When UrbanWire walked into the café at 4pm on a weekday, overly zealous Mandarin-speaking aunties greeted us as they quickly ushered us into the almost empty eating outlet. However, don’t let the demeanor of their service crew fool you. This is certainly no “cheena” (overly Chinese) coffee shop with air conditioning. Brightly lit with red cushioned seats, white plastic square tables and uniquely designed cube lamps, the café is evidently going for a chic and modern feel, while being non-threatening enough to appeal to your regular heartlanders.

The café is rather cosy, or squeezy if you’re Mr “The-glass-is-half-empty”. With the space of a medium-sized boutique, the café manages to seat up to approximately 50 customers. Just be warned that it might get a little hard to move down the narrow aisles between tables, especially when they are all occupied.

In case you’re wondering, service here is quite similar to establishments like Café Cartel, so don’t expect waiters coming over to take your orders. For the benefit of the clueless, here’s a guide to ordering.

1. When you sit down, you will be handed a menu.

2. Choose what you want and head right to the counter.

3. Place your order and pay up.

4. Go back to your seat and wait to be served.

Perhaps since we were the only customers there, service was rather quick. Within 5 minutes, our first dish, the Riceball Combo ($2.90) was served. Claiming to be one of the more popular choices among its customers, it is essentially 3 rice balls with different meat fillings, namely shredded Hainanese chicken, spicy sambal shrimp and chicken in soy sauce (recalling the taste of bazhang [Chinese rice dumpling]). Although the fillings were a tad too dry, this dish was overall quite tasty. However, the relatively small portion (each rice ball is about 7cm in diameter) may leave big eaters hungry for more.

Another dish that many rave about is the Hor Fun Carbonara ($7.30 inclusive of a drink). Did you wonder out loud, “What? Hor Fun?!” Yes, we’re talking about flat rice noodles here. According to Mr Bob Tan, general manager of YES!, this is one of the unique “Asianic” fusion dishes of the café, allowing customers to “taste the best of 2 worlds… local and western”. However if you’re a Traditional Thomas, and the idea of having Hor Fun given an Italian twist is a little overwhelming for you, rest assured, you can always ask to replace it with spaghetti.

So does the taste really live up to its hype? Containing large bits of bacon, ham, onion, capsicums and mushrooms, this creamy entree was pleasantly gratifying without being too heavy on the taste buds. UrbanWire gives it our stamp of approval.

Another dish worth trying would be the Fish & Chips. The flesh of the crispy and lightly breaded fish was succulent, and the dish was served with crinkle-cut fries and sweet, creamy coleslaw. For its relatively large portion, the dish is well worth its $8.30 (inclusive of a drink) price tag.

If you’re in the mood for some side dishes, we recommend the Honey Baked Chicken Winglets ($4.90 for 6 pieces). This flavorsome treat is a crowd favourite due to its juicy meat being cooked just right and sprinkled with fragrant black and white sesame seeds. It’s so “finger lickin’ good” that it might even give KFC a run for its money.

You might notice a certain dish by the name of YES! Bo Bo Cha Cha Salad ($2.60), but make no mistake, this is not the fat-inducing dessert you’re familiar with. Served in a small bowl atop some lettuce, it is literally a salad comprising of small, crunchy cubes of orange, carrot, potato, tomato, cucumber, hard-boiled egg and yam. In fact, according to Mr Tan, the dish derived its name from the traditional dessert due to their similarities in appearance.

Speaking of traditional, YES! also serves local breakfast foods, albeit with a unique western twist. So if you happen to drop by the café in the morning (it opens as early as 6.30 am), be sure to try the Yin Yang Cruncher (toast with western spread, topped with crunchy cereals), which is served with half-boiled eggs and hot coffee/tea ($3.60 per set).


From the exclamation in the name of the café, you can probably tell how excited and passionate these people are about pleasing their customers. It’s not just “Alright” or “I guess…”, but an affirmative “YES!” with all caps and an exclamation mark! So, does UrbanWire think it’s worth your try? YES!

UrbanWire gives YES! 4 out of 5 stars.

Address: AMK Hub #01-40 (Next to Taxi Stand)

7am-11pm every day

No Service Charge

Pictures courtesy of Yes! Asian Cafe