Chin Mee Chin Confectionery - Old School Coffee Shop with Traditional Kaya and Kopi

The history of Chin Mee Chin Confectionery dates all the way back to the 1920s (yes you heard that right, 100 years ago!). After a 3 year closure in 2018, they are back at the same location and newly renovated! While it is newly renovated, the store maintains its rustic interior design – with old school floor and wall tiles, thick marble slab and traditional tables and wooden chairs. The cafe serves up nostalgic Kaya Toast with soft boiled eggs, and also old school savoury and sweet treats such as Luncheon Meat Buns and Chiffon Cakes. There are traditional Eurasian confections such as Cream Horns too!

What we had at Chin Mee Chin Confectionery

Breakfast Set ($5.40)

For those with decision anxiety, try their signature set meals. You get the best of both worlds as it comes with a Kaya Toast, soft-boiled eggs and tea or coffee where we chose the latter. The toast came in a cute round shape like a burger and it was also not crunchy like the usual kaya toast at Toast Box or Yakun. I felt that the bread was a bit chewy as compared to our other white bread toast. Their take on kaya bread is toasted over charcoal, giving it a smoky aroma and a crispy crust. The kaya was lemak and not too sweet, and like all Kaya Toast, it had a thick slab of butter which was satisfying to eat (though sinful).

The soft boiled eggs were perfectly cooked – with the egg white runny and yolk creamy. One of my favourite things to do is to dip the Kaya toast into the egg, and in a single bite you will get both a sweet and savoury sensation. The coffee was average, but definitely a must have to pair with the Kaya Toast and Eggs.

Otah Bun ($2.20)

We wanted to try something savoury and went with the Otah Bun, which was better than expected. The bread was soft and fluffy, but what stole the show would be the Otah. I had experiences eating Otah Buns where the Otah was dry and bland, but the Chin Mee Chin’s Otah was fleshy and tender. The spiciness of the Otah paired well with the sweetness of the bread. A crowd’s favourite! There are many other types of buns available and you can view them at a glance over the counter.

Iced Milo ($2.40) & Iced Tea ($1.70)

We also had the Iced Milo and Teh-Bing. The iced milo was a tad too sweet for our liking, probably due to the heavy condensed milk, and we had to wait for the ice to melt to dilute the drink before drinking. Of course, you can request them to make it less sweet, hence it is not a deal breaker. The Teh-Bing would have been better if the Tea was more aromatic.

It is not hard to find Kaya Toast breakfast around Singapore with the abundance of other franchises. What makes Chin Mee Chee Confectionery different would be their variety of sweet and savoury bread choices. I am a fan of its bread although the drinks were rather mediocre. I am also a huge fan of their interior design concept, which brings back a bit of nostalgia and is extremely instagram-worthy!