Kaya Toast - A Sweet and Savoury Malaysian Breakfast Treat!
Do you like sweet breakfasts or are your more of a savoury morning muncher? Luckily for the indecisive, Malaysia can give you the best of both worlds.
Before we departed for Malaysia, we had both picked a list of ‘must try’ dishes to seek out and eat whilst in the country. One of these dishes was the intriguing kaya toast.
Buttered toast, smothered in sweet kaya jam and dipped in a half-boiled egg with soy sauce and white pepper. The description confused and intrigued us. Is it sweet? Is it savoury? Most importantly, is it good?
Armed with these questions, we set off for Yut Kee (Map Link). This KL institution was highly recommended to us by our Airbnb host. Yut Kee has been in business since 1928. The Chinese shophouse/restaurant has watched its neighbours sprout into skyscrapers, whilst remaining unchanged itself. This seemed like a great place to try our first kaya toast.
The restaurant is always busy (always a good sign), especially at lunch . We arrived mid morning and the restaurant was already in full swing. After being directed to a table at the back, we wove our way around the crowds of happily munching people, and sat at our small table.
The restaurant’s decor is very cosy, it is like a time capsule with vintage furniture and wooden chairs. The walls are lined with photos and newspaper cuttings, all seemingly to be glowing reviews of the restaurant throughout the decades. looking around the restaurant it is obvious that Yut Kee has been serving generations of Kuala Lumpians.
We ordered from the reassuringly small menu and the friendly waiter quickly brought out two plates of white toast and small bowls containing eggs still in their shells. It was time to construct our kaya toast.
First we cracked our half boiled eggs into our bowls, mixing in a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of white pepper. The orange yolks of the half boiled eggs, mixed in with the semi set whites, soy sauce and pepper seemed like it would be a strange pairing with sweet toast, but we willing to give it a go. So on we went to assemble the sweet side of our breakfast.
The toast was cut into fat batons, which we then buttered and slathered in the sweet kaya jam. Kaya jam is made out of coconut milk, coconut cream, eggs and sugar and is a perfect sweet spread.
So now we had what appeared to be two entirely separate dishes; savoury soy sauce and pepper eggs, and sweet kaya jam toast. It was time to introduce these two opposing sides!
It shouldn’t work, it really shouldn’t, but the mix of sweet and savoury, salt and coconut and the textures of crunchy toast, and silky soft egg were an amazing combination. This should not come as a surprise really. Yut Kee hasn’t stayed in business for so long, and the people of Malaysia (and Singapore) wouldn’t be so attached to kaya toast, if it wasn’t sooooo good!
Cost for one set of kaya toast, two half boiled eggs and a cup of coffee: 10.20 RM (£1.86 or $2.31).
If you find yourself in Kuala Lumpur kaya toast is definitely worth seeking out! Let us know in the comments how you get on!
Tips:
Yut Kee is extremely popular and can get very busy. There is a queuing area out front, but the tables turnover very quickly so you shouldn’t have to queue for too long.
Yut Kee does serve other meals as well. It specialises in Hainanese favourites and on the weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) it offers an amazing roast pork. Honestly almost like a porchetta or a rolled crackling roast.
If you’re in a Malaysian food court you can almost always get kaya toast in the mornings. It's usually ordered from the drinks stand, just have a look at the walls for a menu.
Thank you for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
*Prices correct at time of writing - April 2023
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