These street shops are about much more than just coffee and food— they are where conversation and camaraderie flourish.
Waking up to a morning coffee at a kopitiam; that is a ritual for many of us. But it’s not just about the caffeine kick—it’s the camaraderie that comes with the drink. It’s about the elders who stop for breakfast on their way home after performing their Fajr prayer at the mosques; it’s about the folks who chitchat there after a long day at work; it’s about the youths who pore over ideas while having a cuppa. At kopitiams, which literally means “coffee shop” in Malay and Hokkien/Hakka, breakfast food, such as toast, half-boiled eggs and porridge, is available throughout the day.
“Even if it looks old, people still visit my shop,” says Bee Hin, who has been running Bee Hin Café on Jalan Transfer for more than 50 years. “Running a small coffee shop like this doesn’t make me rich, but it does make me happy. I like to serve people and see people talk and laugh while drinking their coffee.”
