High Prices, and right next to a Funeral Undertaker...

An update: The place is no longer Ah Ma's. Auntie Koh's Cendol has taken over. Smart decision to move out of this location man😀

I was in Malacca, and decided to check this place out, as I like going to Hainanese kopitiams to have their kopi and kaya butter toast.

We ordered kopi, with steamed kaya butter and kaya butter toast.

Kopi was just okay, nothing outstanding. The kaya butter toast was also ok, mainly because the kaya was decent. However, the toast was a bit soft, as it had probably been prepared for some time, I guess in anticipation of the big crowd coming in. Btw, we were amongst the first, and there was already quite a long queue.

The steamed kaya butter was also just ok, nothing out of the ordinary.

Now for the outstanding part. The prices. Amazing. Kopi was $3.90 for a small cup. Outside, other kopitiam would probably be $1.90 or thereabouts topside. The kaya butter toast was $6.90. You'd probably pay no more than $2-2.50 at any other kopitiam.

The fact of the matter is that this isn't some high class kopitiam place. It is actually located at a lane in an open area, between two old buildings. And when the sun is up, it gets really hot.

Now ordinarily, I'd say old buildings can evoke nostalgic memories. As an example, go to Kafei Dian at Jalan Panggung in Chinatown, KL. That's a nice old building with dilapidated walls, made into a nice kopitiam. Over here, the left side of this kopitiam is a funeral undertaker. So it's not pleasant anymore.

The reality is Jalan Tan Cheng Lock is a very narrow street, and people have to queue right along the sides of this road in the morning, while waiting for the locked gates of Ah Ma kopitiam to be opened. Now, if some unfortunate accident were to happen, and some reckless driver were to plough into the queue, well how convenient, there's an undertaker next door.

I feel that the management should allow people to come in and sit down, even though business only starts at 8.30am, instead of having them wait and queue outside, where it's hot and honestly quite dangerous. Mind you, many are families with kids, some even babies. Why make them wait in the sun. Let them come in and sit down, you can start taking order at 8.30am.

Now, for the good bit. Apart from the okay tasting kaya, I'd say the staff are very polite.

To conclude, there are many other Hainanese kopitiam in Malacca which offer pretty much the same fare, taste good, and are far more reasonably priced. Examples are the ones in Limbongan. You may need to take a relatively short drive to get there, but it's more satisfying.