Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe 大南洋 (Changi City Point)

The folks behind Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe 大南洋 might have just been celebrating about the recent opening of their outlet at Geneo that is located above Kent Ridge MRT Station — that being said, it does seem that the brand is currently in a phase of expansion. Whilst it isn’t been too long ago that social media posts of its Geneo location had started to float around online, Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe had since opened their fourth outlet following their Craig Road, 111 Somerset and Geneo locations — the latest outlet being at Changi City Point which is currently also seeing a bit of a revamp happening within the mall as well. Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe takes up a space at the basement of the mall — one can find Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe around the same area where the outlet of ANDES by ASTONS and the outlet of En Yeoh's Bak Kut Teh 宴杨肉骨茶 are being located within Changi City Point itself. The facade of Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe at its Changi City Point location is probably less extensive as what it is a their Geneo outlet possibly due to the limitation of space here; that being said, the establishment is still filled with a sense of nostalgia with old-school elements of the good ol’ days being found all over the dining establishment — this ranges from the various signboards and decor, all the way to the choices of its mix of stone and concrete-esque flooring and the wallpapers that replicates that of old zinc-roof houses. The details also goes as deep into its dining furniture with the use of tables featuring a marble table top and chairs of wooden accents; the tables seemingly configured in a way that would best suit diners visiting in groups of four (4) pax and above. The food menu at Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe at its Changi City Point largely remains the same as that of the Geneo outlet — the menu being segmented into sections such as Fruit Rojak, Steam Buns, Traditional Toast, Nasi Lemak Kukus, Dry Mee Siam, Nanyang All Time Favourites, Hometown Zi Char, Local Snack, Ah Ma Traditional, Nanyang Style Vegetable and Traditional Popsicles. The line-up of beverages also remains the same as the outlet at Geneo, with the menu featuring Nanyang-style Kopi / Teh, as well as Milo, Specialty Ice Drink and Homemade Drink.

There have been quite a number of items that we had tried from Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe so far especially since we have already visited their Craig Road, 111 Somerset and Geneo locations when they had first opened their doors. That being said, given the extensive number of dishes that Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe has to offer, there are still a number of items that we have yet to give a go thus far. Skimming through the menu, one of the dishes that we had yet to try from Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe would be that of the Penang Assam Laksa. Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe does not describe the elements that come featured with their dishes; that being said, it can be observed from our order of the Penang Assam Laksa that it comes with onions, diced cucumbers, prawn paste, lettuce, mackerel etc. — all that with a Assam (tamarind)-based broth whilst coming with thick Bee Hoon. The Penang Assam Laksa is quite the classic bowl of Penang-style Assam Laksa which we found to be pretty authentic — we did feel that the Assam broth here comes a little bit on the thicker side where there was a balance between the savoury and slightly pungent notes of both the mackerel and the prawn paste against that of the tangy Assam broth. One thing we did note is how the variant of the Penang Assam Laksa at Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe was how it does seem to be pretty generous with the chunks of mackerel that comes served with the Penang Assam Laksa; all that whilst the addition of onions and cucumbers gives it a refreshing crunch — the lettuce further adding on a crisp and leafy texture that also helps to reset the tastebuds. The thick Bee Hoon comes with a slight chewiness which is pretty much expected of the same that typically comes with Penang Assam Laksa — more so than that of our thick Bee Hoon that comes with Singaporean-style Laksa and also being a little more dense. The only qualm about the Penang Assam Laksa here would be how it lacks mint leaves that seemingly would have given the entire bowl a bit of a better balance — though we also do reckon that locals here may not be to into that anyway.

A trip to a spot that is themed after the Nanyang Kopitiam-styled concepts that had been trending in both Singapore and Malaysia would not be complete if one does not order their Traditional Kaya Butter Toast. Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe serves up their Traditional Kaya Butter Toast with three (3) different variations of bread — this would include the Traditional Toast, Thick Toast and the Wholemeal. The variant that is most recommended would be the Traditional Toast which we have also ordered during our visit to Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe at Changi City Point. As it would be at their other locations, the Traditional Kaya Butter Toast from Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe at Changi City Point comes with Hainanese-style Kaya — the one that comes with a brown hue that comes with a slight sweetness of caramel and a hint of coconut. The thick slab of butter is provides some bite which works well with the traditional toast that has been toasted to a beautiful shade of brown — the toast being all crisp, while the butter adds a saltishness to the sweetness of the Hainanese-style Kaya. A beverage that we have been ordering during our visits to Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe would be the Kopi (Iced); the Kopi (Iced) at Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe does come with the overflow aesthetic that is commonly seen at dining establishments that are Nanyang Kopitiam-themed cafes. Have always felt that the Kopi (Iced) at Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe could be done thicker but this was probably the richest that we have had so far from them opting for it to come at the Normal level of sweetness — though still best to be had when it arrives the table as the ice does end up diluting the drink with the passing of time.

To be truthful, we aren’t really fans of Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe on what they have to offer especially during the times when they had just opened for business at Craig Road and at 111 Somerset; that being said, it does seem that we have realised that these folks do seem to do much better in their Nanyang All Time Favourites offerings as compared to items listed in the other sections of the menu that we have tried thus far. We were equally impressed with the Penang Assam Laksa that we have had during our visit to the Changi City Point outlet as we were with the Penang White Curry Nodole which we had during our visit to their outlet at Geneo. We also found the quality of other dishes that we have had to be fairly consistent or evenly slightly better than before — that would be the case for both the Traditional Kaya Butter Toast and Kopi (Iced). With prices of its food being pretty reasonable for Malaysian-style Kopitiam fare that is being served up in an air-conditioned environment, Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe is likely to become a favourite haunt of those working around the Changi City Point / Expo area in time to come.