Tuesday, June 26, 2007

SINGAPORE: KOPITIAM



A kopitiam or kopi tiam is a traditional breakfast and coffee shop found in Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia. The word is a portmanteau of the Malay word for coffee (as borrowed and altered from the Portuguese) and the Hokkien dialect word for shop (店; POJ: tiàm). Menus typically feature simple offerings: a variety of foods based on egg, toast, and kaya, plus coffee, tea, and Milo, a malted chocolate drink which is extremely popular in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia.

Kopi tiams in Singapore are commonly found in almost all residential areas as well as some industrial and business districts in the country. Although most are an aggregate of small stalls or shops, some may be more reminiscent of food courts, although each stall has similar appearance and the same style of signage.


In a typical kopi tiam, the drinks stall is usually run by the owner who sells coffee, tea, soft drinks, and other beverages as well as breakfast items like toast and butter, soft-boiled eggs and snacks.




The other stalls are leased by the owner to independent stallholders who prepare a variety of food dishes, often featuring the cuisine of Singapore. Traditional dishes from different ethnicities are usually available at kopitiams so that people from different ethnic backgrounds and having different dietary habits could dine in a common place and even at a common table. (Source: Wickipedia)

Kopitiam is also the name of a food court chain in Singapore. In one of its branches did I had my first ever meal in Singapore: Hainanese Chicken Rice at SD 5 (Php 150). It was very good. Not bad for a start.

Birds (really huge ones!) take care of the remains of the day.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

kaya ko tumagal sa singapore kasi may kopitiam, mura at masarap pa ang pagkain, kahit saan meron neto, kaya ang sarap magbakasyon sa singapore, busog lagi tyan ko, hehe