Kopi 434 Cafe is housed in a bright yellow building located right opposite Terminal Bentayan Muar, the express bus terminal in Pekan Muar. The cafe, also known as Sai Kee Kopi (才记434咖啡), was founded in 1953.
Why "434"? In the 1980s, local Muarians would call Sai Kee Kopi to order their coffee and "434" was the last 3 digits of the telephone number. The number was catchy, known to locals, and was, thus, used to name their local coffee.
Inside the cafe, Sai Kee Kopi's range of traditional kopi products, especially its signature "elephant" coffee, lined the shelves behind the cashier. Apart from local coffee, there are imported coffee beans too.
The cafe's dine-in section offers an opportunity for customers to try the local-grown coffee with popular Malaysian delights, such as nasi lemak, mee siam, etc. Other than "elephant" Liberica coffee, there are also the highly-priced musang (civet cat) coffee, the famous Blue Mountain Arabica coffee and Queen's coffee — the latter may not be available all the time and needs luck.
The signature hot elephant bean coffee 1960s (六十年代传统大象咖啡) is a must-try. The coffee uses locally-grown, large-seed Liberica beans rather than the fruity Arabica or bitter Robusta beans that are often used to make traditional kopi across Singapore and Malaysia. Liberica coffee is less fruity, less bitter and has a smoky and woody flavour profile. The aromatic coffee is available with milk, black or with evaporated milk. Sugar is added separately.
The nasi lemak ayam goreng 434 (炸鸡椰浆饭) — fried egg added separately — is one of Kopi 434 Cafe's signature main dishes. The coconut-milk-flavoured rice has a very nice aroma and accompanied by sweet-spicy nasi lemak sambal chilli. The nicely-fried crispy fried chicken is tasty and not oily. It is a nice dish for lunch.
Before leaving the cafe, get some Muar coffee beans, powder, instants or sachets to bring home — I bought a pack of the elephant coffee powder and another pack of normal coffee powder.
As Kopi 434 Cafe is located opposite Terminal Bentayan Muar, it is very convenient to have coffee and meals at the cafe or buy its coffee products on reaching Muar or just before departing.
Address:
121, Jalan Maharani, Taman Sri Emas, 84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
8am to 5:30pm | Daily
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