Kopi Roti

March 28, 2006
Filed under Food trips & events

kopi roti After a very late, and very hefty, lunch (at 4.30 p.m., no kidding) at Causeway Seafood Restaurant (Timog Avenue branch, this time) last Sunday, I was craving for coffee. The girls, on the other hand, wanted to go to Starbucks for an Oreo cheesecake fix. But just the day before we were already at Starbucks twice–once on the way to Enchanted Kingdom and, again, on the way home. My husband had been talking incessantly about Kopi Roti and I wanted to try their stuff.

So, from Causeway, we drove the short distance to Kopi Roti along Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City. It’s a very small place–a one room affair not much bigger than an average home kitchen. Two small tables and a bar with stools, the counter and that was it. The coffee was great. Robust but not bitter. Neither did it have the soury taste of most brewed coffee.

Kopi Roti, however, isn’t a place to bring kids to. Not much elbow room and nothing familiar on the menu. Our 12-year-old did try the iced coffee but decided it was too strong. Well, it would be since the coffee she knows is Swiss Miss with about half a teaspoonful of instant coffee stirred in.

Kopi Roti beverages and dessert Aside from coffee, Kopi Roti has iced barley (which I haven’t tried yet), juices, tea and the usual softdrinks. But the dessert that my husband had been raving about, an iced concoction similar to, but simpler than, our own halo-halo, was not available last Sunday. Called Red Ruby, it is red tapioca balls (sago), lychees, shaved ice and coconut milk. I’m a lover of coconuts and all food products made from coconut so you can understand my disappointment when we couldn’t order it.

The price of coffee is about 40% less than Starbucks and the quality is comparable. But what I really liked about Kopi Roti is the unpretentiousness of its beverages. Not fancy like Starbucks which is 70% looks and presentation. Kopi Roti seems to operate on the principle that you don’t have to scream to be noticed. With all the coffee shops around–and they have mushroomed during the past couple of years–Kopi Roti has not ridden on the Starbucks formula. Which is good, as far as I am concerned. It maintains its individuality and its unique appeal.

Kopi Roti was established in Singapore in 1955 but only found its way to the Philippines last year. If it’s great coffee you’re after, rather than being seen hanging out in the “cool” cafe joints, you will like Kopi Roti.