Friday, January 05, 2007

Heads or Tails

C says:

As evidenced by the Sunday Lifestyle feature a couple of weeks back on the various toast joints that have sprouted up lately, toast fever seems to have well and truly hit Singapore. The jury is still out, however, on whether it’s just a passing fancy, like bubble tea and Rotiboy, or whether it has the staying power to be a lasting feature of Singapore’s breakfast/snack food culture.

Heads or Tails is a chain from Bangkok, offering Thai-style kaya toast which is slightly different from local kaya. Local kaya, offered by the likes of Killiney and Ya Kun, is thicker and richer, with stronger flavours of egg and coconut. In contrast, the kaya from Heads or Tails is more watery, lighter and more refreshing, and is almost painted on rather than spread. There are three flavours - a bright green pandan, an almost lavender-toned yam, and a rich cream vanilla. We went there for a light dinner on Wednesday night and A had just the pandan and the vanilla. I prefer the pandan because it’s quite light, with just the right hint of pandan. I found the vanilla a little too overpowering and slightly synthetic, but that was right up A’s alley. (They allow you to mix and match kayas too, so we just had one slice of toast, with half-and-half of pandan and vanilla.) We had another sweet toast – an old school combination of Ovaltine and condensed milk. This was quite generic and nothing to shout about.

Being a fan of savoury foods myself, my two choices were the otah toast, and the toast with a spread of chili paste and topped with chicken floss. To me, the savoury ones are far better than the sweet ones here. The chili paste with chicken floss is apparently their specialty, because the paste is the same one that they use to make tom yam. It’s a delightful combination of flavours – salty, sweet and spicy, and the chicken floss topping adds yet another dimension of flavour.

Though the chili paste with chicken floss may be their signature, to me the best was the otah toast. Light and crispy, with a nice layer of otah – the good quality kind of otah, not the 40 cents per stick Yishun kind… Apparently they even make the otah themselves on-site, so you know it’s fresh and authentic. Even their kaya is made on-site, not bought in pre-packaged tubs.

In addition to a whole variety of toasts, Heads or Tails has started selling several more substantial Thai dishes, like beef ball noodle soup and green curry chicken. We haven’t tried those yet, but since this place is so near my office and right where we park, we’ll definitely be back to try more.

I’ll leave A to tell you about the great iced tea there.

For those of you working in the area, Heads or Tails does deliveries as well, and they’re also exploring some catering options.

A says:

The Thai Iced Tea there RAWKS! Be warned, however, because it’s very, very sweet.

Toast-wise, I actually prefer the Vanilla Kaya but the mix of the two adds a nice variety. The best thing is when you get the sweetness of the kaya followed by the salty butter under it. I think I’ll ask them for just a hint less kaya next time though. They’re so generous with the kaya that the toast is left swimming in it.

Heads Or Tails
01-37 Market Street Car Park
Tel: 6438-6428
Open: 7.30am to 7.30pm, Mondays to Fridays; 8am to 1pm on Saturdays; closed on Sundays

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