Killiney Kopitiam Research

History
A Hainanese coffee shop located at 67 Killiney Road, Killiney Kopitiam was established in late 1919 by a Hainanese family surnamed Foo and formerly known as Kheng Hoe Heng Coffeeshop . Back then, it was famous for its traditional charcoal-grilled white bread toast and well-brewed coffee and tea.
Description
Killiney Kopitiam is a traditional Hainanese coffee shop franchise in Singapore. It is popular for its bread toast and fresh kaya, produced daily in the shop as an assurance of quality and freshness to customers. Kaya toast and French toast are its signature offerings. The menu was extended in 1998 to include an all-day menu of local dishes like laksa, chicken curry, mee siam and mee rebus, in addition to its breakfast favourites of bread, coffee, tea and soft-boiled eggs.
Killiney Kopitiam offers a selection of food pastes to enable customers to enjoy their favourite Killiney dishes at home, such as laksa, curry, mee rebus, mee siam and lontong. The shop also sells Killiney Kaya. Only natural ingredients are used to make this coconut jam– eggs with larger yolks, freshly squeezed coconut milk, fresh pandan leaves and white sugar.
Preserving heritage, re-branding a traditional trade
One regular customer of Killiney Kopitiam for over 15 years was Woon Tek Seng, vice-chairman of Ong Tradition Singapore, a firm of international money brokers. A Hainanese himself, Ong wanted to preserve the Hainanese culture and bought over the shop from its retiring owners for $600,000 in late 1992 when he was 43 years old, giving up his broking company as a consequence. In 1993, he renamed the coffee shop and spent $60,000 on its renovation.
Three key Hainanese staff from the original shop stayed on and assisted him, passing on their skills in producing quality kaya (a jam made from eggs, coconut milk, sugar and pandan leaves), bread toast, coffee and tea. While Killiney Kopitiam no longer roasts its own coffee beans or makes its own bread, it continues to produce kaya and offers thick, charcoal-grilled white bread toast.
In 1998, Woon opened a second branch in Siglap, mainly to create jobs for his friends and ex-staff who were unemployed. The first Killiney franchise was opened in March 2001 in Serangoon Gardens. That same year, Woon opened Killiney’s first overseas branch in Kuala Lumpur.
On June 27 2004, Killiney Kopitiam collaborated with a non-profit volunteer welfare organisation, Teen Challenge, to open a Killiney Kopitiam franchise run entirely by ex-offenders at Tampines Changkat Community Centre. Woon waived the $30,000 franchise fee and offered a month of training in cooking and customer service to eight former drug offenders. The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports also lent support to the franchise by injecting $100,000 of capital from the ComCare Enterprise Fund. After three years, it closed with a loss of more than $100,000.
Over the past few years, Killiney Kopitiam has clinched several national distinctions. It was one of 16 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be awarded with the Heritage Brand Award by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) in November 2006. This accolade recognises local enterprises that have preserved heritage and tradition through their branding and evolved with the times. In addition, the 67 Killiney Road branch was listed in the Singapore Book of Records 2008 as being the “Oldest Existing Hainanese Coffeeshop”.
In recognition of his entrepreneurial spirit, Woon, the managing director of Killiney Kopitiam, was a recipient of the Spirit of Enterprise (SOE) Awards held on 23rd October 2006. In 2001, Killiney Kopitiam ventured overseas, and now has outlets in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Coping with crisis
During the bird flu outbreak in 2004, business at Killiney Kopitiam dropped by 40 percent. Singapore imposed a six-week ban on Malaysian poultry imports on 18 August, prompting Killiney Kopitiam’s 14 branches to take soft-boiled eggs off the menu during this period, and reserve its egg supply for producing kaya. However, it continued to offer French toast as liquefied eggs from Australia were used instead. For its curry chicken dish, it had to make use of frozen chickens, which cost ten percent more than fresh ones.
While Killiney Kopitiam typically used up to 4,000 fresh eggs daily, they received less than half their supply during the bird flu outbreak when egg prices spiked from 12 to 45 cents. After the ban was lifted, Killiney Kopitiam absorbed the price hike.

Timeline
Late 1919 : Killiney Kopitiam, formerly known as Kheng Hoe Heng Coffeeshop, opened on 67 Killiney Road.
Late 1992 : Woon Tek Seng, bought over, renamed and renovated the coffee shop.
1998 : Killiney Kopitiam opens its second branch in Siglap.
March 2001 : Killiney Kopitiam opens its first franchise in Serangoon Gardens.
2001 : The Killiney Kopitiam brand goes overseas with its first outlet in Kuala Lumpur.
27 June 2004 : Killiney Kopitiam partners Teen Challenge, a non-profit organisation, to open a franchise at  Tampines Changkat Community Centre run entirely by former drug addicts.
18 August 2004 : The six-week ban on Malaysian poultry imports prompts Killiney Kopitiam to drop soft-boiled eggs from the menu temporarily.
23 October 2006 : Woon Tek Seng was a winner in the Spirit of Enterprise (SOE) Awards for his entrepreneurial spirit in building up Killiney Kopitiam.
November 2006 : Killiney Kopitiam receives the Heritage Brand Award from the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME).
2007 : Killiney Kopitiam franchise at Tampines Changkat Community Centre closes with a loss of over $100,000.
2008 : 67 Killiney Road branch is listed in the Singapore Book of Records 2008 as being the oldest existing “Hainaniese coffeeshop”

http://wikitravel.org/en/Singapore/Orchard http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1620_2009-12-23.html http://www.killiney-kopitiam.com/coprofile.html