Meet The Kaya Toast Hawker Who Dares To Call His Iced Milk Tea ‘No.1’

It may appear like your garden-variety hawker toast-and-kopi setup, but look closer and you’ll see stuff like grilled baguette smeared with not just kaya, but also freshly made garlic butter or vanilla butter.

Then there’s the brazenly named ‘Teh Peng No.1’, splashed on a poster. 

The man behind the stall is Tan Guo Shi — he has been running Kaya Kaya for over a decade. He’s friendly, unhurried, and fiercely proud of his creations. 

He serves small baguettes with his spreads, similar to the kind used for Vietnamese banh mi. Halved and toasted till golden-brown in an open stainless steel toaster, the bread is soft and airy, with a thin, crunchy crust. 

Kaya Butter Kayak Toast, $2.80

So named because the baguette vaguely resembles a boat — we think? This classic offering combines butter with a thick layer of kaya. “We use real butter [not margarine], spread it [on the bread] and then toast it. Once toasted, the butter melts and is absorbed into the bread. And then I spread premium kaya on it,” Tan shares. Nope, the ‘premium’ kaya isn’t house-made but supplier-sourced. 

Our colleague who is a regular at the stall loves this kaya baguette. She describes it as “shatteringly crispy and well-toasted, with a generous smear of rich kaya and butter.” 

For those who prefer things old-school, there’s also the usual local sliced roti (priced the same, but with a hot drink) — this time sandwiched with a cold slab of butter instead. 

Vanilla Butter Kayak Toast, $2.80

A fusion number for Gen-Zs? A buttered baguette is drizzled with a milky vanilla sauce. “It has some milk powder mixed in. It’s different,” Tan explains.

Garlic & Herbs Kayak Toast, $2.80

“This is our exclusive custom-made item!” Tan declares proudly. It’s essentially his version of garlic bread, and he doesn’t skimp on the stuff. Each piece of baguette is slathered in butter and loaded with lots of chopped garlic and dried oregano. Shiok.

Teh Peng No.1, $2 

Labelled a must-try by Tan, his iced milk tea is brewed with a blend of three tea leaves: jasmine, pu’er, and “premium black tea”. He adds: “I’m very particular about using premium tea when brewing teh peng. The taste and texture is different for everyone, that’s why I boldly call it teh peng no.1.” 

However, our colleague who sipped some declares that it’s probably not Singapore’s #1 teh peng, but it is fragrant, thicker and creamier than your typical kopitiam version, though not quite as robust as Hong Kong-style nai cha. Still pretty good value since you get a big cup of it for two bucks, she says. 

Kaya Kaya is located at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, #01-71, 531A Upp Cross St, S051531. Open daily 8am-5pm, closed Sat.

Photos: Cinegang