Ask any Singaporean what their ideal breakfast is and many will testify to a meal of soft-boiled eggs with toast smeared with butter and kaya. Virtually every hawker centre and coffee shop across the island serves it. Cafes have made it their speciality. However, when the craving strikes at home, here is where to buy the best kaya brands in Singapore.
Kaya is a coconut jam popular throughout Southeast Asia. To make it, coconut cream or milk is cooked with eggs, sugar, and pandan leaves for long hours over low heat. Two varieties are most commonly found in Singapore: Hainanese kaya and Nyonya kaya. The first uses caramelised sugar to give it a deep golden-brown hue. The latter tends to be light green.
While kaya is traditionally used as a bread spread, bakers have turned it into a flavouring for a wealth of pastries, from doughnuts to panettone. This is when having a jar from these best kaya brands in Singapore comes in handy. They are easily found at coffee shop chains including Ya Kun Kaya Toast, Toast Box, Killiney Kopitiam, and Heavenly Wang. For a piece of history, Chin Mee Chin Confectionery still cooks its coconut jam in the same pot its founders used.
Restaurants are also putting out their version of the coconut spread. Violet Oon has a Nyonya kaya befitting of her reputation as a doyenne of Peranakan cuisine. Cheng’s @ 27 is a family-owned zi char business that offers Hainanese kaya. For a modern twist, Kaya House has flavours like green tea and durian, while Ujong Gourmet adds saffron to its version. Check them out below.
(Hero and featured images credits: Ujong Gourmet / Facebook; Chin Mee Chin Confectionery / Facebook)
Where to buy the best kaya brands in Singapore
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Cheng’s @ 27 is a third-generation family-run restaurant offering modern zi char dishes. The establishment’s artisanal kaya stays true to a traditional Hainanese recipe that incorporates eggs and freshly squeezed pandan juice. A silky, aromatic spread is the result of stirring it over a stove laboriously for hours, and fans enjoy it for not being overwhelmingly sweet. Other homemade snacks worth picking up include the pillowy gula melaka chiffon cake and moreish tapioca kueh.
S$15 (250g)
(Image credit: Cheng’s @ 27)
Even after a century, Chin Mee Chin continues to make its kaya the traditional way, from the recipe of egg yolks, fresh pandan leaves, and coconut milk, to churning it in the same metal pot used by its founders. The result is a spread that is purposely clumpy and subtly sweet.
From S$7 each (200g)
(Image credit: Chin Mee Chin Confectionery)
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Heavenly Wang’s kaya is made from a recipe the cafe developed in 1953. Besides the usual eggs, sugar, coconut milk, and pandan, the Hainanese-style spread contains buttercream and salt to balance out the rich flavours. Heavenly Wang also sells a variation with less sugar and saturated fat.
Halal-certified
S$4.20 each (270g)
(Image credit: Heavenly Wang)
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Kaya House was originally known as Sing Kee Kaya, which Chen Gui Da founded after he migrated from Hainan province to Singapore and started a successful coffee shop. Besides the classic Hainanese and Nyonya styles, the brand also developed other kaya flavours including coffee, green tea, chocolate, and durian.
Halal-certified
From S$3.90 each (225g)
(Image credit: Kaya House Viet Nam / Facebook)
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Killiney has various forms of kaya from the regular to an eggless version, but the Handmade Kaya – Singapore Classic is the closest to what you might find cooking in someone’s kitchen. The Hainanese-style spread is made only with eggs, sugar, coconut milk, and pandan leaves with no preservatives, artificial colourings, or preservatives added.
S$7.80 each (280g)
(Image credit: Killiney Kopitiam)
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Toast Box provides a chance to try the Hainanese and Nyonya kaya spreads side by side. The Hainanese version is sweetened with a touch of honey, and the Nyonya kaya has a pronounced pandan aroma.
From S$3.60 each (100g)
(Image credit: @toastboxsg / Instagram)
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Ujong Gourmet takes its name from Singapore’s indigenous name of Pulau Ujong and seeks to revitalise traditional recipes for the modern palate. The brand prides itself in following an original Peranakan recipe and boasts a loyal following for its artisanal coconut jam. Highlights include the Straits Kaya made with butterfly pea flower and vanilla, the amber-hued Saffron Kaya, and the Buko Kaya with coconut caramel and sea salt.
S$8.88 each (220g)
(Image credit: Ujong Gourmet / Facebook)
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Rainbow Lapis is a traditional heritage bakery nestled away in People’s Park Complex that boasts a wide selection of classic Nyonya treats and old-fashioned cakes. Choose between the traditional Nyonya-style kaya, pandan kaya, and gula melaka kaya. Spread this and globs of butter over lightly browned toast for an indulgent snack.
S$7 each (200g)
(Image credit: Rainbow Lapis)
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Since Violet Oon is frequently heralded as the doyenne of Peranakan fare, it’s no surprise that she rolled out one of Singapore’s most iconic treats. Constant stirring over a double boiler and steaming the jam afterwards is what gives the Nyonya kaya here a creamy, paste-like consistency. Get it at the restaurant’s Ion Orchard and Jewel Changi outlets.
S$13.50 (270g)
(Image credit: Violet Oon Singapore)
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Ya Kun’s kaya comes from a family recipe that dates back to 1944. It calls for only eggs, coconut milk, sugar, and panda leaves, and does not contain any artificial colourings or flavourings. While the jam is not halal certified, it does not have any pork, lard, gelatin, or alcohol.
S$6.80 (290g)
(Image credit: Ya Kun Kaya Toast)