Ya Kun Kaya Toast

I was unimpressed by my kaya and eggs here (one of my favourite foods). The toast was slightly cold and the amount of kaya was minimal, normally I like lots of spread with thick slices of butter. The eggs were alright although slightly too stiff for my liking. Best kaya and eggs in my opinion are still served at Changi airport!

Ya Kun is not just an outlet or a joint, but a collective entity, like the Borg, but in a good way… goooood Borg.
While it had considerably more modest and decidedly traditional and humble beginnings as a hawker stall in a local coffee shop preparing and serving local breakfast fare; runny eggs which you’d slurp clean off a saucer after dousing with dark soy and white pepper, and Balsa light sheets of a toasted local loaf slathered with kaya (sweet coconut jam) inlaid with bright yellow chips of cold butter, it has morphed into an entity that is permanent part of the Singaporean gastronomic consciousness.
Ya Kun is as ubiquitous as the Golden Arches and as recognizable. But also stop to consider that this is a chain of restaurants or fast food joints that serves food that punctilious food-​crazy Singaporeans would consider good and worth their time and coin. You see, in Singapore fast food is not necessarily bad food or even mediocre food. Expectations are no lower just because you may not have sit down service or table linen, in fact expectations may be higher!
Simple, tasty, and inexpensive cuisine is so pervasive in Singaporean culinary culture, that nobody thinks twice about expecting good food from a chain restaurant. Ya Kun is certainly no exception and has continued to serve up what it does best, traditional comfort food quickly, hygienically and in an environment where diners can relive fond childhood food experiences in air conditioned comfort. Add a touch of business savvy and an effective marketing and franchising strategy and you understand why Ya Kun has become a Singaporean institution and a pioneer in one of the possible evolutionary paths for Singaporean hawker culture.
I adore Ya Kun for serving up food that makes me feel good. It’s not just that the food tastes good, the flavors are so true and traditional that it instantly brings back fond childhood memories of mornings in a neighborhood coffee shop tucked behind a shady five foot way, it’s cavernous interior redolent of carmelized coffee beans cooling after being roasted with margarine and sugar, and the feel-​good miasma of toast hanging thick all about you. Thank you for the memories, Ya Kun!