Surisit – the Neighbourhood Thai Kopitiam

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“Kopitiam”, a term coined by Malaysians to signify a local coffee shop, is the rage right now. Almost every corner of every street in KL, there’s bound to be a Kopitiam or two, mainly serving toasts, coffee, eggs and snacks especially for tea time. So when I came across Surisit Thai Kopitiam, I was curious to find out how this kopitiam differed from the others. Owned by 3 Thais (Surik, Rivon and Sita – now you know how the name came about!), this neighbourhood kopitiam is actually a restaurant that prides itself in serving authentic, village-style Thai food with a kopitiam environment. The marble table tops and wooden ancient-looking chairs are tell-tale signs of how the kopitiam culture has caught on.

Sour Orange Curry Fish

Kopitiam environment in Surisit

Located along a rather quiet road in the neighbourhood of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, you’d be surprised to find this particular restaurant bustling with business at  night when most of the other shops along the same row have closed. I was fascinated by the decoration around the restaurant, featuring old style coffee cups as well as colourful bottled drinks, including Fanta. I ordered the Soya Cincau (soya bean with grass jelly) drink that turned out to be pretty concentrated and had a generous amount of grass jelly within.

Colourful bottled drinks

Soya Cincau (RM7.90)

Service was prompt even though it was a busy night, and we were served with our orders within 20 minutes.

White rice served on a traditonal-looking plate

To start the dinner, we tried the Kerabu Pucuk Paku which was served cold. The paku (wild fern shoots) used was young and soft, but most importantly, they were nicely marinated with a slightly coconuty, sour and spicy gravy, making it an addictive appetizer.

Kerabu Pucuk Paku (RM14.90 – S/ RM18.90 – L)

According to the lady boss, one of the most popular dishes ordered from the restaurant was the Tom Yam Ka Moo, which was clear tom yam soup with braised pork hocks. Oh yes, they serve pork here. How often do you find pork used in tom yam soup? This surprisingly turned out to be pretty good – clear broth that was very sour and slightly spicy, giving the much needed kick after a long day at work.

Tom Yam Ka Moo (RM25.90)

For something more home-cooked, we tried the Cha Om, also known as the Thai style fried egg omelette. This simple dish was fried to perfection with crispy edges and a golden hue that was extremely savoury and redolent. The fluffy Thai omelette has to be one of the best in town.

Cha Om (RM9.90)

The star of the night though, had to go to Mun Thod Gapi, essentially a dish of crispy fried pork with shrimp paste and deep fried lemon leaves, served with fiery chilli sauce on the side. When I saw this, I was elated! I remember very well eating the same dish in Bangkok and I raved about it in this post. Never did I imagine that this dish would be available in this quaint neighbourhood kopitiam, just a short drive away! True enough, the fried pork was as good as I remembered it – crispy and savoury skin, tender and juicy meat, plus that hint of shrimp paste that made it all the more delicious. This is definitely a must-order.

Mun Thod Gapi (RM16.90 – S / RM24.90 – L)

Even though many favoured the clear tom yam broth above, I personally loved the sour and spicy soup that came with the Kheng Som Pla, a sour orange curry fish with vegetables. Most of the time, the fish dishes that I ate in Thai restaurants were steamed, but this was not. The fish was first deep fried until golden and crispy, then soaked in the orange broth which I would like to call, the Elixir of Joy. The deep frying method was a genius idea as it prevented the fish meat from going soggy after being soaked in the soup for long. While the fish maintained the certain bite and firmness to it, the soup was altogether a different story. It was spicy and sour, somewhat like assam laksa but better than that. And it was extremely addictive! I ended up almost slurping up all the soup and neglecting the fish.

Kheng Som Pla and its amazing soup I call the Elixir of Joy (RM32.90)

Seeing how much we enjoyed the fish, the chef also presented us with another version of crispy deep-fried fish topped with spicy chili, lime and garlic, that was not on the menu. The fish was fresh as evident from the flaky meat, and had the crispy and crunchy edges that were perfect with the spicy gravy on top.

Crispy deep-fried fish with lime, chili and garlic

Another dish that came highly recommended was the Kao Klut Gapi, also locally known as Belacan fried rice with sweetened pork. The right way of eating this would be to mix everything on the plate, plus the sweetened pork, together thoroughly. The combination of savoury belacan rice with sweet pork and crispy fried shrimps was just too good to resist. Beware of those fiery bird’s eye chilli though, for small as they were, they could make you sweat.

Kao Klut Gapi / Belacan fried rice (RM14.90 – S / RM18.90 – L)

Finally, for something sweet to calm that spicy tongue, we had the Torb Tim Krob or Red Ruby dessert, served with thick and aromatic coconut milk and slices of sweet jack fruit. The coconut milk was slightly salty and very rich, making it almost too sinful to finish one bowl on my own.

Torb Tim Krob (RM5.90)

The Mango Pulut was impressive too, with a big piece of sweet mango on top of glutinous rice topped with thick coconut cream. Again, this was another rich dessert meant to be shared.

Mango Pulut (RM8.90)

Dining in Surisit gave me the feeling of going to a friend’s house and having that friend prepare a nice home-cooked meal for us. It was a cosy and warm experience, of course made all the more better with authentic and tasty Thai dishes. It was also, if I may say so, a Thai Kopitiam at its best.

Surisit Thai Kopitiam

Surisit Thai Kopitiam
No.17 Grd Floor, Lorong Rahim Kajai 13
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel/Fax: +603-7710 0173
Opening Hours: Daily (8:00 am – 10:30 pm)
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SurisitThaiKopitiam
GPS Coordinates: 3.154487,101.622418