Found ourselves wanting to have breakfast on a weekday morning which we were able to do so and found ourselves headed to Kovan to the Hainanese Village Market & Food Centre to grab a cup of Kopi from Da Zhong Cafe 大眾茶室 which we had not been visiting for quite a while. Whilst we had been to Hainanese Village Market & Food Centre quite a number of times for Da Zhong Cafe, we had never noticed their neighbour Xin Xin You Tiao 欣欣油条 ever being opened. Turns out, Xin Xin You Tiao is only open for a rather short period of time on days that they are actually open — Google does state that their operating hours being from 6 am to 11 am; even shorter than that of Da Zhong Cafe. Both stalls do seem related to each other; both have been sporting similar signages even despite having changed their signages quite recently; it is also noted that Xin Xin You Tiao also retails the same coffee powder and peanut butter that Da Zhong Cafe does as well. Xin Xin You Tiao primarily serves fried dough fritters and fried buns that are typically enjoyed by locals in the morning — think items like the salted buns as well; old-school snacks that are also vegetarian in nature.

Despite being in operation for quite a long time and that Da Zhong Cafe does have its own social media presence for quite a while by now, Xin Xin You Tiao had set up its social media account on Instagram only fairly recently. What caught our attention whilst scrolling through their social media account is how they are offering modern varieties of the salted red bean bun. Whilst most hawkers usually stick to serving up the traditional salted red bean bun, Xin Xin You Tiao have introduced some fairly inventive flavours that attempts to bring the younger crowds to their stall; such flavours of the buns include the Coffee Bean Bun and the Green Tea Bun. We grabbed the second last piece of the Green Tea Bun, being a little lucky considering that they were not yet sold out by 11am (they closed shortly after at 11:25am after all items have been sold out). Since this had been fried for quite a while, one can definitely feel that the oil has been absorbed into the bun a little whilst sitting in the display case.

That being said, the bun had not lost its original texture; still soft and fluffy, the exterior does come a little floury like how it is supposed to be without having turned limp. Inside, there was still quite a bit of bite considering that there was some tension in the dough for the bun. We wouldn’t really call the Green Tea Bun, but the Green Tea filling does come with a prominent hint of flavours that was sufficient to give the entire salted bun a good flavour. Turns out, the green tea filling is made with red bean paste base; there is an aroma of jasmine green tea with a hint of bitterness typical of green tea, though enjoying it in larger portions seem to bring out the earthiness and sweetness in red bean. Not that we are complaining however, considering how this could easily turn out to be classic combination of Matcha Red Bean that can also be typically found in Japanese desserts. We also cannot forget giving the Kaya Butter Toast from Da Zhong Cafe a go; their rendition featuring commercial loaves but done a little more charred and crusty than that of other establishments, and comes with a smooth Kaya and cold slabs of butter that is slightly melted from the temperature of the bread. Their Kopi is also not to be missed; their roast being relatively dark and gives a how caffeinated punch — also one of Kopi out there where the sweetness doesn’t come in between the robust flavours of the coffee. The solid coffee and the kaya butter toast from Da Zhong Cafe are things that makes us return every once in a while for more, having being consistently good each time we make a visit even after a long while; having now tried Xin Xin You Tiao as well, we are looking forward to give their You Tiao a go when the opportunity arises!