When Jules Mou took over Kopi Stop five and a half years ago, she saw it as a chance to introduce a Singaporean bend to the Darwin café.
“For me, it’s about bringing a bit of my background and culture to Darwin,” Jules says.
“It brings people a bit closer to home, whichever part of Asia they come from. They can have an Asian style breakfast as opposed to normal bacon and eggs you could find at any café.”
One of these dishes is the Singapore Set, toast with butter and kaya (coconut jam) served with two soft-boiled eggs. Another is the Chinese-influenced Congee porridge.
But at Kopi Stop, coffee is the real focus. The café serves St Ali beans for its espresso style coffees, prepared with a Victoria Arduino Black Eagle, Mythos One grinder and Puqpress tamper.
Jules says there is a strong demand for dairy alternatives at Kopi Stop, to the point the café carries two almond milks, a soy milk, and its most recent addition, oat milk from The Alternative Dairy Co.
“One of my baristas took out the prize in an Alternative Dairy Co latte art competition and that helped us introduce oat milk to our customers,” she says.
“We were probably one of the first cafés in Darwin to use Alternative Dairy Co oat milk, but a lot more have picked it up.”
Kopi Stop also imports roasted beans to serve the Singaporean-style kopi coffee it takes its name from.
“Kopi uses Robusta beans that were roasted in butter and sugar, and is usually served with condensed milk. It’s similar to Vietnamese coffee, but is extracted and brewed differently,” Jules says.
“We mostly serve espresso coffee, but a lot of customers can relate to and love to drink a kopi. They miss going to Singapore or Malaysia for holidays and this is not served anywhere else in Darwin.”
Kopi Stop has connected with the Darwin community, even being voted as having Darwin’s best coffee in a poll by The NT News. This support led to Jules expanding the café at the end of 2020.
“We’ve had loyal customers since day one who come in every day,” Jules says. “Making good coffee and providing good service brings our customers back again and again.”
Kopi Stop
1/2 Harriet Place, Darwin, Northern Territory, 0800
Open Monday to Friday 6:30am to 2pm, Saturday 7:30am to 1pm, Sunday 7:30am to 12pm
0467 708 255