Good Morning Nanyang Cafe -- Best Modern Kaya Toast in Singapore

Back when I was still a kid, Papa would always call me "sleepyhead." This is because it would take him almost half an hour to successful pull me out from bed especially on a school day. No amount of knocking, tickling, singing loudly, turning on the radio, opening the curtains would wake me up from my slumber. The truth is... I really do love to sleep.

However, what Papa doesn't know is that there's just one way to quickly get me out of bed and that's what Mommy has mastered -- preparing a really delicious breakfast spread and making sure it reaches my senses. So on days when Mommy's in charge, she would whip up a mouthwatering spread of garlic fried rice, hotdogs and scrambled egg. I tell you, the scent of fried garlic alone is powerful enough to wake me up, to get ready in twenty minutes or less and to head straight to the dining room with a big smile on my face. Still, I got the coolest and smartest parents on earth, don't you think?

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals in the day. Growing up, Pan and I were taught that we should always have breakfast as not only is it a healthy thing to do but it keeps us alert and ready to face the day. Thus when Pan was in town a couple of months ago, her itinerary also includes having a couple of good breakfasts in various spots in town.

On her first morning in Singapore, of course, I just had to take her to try a Singaporean Kaya Toast breakfast. There were a lot of choices but I, for her, chose the best. After going through all the local food blogs, I decided to take her to try -- Good Morning Nanyang Cafe which is located within the CBD area.

We got there via bus and it was quite easy to spot. All you have to do is to go to the Hong Lim Park Community Centre and go around the side with a long queue. That's Good Morning Nanyang Cafe for you. They have an inside and outside sitting. Since we didn't want to sweat so much from the Singapore sun, we decided to hide and stay fair-skinned inside. Haha!

Next the the ever famous Hainanese Chicken, the Kaya Toast is also one of the dishes that has put Singapore at the center of the food map. People here from all ages and from all walks of life love starting their day with a plate of toasted bread filled with sweet kaya (coconut) jam and thin slices of butter. The way you enjoy your Kaya Toast is to have it with a bowl of poached egg drizzled with some sweet soy sauce and sprinkled with black pepper. As for the drinks, it's a choice between coffee and tea and its many variations. I personally love the Kopi-C Kosong which is Coffee with Condensed Milk and no Sugar.



What's so unique about Good Morning Nanyang Cafe is their Orange Ciabatta Toast which can't be found elsewhere. Instead of using the traditional square white bread, they made use of the very European ciabatta. In order to have a good comparison, Pan and I got Set A (S$4.10) which consists of Traditional Toast + Kopi/Tea + Egg and Set C (S$5.10) which had the Orange Ciabatta + Kopi/Tea + Egg.

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe's Traditional Kaya Toast had 4 big slices, it seemed like they made use of the Pandan Kaya (green) which I love. When compared to the Hainanese Kaya Jam which is brown in color, the Pandan has a lighter, not-so-sweet taste.

As for the Orange Ciabatta, the bread is not as toasted and crunchy as the traditional kind which I really like. Sometimes, the drawback of eating kaya toast is the fact that you end up making a whole lot of mess on your table and OC people like me do not like that. :P

I love how it is slightly toasted creating a thin layer of crunchy outside while the bread stays soft inside. The orange flavor gives a complimenting citrus kick to it which is really something new that my taste buds warmly welcomed.

Of course, what's a Kaya Toast breakfast without eggs? We, in Manila, are so spoiled that we get our Kaya Toast with Poached Egg all prepared for us. The only thing left to do is to open your mouth and eat the food. Here, we work hard for our food and so we got 4 piping hot eggs which we have to crack and pour into our bowl. Here's Pan ready to do it the Singaporean way.

We also loved our drinks which was the perfect caffeine boost to wake us up that day. Pan had the Kopi-O while I had my cup of Kopi-C Kosong. I'm so happy to have found Good Morning Nanyang Cafe, now I know where's the perfect place to have my Kaya Toast breakfast right before heading in for work.

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe is located at the Telok Ayer Hong Lim Green Community Centre, 20 Upper Pickering Street, #01-01, Singapore. It's right across the PARKROYAL at Pickering Hotel.