9 August, Singapore’s birthday! This year marks the country’s 59 years of independence. We’ve certainly come a long way, being a small little island that we actually are. I’ve saved this month’s review to talk about one of the country’s most loved food. Local coffee (aka Kopi) + half boiled eggs + kaya (coconut jam) toast make up the holy trinity of a treat we Singaporeans enjoy in the mornings, afternoons or nights! This is a light meal you can find everywhere. From neighborhood coffee shops, to sky scraping office towers and massive shopping complexes. It sounds simple enough but believe me, not everyone does it well. A weak coffee, over/ under cooked eggs and flat toasts will surely ruin a true blue Singaporean’s day.

YA KUN

Of all the coffee shops that specialize in their Kopi, Eggs & Kaya Toast meals, Ya Kun is possibly the most renowned. The franchise brand is all over Singapore (80 over outlets), literally giving McDonald’s a run for their money, with the same steady stream of patrons throughout the day at every single branch.

Though one can confidently procure a good combo set here… the high turnover of staff and customers sometimes compromises quality control. Especially on the eggs. Nonetheless, they are always first to come to mind being pioneers, and also simply because they are, seriously…. Everywhere!

I have, in my quest in discovering other quality kopi-egg-kaya toast combos, come across a small number of places that have remained as dependable go-tos instead of Ya Kun. Today, the gate keeping ceases!

Ya Kun @ 18 China Street #01-01 Singapore 049560 Phone: +65 6438 3638

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MAY’S CAFE

May’s Kafe is a medium sized coffee shop located at the basement atrium of an old shopping complex. They sell a wide selection of hot and cold coffees, toasts and sandwiches, as well as fast local meals like Mee Siam, Laksa and Nasi Lemak. The open kitchen is efficient and services a full house without blinking on a daily basis.

I am here for my kaya toast fix minimally fortnightly and not once have they screwed up my order. The coffee isn’t too strong but it is smooth with a subtle bitter aftertaste. The Kaya toast is consistently well toasted to a light airy crisp; crumbling delicately in every bite. Reasonably thick slab of butter and the Kaya jam is adequately sweet though spread thinly. In particular, May’s half boiled eggs are always perfect. I have not had a subpar one so far. And they always come fresh and hot. The glass roof of the complex provides good natural lighting while the indoor air conditioning keeps everyone cool and comfortable. Prices are fair and service is quick. And should you get tired of kaya toasts, I do recommend the Mee Siam as the next alternative. The local rice vermicelli in a spicy sour broth bears a nice sweet zest in the light gravy. Addictively yummy. Be warned.. they are crowded at any time of the day; but tables do free up quickly.

May’s Kafe @ B1-K20,144 Upper Bukit Timah Road Beauty World Centre, Singapore 588177

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SEN YEN CHARCOAL TRADITIONAL TOAST

On most Monday afternoons, you’d find me at a dingy local coffee shop along Sin Ming Road, chowing down the Kopi-Kaya set meal at Sen Yen Charcoal Traditional Toast.

The Uncle servers at the stall know my order by heart! And I know to have my $6.20 ready for them every time too!

The coffee at Sen Yen is full bodied and strong, with just the right amount of acidity. You won’t find none of that smartly dressed coffee baristas here. A filter sock is their version of an espresso machine and latte art is probably the last thing you’d find in your cuppa. Nonetheless, they definitely take coffee making equally seriously! I recall vividly that time the coffee lady refused my request to cool my hot coffee with a couple of ice cubes; it seems iced and hot coffees are made differently! You can’t just dump ice cubes in a hot one and call it Iced Coffee! OK… Lesson learned!

The Kaya toasts here are prepared over a charcoal grill. They come with strong hints of smokiness which is the X-factor for me. And here is the only place I would order a local baguette Kaya toast (instead of sliced bread) because they do it so darn well. The exterior is a thin coat of char and crunch, the fleshy bread remains soft and fluffy within. Of course, the butter comes thick and cold, the Kaya jam is also generously slathered on. Eggs always take a little longer as they are cooked to order. But they are always spot-on and always extra large with thick creamy yolks!

The only downside is the humidity of the non air conditioned coffee shop. Just a tad uncomfortable especially on hot days; but even that hasn’t deterred me much from my weekly visits. That’s how much I like it!

Sen Yen Charcoal Traditional Toast @ 24 Sin Ming Rd, #01-51 Jin Fa Kopitiam, Singapore 570024

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HAINAN STREET CAFE

I discovered Hainan Street Cafe’s by chance and I’m surprised they aren’t more popular. Perhaps it’s their non central location which makes it harder to reach. Or maybe it’s the brightly lit Hong Kong Cha-Chan-Teng look that lacks local authenticity. Being an everyday, everybody humble meal, boasting “Premium Irish Butter” in their Kaya toast probably didn’t help too!

But what a bombshell it turned out to be. That fancy butter was indisputably delicious! Rich, creamy and smooth! Although the sliced bread isn’t the typical paper-thin-cut type. It was nonetheless, toasted very evenly, assuring a light crisp in every bite. Apart from the fancy European butter that stood out, I’d have liked a thicker spread of Kaya too; only because it was hellava yummy!

Then comes the coffee. Boy it was outstanding! One of the better ones I’ve had. It was very smooth and sweet without the cloy. Totally wasn’t expecting it to be this good. The eggs were pretty decent .. no complaints there either. The cherry on top is how comfortable and spacious the cafe is. Both times I was there, I stuck around longer than planned, as with that second cup of coffee too!

Hainan Street Café @ 5 Stadium Walk, #01-42 Leisure Park Kallang, Singapore 397693

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GREAT NANYANG

Great Nanyang is located near Chinatown. Housed within 2 shop-houses, this large cafe stood out from her neighbors with its eye catching old Chinese architecture and setup. Besides coffee, eggs and toasts, the cafe which gets really busy over lunch hours, also serves up a variety of local Asian food from their famous Hainanese Chicken Chop to Laksa and Curries, etc.

The kaya toast was reasonably good, thanks to the very generous slice of butter. The Thin sandwich bread was toasted to a lovely golden brown, light and crispy, cut lengthwise, exposing 2 slivers of cold butter peeping through both sides of the bread. It was visually appealing, and truth be told, the generous butter made up for the mediocre Kaya jam.

They are also popular for the Peanut Butter French Toast which somehow didn’t hit the note for me. It was a tad too greasy and had a tad too little peanut butter. Stick to the Kaya Butter Toast.

Coffees here are creative. Apart from the usual classics, we experienced the Iced Yuan Yang, a combo of coffee and tea in one cup; as well as another Iced coffee served with coconut cream.

Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe 大南洋 @ 5 Craig Rd, Singapore 089665

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FULLYBOOKED CAFE

Fullybooked had been popping up on social media so much lately that I hunted it down to find out if they are truly worth the hype. It is nothing like our typical coffee shop. In fact, rather the opposite! The modern industrial cafe boasts local coffee and toasts classics alongside Asahis and Root Beer Floats, together with popular local dishes like Nasi Lemak and Curry Chicken.

We kicked off the order with the standard holy trinity. The eggs were a little watery but the rest were all impressively done. Good even grilling on the toasts. Good amount of fragrant Kaya jam and thick enough slice of cold butter. It feels very identical to the famous Ya Kun’s.

In addition, We also tried their recommended Eggs on Toasts on Curry. It was not very pretty to look at but it was delicious, thanks to the nice curry recipe! Robust and creamy and not overly spicy!

The ambience at Fully Booked is not exactly cozy but it’s quiet, cool and comfy enough to spend an afternoon if you can sit through the hours on hard metal stools.

Fullybooked Cafe @ 45 Tai Thong Cres, Singapore 347866

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Ya Kun is a success story we all want to copy. But even with their high protocol, they sometimes screw up and produce watery eggs and soft toasts. The butter and jam ratio have also seemed to dwindle in recent years. Thankfully, coffees are still decent. I highly recommend the above cafes apart from Ya Kun if you’re in the vicinity. They’re not any lesser despite not running a chain of outlets. On the contrary, they are unquestionably skilled in what they are providing.

Disclaimer – This is not a sponsored post.