Singapore Coffee House — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Really disappointing experience here. Doesn't feel very authentic. If you're Asian, you will probably feel very let down.

Firstly, the curry puffs seem to be consistently sold out, even when you get there early. It makes me think they just lie and say they're sold out when they're just not made daily. I can't be certain, obviously, but it seems unreasonable that a tiny shop far out of the city centre would be sold out every day so quickly. Or maybe they only make like 20 a day. It seems like they're trying to create buzz and demand by strictly limiting it.

Anyway, that aside, half their menu isn't even available weekdays. (The menu on their website is very wrong!) You're limited to very few options. But of course there's a typical English breakfast instead. Yes, when I go to a Singaporean café, there's nothing more important than making sure a bland plate of English food is available, just like you can get literally everywhere else in Edinburgh. The fact they choose that to take a spot on a tiny menu is shameful. But it's not all that unexpected as it seemed that not a single person working was Asian.

Since we were here, and already told we can't have curry puffs or any of the options we came for, I settled on the kaya toast and my partner got the roti canai. The sauce left a lot to be desired in terms of punchy flavours in the curry, and the roti was a bit more doughy rather than flaky.

My kaya toast... well, undercooked would be putting it mildly. The eggs were gross. I know slow-cooked eggs may be very runny, but these were actually undercooked. Some of the whites were clear and watery. That's basically raw. I barely ate any. And also, they were completely unseasoned. The menu states they are seasoned with soy sauce and white pepper. Nope. NOTHING. Just boring half-raw eggs in a bowl. In kopitiams, they often have the sauces and pepper on the table to add yourself. Not here. Either the chef forgot or the server didn't bother to bring them. Failure either way. These were nothing like other Singaporean soft-cooked eggs I've had.

The bread was barely toasted at all. I've had kaya toast in many other places and this was a sad version of it. It was put together very sloppy as if the cook doesn't care.

Service was equally lacklustre. Not once were they helpful. They seemed completely disinterested in service, more interested in playing on their phones. I had to go up multiple times for basic things like utensils to eat with.

All the negatives were overwhelming but I will say the coffee was AMAZING. I ordered the Kopi Gu You. One of the best coffees I've had in the UK. Exceptional, really. It beats any Ethiopian kibbeh coffee I've had by a mile. Honestly, if I had just come for their coffee and not the food, this place would have received 5 stars, for both the coffee and cosy atmosphere and décor. I really liked the space. It's perfect for a nice cup of coffee.

But don't hope to use your phone while you enjoy your coffee. There's no mobile signal in here (even at the window) and they won't give you the wifi password. They claim there isn't any even though their pad-based point-of-sale system is clearly running on it.

So, the food and service isn't really worth it, but the coffee definitely is. And the prices are...

This was our first time here since it has changed ownership. The facility is small but big enough for a few tables. However, I feel like there was too many tables and not enough chairs and it did feel a little cramped. The menu is great with a lot of unique/authentic options. However there was a few items on the menu that weren’t available. My wife ordered the sausage naan wrap with the additional fried egg but the egg never came with the wrap. Although she really enjoyed it. The sausages were flavoursome and the wrap with lovely. The curry sauce it came with was great. I had the Ayam Goreng Sandwich which I couldn’t fault. It was delicious. We ordered a couple of teas. The Teh Tarik sounded nice but tasted like normal milky tea to me. My wife had another tea but she didn’t realise that it would be cold. Therefore, she didn’t enjoy it. Thankfully she was able to change if for a chai tea which she enjoyed. The waitress that served us wasn’t the best. She appeared a bit spaced out and forgetful. There was a couple that arrived well after us but received their food before. I think what actually happened was she gave our order to the wrong table because they ordered the same dish as me. My wife’s order arrived fairly quickly but I waited a while for mines. The other guy in the kitchen realised that she made a mistake and wasn’t too happy. Generally her communication wasn’t the greatest and could be improved. Overall, good food but...

We were in search of authentic Malaysian/Singaporean restaurants in Edinburgh and were excited when we heard this was opening! However, the mains were so disappointing and wasn't anywhere close to what an authentic Nasi Lemak should've been - we would know as we're Malaysians! The sambal was the worst - I was flabbergasted when I watched them scoop it out of a sambal oelek jar. For £12 a plate I expected cooked sambal.. Since it came out of a jar it was too salty and vinegary - far from the true taste of sambal. Anybody who comes from or knows Malaysia and Singapore would know that the Nasi Lemak is a staple Kopitiam dish and the sambal is the most essential element that binds the dish together. The chicken satay was undercooked and lacked any authentic spices/marinade (i.e. turmeric, lemongrass, coriander) and the rice was also undercooked and lacked the "coconutty" richness.

The Teh Tarik was good but we had to wait almost half an hour before we went back to the counter to ask for them again. We didn't try any of the roti or toast but the menu was interesting. The ambience is nice but you will struggle as a big group as the place is small.

I'm not sure I would go back and if you're looking for true authentic nasi lemak then sadly, this is not the...