Chin Mee Chin Confectionery

This is an old coffee shop nestled in a predominantly Peranakan area. I have decided to visit the place for the 1^st time (shame) because this is one of the few traditional coffee shops left in a cosmopolitan and modern Singapore. Don’t expect modern furniture, 1^st class service, or fine dining experience here. What amaze me is the coffee shop has a nostalgic setting. Old ceiling fans, old clock on the wall, marble top tables, and even old fashion tiles on the wall and floor. Just wondering if the ceiling fans break down, or tiles broken where do they get the parts to repair or replace them? The owners have done an excellent job keeping the coffee shop in this condition. In additional, the coffee shop is very clean and well maintained considering the age…
Chin Mee Chin serves very nice kaya toast bun with a generous piece of butter lying and melting on the top of the hot bun. I think the kaya is home made as I can taste the aroma of egg which is very rare in most commercial made or even most home made kaya nowadays. Love the coffee too. Both are very traditional, and I would definitely recommend them.
The half boiled egg was too cooked to our liking. We tried their egg tarts, cakes and other pastries. Honestly, I personally find nothing too special about them. But looking at the number of people visiting the shop and buying them in bulk, I believe their pastries are popular with their regulars. Would definitely visit the coffee shop again for the nostalgic feel, delicious kaya toasted buns and traditional coffee.

As over-​eager Westies venturing into the unknown East, we risked a parking ticket and missed the beginning of our church service for this. Go for the kopi (5 stars) — it’s thick, smoky and rich — and the décor.
Kaya bun (3 stars) was served on a hamburger bun. Nothing exceptional. The lady server looked clueless when I asked about raisin buns.

CMCC is regarded as a landmark by locals. What a treat and privilege to have been brought here by my cousins who values tradition and good eating. The wait for a table shows the popularity of the restaurant.
The food simple and good. Soft boiled egg was perfect and can’t say I’ve ever slurped it with soy sauce from a saucer before!

Apparently the mother of all kaya toast.
On arriving at can feel more like T3 at LAX. People darting in and out, nobody quite sure what the system of service is and no real direction from the staff. That aside, Chin Mee Chin is a neat old school place for kopi, kaya toast and runny egg.
Worth a visit.

Great coffee, good egg tarts, and the locals seem to love the half-​boiled eggs. They don’t use their patio space which is a miss but they obviously have a good following with extended waits for a hot seat near the heat exchangers on the coolers. All in all a good experience for a great price.

If nostalgia was worth a star, the CMC Confectionary would get a four star rating. But based on the dining experience alone, I think it’s really just a three.
The eggs are cooked just nice, barely solid, nicely runny. But the saucers provided to crack them into are too small to hold two eggs and be able to stir with any vigour, plus the dark soya sauce is pretty… well, light.
The kaya toast is great, especially if you get it on their raisin bun. The amount of butter is inconsistent though, because we ordered two rounds and there was a noticeable different between the first and the second.
The egg tart has a really thick base and very little custard. I felt pretty cheated after biting into it.
And the tea. And coffee. Urgh. Very watered down and really didn’t hit the spot.
There’s a nice, old school charm to the place and I like the way freshly baked good are pushed out in front of you. But is it really a place that offers great eats? No. It’s a place to get all nostalgic for a setting that’s quickly dying out in Singapore.

Kopi c peng! Ok I ordered coffee in singapore successfully…
Very cool looking historical kopi tiam, I love it! Although I only got the coffee to go, i still loved the décor inside.
Coffee was nice and rich, and the just sweetened enough. I prefer my coffee not overly sweet.
Overall great place to drop by for a drink or sitdown for some kopi and treats!

Stepping into the historic kopi tiam, you see people from all ages and all sorts of attire, drinking kopi, playing iPhone while waiting for the kaya toast to be served.
I must have forgotten about the crowd as I came here on one of the busiest day-​National Day.
Don’t be alarm if the auntie ignores you. Just be on an eagle-​eye to catch the next empty table. We managed to squeeze into a corner table, stuffy but at least that saves up the extra charges for air-​con.
«自己拿啊、自己拿啊＂, chirped the Hainanese old auntie, who left after clearing the bowls from earlier visitors. «Wah! So good ar! «What if anyone take extra and not pay?» Well, this boils down to trust and honesty, I guessed. Grab a plate and pick your own pastries. No need to wait for the aunties to come… just start feeding yourself because the drinks, eggs and toasts take time to cook.
Each pastry on display sits on a paper lining, which the auntie did not even bother to count after everything. We had 6 pieces at first; 4 egg tarts, 1 plain and 1 almond cupcake.
And ooh… these egg tarts are SUPER delicious. I have been deceived Nth times by numerous tasty-​looking egg tarts which ended up with pliable tarts. But not this time. The dark brown shell is thicker-​than-​usual, but crumbly and fragrant.
Call them cupcakes but do not compare them with those popular cupcakes on the street nowadays. Not moist, greasy nor very sweet. You might find it dry but these are how they should be.
Being just fresh out of the oven, I popped one carelessly into my mouth, forgetting that they are meant to be shared. Every now and then, a fresh tray of baked items out from the kitchen draws me to see what’s out there. Though they were not the golden cream horns and custard puff, I took another 2 cupcakes with chocolate icing.
The much awaited open faced toast buns ($ 1 each) were spread with green kaya. I did mention previously that my family usually prefer brown to green, but this is an exception. The kaya spread was aromatic and sweet, but just nice. Nonetheless, I would prefer thin-​sliced kaya toasts. There was no need for the butter knife to spread the butter evenly. Just slam the other side down and chow through the lukewarm bun like a burger.
Kopi? Milo? Or Teh? We had all of them. Though their beans are roasted traditionally in their kitchen, the coffee was diluted. The milo was not spared too. You won’t have time to laze around and chill out with your friends compared to many hipster cafes (be prepared to receive glares by people who are queuing… some people were hogging tables while playing iphones after their meal)
I enjoy it this no frills kopitiam.
Chop chop. Eat. Drink and Go.

There’d been so much hype, so I gave their pastries a try– the custard bun and egg tart. For the former, I didn’t like the slight burnt smell and taste that left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. The custard only filled up about half the pastry, a major disappointment. As for the egg tart… Well, I’ve definitely tasted better– even my mom agrees KFC’s yummier. She was so upset at the quality drop in Chin Mee Chin’s pastries and misses the olden days when the egg tarts were flakier and golden-​hued (not an ugly dark brown like the ones we had) and the filling so moist and filling (the filling pulled away from the crust!)
Their kaya toast may be king, but the egg tart is something to forget.

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery is a perfect stop for our afternoon snack break!
Kaya Bun here is so good. Maybe I am just into this nicely toasted outside and still soft inside bun. Maybe I am into this thick layer of kaya and BUTTER on top of my bun.
The deco here is just so «traditional» and «old school» in a realistic way.
The Kopi is excellent too. Strong enough to give my Unilocal friend the needed wake up call! Wake up and smell the coffee!

If I am ever in East Coast area, I will always make a stop here.
I am not even a fan of kaya toast, but I will make an exception for CMC’s kaya buns. They are not kaya toast like those in Ya-​Kun or Killiney. These are light and fluffy buns, perfectly toasted in the traditional way. Add a cup of kopi-​si sui-​dai, that makes a perfect coffee break!

This confectionery is located along East Coast Road, and the whole place gives a very «old school» feeling with the mosaic tiles and marble top tables. The place is not really that big so I would expect that during peak hours, it might be a little difficult to get a seat. I was here on a Sunday morning and only managed to snag a seat just as someone was leaving.
The Kaya bun here is really something; I am not usually impressed with buns (or bread in general), but the toasted bun here is really good. The outside is toasted to a crisp perfection and the inside is really fluffy. To put it simply, I was really impressed with this.
Coupled with the half boiled egg and fragrant coffee here, I would say that this Singaporean breakfast comes as close to perfection as it gets.

It’s remarkable and quite sad how Katong has become completely modernised to keep up with the rapidly upmarket society we live in. But in the midst of all that, CMC remains, exactly as it was more than 20 years ago.
The people have remained the same too, and it’s nostalgic and refreshing at the same time to find somewhere that’s literally a step back into the old charming world of Katong.
Most people rave about their Kaya, but I’ve never been a fan of that. As a vegan there’s not much there for me, but just sitting inside on the old wooden chairs and having a Kopi-​O is good enough.
I hope they keep Chin Mee Chin around, because everyone who lives in Katong and even friends from far away love how it serves as not just a place for breakfast but a reminder of the culture of Katong that is rapidly disappearing.
10 out of 10 for CMC :)

Want some traditional Chinese breakfast? Head on down to Chin Mei Chin in the Katong area. It has remained true to its roots, serving kaya toast the old school style in an old school shophouse with mosaic tiles.
Join in the queue (boy there could be one, especially on weekends) and wait for your turn to grab an empty table. There is no need to flip through the menu (there isn’t one), just pick up what you like from the open shelves and bring it to your marble table tops and sit on the old wooden chairs and start eating. My favorite is the luncheon meat bun which is so fluffy on the inside. Pick through the bun to arrive at the little strip of treasure hidden within. The only downside is that it’s a really small piece of meat. :(The cream horns aren’t too bad themselves. You just need to look past the greasy texture of the cream.
There are other baked goods like cupcakes (a little dry), custard tarts, raisin buns etc. You can also purchase their bottled home made kaya.
Order the other stuff with the aunties aka kopi-​sohs. The tea here is quite gao3 (thick and strong). The kaya toast is actually mini buns that are sliced into half and toasted on a charcoal grill. Little airy buns, cripy on the outside, slapped with eggy coconutty kaya and topped with my favorite SCS butter (because it’s so salty).

If there is ever a heritage tour, Chin Mei Chin Confectionery should or will be in it. Situated at the heritage-​rich Katong area, everybody knows Chin Mei Chin when you mention it. It is a corner shophouse covered in blue tiles and the really old vintage signboard. You simply can’t miss it. This is real old gold.
Stepping into the coffeeshop also feels like going back in time. The people, the furniture and even the food seems to be frozen in the 70s. From the marble table tops to the electric clock and tiled floors to the steel cupboards housing the baked goods, everything screams ‘vintage’. Apparently this coffeeshop has a 60-​year old history. Wow. Also the shop has a reputation of having stern owners who will shoo or scold people should they linger or want to interview them. Very media shy.
The ordering system is also very traditional. There is no menu — you just take the goods and pay, or you sit down and tell the aunties and uncle your order for coffee, tea, and the breakfast items. There is the half-​boiled eggs, kaya buns, custard buns and puffs and all sorts. When I visit it the place had ran out of almost everything so I guess I missed out! To be honest, the eating experience itself was not very pleasant. Firstly the place was super warm on a Sunday 1pm. Then it was quite chaotic to order. The tea was super diluted and a waste of money. The kaya bun itself was nice but nothing special!
I feel quite cheated actually. I feel like i need to go back again to get the good stuff before I write off this place.

Another throwback to yesteryear, this bakery has been churning out sweet tasting treats for close to a century and there aren’t any signs of stopping anytime soon. It’s been kept deliberately this way to maintain the old nostalgic feel and patrons both young and old swear by it. It’s fame is so widespread that I have friends who live all the way in the western part of Singapore who drop by weekly just to get a couple of items back to munch on. The good thing about the confectionery is that all of the freshly made items can be kept for some time, leaving you the luxury of having it when the feeling strikes you.

Every time I’m in the mood for a dose of nostalgia, I’ll come by Chin Mee Chin which is lucky for me a short walk from my place.
If you’re lucky you get a table all to yourself but be prepared to share with the odd lone elderly gentleman having his breakfast. Then sit down and order a set of delectable kaya toast and soft-​boiled eggs followed by a strong cup of coffee to wash it all down.
CMC has quite a following thanks to their affordable and oh-​so-​good pastries. They might not be displayed in a fancy case but trust me you won’t regret walking away with one of each in a box.
One of the last few spots of its kind in the Katong area, I hope this charming little shop doesn’t go away. Catch it while you can!

I absolutely love how this place really hasn’t changed ‘modernized’ itself. I think its the whole old school vintage vibe that gives the shop a sense of homeliness and warmth.
My mum used to buy back their egg tarts and custard puffs. OH MY. They were gorgeous. These were the only cream puffs I enjoyed as a kid.
Anyway, while you’re there, please indulge in a serving of soft boiled eggs and kaya toast. Its a cheap way to attain the perfect start to your day.

Before visiting Chin Mee Chin, I was told two things: their sugee cake (semolina cake) was the bomb, and be prepared for grumpy service. That was not-​quite true. Service was efficient, but hey, we don’t expect kopitiam waitresses to flirt as if they were in a diner, do we? The breakfast favorites of kaya toast + eggs was satisfying, as was the luncheon meat roll (processed-​meat = win). The sugee cake was nothing to write home about, however. I suspect the confectionery was much better in their earlier years.
The place definitely has its fans – it being crowded on a weekday morning (and not early lor – we were there at 10am), we shared our table with an old-​timer who had been going there for years. She suggested we try the luncheon meat roll, the cream puffs, etc. I hesitate to call them «vintage» but they definitely belong to a specific genre of Asian-​ised western pastry items. Unless you have a hankering for old style choux pastry, I suggest concentrating on kaya toast and coffee, and leaving the rest.

This is a landmark and cultural icon rolled in one.
Yeah you sit at a marble-​top table that might have been there since the 60s, and matching rickety chair, but its the grumpy aunties who make the place real.
I have hazy memories of the place, maybe I was really young when I first came, but things haven’t changed much. Thank goodness for that.
Get the classic soft-​boiled eggs, if you can either ask sweetly enough, or harass the right auntie. The pastries are kind of a every-​man-​for-​himself deal, grab what you can, when you can. They come out in batches sporadically — who knows when the next tray comes out? I particularly like the luncheon meat rolls… soft, pillowy bread, with the salty goodness of mystery meat inside.
Don’t overthink it. Just enjoy it while the place still stands. Red House disappeared, so who knows when CMC will follow suit? Grab a tub of kaya on your way out. If you can sweet talk it out of the other lady spying it too.