Heap Seng Leong is a traditional kopitiam that serves kaya toast in Singapore. If you’re a foodie or have done any kind of research on what you need to try for breakfast in Singapore, you’ll be aware that kaya toast is high on the list if not right at the top of it. And then Ya Kun Kaya will probably pop up in terms of where to try it. But in this post I’m going to throw another name out there and this one is for those who really want to experience a true slice of the authentic traditional and nostalgic Singapore.
Kopitiam
A kopitiam is a coffee shop or cafe that serves up traditional coffee (kopi) and breakfast/brunch dishes in a relaxed and usually old school retro setting. Walking into them should make you feel like you’ve been transported back in time. These days you’ll find modern looking kopitiams, chain kopitiams and proper old school kopitiams. To truly get that traditional experience I’d advise you to seek out a traditional old school kopitiam. From the most traditional, popular and oldest kopitiams in the country is the one we’re visiting today: Heap Seng Leong.
Heap Seng Leong
This kopitiam is one of those old school traditional kopitiams and quite possibly the oldest and most popular. This humble breakfast spot supposedly opening in 1974 and it looks like the decor, chairs, tables and the air con is still the same since then. And I say this in a positive way. It’s like walking into a museum of Singaporean history. This is not the same experience as say Yakun Kaya. The menu is a simple two paper job stuck on the wall, which you’ll see as you’re queuing up to order. When you reach the end of the queue you’ll order from the guy who is also making your breakfast. There’s a grill station where the fluffy white bread is grilled over charcoal (and here the bread is not crispy like yakun kaya), then there’s a station to assemble the kaya toast, which we’ll talk about below. And finally you’ll also see a kopi making station, which we’ll also discuss below.
Kaya toast
Kaya toast, also known as roti bakar, is the national breakfast of Singapore. It is bread grilled over charcoal and then buttered with kaya jam (coconut jam with a hint of pandan) and then an infamous slab of butter also goes in. Some places you’ll get the bread crispy, some fluffy, some white bread and some brown. Here it is white fluffy bread. I do prefer the crispy bread (especially that of yakun kaya), but this was still delicious nonetheless. I like that the slab of butter was a relatively small slab, so it didn’t become overwhelmingly fattening after a few bites.
Butter coffee
The coffee here is brewed in an old school (have I said this too many times today?) nostalgic manner using the sock method. You can choose from a variety of classic Singaporean drinks, but they’re most famous for their unique butter coffee where you got a cold slab of butter sitting atop your hot coffee. This better than slowly melts into your coffee adding a new dimension to the flavours. This is supposedly an old school drink here in Singapore and back in the day it was very popular and could find it anywhere, now not so much. I’ve seen this drink in London, in Black Sheep, where they call it bulletproof coffee. The idea is that the butter gives the drink added benefits in terms of slow energy release.
Curry Puff stall
Attached to the same kopitiam in the front corner you’ll see a little Malay Muslim stall selling curry puffs. Supposedly, they are so good some travel all the way to the kopitiam to try these. Definitely provides a nice touch and a post breakfast snack. I heard they do nasi lemak here too, but we didn’t try that. We only got the curry puff.
And besides that there’s another building that you can pop in to and try the other famous breakfast dish: Roti Prata. A hidden gem!
Getting there:
Google Maps location link
