Written by: Xenia Cordelia Lee

Disclaimer: Before reading, please note that this location serves non-halal dishes.

If there is one thing Malaysians can agree on, it would be food. Here is another hidden gem for all of you, it is famous among locals of Port Dickson -the infamous Coconut Bay 玉记面档! It looks like your everyday kopitiam whereby time has clearly left its mark with its iconic, rustic 1980’s look. Oftentimes, it brings a sense of nostalgia for all three generations of a family; it is part of its charm. It may be a little hard to find, but, just ask the locals if google maps fail  you, we swear they won’t bite.

This traditional coffee shop has managed to survive the test of time and remain standing thanks to their loyal customers constantly flocking in. It may simply be an above average kopitiam (similar to the size of a mini food court) there would always be a full house -even before the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). This place is not big on aesthetics or gram-worthy picturesque, but it does bring a new perspective on ‘simple is best’ and to not judge a book by its cover. Their layout is pretty open-aired and customers can watch how their food is being prepared.

Their customers are loyal for a reason, and of course it is because the food speaks for itself. Now, think of all your classic kopitiam favourites. This place has all the classics, they don’t even need to have a menu. That being said, to the foreigners reading this, it may be wise to bring along a local friend, in case of emergencies -the more the merrier as the saying goes. Here’s a preview of some of the famous dishes and drinks that are must haves.

The siew mai dumplings are freshly made daily and have a variety of options to choose from. Feel free to mix and match, it’s usually served in small portions of threes. Most siew mai’s are made out of pork meat, so, not halal exactly, but they may have chicken meat options too for those who are daring enough to try it out, it would depend on their availability. They also have a selection of baos, these white fluffy buns with different savoury or sweet fillings inside. The famous ones are tau sa (red bean paste) and char siew (pork).

Now, those are some suggestions of the appetizers you can snack on before the actual meal arrives. They have the classics -roasted or steamed chicken rice, some mee hoon soup, and kon lao mee paired with some fried dumplings is another fav. However, they’re also famous for their laksa; rich in flavour and they don’t hold back on the meat! Chef’s kisses xx.

As for the drinks, of course, they have coffee. The direct translation of a kopitiam is a traditional coffee shop. It would be more surprising if they didn’t have any. Besides that, they also have some herbal teas to choose from to get that quick detox and feeling healthier after all the eating. However, the drink that you should really try is the sha bi milk tea, direct translation would be silly milk tea. It is a messy drink with volcanic bubble foam. Your inner kid will be elated and can’t wait to get that milk mustache or even play around with that swirly straw.

The cherry on top is that you get quality food at an affordable price! Imagine paying more at a fancy restaurant but the food is not good. At the end of the day, as overused as this is, it really is what’s on the insides that count, and in this case, the insides are the delicious foods for our insides. Ba dum tss*

Our Ratings: 

Atmosphere – 8.5/10

Food – 9/10

Price – 9.5/10

Accessibility – 7/10

And with that, we conclude that Coconut Bay is… MONCH approved!

Coconut Bay 玉记面档

Operating Hours: 6:00am – 2:30pm (Mon-Sun)

Address: Kampung Dhobi, 71000 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

Contact Number: 019-622 8893