Kaya Toast, Now and Then

When I was in Primary School, I used to head down to Chin Mee Chin after mass just before Cathecism class. I used to love the $0.40 luncheon meat wrapped in flaky, buttery pastry. And the chocolate roll!! my my....!! not to forget their lovely real custard cream puffs (not the creamy kind). I loved their old fashioned style kopitaim even till I was in Uni. Their signature dish (?) is the famous Chin Mee Chin kaya, known by many far and wide. They also serve coffee and soft boiled eggs. The best seller would be the rich kaya smothered over charcoal grilled buns, with a thick slice of butter pasted on top.

My perspective has changed. Today, the 21 of Nov 2005.

After the successful franchising of Yakun (dont have to go all the way to China Square), Ss and I have been rather keen patrons of their toast, coffee and service.
In any of their outlets, their eggs are soft boiled to perfection with the yolk encased in a thick cocoon of white. The yolk is never broken and we dont have to crack the eggs ourselves. And best of all, it comes slightly warm. spill some black sauce and throw in some white pepper, you have the perfect , old fashioned soft boiled eggs. The kaya is lovingly smoothed out on a crispy charcoal grilled brown bread with a rectangular, flat cube of butter. The coffee is so aromatic and the rich flavour articulates joyously in your mind, begging you to return quickly for another sip. Yakun. This is one franchise that can never go wrong (unlike franchises of Rotiboy!). Service is short, curt and efficient.

I hate to do this to you CMC but, really......
Kaya: 9/10
Bread:8/10
Softboiled:3/10 (it was half raw!)
Coffee:4/10
Service: Aunty forgot my order! 4.9/10
Return: ...... Not for a sit down breakfast, mabbie a take away kaya tub.
Final Words: I love the ambience, I love the place, and CMC has plenty of nostalgic supporters, so it will not go out of business, at least not in the near future. But if i want a kaya toast, I'll definitely give this place a miss.

Yakun
Kaya:9.5/10
Bread: 10/10
Softboiled:10/10
Coffee:9.5/10
Service:9/10 (efficient. self service counter)
Return: as often as i can.
Final words: "Aunty, Set A, kopi O! Thank you"

Jacks Place
This restaurant has been around for ever since I can remember. The food quality has not changed much, there's still a good standard for around $22 for a steak on a hotplate. The lunch set menu is a draw factor for many. ITs a damn good deal.

My favourite Dishes in mid class places
1) Soft shell Crab curry from Thai Express.
2) St Louis Ribs from Cafe Cartel
3) Zuppa from Pasta Fresca
4) Tuna Mayo sushi from Sakae Sushi
5) PAsta from Tuscany's (not around anymore but its worth a mention)
6) Pasta at Pete's Place

Cant think of much now.

Star Wars
I have a rough recollection of watching those little furry Ewoks running around the forests when I was really young from my old place. At that time i did not know the plot of the story nor did I really care about Luke's attempt to bring balance back into the force. I was simply attracted to those cute little things fighting against the white robots (stormtroupers).

I never understood the plot behind the 6 episode movie nor did i know they were connected in any way. I was never interested in it even when G blabs about it all the time since Sec school (to my best recollection, G wanted to be or thought he was a Jedi){i finally , after about 10 years realised some of his blabber were actually Jedi Mind tricks}.

Anyway, after uni, I started working at this tiny company at Kandahar street ( the haunted shophouse). Two significant movies came out while I was working there. Lord of the Rings (we were all gaga over Legolas) and Episode I. 99.9% of the company were fans of Starwars.It was J's passion and extreme devotion to the quintology that changed my life ... forever. The force made me buy the special edition trilogy and start surfing www.theforce.net. During teh tarik n goreng pisang breaks we would talk about the characters and the plot. I love the show.

But in all honestly, as much as i love the plot and the novel characters and the out of this galaxy names and technology, most of the episodes were boring and lacked direction. If i was not crazy about the plot, I would give it a rating of 4/10. But George L was brilliant. I love the language and the ways of lives he created, a fresh and vivid perspective of war, his ability to think beyond the current and create. He created an entire universe! The Samurai inspired costumes, the war ammonitions, the houses, the environs, light sabers! Robots!

The real Saviour i must say is R2D2, give him a human body and he'll defeat thedarkside anytime! Move over Anni!