Customer: All the flavor's just exploding in my mouth.
Each dish just has this specific specialty,
and the taste that it provides,
really, really good.
Medha Imam: That's amazing.
Kopitiam has been making headlines
as one of the best new restaurants in the United States.
So it's no wonder that it's packed
morning, noon, and night.
We're in Chinatown headed to Kopitiam.
Now, in Malaysian, "kopitiam" translates to "coffee shop."
But this small restaurant is so much more than that.
It's serving up traditional Baba-Nyonyan cuisine
that was crafted from family recipes
that were handed down from generation to generation.
Now, I've never had Malaysian food before,
but I'm excited to see how it's made and give it a try.
In 2015, long before Kopitiam
was the midsized bustling restaurant it is today,
it was a small four-seat shop
run by one-woman band Kyo Pang
that was forced to close in December 2017
because of a rent spike.
But with a little help from a new friend,
Kopitiam was able to reopen in the spring of 2018.
Kyo Pang: Initially, I just wanna have a little corner,
you know, for myself and maybe for my friends.
Moonlynn Tsai: I met her about three years ago
as a fan at her old location
and then found out that, a little over a year ago,
she was gonna close down the other shop.
And we decided to talk,
we hung out for a little bit, and then we decided
to go into business together after five days of meeting,
and here we are.
Medha: So much of the restaurant is an homage
to Kyo's family back in Malaysia.
The plates, bowls, and trinkets lining the walls
were purchased by Kyo's family in Malaysia
and mailed here to New York City.
Kyo's mother grows butterfly pea flowers
and mails them to the States,
where Kyo uses them for the dish pulut inti.
Even the coffee is personal.
Kyo says her family's restaurant
in Malaysia has had exclusive rights
to this particular coffee bean for 50 years.
Now, Kopitiam is one of just two restaurants
in the world where you can get this cup of coffee.
It's made with coffee beans roasted in margarine,
mixed with sweetened condensed milk,
and poured back and forth between two cups by hand.
Kyo: My grandfather is a very, very good coffee maker.
He was known for making coffees.
Every single thing that's here,
everyone in my family plays a part of it.
Medha: Despite their strong connection,
Kyo hasn't seen her family in 11 years.
She's a refugee here in America.
After coming here for school in 2008,
she chose to seek asylum from her home country,
where it's illegal to be gay.
Kyo: Especially when your parents are,
Penang's such a small island,
so everyone kind of know everyone.
So, growing up, I could never be rebellious.
I could never do anything that is not normal.
I only came out to my mother
when I started the first Kopitiam.
You know, finally I tell her that now it's really my time
to really want to do my life through cooking.
It's like a process of meditations for me.
And, you know, from cooking,
I kind of connected to my family back home.
Medha: Each dish on Kopitiam's menu
is handmade with care and authenticity,
like the kaya toast,
topped with a coconut jam made with coconut milk,
sugar, and pandan leaves,
then cooked on low for over an hour,
requiring consistent stirring.
After running Kopitiam six days a week
9 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
Kyo stays late every night
to make a new batch from scratch.
When I asked her when she has time to sleep,
the question genuinely confused her.
The lack of sleep is one of the many reasons why,
since Kopitiam's reopening,
several publications have listed it
as one of the best restaurants in the country.
Moonlynn: Being named one of the top restaurants,
it's not even just for America, you know,
it's also bringing a lot of pride to Malaysia.
Like, there's been a lot of write-up
in Malaysia because of this.
In Malaysia, you can still get hanged if you're LGBTQ.
So, a Malaysian restaurant ran,
I think, by two queer women...
it's also a statement.
Everything.
Moonlynn: What's your favorite to eat?
Kyo: Everything.
Medha: While Kyo might not have a favorite,
mine was this: the nasi lemak.
Customer: I used to live in Singapore
for three years for work,
and we loved the cuisine there.
And this is even better than the hawker food
'cause we know the ingredient is fresh
and it's all fresh made.
Customer: It's really the anchovies and that,
I guess they're fried, and they're not overly fishy.
It's a lot of umami.
It's very flavorful.
Medha: Nasi lemak begins with fried peanuts
and a handful of crunchy fried anchovies.
Once strained, Kyo adds housemade chili sauce,
then mashes the mixture into a small bowl
that's also used as a mold and tops it with white rice.
The nasi lemak is placed in its signature rooster bowl,
which is another homage to her family's heritage.
The bowl is lined with eight cucumbers,
eight being a lucky number in Mandarin
for wealth and prosperity.
Then Kyo finishes it off with a hard-boiled egg.
Let's get to eating.
OK.
Oh, my God.
That's amazing.
It starts off a little bit salty,
then you get hit with the spices.
And then it's just a bunch of different flavors.
And you get the real crunchiness of the peanuts in here.
Wow, I'm in love.
And I'm actually becoming a fan of fried anchovies,
because
they have this little crunch to it.
And I'm kind of loving it.
If you are unfamiliar with spicy foods
or if you're not a fan,
this is not too bad in terms of spice level.
There's just so much going on in one bite.
Let's have a coffee chat.
OK, people?
All of the flavors and all of these different dishes
were so good.
I'm coming here.
No one else can come here.
I'm just gonna come here.
I think I've had too much coffee this morning
'cause I become a comedian in my mind.