KEN HUNTS FOOD: Lollipop Ropitiam @ Campbell Street, Georgetown, Penang.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Lollipop Ropitiam @ Campbell Street, Georgetown, Penang.

Kaya Butter Toast... a staple for the working class in the past and less appreciated by the younger ones right now... probably eating Kaya Butter Toast with Half Boiled Egg is not as glamorous as having Egg Benedict for brunch. Also, the ambiance is often being compared. Lollipop Ropitiam is a young invention that ventures into local food culture; originated from Kedah, it seeks to offer something different- to provide a comfortable space to enjoy their variety of artisan Kaya Butter Toast (acclaimed). The menu is an anthropological record of the Hainanese-styled breakfast, featuring the Hainanese Brew as well as various condiments that go with the Toast. The space, however, can be quite warm and stuffy in the afternoon so the best time to visit is probably morning. The Penang branch of Lollipop Ropitiam is situated at Campbell Street, a few doors away from Campbell House on the same street (near the junction to Cintra Street).

Lollipop Ropitiam is proud of their home-made Duck Egg Kaya, a posh variant to the usual Kaya but something works better in theory. Their Roti Stim Kaya Butter (Rm 3.30) did not manage to impress us. We thought the bread was too thin to our liking- soft and mushy in lieu of fluffy. The thick slab of Butter overshadowed the fragrance of the Duck Egg Kaya, the only thing that we could discern was the sweetness. The bread was alright, nothing special if you ask me. We bought a bottle of their home-made Duck Egg Kaya (Rm 4.90) as well... just to have a taste of it. It turned out to be a disappointment, it was rather watery with nary a hint of Kaya-fragrance.

Polo Butter Bun (Rm 2.30)

Gong Ji Xia Dan/ 公鸡下蛋 (Rm 4.40)

Lollipop Ropitiam is proud of their home-made Polo Bun (again) and true enough, we had to agree that it was better than average but it was not something that we would want to go all out just to have it. Just like any Polo Butter Bun, we had ours sandwiching a thick slab of Butter. It possessed a fluffy-chewy texture sheathed under a crusty layer; sweetened but not overly so and with the melting Butter, we thought it was quite toothsome. Gong Ji Xia Dan on the other hand, might sounds playful but it was an ordinary Toast (perhaps mediocre?) spread with their home-made Kaya topped with two half-boiled Free Range Eggs. The Eggs were fine and nothing to shout over; the Toast was a little dry and we were not able to mop all the flowing Yolk. Unless you longed for such dish, skip this and have others otherwise.