Ah Mei kaya toast: A different creature from Ya Kun

November 15, 2008 | 23 Comments

Ah Mei, nurtured by Banquet, to vie a share of the market. There’s Ya Kun, with the tradition on their side. And Toastbox, with the Breadtalk group backing them. Not to forget Oldtown, the new kid on the block which hailed from faraway Kuala Lumpur. With competition that tough, they went Halal.

Waking up on a sleepy Sunday morning, slowly enjoying your breakfast away from the hectic lifestyle, sipping  a cup of coffee, nibbling on a piece of kaya toast, and slurping down the runny half-boiled eggs. The set A ($3.20) to be exact.

Cracked the shells, we were greeted with a portrait of the rising sun. It was not just about the main character only, together with its sidekicks, the pepper and black sauce, the rising sun was slurped down in two seconds.

And finally, the one that all of us were waiting for. Slightly toasted, the bread was golden brown. The kaya was the one which would have make all the difference in the world. Sadly, there was something missing. The lack of a signature taste in the kaya, the whole thing was not bad but failed to cast its mark on my memory.

There were pratas, done on the spot by their very own in-house prata man. The taste however, failed to justify the higher price tag. You could have walk in to any other prata shops and got better yet cheaper ones. Nonetheless, the curry sauce which accompanied the prata, was the saving grace. You could get it a la carte, or as a set with tea or coffee.

With both Ah Mei and Oldtown positioned within the high district at Bukit timah, i half suspect Ya Kun might just want to open a branch there to join in the party. Which can only be good news for the residents. Ah Mei, didn’t really impress dme. The widely diversified menu which also included muslim food like nasi lemek & mee rebus, didn’t appeal to the kaya-seeking fan in me.

Ah Mei Kaya toast
450 Upper Bukit Timah road
The Railmall
Tel: 6462 5137

Category: # Restaurant Review, * West Singapore, Dining Guide Singapore, Food Photography, Singapore Food Blog
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Comments

23 Responses to “Ah Mei kaya toast: A different creature from Ya Kun”

  1. Sihan
    November 15th, 2008 @ 11:01 pm

    i agree that their kaya toast lacks a little somethin’-something. oh well.. so looking forward to friday. Really stressed out from exams now.

  2. ladyironchef
    November 15th, 2008 @ 11:11 pm

    yeah man. nvm, when u stress think about fri outing and you will feel happier. haha. at least u guys get to go pastry bar that day!

  3. Carmen
    November 16th, 2008 @ 2:37 am

    i don’t really see the difference between kaya (not really a fan, i would rather they put tastier butter!), so i’m happy with the 1.50 breakfast set at NUS’s canteen which comes with 2 eggs, toast and coffee/tea.

  4. ladyironchef
    November 16th, 2008 @ 10:12 am

    carmen: yep butter is also very important, without butter no kaya toast will taste good

  5. tigerfish
    November 16th, 2008 @ 1:02 pm

    Ya kun and Ah mei, so brothers and sisters :p LOL!

    tigerfishs last blog post..Borrowing money is a bad thing ?

  6. sgfoodlover
    November 16th, 2008 @ 9:07 pm

    Haha Ya Kun is still the best so far but again it depends on which outlets some outlets are really good have that traditional morning breakfast taste some however it doesn’t taste anyway nice at all. No heart in making the toasts ha.

    sgfoodlovers last blog post..The famous favourite Jalan Sultan prawn mee

  7. layla
    November 16th, 2008 @ 11:36 pm

    i always go there for supper (live nearby) and i’d say the kosong prata is the best bet! i love the kosong. the rest are just… normal. haven’t managed to convince myself that ah mei’s kaya toast is better than ya kun’s though, so i nv tried till today. haha!

  8. noobcook
    November 17th, 2008 @ 9:09 am

    I used to tabao breakfast from Ah Mei at Paragon … I love the runny eggs :D ~~

    noobcooks last blog post..Foil-Wrapped Ginseng Chicken

  9. Dora
    November 17th, 2008 @ 10:18 am

    I wanted to dine there when we visited the Rail Mall but it was too crowded then! Will try again next time! ;)

  10. ladyironchef
    November 17th, 2008 @ 10:34 am

    tigerfish: haha. maybe banquet purposely name that one. who knows. lol

    sgfoodlover: ya i guess that’s the problem with branching out, its difficult to maintain the same quality for every branch.

    layla: ah.. i think the pratas are average, they are slightly more expensive, and definitely can get better prata at cheaper price elsewhere.

    noobcook: tabao still nice? must eat on the spot ma! haha

    dora: hahaha. all right. maybe you want to try oldtown which is also at bukit timah : )

  11. pammiez
    November 17th, 2008 @ 11:20 pm

    Ya Kun , Ah Mei wateva, all over rated! haha. Chin Mee Chin still da best for meee =)

  12. Nizze
    November 18th, 2008 @ 11:07 pm

    There is an ah mei outlet at Novena Sq Level 2 (opp Doughnut Factory). Have not tried their sets though… =)

  13. jo
    November 18th, 2008 @ 11:51 pm

    My favourite is still Killiney at Upper Bukit Timah. The only good thing about Ah Mei is that it’s 24 hours. I do agree that the prata is expensive but the curry is really delicious.

    jos last blog post..Northern Kedah Laksa

  14. wenxiu
    November 19th, 2008 @ 4:57 am

    i just died..

    i found kaya in london but it doesn’t feel the same. =(

  15. layla
    November 19th, 2008 @ 11:07 am

    eh yeah. not the best, but it’s convenient you see. heh heh. i can always just cross the road to ah mei for a quick fix. and yup, it’s slightly more expensive. rail mall’s always slightly more expensive. keke.

  16. ladyironchef
    November 20th, 2008 @ 6:22 pm

    pammie: lol! where’s chin mee chin?

    nizze: haha, thanks for the information :p

    jo: ahh.. i left out killiney, but i heard their original branch at killiney road is the best.

    wenxiu: lol! so exaggerating eh? haha. ask yr mom DHL you some kaya!

    layla: ya its convenient and halal. haha. u stay in the west too?

  17. pammiez
    November 21st, 2008 @ 9:54 am

    CMC is at East Coast Road. Its just slightly further down from Astons, at the opposite side of the road. Its a corner shop, where the church is. =)

  18. ladyironchef
    November 22nd, 2008 @ 12:18 am

    yeah i saw cmc today when i went joo chiat for the outing. but it’s close when i go at around 6pm.

  19. vonx
    January 18th, 2009 @ 3:32 pm

    Their Bryani is very nice though! The one at Thomson Plaza serves huge portions! lol. But i guess it’s really subjective (it may be big for me)…and diff locations have slight deviance in taste. However, in general, the bryani and ‘Ah Mei Milk Tea’ (the iced milk tea) is very very nice!!

  20. ladyironchef
    January 18th, 2009 @ 9:39 pm

    vonx: haha go try oldtown’s one! i think quite unlikely i’ll go back ah mei if i’m looking for toast, going to try killiney one.

  21. Teh
    January 30th, 2009 @ 2:08 pm

    I had the Tea at Arcade (inside Banquet). Its terrible.

  22. Kelvin
    October 2nd, 2010 @ 4:44 pm

    I had a tea a IMM 2nd floor — worst in my life, given spoon unable to stir the condensed milk, at first, tasteless, at the end, too sweet.
    The prata — not crispy(thick)and strong with flour smell. Only the gravy is accepatble.

  23. AJ@Kampong
    September 1st, 2011 @ 1:00 pm

    Yay! Looks yummy. I would want to try this at home. Thank you for sharing your Roti Prata food experience. ;)

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