Kaya toast set with half-boiled eggs - the ubiquitous Singapore's breakfast

Kaya toast set. Usually eaten for breakfast that can be found in many kopitiams. That ubiquitous pair of soft half-boiled or semi-boiled (not fully boiled or hardened) eggs served with slices of toasted bread or buns spread with kaya jam and thin slabs of butter, and complete with a cup of tea of coffee. All for between $2.30 to $5, depending which cafes, hawker centres or food-courts that you go to. At many school canteens you can get a set for only $2.

You can find kaya toast at many local cafes here which are more commonly known as coffee shops, at the hawker or food centres, food-courts or in kopitiams (the local lingo for breakfast joints) Islandwide. This iconic breakfast set is originally served in Hainanese kopitiams. And while it is best or traditionally eaten for breakfast, this breakfast set is served all day long at many chain cafes.

Kaya is a coconut based pandan flavoured jam. Though traditionally it was simply coconut-based jam. The half-boiled eggs (the softness of the eggs depends on how long they are boiled, though many stalls will suggest simmering them for about 7 minutes) are usually sprinklered with a bit of black soya sauce and pepper, depending on preference. The black soya sauce gave this breakfast set a Chinese touch. Instead of kaya jam, you can also ask for peanut butter or just plain butter.

Kaya toast set with buns.

The kaya jam can be more greenish or brownish in colour depending on if the ingredients have pandan or coconut. Pandan leave as we know is green in colour and is used as food dye and fragrance. The green kaya is also known as Nyonya kaya as it was created by the Peranakan Chinese who added pandan to their kaya jam.

The brown kaya was originally created by the Hainanese who made the jam or spread sweeter, through caramelised sugar with coconut, as coconut was readily available in Singapore then, being a tropical country. So are pandan leaves. The use of pandan leaves may likely has come from the cultural influence from the Malays who use pandan leaves extensively in their cooking such as the Malay traditional nasi lemak. Often referred to as the 'Vanilla of the East', the Pandan (Pandanus amarylifolius) is a tropical plant easily found in Southeast Asia and of course Singapore. It is an upright, green shrub with woody aerial roots and fan-shaped sprays of blade-like leaves. Indeed even a simple traditional jam has multi-cultural influences to it.

Different Types of Kaya Jams

Some may want their toasted bread to be spread with plain butter with sugar sprinkled on it. A very local and delicious way of eating bread with butter and sugar, as historically simple butter or margarine and sugar were what many locals could afford in the olden days. Local chain cafes include Ya Kun, Heavenly Wang, Toast Box and Killiney. Ya Kun (pronounced as Ah Kun) is a local Hainanese brand that has been serving this iconic breakfast since 1944. At Ya Kun, you will be able to read their humble history which is pleasantly splashed on their cafe walls. You can find kaya toast set even at Singapore Zoo! Great if you start your day early there.

Other than the simple kaya toasts some coffee shops offer other varieties such as kaya French toast! I love kaya French toast thought that will cost a bit more at $4.20. At Mr Bean soya milk chain you can find kaya pan cakes for $1.30 each. If will cost $1 more if you buy as a set which include the popular soya milk.

Separately, you can find kaya jam sold at some kaya toast stalls with their in-house labels and at practically all supermarkets or sundries stores for only a couple of dollars or slightly more, so you can make kaya toast at home or simply spread a bread with kaya. The chain stores in-house labels tend to be a pricier and may cost $5 upwards. The proprietary kaya jam typically costs more as the they contain the so-called secret family recipes. But the basic ingredients still comprise of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and natural fragrances extracted from the pandan leaves.

Kaya toast set with half-boiled eggs.

By the way, half-boiled egg is not a hard-boiled egg cut into half. I was served that when I requested for half-boiled eggs at a cafe somewhere in Swindon (a sleepy town famous for magic round-about), England. Hilarious indeed. The term half-boiled did not exist there. But did you know that the terms 'kaya toast' and 'half-boiled eggs' have made their way into Oxford English Dictionary?.

Coffee or kopi as is more widely known here has many variations. Kopi kosong is coffee without sugar. Kopi-o is simply black coffee (with sugar). Kosong literally means empty. or zero Kopi-c is coffee with milk. The milk can be condensed or evaporated milk poured from tins.

Hot coffee without milk or sugar = kopi-o kosong. Similarly for tea, teh-o is tea without milk. And iced coffee with sugar but no milk is called kopi-o peng. Kopi sui tai is coffee with less sugar. Remember when you simply say kopi or teh it means that this beverage contains both milk and sugar. Why? Because apparently during the olden days, kopi sellers added sugar and condensed milk into the beverage to make it tasted better simply because coffee beans or powder were expensive and people were poorer back then.

Kaya toast set at Singapore Zoo

Kaya toast set are such a popular comfort food that you can even find them at the upmarket Marina Bay Sands (MBS). And it costs only $4, which include the buns spread with kaya, two half-boiled eggs and of course tea or coffee. Not bad at all. The top photo shows the $4 kaya toast set at MBS. Certainly, an upgrade of the $2.30 set without breaking the bank. At most other local 'chiak kopi' chains such as Yakun and Wang a set will cost between $4.50 to $5. Kaya toast set is uniquely Singapore breakfast meal.

Coffee lingo:

Kopi O Kosong = Black coffee without sugar and cream

Kopi O = Black coffee with sugar

Kopi = Coffee with condensed milk

Kopi C = Coffee with condensed or evaporated milk

Kopi O Siew Dai = Black coffee with less sugar

Kopi Siew Dai = Coffee with less condensed milk

Kopi Peng = Iced milk coffee

Kopi O Peng = Black iced tea (with sugar)

This applies for tea as well. For example:

Teh Peng = Iced milk tea

and so on...

For the visitors it may sound confusing but try it and the coffee shop vendors will be impressed!