Singapore Eat: The 1950’s Coffee (五十年代) @ Chinatown Complex

3 July 2026

The 1950’s Coffee (五十年代) is a traditional coffee stall, started in the 1950s, offering traditional Nanyang kopi, traditional teh and other classic iced beverages. It has been recommended by Singapore Michelin Guide since 2016.

The coffee stall is located in Chinatown Complex, right behind Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Singapore Chinatown. It has another stall in Maxwell Food Centre, on the other side of the temple, which offers their signature coffee and tea with options for Hainanese breakfast, including traditional toasts and soft-boiled eggs.

The 1950’s Coffee’s black Nanyang kopi-O is thick, non-bitter and has a nice traditional kopi aroma — going for kosong (no milk and sugar) or siew dai (less sugar) has always been my preference. Although many people like to add condensed / evaporated milk to reduce the bitterness of Robusta (sometimes blended with Arabica) coffee beans, the sweet milky taste masks the true aroma and earthly, bold flavours of the coffee itself.

The main stall used to offer traditional toasts, thick toasts and soft-boiled eggs but serves mainly beverages these days — toasting breads requires longer time which often holds up the queue. However, their style of butter-kaya toasts and soft-boiled eggs are still being offered at the Maxwell outlet.

In the past, the stall’s charcoal-grilled butter-kaya toasts were hot-favourites and their soft-boiled eggs were nicely done without a trace of still-raw egg white. Their Peanut Butter Thick Toast used ultra-soft bread that was lightly-toasted just to induce a subtle toasty aroma and retaining its softness. Spread with thick peanut butter, it was a nice accompaniment to traditional kopi.

The Maxwell Outlet

If there is a long queue at The 1950’s Coffee’s main stall at Chinatown Complex or prefer to have traditional toasts to go with their aromatic Nanyang coffee, the Maxwell outlet is just 200 metres away.

The same traditional coffee is served with traditional toasts that are lightly-grilled till crispy and still retaining some softness inside. It is then spread with fragrant kaya (coconut jam) and added with a slice of butter. The kaya is applied sparingly so the toasts are not too sweet. And the butter makes each bite of the crispy toasts so creamy and savoury-sweet. And the soft-boiled eggs are nicely done, not too hot to handle and the contents are not too raw, add some pepper and few drops of dark soy sauce and they are ready to slip down the throat.