Danny’s Kopitam

264 Blackburn Rd
Glen Waverley, VIC 3125
https://www.dannyskopitiam.com.au/

Danny’s Kopitam exploded onto the radar after recently being featured in The Age Good Food Guide Awards as the Critic’s Pick, but for the locals, Danny’s has been a neighbourhood stalwart for the last 22 years. Armed with his trusty wok, Danny was one of the first to bring traditional Malaysian cuisine to Melbourne, and now well into his 70s, has continued to quietly feed the community with his char kuey teow and assam laksa. Admittedly, with all the authentic options floating around town these days, it’s harder for a humble place like this to stand out, but it is a relic in its own right.

Rating: 12/20 – old times good times.
Must-order: fried rice.

Danny’s is most well known for his Char Kuey Teow ($16.5), and you can tell he’s been making this one for years. The chewy noodles and classic garnishes are enveloped in just the right amount of seasoning and wok hei, leaving it smoky and flavoursome, without becoming greasy or heavy.

But what actually impressed us the most at Danny’s was not the CKT, but the fried rice. The special of Salted Fish Fried Rice ($16) is absolutely gorgeous, the grains loose, fluffy, and smoke-tinged. Buttery omelette is punctuated with the briny umami of salted fish, and a handful of crisp veggies and scallions balances out the oil. And it’s not just the salted fish doing the heavy lifting either. The Vegetarian Fried Rice ($15) was also noteworthy, the use of seasonal greens (rather than the stock-standard frozen mix) giving the dish a fresh and homely feel. Just like Margherita pizza and sushi, it’s the simplest things that are hardest to get right, and this is honestly one of the best fried rice I can recall eating. Even my mum was impressed.

For something different, I gave the Mee Pok ($15) a go. This dish of wavy egg noodles, tossed in a hot and tangy sauce, is not something I’ve had anywhere else. But I gotta say, it’s pretty moreish, especially in combination with the umami-heavy topping of minced pork and shiitake. The fish ball soup on the side is a bonus – salty but good.

The only dud of the night was the Beef Hor Fun ($18.5). It would’ve been perfectly reasonable – though unlike the CKT which got away with lighter wok hei, this really needed a heavier hand on the smokiness for it to show through the egg gravy – if not for the chewy beef that tasted a couple days from going off.