My Newfound Love for Kosong Gao

Auntie, a cuppa yuan yang c kosong gao upsize please!

I may be a dumbo in terms of speaking Chinese, but when it comes to ordering totally Singaporean drinks in a language I completely don't understand - I am a connoisseur.

My friends know me as the fella who always orders the funniest drinks - they too don't understand what I'm ordering haha. So what are the components in my fave Singaporean drink at ze moment? Get this right. YUAN YANG C KOSONG GAO. + Upsize. Teehee.

Yuan yang is basically your regular kopi + tea mixed together, the C stands for evaporated milk, kosong means no sugar, and gao is having a thicker kopi/tea, resulting in less milk.

In recent months, I've started to fancy the mix of kopi + tea, as it tastes like a latte to me. HAHA. Yes, if you were wondering, lattes are my favourite form of coffee. I adore the bittersweet taste in it, as well as not being overpowering in milk/foam. 

Evaporated milk is healthier than your regular condensed milk, as it has no sugar content in it, whereas condensed milk has it - which automatically increases the sugar level in one's drink. *shock face* Ever since I learnt that, I've never failed to order my drinks with the C. It has a slightly different taste from those who are used to downing it with condensed milk. 

Previously, I used to order yuan yang c siew tai/teh c siew tai = drinks & less sugar. My mum started ordering her tea without any sugar since late last year, after she got the concoction ideas from her church friend, Irene. Irene is a really fashionable woman, and you wouldn't believe her age when you see her. I won't tell you her age range coz it might come off as kinda rude, so just know that she looks 20 years younger than her current age. Coz lemme assure you, by fashionable, I mean it. She even has tasteful silver bling shoes omg. Anw, coming back to her concoctions - she likes to order complicated drinks, just like mine, it was pretty much inspired by her haha. Credit goes to her manzz.

Taken a few years ago, my cute mum (left), Irene (right)

Frankly, if you're used to ordering them with full sugar/less sugar, you'd usually find going kosong quite daring. Once you've acquired your taste for it though, you will definitely find that the aroma and true taste of the tea/coffee comes out significantly - and that's what I love, getting the original source's taste, instead of coating it with sugar and irrelevant sweetness. 

Now, you might be questioning why we do gao in our drinks. You see, we all love the milky taste, which is prolly why the chunk of us don't lean towards ordering teh o / kopi o (which means w/o any form of milk), however, sometimes we guys wanna have a bolder taste of the brew, and that my friends, is the basic simplistic reason on why have gao.

My recommendations on where to get the best of these concoctions, you might ask? (Commercial-wise)

1) Toast Box

I adore Toast Box, if I happen to chance upon an outlet when I'm up and about, I will order a cuppa. Usually, if I have the time to sit down, ordering their famous peanut thick toast is the ideal set. The way they do their drinks are of top-notch quality, and if you ask me whether I prefer Starbucks to this, I'd have this any day.

*UPDATE*

Front

Back! Toast Box... I like

Went to Toastbox several times this past week, and I discovered that they currently stock a new cup when you order upsize - SO CUTE HAHA. And they're actually selling the cup! If I actually didn't have a museum collection worth of cups in my humble abode, I would prolly purchase one for novelty sake. Loyal fan you got here, people. *winks*

2) Ya Kun Kaya Toast

I don't have the taste for their dehydrated styled bread, but their steamed bread creations lately have caught my tastebuds' attention! As for their drinks, I highly recommend them too, I'd say that their coffee component in the yuan yang stands out more when compared to Toast Box, so it's all about preference. For me, this is my next choice if Toast Box is nowhere in sight.

3) Coffee & Toast

Tried an outlet's brew at Esplanade Xchange, and their drinks impressed me. Not bad for those who can't find the usual 2 brewers, this is your next option. :) The thickness of the drinks is great here, despite ordering the sugarless option, as some places add more water instead of giving you more tea/coffee. Now that's something to take note of. Kosong gao doesn't equal watery, that just means an inexperienced brewer or in other words, ripping you off. :B

4) Ah Mei Cafe

Teh O plus lemon siew tai

Kopi, Yuan Yang C Kosong Gao, Almond tea

Located in Esplanade Xchange Nom's area, this is where I encourage you to order something entirely different from what I've described earlier. Over here, drinking a cup of Teh O plus lemon siew tai is the way to go! You'd be fascinated by the immense lemon punch you get, with the right amount of sweetness (in this case I wouldn't recommend the kosong, unless you plan to go sourpucker mode), and of course, the lovely teh o original. They do it so well here, my mum and I never fail to have it when we go to GV Marina for Sunday services (it's one of the overflow rooms for my church, which is mainly located at The Star Vista). In fact, the lady boss knows me so well till, the second she sees my face, she'll smile and ask me, "2 right?" Hehe. I love such customer service.

*UPDATE*
Went to Ah Mei Café twice on Sunday, as I was in the area for both breakfast and lunch :DDD Their Yuan Yang is sooooo good too! Very thick & nice touch with the amount of milk in it. My mum tried their Almond tea, and mygoodness - delightful to sip indeed :) These shall be on your to-drink-list everyone! ^_^

Btw, if y'all love your Singaporean-style breakfast... YOU WILL LOVE IT HERE. Their beehoon with egg/luncheon meat is the absolute bomb! Their chwee kueh, chee cheong fun, glutinous rice, soon kueh, yam cake - anything you order from here is delicious & extremely tasty. Totally recommended.

Dude prepping that awesome brew ;)

So happy I managed to get that photo haha! I love it when I see the prepping of a new brew, as it's way cool, and you also know you're getting a fresh mix heh. *smiles gleefully*

In a nutshell, these are my recommended concoctions:

• Yuan Yang C Kosong Gao (iced/hot)
• Teh C Kosong Gao (iced/hot)
• Teh O plus lemon Siew Tai (hot only)

A tip for y'all: When you order gao, you get more bang for your buck, as you're drinking more of what the whole essence of your drink is supposed to be.

Well, for now that's all I can come up with, but if I do discover another place which serves up great Singaporean drinks, I'll update this post! :)

Dare to go kosong,
Cherlyn Aurora xoxo

P.S. Wanna know more about my personality? Head over to www.cherlynaurora.blogspot.sg! 
P.P.S I always thought that sotong sounded like kosong. LOL.