In London, living in the East was something rather coveted by the people in my social circle (partly because we all wanted to be each others’ neighbour). And true enough, I loved being an Eastie bummer. Having a choice of local Vietnamese on Old Street/Kingsland Road, The Breakfast Club and The Diner literally a stone’s throw from my apartment, some cool haunts we never failed to end up in Hoxton/Dalston plus quirky vintage shops of Brick Lane pretty much stretching out its arms beckoning me in…the East was it for me. So vibrant and alive, so weird and wondrous, so intensely insane and buzzing, grimey, damp and unkempt. The East, like an ever-repeating collage of faded signs, cracked paint jobs, crumbling walls and random dotting of dog poop, like a crazed soothsayer who can’t shut up has much to tell. A place with that much character is not easily forgotten but forever burned into the back of your eyelids, reminding you that at every turn there is a story to uncover. Whatever it was, it was home, for a while at least.
In my hometown, I’m also an Eastie. And here, to live in the East leaves very little in terms of cuisine to be desired! At least, that was what I was told before we moved into this area five years ago. East Singapore has much to offer in terms of dining areas, brimming with little eateries, restaurants, traditional Chinese bakeries and hawker centres offering the famous selection of local dishes like Katong laksa, fried Hokkien prawn mee and Hainanese chicken rice. You can never go hungry if you live in the East. And that rings ever more true if you work in the East. The past few weeks I’ve been hired as my sister’s PA. No, don’t even dare think it is glamorous. I’ve also started helping out one of her friends as a researcher to source the market for environmentally green products, etc. When the brain’s working and the pen’s tapping away, one gets hungry very easily. Moreish and so dastardly peckish. Our office is situated on East Coast Road, quite the food hub I must say. This stretch of road offers the traditional to the modern, ranging from un-air-conditioned outdated coffee shops to the glass-doored modern restaurants & bars decorated with queer names to the pretentious cafés with an eye for minimalism. It’s got it all.
A famous little Hainanese coffee/cake shop here is Chin Mee Chin Confectionary introduced to me by A my sister of course who is up to her arms deep in the knowledge of good local haunts. It’s the only coffee shop she visits in the area and although my iced kopi C (iced coffee sweetened with Carnation milk…I’m still getting the hang of all the codes for ordering local coffee) wasn’t the best, CMC (as it’s commonly known in this area) is beloved by the locals who patronize it for a traditional Southeast Asian slash Chinese breakfast old-school style. And what would that be, you’re asking? Coffee + kaya toast + half-boiled eggs seasoned to your own taste with ground white pepper and Chinese soy sauce. Kaya is coconut jam, a thick and lusciously rich jam of a custard-like texture made from coconut, egg yolks and sugar and flavoured with pandan leaves. I may not have tried CMC’s kaya toast (we were too stuffed after a big fat lunch), but the locals (and even some foreigners) swear that CMC’s locally made kaya, all made from scratch within the shop, is simply the nation’s best. I peered at a neighbouring table’s kaya toast and it looked mouthwateringly good for sure, slabbed with loads of butter onto a toasted bun sliced in two, this is Singapore’s version of butter & jam on hot cross buns I suppose!
Because I had become a hippopotamus post-lunch, I did not eat much in this little un-air-conditioned hole-in-the-wall (only a coffee & a small cupcake). But that didn’t stop me from getting swept off my feet by the understated 1950s old world charm it exuded. It is certainly a nostalgic jewel of a find with ceiling fans, tables with marble tops and dark wooden legs, floral-patterned mosaic tiles across the walls and tiny green tiles on the floor which reminded me so much of the music room of an old piano teacher of mine. It’s even got the ol’ shophouse metal shutters for doors! People sit around comfortably, elbows on the tables because they don’t give a damn and slurp coffee out of porcelain mugs just like in the old days. From the yuppies who stop by during their lunchbreak, to the locals who are well chum with the aunties who run the shop, to little kids with faces glued to the glass cake display box to tourists seeking out authentic local flavours to curious weirdos like me, CMC welcomes everyone without discrimination (except maybe one of the coffee aunties who was cranky as an old cow!).
CMC is a place of so much character and personality, aged but riveting like a fine wine, hardworking, honest and fondly remembered like a good woman. It captivates me, and I’m certain it’s the same for many others! A true local favourite.
Wander in into this shop serving up just the bare essentials from interior to menu, walk down memory lane and feel like a child yet again. I could find nothing in there that disappointed me or upset me in any way. Simplicity at its best and a human character the Chinese value most.
Chin Mee Chin Confectionery
204 East Coast Road
Singapore
Open Tues-Sun 730am – 430pm
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And just another photo of something local snapped on the same day when A took her old box-type Mercedes to the car workshop…How old school, eh.
*photo taken on a Diana F+
