Good Morning Nanyang Cafe - A Fusion of Time

早安南洋 - 时光的撮合

人说:
往事已去不能重回,
将来未是只能期待,
今日眼前必要紧珍.

时光阶段真的无法并存吗?

那倒未必.

身座在唐城坊三楼的一间小型咖啡厅, 早安南洋, 就恰恰具备了时光桥梁的条件, 巧妙而几乎完美地撮合了过去与现在, 成功地赢得我的心.

如果说菜单是平面, 原汁原味摆在面前的食物是 3D, 意大利式 Ciabatta 白面包涂上香厚的加椰酱的混合种类食品是 4D, 那综合六十年代浓郁咖啡和千喜鲜橙味的情感必定是梦寐以求的 5D 佳肴.

Orange Ciabatta
The look of a toasted white bread is delightful as the colour white always is. When I accidentally shifted my head nearer to the bread for a sip of the coffee (which was served first), the strong kaya fragrance whiffed past my nose. I couldn't help but quickly put down the coffee so that I could taste the ciabatta.

On the first bite, I tasted orange. On the second, I tasted the light salt of the bread. On the third bite, I noticed the crunch of the toast. There was a gleeful new joy on the senses with each new mouthful. This is what I call effective layering, a basic to pave the way for tip top good food.

For those who like spreads, you will be glad that the kaya is served in very generous amount.

Rating: 4.9/5
Very close to perfection. But I was wondering if slightly tastier kaya (like more coconut ones or a teeny bit sweeter ones), would work better. I have no idea why, but this is quite the same as Ya Kun, which are both on the mild side of taste. The bread is perfect, so have to be careful that whatever kaya is used does not takes over the bread's pure taste.

Kopi
The Kopi is surprisingly unique. This is my first taste of slight charred java. This could be due to over-roasted coffee beans, of which, some purists might say that Good Morning Nanyang's Kopi is not good and blah blah. However, I think I have had quite enough of so-called perfect coffees, and I more than welcome something this special on the local kopi scene.

Moreover, I have a weak spot for food on the verge of "chao tar" (burnt/charred). So nice!!! (I just tasted "chao tar" ramen chashu today. Soooo Shiiiok ah!) I think the barbecue level is quite a challenging one to achieve in culinary terms, because when food burns, it burns QUICKLY, which is why cake is so easily spoiled in an un-monitored oven and cranky oven.

Apart from the bbq fragrance of their Kopi, my cuppa also tasted strong and thick enough, yet not over (as in espresso level). I also must applaud Good Morning Nanyang for not overpouring the milk and sugar. I hate cheap coffeeshop/hawker centre coffees because they all don't seem to care about what the cup of coffee tastes like, and simply add milk and sugar as if no need money. Super diabetic. *shivers* can't stand the sweetness outside. But Good Morning Nanyang absolutely tasted like a thoughtful cup. =) Really love everything about this coffee. I do not compare this with places like Oriole Cafe & Bar or Starbucks etc, because it's just different. I wouldn't even compare it with Old Town White Coffee, which is my personal No.1 and also one of my family's favourites (apart from Nescafe, Gold Kili, Indocafe, Cafe Nova, Japan UCC etc.) Good Morning Nanyang is truly one of a kind, and now, I find it quite on par with Old Town White Coffee. Really, really like the mild burnt taste.

Rating: 5/5
5/5 basically means my favourites or No.1s.


Synergy
Now, it comes to the point where I should explain my rave (in Chinese) above. I am super, duper inspired and always write in Chinese when I have a strong positive feelings for something.

I have the bad habit (or is it good habit?) of dipping bread, biscuits, and almost anything and everything (like French fries) into my drinks. So since I get 4 quarters of ciabatta, of course I couldn't let the chance run. hahaha. There goes the 2nd quarter of ciabatta into my coffee! (Don't dunk it like Oreo, bread is not firm enough, just dip lightly and remove immediately.) And WOW! When I tasted the orange and then the coffee, whoa, wow, whoa, orange really goes well with coffee. Especially since Good Morning Nanyang's Kopi is not espresso-strong, it doesn't kills the ciabatta.

For those of you who were as crazy as me during CNY, you would have tasted all the orange coffee/chocolate offerings by McCafe, Starbucks, Coffee Bean etc. And you would have already learnt that orange coffee/chocolate/mocha etc is an excellent combination if you can balance them. Otherwise, I would like to suggest trying Starbucks one. It's the best. Coffee Bean was not very nice. Haagen Dazs's orange chocolate ice cream was quite a failure as well.

Yes, that's why my poetic dedicated writing for Good Morning Nanyang. I do hope it's befitting enough. =) (Look out for my Ippudo one, I am shamelessly saying that it's good. haha.)

Raisin Scone
According to comments on ieatishootipost about Good Morning Nanyang, the scone is quite a popular item, and some are bent on waking up early and reaching there right on time (10.30am) to catch the freshly baked scones.

I personally am not fond of scones or things like muffins. Have always been quite disgusted by butter smells and butter tastes, and I will not eat butter creamed cakes, only fresh cream. But since the good reviews, I thought I should just give it a go.

And it turns out that like what they say, the scones at Good Morning Nanyang are not buttery at all. They are equally perfectly layered such that there is the scent of maple on smelling, and the sweetness of raisins on eating. It also has a biscuit-like crust but bread/cake-like soft layers inside. This makes for excellent texture in your mouth.

I also like the way this rather more Chinese style cafe serving butter and solid jam and a spread knife! Quite amazing, as Chinese are a bit stubborn when it comes to things like this. I find the butter really healthy as it's not those salty super yellow ones, but really quite the Western light ones you get on planes or hotel breakfast buffets. I am very happy with the solid jam that tastes so similar to McDonald's grape jam for Big Breakfast. Again, this is also like the hotel buffet kind. So thumbs up for Good Morning Nanyang on giving some healthy quality for traditional Singaporean Chinese breakfast/tea.

Rating: 4/5
Tasted not bad to a person who dislikes scones.

******

I couldn't help it but decided to order a Set Meal as there really is no excuse to not taste traditional bread from a traditional 60's style cafe.

Took Set A, which comprises of the olden day rectangular bread, 2 half-boiled eggs and a tea/kopi.

Teh-O
I deliberately chose Teh-O as I feel that there is no other way to taste a tea than pure blend. By rights, I should take Teh-O-Kosong, which means no sugar no milk, but it's not on the menu, so I didn't want to make a special request for it. I believe it would be possible though. (Kopi is normally a lot stronger, so one should still be able to sniff out the blend unless milk and sugar is added in diabetic amounts. It's not the same with teas which are more delicate, especially if it's Chinese Tea, Floral or Fruit Tea.)

According to comments, the Teh here is brewed from Lipton, so I don't think there is going to be much surprise. And true enough, there wasn't. I was slightly disappointed by the sugar smell when I accidentally shifted my head near the cup while eating the egg.

The moment I detected sugar, I knew the teh taste would be gone. =( Don't get me wrong, Good Morning Nanyang still does it very thoughtful by not being over with the sugar. It's probably the blend of tea to start with. I am rather sensitive with sweet and saltiness. My mum would probably call this level mild, and okay only, but I am calling it slightly sweet, since I only smell sugar, not tea. But this is Teh-O, not Teh-O-Kosong, so I may be over-expecting.


Rating: 3.5/5
Will do.

I'd love 'BOH' tea Cameroninan Blend to be on. But quite stupid since I can buy and boil a teabag myself. Also, this blend would cost quite a bit more. Not sure if people (most of Good Morning Nanyang's customers are uncles/aunties like Old Town) will pay for it. But for tea lovers out there, you do want to stock a box of this blend in your house! =))) Swept me off my feet, and snatched the 20 consecutive years crown from Lipton Yellow Label as my No.1 home tea. Gosh. Love Cameronian Blend so much. Nothing ever came quite close to Lipton over the two decades, due to the fact that I grew up on it.

Half-boiled Eggs
Again, I am not a fan of half-boiled eggs. haha, so you can really tell that, me, the Gen-Y is quite anti-60s breakfast. :PPP I think I only like white bread. No habit of drinking caffeine. Grew up learning that caffeine is BaD.

(Favourite is Western style sunny-side-up. LOL.)

So Good Morning Nanyang would be glad to know that I think their half-boiled eggs are good! Better than the ones my mum can achieve at home. It's really not easy to make good half-boiled eggs. Most people either get it too raw or too boiled, which is why I don't like it.

Seriously, how many times have you bought half-boiled and got something you'd rather not eat? Apart from the one at Canteen 2, NTU, there really is no other good half-boiled egg that I've eaten. (Canteen 2 is extremely famous for the breakfast bread and eggs, and also the waffles. Not sure if the standard is still there, but if any student goes in 4 years and haven't eaten them, really is lost out on food.)

I am so glad to know that I can now get my half-boiled egg fix from Good Morning Nanyang if I do for some weird reason crave them. (Really not a fan yeah.)

Some more ramblings: Those half-boiled you get at house downstairs coffeeshops are mostly bad because they give it to you in a plastic mug of hot water. For goodness sake, eggs cook easily, but they are never going to cook in 40-60 deg C water, which cools at a rate of maybe 1 deg/min? You can do a simple experiment by timing how long it takes when the water feels like room temperature water. And also, for goodness sake, putting a red plate over that plastic mug really isn't going to help keep the heat in, because the water is not boiling, hence no steam to simmer it, and most of the heat would escape from the biggest surface area, that is, the sides of that PLASTIC mug. It might help if they give you a wooden one, or thick ceramic (which is commercially unviable).

I didn't spy how Good Morning Nanyang cook their eggs, but whatever they do, they are able to control the heat well and get the timing right. =) The eggs crack very well into my plate, with a nice round shape, yet breaks easily upon slicing with the teaspoon, and flows without leaving solid yolk. This means it's all creamy inside. Excellent. There is a thin thin layer of white left on the shell, but it's really minimal, and I find it not worth me picking on, although some people may insist they want every single bit to flow out. Maybe I not a half-boiled egg fan, so I wouldn't really care about this detail...

The egg was also fresh, as it stays together good.

Rating: 4.75/5
I'd go for Good Morning Nanyang should I want a half-boiled egg fix.

Traditional Bread Toasted
Here comes the star that everybody is probably most interested in. (Sorry, I was quite full from ramen, so I didn't rush into eating this first.)

Like very a lot. Normally I only get 2 pieces cut in half with other set meals. Here, I get 4 slices, and 4 halves. Set A is $3.80, worth it. =)

BEWARE! One paragraph of me ranting. Skip it if you wish.
I think the biggest question is how does this compares with Ya Kun. To be honest, I am anti-Ya Kun. I am not going to pretend I am not biased and stuff. I am really anti-Ya Kun, because I find them too commercialized, and many outlets have probably lost the essence of Ah Kun along the way. I find them too overrated, as I was at no point in time smitten by their kopi, teh or roti. It's pretty much like Old Chang Kee. What 1956? Are you sure their curry pok tastes like that since 1956? It tastes like yucks right now, and a dozen other shops have better curry pok than OCK. Moreover, it's so unhealthy. I don't get the crowd.

Nevertheless, I have no choice but to admit that the bread at Ya Kun is crispier. Ya Kun's break into two cleanly like biscuits. BUT Good Morning Nanyang has an equal crisp in the mouth, if you don't try to break it in two.

As for the kaya, both are the same. Both are mild, non-coconutty, non-pandanny, not so sweet type. Those who are into nonya will find it bland. But non-nonya is definitely healthier.

Roti, Guyu, and Kaya.

Good Morning Nanyang spread the butter on the left, and the kaya on the right of the bread, while Ya Kun is that slab of butter one. Old Town White Coffee also does it in slabs of butter method, that leaves it to melt rather than spread the butter. Or you can open the pieces and spread it on your own. Not much difference to me though.

Serving is generous, be assured that your whole bread will get the spreads. If you are super into health, remember to ask for lesser. Otherwise the standard is very generous proportions. haha.

Rating: 4.5/5
Despite the unhealthiness, I do prefer slightly tastier kaya.

Service
Service is really good for a small scale family business. A lot better than some Japanese restaurants I've been to. I am impressed by their Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), as they periodically check and clear the tables. They also smile, even though I've grown quite accustomed to non-smiles by now. It's really a bonus to me.

Settings
As usual, I like marble top tables when it comes to old kopi. One of the good places to be at (other than 5 times more expensive Starbucks) in Chinatown! I don't quite like that place lah... Hard to walk, weird shops. So now I know where to go when I want to take a break if I go to Chinatown.

Overall
I really like the way they fuse time with youthful orange ciabatta and strong kopi. I walked from Raffles Place MRT, walk like crazy in the hot sun (because it looks near on the map). And all I want from the walk is good food. I got it! Thank you Good Morning Nanyang. I must repeat, the 5D Time Fusion dish! Must try Orange Ciabatta and Kopi.

At Delifrance Chinatown MRT exit (Chinatown Point), go into the aircon, turn to the left, and there, at the arrowed position. =)

Will I recommend it?
I already am. =)

Will I go back?
Yes, of course. Very convenient actually. Chinatown Point is just directly outside one of the exits (the one with Delifrance), and in fact visible the moment you enter the aircon of Chinatown Point. Can't miss it.

Overall rating: 9.5/10
Very good standards of food, service, and generous proportions, plus convenient location if you are in Chinatown.

PS: Seriously, where else can I get Starbucky ideas like orange ciabatta, cheap, good, and a lot, and sit in nostalgic kopi settings... ... haha. (Only other place I've eaten ciabatta is Bakerzin.)

If only there is nice tau huay and pandan cake there... hahahaha. I think I am very demanding. But it's a good idea since ieat has quite the perfect recipe for these, I heard.