Drinkaholics!: The Original Hainanese Tastes & Flavours

I did not plan this visit to this particular cafe, it was all last minute. After a lousy dinner, my family and I decided to head to this "kopitiam". My brother recommended it to me knowing my interest in coffee. It must be nuts going for coffee at such a late hour-- 11:00p.m.!

From the name- Hailam Kopitiam, you can pretty much is a Chinese Kopitiam. However, even though the interior is very much alike any other Kopitiam such as Old Town, GeorgeTown you name it, but the coffee here is much different.

It was fun having to sit by the corner of the shop, as I get to watch people come in and out. So anyways, more about the coffee. What attracted me while reading the menu was the history of this coffee. Little did I know that Hailam and Hainan are the same just pronounced differently. Their coffee originated from Kuala Pilah along with their first kopitiam there known as the Foh Heong Kopitiam. I was also told that this Foh Heong Kopitiam was very much favoured back in the colonial times.

Despite the many outlets that they have sprouted over time, the originality of their quality and taste were their pride of joy as they have been able to maintain them and have undergone very little change over the years. According to their website, they believe that patrons would be familiar with their authentic tastes.
I believe this is a good place to bring our parents and grandparents to have a taste of the good old days.

Looking through their menu, even for coffee itself they have a wide range of choices and to my dear vegetarian friends! Here's a place for you as they serve a variety of vegetarian dishes :) Definitely not a place that you would be bored of after the first few visits.

I ordered the Hailam Special Roast Coffee Ice ( RM 3.20). The price is definitely an affordable one compared to other cafe these days as they are prices for a cup coffee are usually about RM 5.90. The special Roast Coffee (cold) was very rich in coffee, the typical Kopi-O feel with added milk. The coffee tastes well roasted and not too bitter to taste.

My brother ordered the Special Cham ( RM 3.20) , for those of you who may not have heard about "cham" , here's a brief explanation. Cham is actually a Cantonese word for mix. As for this drink, it is a mixutre of coffee and tea. Do not think that this is a very simple drink where one can just purchase coffee and mix with tea. I have tried making this at home many many times. However, it always turns out to be either too much coffee or too much tea. This Special Cham had just the right amount of both, the best of both worlds. A good choice for those of you who do not fancy too much coffee taste.

Special Cham (RM 3.20)

My sister in law ordered a hot cup of Cappuccino (RM 4.00). The mixture of coffee and milk was very rich and the taste was as a competitive as the ones we get from the Western concept coffee stations. For a price of RM 4.00, you get a large mug of Cappuccino, which is really a very good deal in my opinion.

Cappuccino (RM 4.00)

We also tried one of their finger foods in hope to lighten our moods after our horrible dinner. We ordered the Otak Otak Roll. The Otak Otak filling was wrapped with a thin layer of popiah skin (made out of rice) and is then deep fried till crispy. It was very crispy, however, I felt that the otak otak filling was too little.