Kopitiam is the vernacular for coffee shops. Unlike coffeeshops in the western culture, kopitiam offers somewhat more. Besides serving coffee and many other beverages, there would be stalls that provide daily street food to satisfy our tastebuds. The kopitiam culture can be found mainly in Singapore and Malaysia, that shares a similar configuration to serve the common people food and drinks. The kopitiam is also like a meeting place for anyone who wants to talk about the latest news or gossip about politics. That's why we call it coffeeshop talk.
My wife and I have been having breakfast (sometimes supper) at this kopitiam located along Lor Mydin, east of Singapore. It's a stone throw away from where we live. Hock Choo Eating Place has been our favourite breakfast place for 7 years. We have never gotten tired of the coffee brewed by a young chap who called himself "Ah Bui" that means "Fatty". He has a huge pot belly but he brewed the most fragrant coffee. Coffee is like an addiction, once you got to like the taste, you would never want to drink from anywhere else. Anyone who visit Singapore should at least tasted the local brewed coffee, and Starbucks has no fight (sorry no offence to Starbucks fans).
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| iPad Pro, Procreate, Apple Pencil |
On a weekend, we would spend an extended time at the coffeeshop to read and sketch. My wife reads while I sketch. Hock Choo is different because it is not anywhere near a housing estate; therefore it is not surrounded by high-rise building except for a 6-storey-tall hotel and lots of green. Even when the weather is hot, the place is constantly cooled down by gentle breezes.
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| Hero fountain pen |
When you frequent a place long enough you get to know the people there. The stall owners would know our orders and preferences without us having to repeat them again. I like how the kopitiam has become a close knitted community. Everyone knows everybody. Besides the occasional renovation, things remain a constant, which I think is quite important for a fast changing country like Singapore. A familiar environment would provide the people something to hold on to; according to studies, going back to a familiar place or environment can enhance spatial and object memory, more important for older folks. Singapore is changing so fast nothing is familiar anymore. Honestly but sadly speaking, I have no childhood memories so to speak because nothing looks familiar these days.
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| iPad Pro, Procreate & Apple Pencil |
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| Pentel bushpen on sketchbook |
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| iPad Pro, Apple Pencil & Procreate |
When our young policy makers are always talking about moving forward, adapting to the world's changes, and staying economically viable, they have neglected the fact that our existence in a society is more complicated than what they are hoping to get at. Anyway I am not going to go into that tangent, I am just hoping that we don't loose another favourite kopitiam just because the authority need to expand another highway.
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