OldTown Kopitiam
195 Lt Bourke St
Melbourne, 3000
Google map
The name, OldTown Kopitiam, derived from a small coffeeshop in Ipoh (Malaysia) called Old town. This is where white coffee originates as well. White coffee is roasted mixing modern technigues and old skool Malaysian practices. It ends up with a lighter colour and hence the name.The aromatic coffee beans are well known and theymade it on the shelves of supermarkets in Malaysia. They later opened a modern kopitiam (coffee shop) and the rest is history.
To be honest, I am not a fan of OldTown even when I tried it in Singapore. I didn’t find the kopi (coffee) as ‘thick’ or ‘kau’ as Singaporeans/Malaysians will call it. And the taste was not on par with those in the local kopitiam. But I was still quite excited to try it out when it first opened as I heard that they had kaya toast and were also serving the famous White coffee! However, my first experience was a disappointment. The kaya toast, somehow, tasted and smelled fishy! And the worse thing was that they served instant packet White coffee. I left without finishing the meal.
Oldtown kopitiam
Despite my initial bad experience, I did hear relatively good things about their ala carte menu so Mister and I decided to have a quick dinner at Oldtown before we headed off to the Asian Qualifier match between Australia and Oman at Etihad Stadium. I decided not to order any hot beverages though and we both ordered Chin Chow (Grass Jelly). Mister’s was served with sugar syrup while mine was served in soya bean. This is a very popular refreshing drink in Asia and is usually added in cold desserts like Ice Kachang or Chendol.The soya bean chin chow looks like a mosaic pattern. Pretty! I just wished it was fresh soya bean. Would have been much better 
Chin chow or grass jelly
While we waited for our meals to arrive, we ordered 2 deep fried chicken pieces to munch on first. It made a good filler and I love the kopitiam plates that it was served in.
Deep fried chicken
I ordered the Chicken Laksa. It was served with yellow hokkien noodles in a sweet & spicy coconut broth with chicken meat, tofu puffs, long beans, bean sprouts, sliced fish cakes, mint and lime slice. The broth had a nice heat but a little too sweet. A tad too much palm sugar?
Chicken Laksa
Mister order the Claypot Rice drop (short) noodle or Loh Shu Fun. This was served with minced pork, chinese vegetables and sprinkled with chopped spring onions and a raw egg. Just need to mix the egg with the noodle to achieve a silky texture. And again, it lacked flavour. It was not bland but just not have the grittiness, the punch of a classic Loh Shu Fun.
Claypot rice drop noodle or loh shu fun
Despite the lacking in flavour, I have to give it a thumbs up for not using any MSG in its cooking. We will come back but definitely not at the top of our list to revisit anytime soon. Feeling a little dissatified or maybe it was just greed, we walked over to Breadtop and grabbed a coconut and a tiramisu bun 
Shameless pleasure 
Tiramisu and Coconut bun
As the food was at Oldtown, the match was boring as well. Losing was NOT an option. We had to win to progress to the next round of the Asian Cup. Come on Aussies! The stadium was quiet and I could feel the tension as the time ticked away. And it was Cahill to the rescue again! He scored in the 74th minute and the stadium raptured. I was on my feet and stomping and clapping with joy and relieve! They had a bad match. No cohesiveness. No structure. No drive. But we just hung on to our 1 goal advantage to the end.
Etihad stadium and the Australia vs Oman match
We were really fortunate to have made the pilgrimage to the 2006 World Cup. It was a dream come true. So I really hope that we win this bid to host the World Cup! Join the bid! Help make this a reality.
What do you think make a good local cafe?
I haven’t been that impressed with Old Town Kopitiam either. I was excited to see kaya toast on their menu, but it was horrible!
They are also opening another store in QV, on the level where Grill’d and Max Brenner are.
The place looks great from the outside. The food even looks great on your photos. But at least trying out new restaurants is a great adventure for you and mister.
Go socceroos go Cahill! Hope we get to host a world cup here in our lifetime. Ooppps this was a thread about oldtown kopitiam? Sorry off topic
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I love chin chow too! My dad used to make it using the canned version from the Chinese shop and add ice on a hot day! So good!
Laksa looks quite good, but pity the claypot wasn’t that tasty! Next time you have to try the fried har mee. When we had it, it was great!
I’m not fond of the place. The only reason I may try for a meal beacuse of potential chendol cravings. The past few visits made me frustrated because of crap food and NO CHENDOL.
I wonder if this oldtown kopitiam in melbourne from the same chain as in Malaysia? The menu is different though. I love claypot lor shi fun!! They is none available in Sydney. I am so jealous you have it in Mel!!
You can get Claypot Lor Shi Fun in Sydney at Kopitiam along Harris Street in Ultimo. Nicer than the one in Melbourne. I always go there when I’m in Sydney.
great restaurant! I love the Chicken Laksa you ordered simply because it has a lot of spice and flavors
It’s only 9:11 AM for me and I want lunch now! And not just any lunch but everything you have photographed on here, they look sooo good. The grass jelly has me curious, because I’ve never had it but it definitely a good curious
I can’t see grass jelly without thinking of my sneaky Thai friend who tricked me into eating some when I was younger and then took great delight in telling me what I’d just ingested! This is in my not-so-adventurous eating days
Thanks for reminding me I haven’t had laksa for a very long time indeed, and perhaps I should enjoy one before the weather gets any hotter and I’ll not feel like having any sweat-inducing chow!
I like the look of the chicken laksa. It’s too bad the rest of the meal wasn’t very satisfying.
I absolutely love Laksa, I use to have one every Sunday when I was living in Sydney, and for 6 years I’m trying to find a match here in New York…. but sadly nobody can match the delicious Laksa I had over there.
Phew…Penny, you’re so lucky! You actually have Oldtown Kopitiam over there too. I love their white coffee with ice and hazelnut white coffee flavour…really mouthwatering! I wonder they have these in their menu over there as well! By the way, hope you’re feeling better now. Hey, I tried to log in to your site from my blog but can’t find you anywhere! Do you mind to try again to click-in the follower? Thanks a million. Cheers.
@Millie – Yes. Just next to 3 degrees. Very clever move.
@Divina – Always up for 2nd chances too but still fail!
@Willis – Cahill rocked!
@Rilsta – Ok. Will try har mee if we head there again. I still do the can ones here as well in summer!
@Cruxie Faye – I don’t mind heading back for ice kachang in summer
@Ellie – It is the same but it isn’t too good though. Let’s just make our own loh shi fun
@Jessie – Laksa is great especially cold days
@Rochelle – If you ever go to an asian grocer, maybe try asking. It should come in a can form. It is like jelly but more dense.
@Conor – Grass jelly is great in summer. very refreshing. And get onto the laksa train.
@Cookin’ Canuck – It wasn’t too bad but just not satisfying.
@Anna – Will you try making it yourself?
@Kristy – Lucky? But it is not the real thing. I don’t know if coffee coming in a packet is great. I will trying following again. Weird!
Even though I’m broke and can’t afford to get to Melbourne any time soon, I love your restaurant reviews! I guess ‘m living vicariously … ; )
If they didn’t rush their food out and took a little more time it would taste a hole lot better!
and a little bit more meat in the buk ku tah! and spices wouldn’t go astray. i haven’t cooked that dish for awhile mmmmmm
that chicken laksa looks so good. Must cook that one of these days.
I love the chin chow, but I only had it in sugar syrup. I’d love to try with soy milk. Chicken Laksa looks really good. Too bad it’s a bit too sweet. Sounds like you guys had a great night. Dinner and a soccer match:)
Well the food looks great – your superior photography skills, obviously!!! Too bad about the taste…
@Trix – I’m glad to hear that. One day babe!
@Rob – I want the invite for bak tuk teh!
@MaryMoh – Please do! I’ve not made my own for awhile. I may do it before it gets too warm.
@CheapAppetite – Try it and let me know what you think.
@Mardi – Yes. Looks good. Taste not so good. Looks can be deceiving!
LOL, coincidently I’m going here tonight!I dont actually mind the sweetness to the broth, I gues it’s better than the sour variety.
we name the chin chau in soy milk – Michael Jackson in Msia.
[...] on Little Bourke. Alas it was not meant to be. I was totally disappointed. You can find out why here. So I was really skeptical about this new place and was not keen until I read the delicious tweets [...]
I’m very surprised, this malaysian restaurant serving very poor food and poor service, i don’t know how the chef to satisfied customer expectations of the food, we ordered the bak kut teh, wat tan hor, har mee, nasi lemak and nasi goreng, very bad……..i can’t imagine this type of rubbish foods can put into our mouth, spoiled the named old town white coffee in malaysia and also spoiled the malaysian food, i won’t recommend this restaurant to my friends and won’t go there any more
Have you tried the one at QV? That is the better oldtown. But of course not as good as the one back in Asia.