Singapore 2024. OG Indian and Muslim. Zam Zam

Regional Dining Discussions Asia Pacific
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We visited Zam Zam a few years ago, late morning. Place is well known and popular among locals and tourists, we felt lucky to score a deuce on the sidewalk fairly quickly.

We’ve learned since to come early (before 11am) and walk straight upstairs and grab a table on the air conditioned second floor. Before the lunch tourist rush, most of our table mates ( ladies) wore hijabs. After 11:30, the incoming most wore designer shorts and spoke Mandarin.

We were greeted by this man’s smile and the anticipation of diving into whatever he’s making. Those dough balls and his technique is a welcoming sight.

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Kopi Cino Ice, ZZ’s take on a cappuccino? Wife ordered the Kopi Ice, stressing no sugar. My drink was perfect.

Again, iced coffee was too sweet for her. She’s finally learned from past experience to just stand pat rather than struggling for a no sugar replacement. It just dawned on me, they didn’t add sugar. The sweetness comes from the condensed milk. Duh.

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Mutton Murtabak. Mutton Briyani. Papadam. Marinated Cucumber with a red sauce. Curry Cauliflower. Two dishes of sauces.

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My third time with their Mutton Murtabak. Best. Ever.

The minced Lamb was flavorful with a little spice, melded wonderfully with the egg, onions and wrap.

Mutton Briyani less successful. Mini Lamb Chop buried in Rice, good but not Murtabak good.

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Another enjoyable meal, we’ll be back. Must endeavor to try and learn more of their menu next time.

We’re back in Singapore in a couple of weeks. Already planning to try the other two classic Muslim restaurants next door and a few doors down.

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“The sweetness comes from the condensed milk.”

When I was in Malaysia, I was in a supermarket and saw a package of the popular “white coffee”. The package touted “no sugar added”. That intrigued me, so I looked at the ingredients and one of the first ones listed was “glucose syrup”. Aargh!

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I had Kopi yesterday at a Singaporean-style place in nyc, and they had 3 types of Kopi:

  1. Regular — condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar
  2. Kopi-C — condensed milk only
  3. Kopi-O — evaporated milk only

Your wife probably wants 3)

I wanted 2) but didn’t see it till later.

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Order iced kopi-C next time - that’s the local lingo for an iced coffee drink that uses evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk.

I never take sugar with my coffee, too. :joy:

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Thanks @Saregama @klyeoh. We’ll be back in Singapore in a week or so. Gonna get some Kaya Toast and work on our Kopi game!! :smile:

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To get no sugar in Singapore and Malaysia, you must say “kosong,” which means “empty,” but is also used to indicate that something has no additives. Kopi Kosong is black coffee decoction with only hot water added to bring it to a drinkable dilution. To get that coffee with evaporated milk rather than condensed, you say “Kopi C,” but they’ll still add sugar. (A lot of people in Asia don’t understand the point of unsweetened coffee.) For evap and no sugar, you have to order “Kopi C Kosong,” stressing the kosong.

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