Complete with the traditional round, ‘marble top’ table and ‘antique’ chairs, the kopitiam themed setting in the South Park View Primary School library is both cosy and inviting. Somewhat iconic, the setting has become popular amongst contemporay coffee chain stores.
A student takes in the ambience of a traditional kopitiam
Kopitiam is derived from the Malay word for coffee, kopi, and the Chinese Hokkien dialect word for shop, tiam.
The coffee shop is the most popular place for Singaporeans to get together and chat over a drink or a meal. Many are open 24 hours and serve a variety of local delicacies including chicken rice, wonton noodle, nasi lemak, char kway teow, roti prata, laksa, kaya toast and the list (and the calories) goes on.
Ordering drinks in a coffee shop can be a little tricky. Examples include, kopi (Coffee sweetened with condensed milk), kopi ‘O’ (Black coffee with sugar), kopi ‘C’ kosong (White coffee with no sugar and unsweetened, evaporated, milk) and teh ‘C’ (Tea with sweetened, evaporated, milk and sugar). The coffee itself is rather unique, but that’s another post…
…it’s not quite what I was used to at Lucia’s in Adelaide’s Central Market, but still a great way to kick off the weekend.
Civica Library & Learning Blog 