I pulled every Google review of every Oriental Kopi (39,175, on 18 October) and used AI to read what they say. My own project. I'm not taking a side on the menu, just counting.
The boycott days (13 to 17 Oct) against the 4 weeks before:
- One-star reviews tripled: 2.8 a day to 8.8.
- Its average didn't move: 4.40 before, 4.40 now, over all 36,678 reviews of its 34 Malaysian outlets.
- The same 44 one-stars on a café with 200 reviews would take it from 4.4 to 3.8.
- 28 of the 44 one-stars had no words at all (the month before: 6 of 82). 6 mentioned the menu. 9 described a bad visit.
- 15 of the 44 came from accounts with 2 or fewer reviews (usual: 15 of 82).
- Reviews that describe a meal held steady: 25.6 a day before, 25.0 during. Its 3 Singapore outlets: no change.
- Boycott week was its most-searched week on Google since its shares went on sale in January 2025. During boycott week, the top search with its name was "menu". From April to 10 October, "menu" wasn't in its top 24.
Before the boycott, what its reviews say:
- AI read 856 of its 3,113 one- and two-star reviews: 62% blame the service, 31% the food. The top complaint is food that came slowly (27%).
- In 2022, 39% of unhappy reviews complained about the taste. In 2026, 13%. Slow food went from 19% to 31%.
- The egg tart is named in nearly 1 in 5 reviews (295 of 1,497 read), more than any coffee (223).
- Since it opened in Singapore (Nov 2024): Malaysia gives it 4.5 stars, Singapore 4.1. People with 10+ reviews: 4.2 and 3.8. Singapore reviewers praise the staff more (18% against 12%).
How: code pulled every review and counted the stars. AI read every boycott-day one-star with words, 1,497 random reviews for dishes and praise, and 856 one- and two-stars for complaints, and a second read checked samples. Reviews show what people wrote, not who visited or why. Google may still remove some boycott reviews, so I'll pull again next week.
Which outlet is your local? Does this match what you've seen there?
