Singapore So Good, Lah! (3rd of 4 parts)
Note: ”Lah” is a ubiquitous term in Singlish (Singapore-English) used at the end of a sentence. The term simultaneously asserts a position and entices solidarity.
Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 4 here
kaya toast and kopi
I’ve made it my mission while in Singapore to try kaya toast. I came across it in some food blog a few weeks before, and I’m hooked. In itself, kaya is a jam made from coconut milk, eggs, sugar, and flavored with pandan. It’s thick and a gentle green, reminding me of a milder version of our local coco jam. Spread on bread that’s toasted over a charcoal grill and then topped with a thick lashing of cold butter, it’s a traditional Singaporean breakfast eaten with soft-boiled eggs washed down with hot, strong kopi (coffee) that’s been roasted with corn and lashed with condensed milk. A perfect perk-me-up.
at Ya Kun
I’m in love at first sight, though I haven’t even had a bite. Considering my ardent love for soft-boiled eggs, it’s a no-brainer that I’d fall for its partner (kaya toast) as well. Thinly-sliced and super crispy, the bread crumbles in the mouth, giving way to a kiss of sweetness from the kaya jam, hugged by the unmistakably lush taste of butter. I’m ready to swoon to the floor.
the signs at Ya Kun – don’tcha love ‘em!
My Bin is watching me eat. He’s amused. After some bites of the toast, I put it down and gingerly prod one of the eggs with my spoon. The golden yolk gushes languorously onto the saucer, and my eyes light up. I look at my Bin. He doesn’t share my ardor for eggs — any kind of eggs. His mom used to chase him around the house when he was a little boy, holding out a bowl of very soft-boiled eggs squawking, “Eat this! It’s good for you!” Poor thing, he’s never recovered. It seems ironic that his wife is such an egg fan, no?
kaya toast
Meantime, I’m eating the eggs – first alone, and then a bite of toast dipped into the yolk, and then just a bit of egg again, and so on. Suddenly, my Bin asks, “Could I try that?” My god, is this for real?! I push the saucer towards him. He licks the egg-stained spoon cautiously, then downs a spoonful of the eggs. I almost fall off my stool when he says, “Hey, this is good!” Right then and there he gets up and orders a kaya toast set for himself, complete with two soft-boiled eggs. Wonders will never cease. And yes, it’s that good.
Ya Kun Kaya Toast
Several branches in Singapore
See website.
The sweets in Singapore
A typical dessert in Singapore is usually coconut milk-based. Just like what I saw in Bangkok, a dessert stall has a line of glass bowls that mesmerizes with its wealth of edible jewels – everything from red rubies (water chestnut chunks dredged in tapioca flour) to almond-flavored jelly to large dice of fruit. Most desserts here are eaten with mounds of shaved ice as in the characteristic ice kachang, which is like a tall, tall sno-cone. It’s dribbled with evaporated milk, red and green colored syrup and gula melaka (palm sugar syrup).
ice cendol
I prefer the ice cendol: a mountainous scoop of ice is the base upon which some sweetened bananas and taro (gabi), are poured on, as well as the aforementioned red rubies, and slivers of cendol, strips made from glutinous rice flour and flavored with pandan. My communication with the seller is through sign language; she seems surprised that everything I choose is starchy, and she frowns when I motion that I’d like lots of coconut milk and an extra ladleful of the sugar syrup, please. As I hand over my money, she mutters something to her three co-workers and I catch them glancing surreptitiously at me. I don’t know why they look and I don’t care too much. I’m overjoyed to have my ice cendol.
Quickly, I slide onto an empty chair. The coolness of the coconut milk refreshed by the crushed ice slides down my throat its very self perfumed by the essence of pandan and the musky, molasses-like undertones of the gula melaka. The red rubies and cendol are chewy, the taro and banana cotton-like and spongy — various textures in unanimity.
ice cendol with taro
So good is it that I hesitate for only a moment. I’m unsure about going back to the same stall and have that woman sneer at me. Eh. Who cares. So I go back, head high, and I happily point out what I’d like. This time, I choose just the rubies (love them so) and blocks of taro (love them so, too). Mmm. I lumber out of the food court over-sweetened and frozen.
To be concluded tomorrow.
19 Comments
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- ” Jakarta, Indonesia: The Food of Memory (last of 3 parts) at Dessert Comes First - Dessert Comes First - [...] ordinary pieces of square white bread lightly spread with cheese, chocolate, and a mere smear of kaya jam. Like ...
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- My Favorite Breakfast Place + PROMO ALERT (below) at Dessert Comes First - An obsession with dessert and other unabashed opinions of a food writer - [...] especially if that breakfast consists of kaya toast and eggs. I described my rapture at being introduced to ...
- My Favorite Breakfast Place + PROMO ALERT (below) at Dessert Comes First - An obsession with dessert and other unabashed opinions of a food writer - [...] especially if that breakfast consists of kaya toast and eggs. I described my rapture at being introduced to ...
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Backyard BBQ Cook Off
Lori, you go girlfriend! A Singaporean friend of mine brought me back a jar of kaya from Ya Kun and it was heavenly. I am green with envy reading your Bangkok and Singapore blogs. Thank you for allowing me to experience all this amazing, amazing food in absentia……
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Mmm! Ya Kun Kaya really THE place to go in Singapore. It’s highly recommended. Your icy desserts look so yummy, too!
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Lori, your pictures look so yummy! I remembered the similar dessert I had in Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market. Hay….nakaka-miss….we have the same fave-red rubies & taro.
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Hi Lori,
Ang sarap ng Kaya Toast no? I love it too and please bring some Kaya home!
I’m glad they serve it in Kopi Roti!
anton
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you should’ve seen iron chef america last month between bobby flay and josh dechellis. the secret ingredient? chicken eggs! dechellis breaded and deep fried an egg yolk(!), topped with caviar, grated green apple and fresh wasabi. now, this is some explosion of flavor in your mouth!
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I’ve previously said that Singapore doesn’t really interest me for tourist-related travel, but reading all your posts on food finds and seeing your photos is making me reconsider …
And I actually quite enjoy the sing-song “LAH-s” that pepper the sentences of Singaporenas, lah. =)
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That’s it, I have to try kaya toast now! I’ve seen it written about too many times and I am so intrigued. I like coco jam enough to think I would like this too. I am really really enjoying these posts, Lori! thank you for sharing your Sing experience with us.
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i was addicted to this myself..every sunday morning for about 2 months..this was my breakfast! hahaha but only at kopi roti..i missed ya kun when i was at singapore…it didn’t appeal to me then (rats! now i wana go back to try the authentic kaya toast!)
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Actually the “lah” is a very small part of the Singlish dialect. As someone who has lived here for several years it now irks me when people think that adding a “lah” at the end of a sentence makes it Singlish.
In fact, Singlish is a lot more complicated, peppered with “lors”, “lehs” and its all about the syntax. For e.g.- when you want to tell someone that he should have said something earlier, you don’t say, “You should have told me earlier lah!”
That’s a sure sign of someone TRYING to speak Singlish instead of knowing it. The “proper” way of saying it would be “Early, early, never say!”
See, how much more colourful it is? If you want to really pick up on the language/dialect, read up on some Singapore posts. A good point to start is with Mr. Brown who is an authority on all things Singaporean, including Singlish.
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WHYWHYWHY doesn’t Kopi Roti open in Makati?!?! Their kaya toast may not be the best, but it’s better than having to fly to Singapore! And their kopi bun…MMMMM…
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Kaya! Kaya! What a great way to start the day!
I wish BreadTalk here would sell their kaya in jars.
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Yeah, anything foreign is better, typical Pinoy mentality… we have to change that. Ano ba naman pinagkaiba nyan sa kapeng barako na nilagyan ng Alaska condensed milk? Tasty bread na nilagyan ng latik (pandan lang kulang, pero marami naman tayo nito). Singapore Tourism Board will be happy with your blogs.
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That picture of the signs in the cafe made me laugh, especially the one that says screw the french press, we’ve got the sock! It made me remember when we were so desperate to have coffee in some god forsaken place in Asia where we found ourselves with the coffee grounds but no filter. I sacrificed one of my clean socks for the sake of our mental/emotional health! Worked like a charm (or filter!)
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i just gotta ask…cant help it…Are these desserts available in SINGAPORE??!! The photos just look so irresistable!!! AHhhh…PLEEEASE tell me they are from singapore…….=X
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Grrr… why is kaya not yet available in the phils? will someone sell it here already!!!
a lot of people are salivating na!!!bak magbaha na!!!
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Erm… Don’t mind me being a puritan but… That’s not ice cendol!!! It’s has been “fuzionised”….
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Wow, at the sighs of desserts..
I cannot help but to share this discovery of delicious singapore desserts website with picture menu with you..
check out the red jelly and tau suan are superb
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awww.. now I miss Singapore! Love walking around Orchard Road, Chinatown and Clarke Quay! Miss eating at the hawker stalls too..
I love the kaya toast. We’d buy bottles of kaya jam so we can bring it home and make our own toast here in the Phils.. =) Chili crabs, hainanese chicken rice!! Delish!!
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wow, looks good the food, got photoshop or really one the photos
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