For most Singaporeans, kaya toast and soft-boiled eggs are common breakfast staples. But for others, it may be a whole new experience.
Singapore-based content creator Edoardo Liotta, also known as Edo or Eddie, recently brought two of his Italian friends to Chin Mee Chin Confectionary to try a typical local breakfast spread for the first time, where they reacted to a variety of dishes in an Instagram reel on Friday (Sept 4).
First up were the drinks.
One of Edo’s friends went for the kopi c kosong, and was immediately puzzled when he explained that it contained evaporated milk.
“I’ve never heard of this definition of milk,” she said.
Meanwhile, his other friend tried teh c, which she enjoyed.
As for the food, the first item they sampled was the peanut butter French toast.
“Delicious,” one of them said, rating the dish a 10 out of 10.
Kaya toast, however, raised a few questions.
Picking up a slice topped with a thick slab of butter, Edo’s friend asked the content creator why the condiment was not spread “all over the bread”.
“I don’t know why, they just always do it [like that] here,” he replied.
Despite finding the flavour “super strange”, she said the dish had its own appeal and that she liked it.
And what’s kaya toast without some soft-boiled eggs?
When Edo told the pair that they had to crack the eggs themselves, they looked surprised.
“But we have to do it ourselves?” one asked.
As they cracked open the eggs, more confusion followed, with the other saying: “I’ve never seen an egg like this.”
She later described it as having a “strange consistency”.
Edo then introduced the usual accompaniments — soy sauce and pepper — which were also unfamiliar to his friends.
“Oh my god, soy sauce first thing in the morning,” one of them remarked.
After having a taste, she admitted that it was not something that she would have in the morning.
Edo then introduced the popular, local way of enjoying the breakfast to his friends.
“If you guys want to be real Singaporeans, you take the bread and you dip it in the eggs,” he said.
After giving it a go, one of them was pleasantly surprised.
“It makes no sense to me, but it’s good,” she said.
The other, not so much.
“I mean, I would eat the bread by itself. But the eggs?”
The video drew reactions from netizens, with many praising the pair for being open to try something new to them.
“Love that they’re bewildered but tried nonetheless! They should try durian, rambutan, mangosteen next! And roti prata!” suggested a commenter, while another said: “Thank you for trying, liking it or not isn’t a problem at all.”
Some also chimed in to explain why the butter on kaya toast is usually not spread.
“The pat of butter provides a contrast in texture, temperature, and taste because it’s salty. There’s a nice bite to it when cold,” one said.
Others shared their own way of enjoying the local breakfast.
“I wouldn’t eat the egg like that. I would sprinkle white pepper and just a teaspoon of dark soy sauce, mix it with the egg while retaining the egg yolk, then I’ll eat the egg white first, leaving the yolk last!”
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carol.ong@asiaone.com
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