The much-touted Breadfirst Everyday East-meets-West waffle and rosti burgers paired with memorable Thai sauces moves from its coffeeshop home to a takeaway food kiosk in Jewel. In what co-founder, Lex Loi, terms as a “scary yet exciting move” the trio have created yet-another fusion series to cater to the more youthful, globetrotting diners of Jewel – this time, Artificial-Intelligence (AI) Generated Milkshakes, or AI Milkshakes.
Breadfirst Everyday first gained popularity when a female friend shared the story of its founding – one of brotherhood, generosity, teamwork and passion – on her social media account, and the post went viral, with patrons flocking to the stall to support the trio and try their much-raved about café-quality, yet affordable all-day breakfasts. Priced at between S$9.90 to $12.90 for a generous portion of meat between freshly-made “non-traditional” burger buns and Thai sauces with just the right bite, Bread First Everyday attracted diners from all parts of Singapore to their Upper Serangoon stall.
A Brand and Business Created for Their Friend, Bear
The Breadfirst Everyday brand was created for “Bear”, their much-loved chef and close friend who had worked in restaurants all his life and who had a passion for creating brunches. Given the highly competitive dining industry, it was not a dining segment that Bear’s previous employers were keen to pursue. Upon seeing their friend’s dedication in their hot pot set up, Lex and Zenith decided to work with Bear to help him build a brand of his own, and if it was brunch he was passionate about, they would find a way to make it happen.
Their efforts paid off as Bear’s skill in creating fluffy and flavourful rostis, waffles and burger buns became the talk of town. Paired with crispy chicken, fish or beef slices that were just right, and served with Bear’s recreations of Thai sauces learnt from his days at award-winning Nara Thai Cuisine, the trio were kept busy as business flourished. Soon, Breadfirst Everyday was invited to take part in food expositions and events, where their hand-held all-day breakfasts proved very popular and soon they acquired a food truck from which to sell along the streets and at outdoor corporate events.
Breadfirst Everyday’s first outlet was located in the same coffeeshop as Lex’s and Zenith’s hotpot business, Qi Xiang Chicken Pot. When the lease was near expiration, Lex was offered the rare opportunity of operating a food kiosk in Jewel. While the rent was higher than that of the coffeeshop stall, the three friends decided that Jewel was also a great opportunity for them to grow the brand.
“It is not often that us “hawker boys” will get such a chance to work in a premium mall, and get the chance to interact with global customers. Which business owner does not want his brand to be recognised among the big brands?” says Lex Loi, co-founder of Breadfirst Everyday. “Moving to Jewel was a decision we did not take lightly. We knew that there would be many things to learn, we would have to work harder, and that we would have to stick it out together, no matter what.”
“I was more hesitant than the two of them, but I knew that we were ‘brothers’ and whether we make it together, or not, we would always have each other’s backs,” adds Chua Keng Ling, Breadfirst Everyday’s chef, nicknamed Bear due to his tall frame and size that resembles a grizzly bear.
The Quest for A New Menu Leads to The Invention of AI Milkshakes
Within weeks of operating in Jewel, the trio realised that serving only brunch options at Jewel was not optimising their outlet and they needed to add new menu items fast. While racking his brains and managing the other outlets at the same time, Lex was at his wit’s end. While researching on the internet one day, a friend sent him an AI-generated image, and Lex thought maybe he could enlist the help of Chat GPT as well. He randomly asked the prompt for fusion recipes for milkshakes and was pleasantly surprised at the suggestions he got. He then wrote a few more prompts and got a handful of milkshake recipes which he thought might work in the kitchen. And they did! With a few tweaks, the suggested recipes actually created interesting fusion flavours for milkshakes that were also tasty and memorable.
“Artificial Intelligence is not something that we normally get to use in the kitchen behind oily stoves, but I am glad I tried this! I can now confidently say that AI is here to stay and we MUST all learn this new technology! What would have taken us weeks of trial and error, we managed to do within days, with ingredients we would never have thought of using. Global knowledge sharing is indeed a step forward for all of us!” enthuses Lex.
Breadfirst Everyday will be launching their AI milkshakes in mid-May. To commemorate SG60, as the year of creation of the AI Milkshake, Breadfirst Everyday is offering a 60% discount on the second milkshake purchased. Prices start at S$9.90 for a Bubblegum Milkshake to S$12.90 for a Kaya Durian Milkshake.