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| Dong Sheng Cafe 东升茶室 | Blk 163 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4, #01-414, Singapore 560163 🚅 5 minute walk from Mayflower station ☎ 8546 5188 (WhatsApp) ⏰ 7am - 5pm |
Makan kaki Aaron has been gushing about Dongsheng Cafe at 163 Ang Mo Kio near Mayflower MRT the past week 😬
So, here we are this morning.
Small HDB (public housing) shop unit, small narrow space. Compact inside but air conditioned and bright. Simple, light, basic furnishings but comfortable enough.
Dongsheng Cafe is a typical Nanyang style coffee shop, with air conditioning. That's what people want nowadays in Singapore (and also in Malaysia), hence this type of modern air conditioned coffee shop is sprouting everywhere in Singapore and Malaysia with some doing very well (like Oriental, Roast & Coffee, The Toast, Han Yuan, etc).
We started with the trinity of kaya butter toast, soft boiled eggs and coffee.
Let's head straight for the coffee.
Aaron's Dirty Ice Coffee 脏脏咖啡冰 looked frothy like an insane foam party. Not sure how the "dirty" come in in this 🤔
I did had a sip of that foamy brew. It was sweet, creamy with a little, much tamed underlying Robusta bitterness.
It's a coffee which entertains rather than comforts.
Yeah, the Dirty Ice Coffee grabbed most of my attention, neglecting the plain Jane kopi C kosong that faithfully picked me up every morning. But, this coffee was also foamed (with a milk frother) before serving, so the usual bitter sweetness came creamier and more airy.
Butter and kaya toasted sandwich.
House made kaya made with coconut milk and gula Melaka (no pandan, I double confirmed with the boss). Rich, smooth, not overly sweet. Paired with melt-in-the-mouth subtly savoury butter. The thin, lightly browned toasted white bread was crisp, chewy, and blended easily in the mouth with the kaya and butter.
Kaya and butter steamed bread sandwich.
Less common in Singapore, for folks who prefer a softer, spongy sandwich.
The runny soft boiled eggs were done just right. From Malaysia, the orange sunny hue was richer, brighter, and eggy taste was more discernible.
Add a dribble of soy sauce (dark & light options available), dust with white pepper, it paired well with the kaya butter toast.
Saw the happy folks at the next table ordered a few sets of Village Park style nasi lemak - triggered nasi lemak envy in me.
We gotta have what they were having 😬
I like the blue tinted rice for its tender nutty texture which were infused with rich coconut milk sweetness and aroma. The deep fried drumstick was crisp and flavourful outside. The inside was a bit firm, moist but didn't have much or any chicken sweetness. The sambal was heavy with onion sweetness, spicy hot and held together by a strong dominating salty taste.
Aaron ordered this Mani Cai with Hand-pulled (dry) Noodles 手工拉面 (干).
Blanched noodles and sayur manis topped with stir fried minced pork, fried ikan bilis, fishball, fish cake, fish cracker, and savoury salty sauce.
Overall, I enjoyed the savoury sauce, fish cake and fish cracker. Didn't have much sayur manis in the dish. But, the most memorable thing was the tender firm-spongy chewy noodles. Enjoyed it a lot, reminding me of the noodles at Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee in Kuala Lumpur.
Asam Curry Mee with Yellow Noodles. Tasty creamy spicy curry complemented well by the yellow noodles. I couldn't really make out much asam tanginess nor sourness from my portion.
Mee Siam with crustacean umami rich mildly spicy soupy sauce. Tasty but a tad salty which flattened out the nuances from umami rich ingredients like dried krill and taucheo (fermented soy bean).
Boss Ah Boon mentioned he used to work with the Tong Lok Group and with his brother also run Wanglee Cafe at Blk 92 Toa Payoh. Dongsheng at 163 AMK Mayflower is along the same lines as Wanglee.
Good renditions of the Nanyang kopitiam trinity of kopi, kaya butter toast and egg with a wide range of staples like nasi lemak, mee siam, pan mee, etc., all tasty, served in comfortable air conditioned setting and at competitive prices.
Restaurant name: Dong Sheng Cafe 东升茶室
Address: Blk 163 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4, #01-414, Singapore 560163
Nearest MRT: 5 minute walk from Mayflower station
Tel: 8546 5188 (WhatsApp)
Hours: 7am - 5pm
Written by Tony Boey on 12 Sep 2025
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
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