Hong Junyang Opens Cafe, Says F&B Biz Helped When Covid-19 Killed Music Work

With its ‘jack of all trades’ concept, Junyang's quick to clarify that Caf isn’t trying to win any Michelin awards. Instead, its goal is to offer a variety of cuisines to satisfy different cravings when people dine together.

The singer says he was inspired by how he and his wife, fellow Project SuperStar alum Candyce Toh, often compromise when ordering in, as they don’t crave the same foods.

“With Covid-19, the whole food scene is starting to change. I realise there are more deliveries nowadays,” he added. “So we came up with this idea to have four dining concepts under one establishment.”

Junyang and his five partners (three are from the boat noodles chain) at first envisioned selling food purely via delivery. But after installing a cloud kitchen in their 1,700 sq ft rental shophouse on Upper Paya Lebar Road, there was enough space left over for a girly and minimalist pastel-themed dining area, which sits about 30. In all, the entire biz cost over half a million dollars to set up.

Unlike with Machi Machi, which saw a swarm of celebrities descend on opening day, Junyang has been keeping Caf on the down low since its launch in early Jan.

“From my past experience with the boat noodles biz, I don’t want to be too ‘loud’ right at the start,” he says. “That’s when the staff are still struggling with cooking, making drinks. So we just silently opened and let the people who walk by discover this place.”

Despite that, the singer says he’s been surprised to find dining in has been more popular than deliveries. He attributes this to having several offices and housing estates located near the cafe. It’s a full house on the Monday we visit for lunch, with some customers leaving disappointed at having to wait for seats.

Similar to his role at the Original Boat Noodles chain, Junyang does marketing for Caf. Candyce, 41, covers for him when his music work comes calling. Junyang resumed music production work last November, and is currently working on his upcoming concert, “Light of My Life”, with two shows to be held at Capitol Theatre in April and June respectively.

Apart from helping out at her husband’s many F&B businesses, Candyce is also the more hands-on parent for the couple’s daughter Azalea, 5. She tells 8days.sg she’s planning to take a step back from Cafe Manuka at Paragon – which she co-owns with her sister – to focus on Caf.

But why split their attention so many ways? “I see F&B as a stable and sustainable business, and hope to have something I can leave for my child,” Junyang says. He adds that he relishes pushing himself out of his comfort zone.

Another big benefit? Income from his F&B outlets helped the family tide through Covid-19 lockdowns, when the entertainment world came to a standstill.

“Covid stopped all my music work, so if I had just relied on that, it would have been very, very tough,” the singer says. “I realise it’s good to have diversified income from various sources.”

Our plate of pad thai comes with decent amounts of chicken and egg mixed in with the noodles, but we find ourselves wishing for more tau kwa, beansprouts and peanuts to add much-needed texture. The thin, soft rice noodles are lightly seasoned, and lack the springy bite of traditional pad see ew (thick rice noodles). The star of the dish is clearly the savoury omelette. Fluffy and unctuous from the capillary-clogging amount of oil it’s been fried in, it shines against the backdrop of the slightly sweet noodles. So delish, we wish every pad thai in the world came topped with this.

Two of Caf’s owners used to run the now-defunct Korean restaurant Seoul Jjimdak, so we have high expectations for the Korean army stew, but we leave it alone too long to tackle other dishes, and everything is mushy as a result. It’s serviceable, if a little underwhelming. At least the presentation is impressive: the huge pot takes up half the table, drawing curious looks from other diners. Sitting in a broth of stock, chilli flakes, kimchi, and gochujang are the usual suspects: chicken hotdogs, cabbage, leek, tofu, fishcakes, baked beans, rice cakes, and two squares of ramyeon.

Another dish from the Korean menu is noodles in black bean sauce. The chewy yellow noodles, potatoes, cucumbers, onions and meat chunks add textures to each bite, but the store-bought sauce is too salty. There’s potential for this to be a good dish, if they’d switch out the premix to house-made stuff.

From the Western menu comes a very promising-looking fried dory, with batter that stays crunchy even after sitting out for nearly half an hour. Sadly, the fish itself is a touch too dry, and the fries are unobjectionable.

Caf makes quotidian nasi lemak Instagrammable with pretty butterfly pea flower-stained rice. Fragrant and extremely coconutty, it tastes as good as it looks. The fried egg has a perfectly gooey yolk, and the sambal is homemade, with visible bits of onion and shrimp. Bonus points for not one, but two pieces of fried chicken. Like the fish, the well-marinated chook retains its crunch after sitting out, but the meat’s a little dry.

We were low-key hoping for a Machi Machi-standard drink, but the boba here is watered down and can’t shake the telltale aftertaste of non-dairy creamer. At least we could make out the bitter black tea notes.

An ice blended drink comprising coconut cream, coconut foam and mangoes, this drink delivers on its promise of yang zhi gan lu (mango pomelo sago) in a cup. Thick and creamy, it really feels like we’re slurping down the actual Chinese dessert. Opt for the no sugar version, as the mangoes are already syrupy. We’d be happy to give this full marks if Caf replaced the nata de coco with pomelo bits and sago balls for a more authentic reproduction.

Sweet and creamy, it’s hard to go wrong with the tried-and-tested combo of red bean and coconut cream. This drink, invented by a Caf staff member, is meant to conjure up the taste of red bean potong ice cream, and does a splendid job of it. Every sip contains chunks of red bean stewed to perfect softness, with added texture from the fibrous skin and starchy insides. Again, opt for the no sugar version, which better highlights the beans’ sophisticated natural sweetness and fragrance. Heavy enough to double up as dessert, but not so heavy as to trigger a food coma. We like.

With the chefs’ attentions split across four cuisines, no dish on the menu quite hits the spot in terms of authenticity, but to be fair, that’s not Caf’s mission. (Though, if we had to pick, the nasi lemak and pad thai were closest to the mark.) While the nosh is generally average in quality, portions are filling, prices aren’t steep for a cafe, the decor is cute and there’s no service charge. Not the place to impress a date, but a fun pick for larger groups that just can’t decide what to eat.

Caf Clickafood SG is at 339 Upper Paya Lebar Rd. Open 11am to 9pm daily.

Delivery available on iMakan, Deliveroo and Foodpanda.

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Photos: Kelvin Chia

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