Kin Joe Coffee has opened its first permanent café at Eng Kong Terrace, bringing its neighbourhood-focused coffee concept to a quiet landed enclave near Toh Tuck and Upper Bukit Timah. Founded by Bryan Heng in 2022, the brand began as a home-based coffee business before moving into mobile coffee carts and pop-ups. Its name is a play on the Japanese word “kinjo” (近所), meaning neighbourhood, and the familiar phrase “a cup of joe”.
Coffee is made with beans from Liberty Coffee, with classics including Double Espresso, Black, White, Mocha and V60 Pour Over. The café also offers more playful drinks such as the Tiger Bomb, combining espresso, orange cream and fresh citrus zest, as well as Matcha Chendol and a Honey Espresso Tonic. Food is kept simple, with Honey Cheese and Kimchi Cheese Toasties, sourdough with spreads, focaccia and croffins.
Small bakes and sweets make up the rest of the compact menu, including Madeleines in flavours such as Honey, Coffee Chocolate and Earl Grey, alongside Yaki Mochi served with Anko Butter or Kinako Brown Sugar. The intimate café retains the approachable feel of Kin Joe Coffee’s home-based beginnings, although its limited seating makes it better suited to a quick coffee and bite than an extended work session. For those living around Bukit Timah and Beauty World, it adds a low-key coffee stop to the neighbourhood’s growing café scene.
