It’s been a while since I’ve been into the heart of the Sydney CBD and I have to admit I’d forgot about the crushing crowds. Nonetheless, N and I braved them for lunch at Killiney Kopitiam, a Singaporean restaurant that expanded from Melbourne to Sydney in late 2019.
The restaurant boasts authentic Singaporean dishes for a reasonable price.
This is the Kaya Toast ($3.80, 2 pieces).
I expected thicker slices of toast, or rather milk bread, but initial disappointment aside, the kaya has a prominent salted egg yolk flavour and a distinct absence of pandan notes. It’s a combination that’s new to me and I prefer the version at Papparich.
This is my Killiney Roti Prata with Curry Chicken ($11.50, 3 pieces).
Again, I expected freshly made roti only to be disappointed by ones cooked from frozen that lack the buttery fluffiness of the fresh ones. The curry itself had a prominent kaffir lime and galangal flavour that reminded very much of a tom yum, while there were three pieces of chicken (a drumette, a wingette and a very bony piece from the carcass) that fell off the bone and absorbed the flavour of the soup well.
This is the Hor Fun Soup with Hainanese Chicken, Fish Balls & Chicken ($10.50), described as ‘a classic Singaporean dish served with flat rice noodles in clear soup with Hainanese chilli sauce’.
N found the chicken to be quite squeaky, but enjoyed eating it with the ginger and shallot sauce, while she would’ve preferred a bolder, flavoured soup base to give the noodles more flavour.
This is the Singapore Laksa with Hainanese Chicken ($12.50). N enjoyed the more restrained shrimp flavour in the soup base but otherwise found the flavour unremarkable and was confused by the thicker rice noodles used in the laksa.
This is the Stir Fry Glass Vermicelli ($11.90). I’m a fan of chewy noodles and these thicker ones deliver an enjoyable bounce. Other than that, though, the salty egg used in the sauce left an unpleasant grittiness that left a heavy and overly salty mouthfeel. It sorely lacked acidity.
And finally, this is the Grass Jelly ($3.90). While I enjoyed the bouncy texture of the grass jelly, the drink was much too sweet and filled with far too much ice to be worth the calories or the price.
For those who like an extra spicy kick to their meals, there’s a self-serve chilli station stocked with green and red chilli as well as ginger shallot sauce.
Overall, we weren’t too impressed by the dishes we ordered as they lacked depth in their flavour.
Killiney Kopitiam is located at Level 6, Westfield Sydney, 188 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000.