Oriental Kopi KL Review

Every viral food spot comes with the same worry: is it actually good, or are you about to stand in line for a photo? Oriental Kopi's egg tarts were going viral while we were living in Kuala Lumpur, and the chain has a reputation for huge lines.

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In this guide 9 sections

Cream and I went to the branch in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur twice near the end of our three months living in KL: once for the classics everyone posts about, and once for the nasi lemak and char kuey teow people kept recommending.

We wanted to answer two questions: is the food worth the hype, and can you get a table without the wait? This is our honest Oriental Kopi review: what we ordered, what we paid, and the trick that meant we never waited in line.

Watch Our Oriental Kopi Taste Tests

Cream does the tasting on camera. This is our second visit, where we went back for the nasi lemak and char kuey teow:

⭐ Watch our first visit: polo bun, egg tart, curry laksa, and kaya toast

Is Oriental Kopi Worth It? My Quick Answer

Yes. Oriental Kopi lived up to the hype on both of our visits, and we give it an 8 out of 10. The second visit was even better than the first. The egg tarts and kaya toast are the reason to go, the nasi lemak was the biggest surprise, and two of us ate five or six dishes with drinks for about $20 to $23. Get there at opening and you won't wait.

What Is Oriental Kopi?

Oriental Kopi is a Malaysian kopitiam chain. A kopitiam is a traditional coffee shop, and kopi is the local word for coffee. The menu is Nanyang style, the Chinese-Malaysian coffee-shop food that grew up across Southeast Asia: kaya toast, egg tarts, local coffee and tea, and Malaysian plates like nasi lemak and laksa.¹

The egg tarts are its claim to fame. According to Oriental Kopi, they hold Malaysia Book of Records titles for the thickest egg tart and the most egg tarts sold, and it has another for the most kaya toasts sold.

Arriving at Oriental Kopi: What to Expect

On both visits we got to Pavilion at 10:00 a.m., when Oriental Kopi opens, and there was no line either time. We walked up to the counter and staff took us straight to a table.

You order at the table. They hand you a menu, write your order down on a sheet, and tick each item off as it arrives. Once everything has come, they take the sheet away. It's a simple system that works well even when the room is full.

Things change fast after opening. By around 11:00 a.m. on the Saturday it was packed, and on the Sunday it was the same story: we beat the line, and by the time we left there was a big queue outside.

What We Ordered at Oriental Kopi

Across the two visits we ordered most of the famous menu. Here it is, from the dish you shouldn't leave without to the one I'd order last.

1. Egg Tart // The One Everyone Comes For

The egg tarts come hot, with a flaky shell that's still hot on the bottom. Inside, the custard is creamy with a real egg flavor, and it isn't very sweet, which is what makes it so easy to eat. Cream's reaction on the first visit: "I understand why this one's going viral."

On the second visit they were even better: "so flaky, so creamy." Part of the fun is that you can watch the staff fill the tart cases and slide them into the oven, so you know they're fresh. Order at least one each.

2. Double Butter Kaya Toast (Pandan) // Deceptively Good

Kaya is a sweet coconut and egg jam, and the pandan version is green and fragrant. Oriental Kopi's double butter kaya toast is light, crunchy toast with pandan kaya and thick slabs of cold butter.

We'd had kaya toast at other places, and this still stood out. Cream called it "the most perfect toast I've ever tasted", and the reason is the balance: the butter adds a slight saltiness that cuts the sweet kaya. It looks like the simplest thing on the table, and it's one of the best.

3. Nasi Lemak // The Biggest Surprise

Nasi lemak is Malaysia's national dish and one of our must-eat foods in Kuala Lumpur: coconut rice under a spoonful of sambal (chili paste), with fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and egg set around it. Oriental Kopi's comes with fried chicken covered in crispy fried bits, and every part of it sits in its own section of the plate, so you can build each bite the way you like.

Try the rice on its own first. Cream said "the lemongrass comes through immediately", with a little coconut behind it. The chicken was fresh and crisp, and the crispy bits break off into the rice as you eat.

The sambal was probably the least spicy sambal we've had. It's smooth and balanced rather than hot, which makes this a good first nasi lemak if you're nervous about chili. Mixed together, with the soft egg, the crunch of the peanuts and anchovies, and the cucumber, Cream called it "a perfect bite". If you're looking for nasi lemak in a mall, this is the one I'd send you to. It came third in our ranking of the best nasi lemak in KL.

4. Char Kuey Teow // Cream's Favorite Style of Noodles

Char kuey teow is stir-fried flat rice noodles, here with egg and prawns. Soft, chewy noodles are Cream's favorite style, and these had a real smoky char from the wok and a little spice without being hot.

The prawn came with its head on (the face trimmed off), and Cream ate the head first for the flavor. The prawn itself was cooked just right. It's a good pick if you want something savory next to the sweet toast and tarts.

5. Curry Laksa // Lighter Than You'd Expect

This was our first curry laksa anywhere: noodles in a coconut curry broth with chicken, fish balls, and fish-cake strips. The broth was the star. It was light, slightly spicy, and full of flavor, and closer to curries we know from home in the US than we expected.

The toppings were more mixed. The fish balls had a nice chewy texture, but the chicken on its own was plain, like chicken cooked for a chicken salad. It works once everything is mixed into the broth. Order it for the soup.

6. Polo Bun // Butter, Sweet Milk, and a Set of Instructions

The polo bun arrives with printed instructions: pour the caramelized sweetened milk (or honey) into the bun, spread it, then add the cold butter slices. We had no idea what to expect, and it surprised us more than anything else on the first visit.

The bun itself is a little dry, somewhere between a corn muffin and cornbread. The sweet milk and the slabs of butter are what make it work, and together it's very good. Cream said he'd get it again.

7. The Drinks // Kopi, Teh, and Cham With Cincau

The drinks come in big mugs filled to overflowing, and you can add cincau (grass jelly, a soft, slightly herbal jelly) to them. Across both visits we tried three:

• Iced Oriental Kopi with cincau: the house coffee, and our favorite. Strong, rich kopi flavor that went with every dish.
• Iced teh with cincau: teh is tea. A classic, creamy milk tea.
• Hainanese cham with cincau: cham is coffee and tea mixed together. Cream couldn't tell which one he was tasting, which is the point. Very frothy.

If you only order one, make it the Oriental Kopi.

What We Didn't Love

Not much, but a few things are worth knowing.

• The crowds. From about 11:00 a.m. it gets busy and loud. We had no wait because we came at opening; if we'd had to queue, that would have been the part we didn't like.
• A couple of weaker items. The polo bun is dry without its toppings, and the chicken in the curry laksa is plain on its own. Neither would stop me ordering them again.

Who Oriental Kopi Is For

Oriental Kopi is a perfect first taste of Malaysian food for anyone who's nervous about street food or would rather eat indoors. The menu covers the classics, from kaya toast and kopi to nasi lemak, char kuey teow, and laksa, in an air-conditioned mall with table service. That's a real advantage in KL's heat and on stormy afternoons (which months are the wettest has its own guide).

It costs more than a hawker stall, but it's good value. For how much fresh food we got, sitting down in a mall, it felt cheap. You can't get food this good and this fresh, in these amounts, for this price in the US.

Prices, Hours, and Getting There

• What we paid: $19.66 on the first visit and $23.16 on the second, for two people, as shown on our US card in April 2026. Each time that was five or six dishes plus two drinks.
• Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, according to its listing.³ Check before you go, as mall hours can change on public holidays.
• Where: Lot 1.31.00, Level 1, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang. It's on the same floor as the Food Republic food court.
• Getting there: take the MRT to Bukit Bintang station, which connects to Pavilion by a covered walkway.⁴ Pavilion is also on the covered walkway to the Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC.⁵ Our guide to getting around Kuala Lumpur covers Grab, the monorail, and walking.
• Where to stay: staying in Bukit Bintang puts Pavilion a few minutes' walk away. It's where we lived for three months. See places to stay in Bukit Bintang.
• Payment: card accepted.

Oriental Kopi, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

This map comes from Google Maps.

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Our Verdict on Oriental Kopi

Two visits, two wins, and the second one was better, so we give Oriental Kopi an 8 out of 10. Go at opening, order the egg tarts and kaya toast before anything else, and add a nasi lemak if you're hungry.

Next Steps for Your Kuala Lumpur Trip

• The 13 best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, ranked by our scores.
• The 10 must-eat foods in Kuala Lumpur, including where to eat nasi lemak and char kuey teow on the street.
• Is Kuala Lumpur worth visiting? Our honest verdict after three months.
• The best time to visit Kuala Lumpur, month by month.
• McDonald's in Malaysia, for the fast-food version of nasi lemak.