YY Kafei Dian – a slice of Singapore in Beach Road

YY Kafei Dian is an old school Hainanese coffeeshop given a bit of a modern spruce up. It sells Hainanese chicken rice and good old coffee shop food at, though not quite good old prices, very reasonable prices.

YY Kafei Dian

YY Kafei Dian is located in an old shophouse at the junction of Beach Road and Purvis Street. It has the traditional kopitiam furniture and there are tables out in the five foot way. There is a traditional coffeeshop atmosphere but the place does not feel congested, even during peak hours. More importantly, there is air-conditioning and the dining area looks clean and tidy.

At first look, one may think that like a typical kopitiam there are a chicken rice stall, a zhi char stall and a drinks stall in YY Kafei Dian. In fact, it is operated as one single eatery. There is only one cashier and you place your order and pay for all the food and beverages, whether for dining in or takeaway, at the same cashier’s counter.

YY Kafei Dian Menu

Many assume that the coffeeshop just sells the usual kopi, eggs and toasts plus chicken rice and a few items shown on the overhead light boxes with pictures of dishes. In actual fact, besides all those items and whatever other kuehs and cakes on display, YY Kafei Dian offers a wide range of zhi char dishes and one dish meals. You can get a sampling of an array of local Singapore favourite foods all in one place.

The menu is like a small exercise book listing the items available and prices. There are no pictures. However, it covers all the usual Chinese restaurant food groups – meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, soups and more. Below are pictures of a few pages of the YY Kafei Dian menu.

YY Kafei Dian Chicken Rice & Hor Fun

We went there for lunch and ordered chicken rice ($4.50) and hor fun with bean sprouts and sliced fish (san lor hor fun) ($6).

The Hainanese chicken rice was everything you would expect of good traditional chicken rice. There was nothing fancy but just plain authentic looking chicken rice chicken with a layer of gelatine. The meat was succulent and the rice was good enough to be enjoyed on its own.

The hor fun came with a rather generous portion of sliced fish. The noodles had a slight smokey taste. The broth was lightly seasoned for a mellow taste. Soya sauce and green chilli could be added to enhance the flavours to suit your palate.

YY Kafei Dian Kaya Bun

The YY Kafei Dian Kaya Bun ($1.20) is a must try.

The buns baked on the premises were light and very soft. The generous spread of kaya and a slab of butter would make the simple small piece of bread something really enjoyable. Have the kaya bun with a cup of hot coffee and you could feel that all is well with the world for that moment in time.

A slice of Singapore Life

The kaya bun and chicken rice are good enough reasons to pay a visit to YY Kafei Dian. Their Hainanese Pork Chop, Claypot Ee Fu Noodles and freshly made old school Doughnuts are also popular. They also have nyonya kuehs, egg tarts and a variety of breakfast food typically found in the Singapore’s wet markets and heartland hawker stalls – a wide array of affordable and interesting traditional food. Eating at YY Kafei Dian is experiencing a slice of Singapore life.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 4
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs

YY Kafei Dian
37 Beach Rd, #01-01
Singapore 189678

Tel: +65 6336 8813

Nearby MRT Stations: Esplanade, City Hall

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The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog