Here's the lightly edited review:
"I tried the seasonal cranberry rosemary chicken toast on my latest visit. It was okay, nothing special or especially Christmassy tasting. Nevertheless, the coffee and other toasts here are good and taste consistent with other Ya Kun outlets. No worries about the quality. However, the atmosphere in this outlet is not good. The seating area is really cramped. The person sitting behind me kept bumping into me because the seating arrangements were really narrow and close together."
Tee
2
I believe it was off-peak (2 PM) when I went, and about half the space was empty when I queued.
My bread was ready before my drink. Then, when my drink was ready, it was prepared hot. When I said I ordered “cold,” the lady said, “She (the cashier) keyed in hot.”
Maybe she was just trying to make sure she was not blamed for making the wrong drink. But the lady who took the order heard and said nothing as well.
Didn't want to make a fuss since my bread was already out and I wanted to quickly eat it. In the end, the bread was not even done properly. Half the bread was under-toasted, the other half was burnt. And... I didn't get the drink option that I wanted. What an experience!
I have more tolerance when it is peak hours. But if it isn't, I don't know what can explain their rush... rush to make mistakes?
Jonathan Ding
5
June 2024
My son asked for Kaya toast as soon as we arrived in Singapore. Without any doubt, we decided on Ya Kun. Perfectly toasted, and the eggs were cooked. The steamed Kaya bread is indeed the signature item.
I enjoyed the coffee as always. Sadly, finding seating for 4 is not an easy task.
We will definitely revisit Ya Kun.
JJ MakanJalanJalan
3
Food:
The restaurant offers **varieties** of local breakfast such as white toast with kaya, peanut, cheese, or sugar. You can add on an extra drink for a few dollars. The breakfast set usually comes with 2 soft-boiled eggs and 1 cup of coffee or tea, or you can top up to get other drinks.
My favorite:
The Kaya Toast with Butter set (Classic combo) consists of 2 small kaya toasts, 1 soft-boiled egg, and 1 Kopi Siew Dai (少糖). This is just good enough for me. The toast has the richness of the butter and the sweetness of the kaya jam. You could also dip the toast into the soft-boiled egg mixed with soy sauce and pepper; this gives you a nice thick coating of soft egg yolk together with the sweet and salty toast, just like umami!
Service:
No table service is provided; a buzzer is given for food collection. The “aunty” and “uncle” staff are friendly and helpful.
Atmosphere:
It is located on B1 of Junction 8 mall. The store is small and crowded. You may sometimes find it hard to find a seat during peak hours.
Verdict:
It is a great place to taste one of the classic breakfasts from Southeast Asia (particularly Malaysia and Singapore). Personally, I like the combination of the kaya toast with butter and dipping it into the soft-boiled egg, which balances out the taste. I may visit the place again when I am craving this classic breakfast.
Vee 祐宁 Lee
5
Here's an edited version of the review:
I always like their steamed kaya butter bread. It's only available at Yakun.
But the price is $6.40 for a small tea, two eggs, and steamed kaya butter bread. It's quite expensive nowadays, likely due to inflation.
Their half-boiled egg is much, much better than Heavenly Wang's.
The business is very good, and there's always a long queue. The owner must be laughing their way to the bank! 😆
Claire Koh
3
The portion of butter was pathetic, and the toast was soggy – definitely not the usual standard. The toast needs improvement. The eggs are still good.
Service also needs to be improved. I was not informed that I had to collect the eggs and toast together instead of the usual coffee and eggs. So I was waiting aimlessly for a while.
Wai
4
Always loved the coffee and toast at Yakun. The new outlet at J8 is bigger than the original location. However, what I really don’t like is the small tables and cramped environment in all outlets. You practically have to go through an obstacle course to get anywhere.
Trevor Lim
5
Cannot go wrong with Ya Kun; seating can be limited during peak hours, but overall still a pleasant experience!
Clara Lim
5
It was busy on a Sunday morning. I came here to get two cups of coffee, and the manager, Phuong, was so attentive to detail, asking if I would like an extra bag so my drinks wouldn’t spill. She then packed it nicely, as seen in the photo. Really no mean feat given the chaos of a busy Sunday morning! Thank you for the great service!
Xiuxin Ding
3
Staff should not assume the customer's preference for egg doneness. I don't have problems with other outlets asking for already steeped eggs to be steeped longer, and that I will go collect the eggs later at my own timing. But here, my guess is that they steeped fresh eggs and waited longer and then alerted me. The result was that the eggs were not really cooked much longer at all, to my preference. My order was wrong, as the cashier was busy with a delivery order. I asked for butter sugar; he repeated it correctly but keyed in peanut butter. I only realised after I collected my order.
Still, thanks for hiring elderly locals. Appreciated!