent posts ... *_*

choi yen said...

Oh...Devi's Corner closed down ar?

Ciki said...

last week, we were went to devi's bsar and found chawan in its place! so weird. we still went to devi's of course but thx 4d write up, maybe will try chawan once the desire for devi's wears out.. lol

Sophia Lee said...

I love your blog. They are so...tentalizing and delicious!!!
add me as a friend?

Silly Meow-Emily said...

Hi... went to try them yesterday and it was not good... service was slow and the chicken is dry and hard... the rice was not fluffy and it was sticky... even the sambal is just too one whole layer of oil on the surface though the taste is actually quite nice...guess the standard dropped by a fair bit due to Saturday morning big crowd?? What is still good is their local coffee and tea but yeah its pricey to have this kinda food!

boo_licious said...

Joe - it's called going local...

team bsg - yeah, I reckon Mdm Kwan will be in trouble soon..

sc - think that was before it opened as it only started business about a week ago.

zac - yup, nice nasi lemak even though it was late at nite.

ling239 - hee hee, their version?

nick - no worries...

paprika - hope it turned out well. Seems some reader claims inconsistency. Weird as it tasted so good on the opening day? Maybe, the owner stopped cooking and passed it on to the workers?

mimi - devi's corner moved to where red tablecloth used to be, opposite the closed down Shanghai 10.

cumi & ciki - yeah, now the crowd has 2 choices, chawan or devi's corner

j2kfm - ooops, I get bored easily. Don't worry, more snapshots abt Ipoh soon.

sophia - thxs for the sweet words.

silly meow-emily - sigh, guess good things don't last - maybe the owner was not cooking but his workers? I saw the place was packed on Sunday afternoon though.

Unknown said...

look nice. your blog pictures are nive.

wmw said...

Didn't try it though I passed by this place, not many people at that time. Just before lunch crowd I suppose.

Unknown said...

nothing to shout about this place except the location.
the food & beverages here is too expensive for the taste they have...
still prefer oldtown! the price still reasonable even their branch at golden triangle area!

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