Hock Kee Kopitiam (福气安康) @ City Square in Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

When it comes to Malaysian Chinese local breakfast, many Singaporeans would make a beeline for Oriental Kopi at City Square given its proximity to the checkpoint, but do you know there's another worthier eatery?

Hock Kee Kopitiam, which hails from Johor Bahru, is located on level four of City Square and I first got to know about it from a Malaysian friend who often has breakfast there on his off days! What I didn't know was that the kopitiam has a Google review score of 4.6, higher than the 3.9 for Oriental Kopi.

Just 15 minutes after its opening for the day (a weekend), the kopitiam was already at full capacity! Unlike Oriental Kopi branch at City Square, the seating environment was way more comfortable, with more spaces between tables and seats. 

I guess I over-ordered since there were just my mom and I. In addition, we already had breakfast buffet before checking out Crystal Crown Hotel (CCHJB)! 

Kopi - my preferred beverage for morning with special instructions; thick with less condensed milk. Frankly, it was average tasting and not as nice as Oriental Kopi.

Kopi O - simply coffee black, and with less sugar, I was wondering why my mom's beverage had old-school, fish-shaped biscuits whereas I didn't see any for mine! Maybe only for the small cup since my kopi was a larger serving?

Signature Sunshine Egg Tart - now, I was super disappointed with the award-winning egg tart from Oriental Kopi and thought it will be fair for me to buy one from Hock Kee Kopitiam for comparison. 

Turned out it was way better; not super flaky as to have the flakes falling all over the place, I was delighted by the soft, fluffy and wobbly egg filling that had the perfect level of sweetness that almost enticed me to buy a few back for home! p.s. decided not to as one egg tart can contain over 200 calories! 

Kaya Butter Toast - how not to have the kaya butter toast that's a mainstay for any kopitiam menu!? Despite the many different variants in the market now, my heart always goes for kaya butter!

Bread used was fresh and good, and it had a thick slab of soft butter in between the toasts. There was just a thin layer of kaya and it was more butter than kaya. In summary, an above average kaya butter toast but if you are dying to try a very good one, go for Lynns Food & Beverage along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.

Satay Fried Kuey Teow - thought this was unique and decided to give it a try. It was spicy at first bite (shiok!) and while there were sufficient wok hei, it tasted more like penang style char kway teow instead of one with satay. For the satay flavor, just mixed in the satay sauce. =_=. Honestly, I can do without the satay.

Mee Siam with Sunny Egg - I love dried mee siam and would order if the picture on the menu appealed to me, which it at Hock Kee Kopitiam. p.s. would share the menu at the end of the post.

On its own, it's a disappointment with a bland, mee siam flavor, and texture was too wet for my liking. To enhance, do remember to make use of the paltry amount of onions sambal beside the noodle. Much improved although still not up to my standard of a good plate of mee siam. 

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Will be back for the egg tarts for sure! Coffee wise, maybe I should go for iced kopi in the future. I would also love to try their nasi lemak banjir, which looked absolutely delish on the menu. 

This was the queue at 11.00 am!

So glad I was early.

Address

Lot 04-08 & 09, Level 4, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 

City Square, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Kopi - RM 5.50 

Kopi O - RM 3.90

Signature Sunshine Egg Tart - RM 4.80

Kaya Butter Toast - RM 4.50

Satay Fried Kuey Teow - RM 17.90

Mee Siam with Sunny Egg - RM 9.90

(Subject to Service Charge and Tax)