M’sians & S’poreans Slam NatGeo for Condescending Review of Kaya Toast & Half-Boiled Eggs

National Geographic recently published an article last week (5th April) highlighting what is perhaps one of the most well-loved dishes in both Malaysia and Singapore — Kaya toast, half-boiled eggs, and black coffee. The perfect kopitiam breakfast! 

While toast and eggs are relatively inoffensive foods for most people (regardless of what part of the world you’re from), this article in particular had some choice words when it came to describing this staple dish. If you ask us, it kind of reads like a graphic scene from a horror novel.

Source: Asian Inspirations

The first paragraph of the article, titled “A Toast to Singapore’s Traditional Breakfast”, reads,

“Here’s what my breakfast in Singapore looked like: sticky, slime-coloured coconut custard jam slathered over a thin crisp of toasted brown bread, served with a side of two eggs so undercooked that their whites retained the clarity of newly dead fish eyes.”

“Alongside, a small cup of coffee with an oleaginous blackness that rejected the advances of condensed milk. It was not love at first sight.”

This soon began to circulate on social media after a screenshot of this paragraph was posted on Twitter, receiving a lot of backlash from both Malaysians and Singaporeans. While the writer did acknowledge that he had a love for this famous breakfast, many netizens expressed annoyance at the overall tone of the article, which they found condescending and disrespectful. 

https://twitter.com/RubyThiagarajan/status/1115963719354322945

Others also pointed out that Kaya toast, eggs, and coffee isn’t so far off from what people in Western nations were used to eating for breakfast.

kaya toast is very good and is basically just… like… jam and butter on bread. there's nothing even slightly weird about it.

— DongWon (@dongwon) April 12, 2019

NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK SHIT ABOUT KAYA TOAST AND BOILED EGGS NOBODY

— eri @ deactivation break (@KAOlZUS) April 12, 2019

Even if you come at it from a perspective with no knowledge of what the foods are, it literally just looks like eggs, toast and black coffee?? Of all the things to plant your “look how freaky and yucky this thing is” flag on…

— Sangu Mandanna (@SanguMandanna) April 12, 2019

IT’S JUST TOAST.

— shing yin khor (@sawdustbear) April 12, 2019

You can read National Geographic’s entire article here to find out more. 

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section!

Also read: UK-Based Portal ‘Discovers’ Jackfruit But Calls It “Ugly and Smelly” & Asians Find It Racist AF