Note: Hoppers Kuala Lumpur is now closed.
For atas appam in a stylised café setting, the new Hoppers in Pudu, by sisters Sugania and Nishalni Naidu, is putting an inventive, distinctively Malaysian spin on the breakfast staple.
While it’s located in a former lawyers’ office, you won’t see the mundane furnishings. Instead, Hoppers (with the help of creative agency POW Ideas) has brightened up the place with vibrant colour blocks in a palette of pinks and blues. Leafy pots of tropical greens further accentuate the laidback vibe, and if you’re seated in the alfresco area, look up to see vintage Tamil movie posters.
If you’re wondering why the restaurant is called Hoppers, it’s because the sisters went for the appam’s anglicised name: hoppers. It’s also how appam is commonly referred to in Sri Lanka. There’s a slight difference between hoppers and appam though: the former is more bowl-shaped and deeper while the latter is slightly flatter. But both have the flavours of fermented rice batter and coconut milk, crisp lacy edges and a pillowy centre. At Hoppers, you’ll get the bowl-shaped ones; the sisters have taken their mother’s appam recipe and put their own spin on the South Indian dish.
Choose between sweet and savoury; you also get to pick an egg hopper or a plain one when you order the savoury version. We say start with the nasi lemak-inspired hopper topped with chicken rendang, sambal, anchovies, groundnuts and cucumber. Then, move on to the sweet hopper with coconut milk. If you’re feeling adventurous, have the Milo ganache with peanut crumbs served with Horlicks condensed milk.
Hoppers’ hoppers are a good introduction to those new to appam, and be sure to trawl Brickfields, Bangsar or Klang for an appam trail after. We also wanted to try the savoury hopper with cauliflower fritter, cashew nuts, garlic and curry leaves served with mint yoghurt, as well as the sweet hopper with mango, toasted black sesame and edible flowers served with coconut milk. However, they weren’t available when we visited. But fret not, those variations will be on the menu soon.
Once you’re done polishing off a hopper or two, sip on coconut water from Kuala Selangor or the restaurant’s signature iced mint and calamansi. There’s also Cameron Highlands tea with milk and gula Melaka, as well as bottles of MIK Kefir.
For now, the menu only consists of hoppers focused on local produce and seasonal ingredients, but small-farm international produce will also be used in the future. If you’re intent on brunch with booze, the upstairs area will see H by Hoppers opening in September: there will be a lounge, POW Ideas’ trademark designs, local artisan wine and cocktails made with local ingredients.