Kin Joe Coffee at Beauty World: Quaint coffee nook with unique orange coffee & matcha chendol
Coffee lovers who don’t work or live near the central area: Does it sometimes feel unfair that many of the best coffee spots aren’t always within reach?
We love hunting for good coffee, but planning trips to town just for coffee feels a bit troublesome.
Thankfully for the westies, there’s a new cafe you can check out in the Beauty World area: Kin Joe Coffee, which just opened in early August.
It’s a little nook made for people who enjoy off-the-beaten-path spots, snuggled deep inside the Eng Kong Terrace area, requiring a bit of a walk from Beauty World MRT station.
This quiet location means the ambience is very quaint and chill, since there aren’t many crowds or cars zooming by.
Kin Joe Coffee is takeaway-only, but there are a few seats laid out right outside the cafe for those who need a breather after the trek from the MRT station.
Inside, the decor is simple and cosy, lush with wooden accents, while hanging paper lamps give it a bit of a chic, minimalist feel.
Unique drinks and 30% off!
To celebrate its opening, Kin Joe Coffee is offering 30% off all drinks throughout the month of August!
But while the physical shop is new, the Kin Joe brand isn’t.
Owner Bryan Heng, 41, has dabbled in coffee since 2022 — first as a home-based business, then as a nomadic events & pop-up coffee cart.
Naturally, that means all the coffee staples such as black (S$5), white (S$5.50), and even flavoured lattes such as caramel latte (S$6.50) and hazelnut latte (S$6.50) are rock-solid in execution and well-balanced.
If there is one thing that Kin Joe Coffee has that differentiates it from the rest, it’s the slew of unique coffee creations.
One unorthodox creation that we were sceptical about but worked well was the matcha chendol (S$7.50), which fuses matcha and gula Melaka.
The sweetness of the gula Melaka synergises oh-so-well with the earthiness of the matcha — it tastes almost like a good bowl of chendol, with a tad more earthiness!
One overwhelming crowd favourite at Kin Joe Coffee is the Tiger Bomb (S$8), which is inspired by Tone Coffee, a popular cafe in Melbourne‘s Prahran neighbourhood.
This eye-catching creation has a ristretto base, and is topped with milk and cream, then adorned with a flurry of grated orange zest.
You could say it’s a cousin of another viral Melburnian favourite, the Mont Blanc, which uses cold brew and heavy cream.
What you get from this drink is a silky, milky mouthfeel, and oodles of orange fragrance and zest — very refreshing and easy to finish!
For something lighter, the honey espresso tonic (S$7.50) is another bestseller at Kin Joe Coffee that blends espresso with sparkling tonic and Japanese honey.
We enjoyed how the coffee is accentuated by floral and citrus notes, and the effervescence makes it a great thirst quencher for Singapore’s sweltering days.
Bakes and bites
Given Bryan’s coffee expertise, the bevy of caffeinated drinks is obviously the main highlight at Kin Joe Coffee, but there are also a slate of bakes that guests can pair with their coffee.
Of the bunch, we think the kimchi cheese toastie (S$8.90) is probably our favourite.
It’s just a simple ensemble of toasted sourdough, kimchi, and melted cheese, but it just hits the spot. The delightful acidity of the kimchi cuts through the richness of the cheese so nicely!
Other pastries you can find on the bakes display include focaccia (S$5.50), madeleines (S$2.70), and croffins (S$4.50).
Remember how croffins used to be the pastry a la mode in the early 2020s? The croissant-muffin hybrids are not as easy to find nowadays, but the ones served here are just as good as we remember.
Kin Joe Coffee’s croffins are available in four different flavours, including passion fruit curd and choco hazelnut, but we opted for the matcha ganache, which was great.
The matcha’s flavour is balanced out with a nice touch of sugar, and the ganache filling is thick and creamy!
Although many coffee kiosks are prone to serving run-of-the-mill bakes, we think Kin Joe Coffee manages to strike the right balance between its drinks and food offerings.
Be it for the vibes, for the bakes, or for the unique drinks, we think westies should definitely show Kin Joe Coffee some support — time to let the easties know that the west has great cafes, too!
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the newest, hottest Italian restaurant in town and everything you need to know about McDonald’s returning Samurai burger!
Fri 8.30am - 6pm
Sat 8.30am - 6pm
Sun 8.30am - 6pm
- Beauty World
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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