Malaya Hainan at Chinatown: Snapshot

Malaya Hainan traces its roots to the grandfather of this kopitiam’s founders – Phang Kai Chee migrated from China’s Hainan island to Malaya before World War II, first earning his keep as a kitchen helper in George Town before eventually running his own bakery and local food shop in Alor Setar.

His grandchildren opened Malaya Hainan as a tribute to his life’s work, occupying historically significant territory near Chinatown. The menu hits the expected notes of Hainanese kopitiam mainstays – chicken chop and oxtail soup, plus cherished Straits Settlement staples like inche kabin, kari kapitan and assam prawns. We tried the chicken rice, with extra helpings of poached chicken, roast chicken and roast duck, each of which proved generally acceptable.