I chanced upon this stall at Alexandra Village Food Centre, with a signage that says “Singapore’s First Brewed Claypot Coffee”.
For real?
Nanyang Kopi Kia Claypot Coffee seems to have gotten viral on TikTok the past week or so, with two outlets – the other found at 333 Kreta Ayer Road.
The concept of this “Claypot Coffee” is said to have originated from Malaysia, by brewing dark roasted coffee in a small earthen pot first.
The process is said to add a bold flavour that can be robust and satisfying.
The humble-looking stall serves up a range of drinks from Kopi, Kopi C, Kopi O, Teh C, Teh O to Yuan Yang. Each cup is priced from $1.80 onwards.
There are also cold drinks such as the Signature Iced Kopi ($3.50), Yuan Yang ($3.50), and Thai Milk Tea ($3).
If the hawkers are less busy, perhaps you can also order Kaya Butter Toast ($2.50) and Half Boiled Eggs ($1.50) to go along.
Being a fan of Kopi O Kosong (is this an uncle drink?), I was initially quite looking forward.
Part of the reason why is I find it harder and harder to find a good version now – it can be inconsistent even in the good stalls, and some end up being too burnt or bitter without that nice mellowness.
I would recommend bringing along some patience, as you may just need to wait at least 15 to 20 minutes (or longer).
Even when I visited during a day and time when there were not many customers, the coffee did take a while to be prepared (there were just two customers in front of me, and their orders were very straight-forward).
The coffee would be brewed over time in small claypots, supposedly allowing the flavours to deepen and develop over time.
I think the Kopi O was not bad, with a mildly-robust flavour that wasn’t too bitter, though somehow it wasn’t as fragrant as I would have expected it to be.
Certainly better than many of the Kopi O some food courts are offering.
As they ran out of ice, I didn’t get to order the Iced Kopi which was the signature, and so I had the Kopi C instead.
This didn’t quite work quite well for me, even though I saw some frothing involved.
The milk used and coffee tasted ‘disconnected’, and I think it could be a choice of brand or mixing process that would need some refining.
Okay, so I made a return visit, and found that somehow the Iced Kopi ($3.50) worked much better, which had a pleasant and strong caffeine kick – actually very strong as I felt it later in the afternoon.
The frothing also helped create this richer mouthfeel every sip.
Nanyang Kopi Kia Claypot Coffee
Alexandra Village Food Centre #01-59, 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore 150120
Opening Hours: 9am – 5pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Nanyang Kopi Kia
333 Kreta Ayer Road, #03-22 Singapore 080333
Opening Hours: 10am – 6pm (Mon – Sat), Closed Sun
Other Related Entries
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Chin Mee Chin (East Coast Road)
Keng Wah Sung Café 琼华昌 (Geylang)
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