I used to be a fan of Starbucks - I know my frappucino from my macchiato, I know the Starbucks lingo - I know what it means when somebody says venti decaf 2% vanilla latte.But I have not stepped into one in more than 3 months. Why ? I'm re-discovering the humble kopi. Once overshadowed by the more glamorous Western chains of coffee shops but not anymore.
They seemed to have made a comeback over the years & the kopi tiam has gone upmarket - Ya Kun, Toast Box, Wang, Mr Teh Tarik. Not only are they in air conditioned comfort, they are also offering ice blended coffees & get this, kopiccino.I love going there for our mid afternoon snack of soft boiled eggs & kaya toast. Not quite the same gouter that we used to have in France.
Hey kopi tiams have their lingo too. I know what kopi o (coffee black) & kopi kosong (coffee no milk no sugar) means but I only just found out what's kopi siu dai (coffee less sweet).So why pay $8 when you can get $1 coffee done the traditional way ? In a sock, of course.
Brilliant! I love going to kopi-tiams too.. although I don't drink kopi, I drink Milo. But oh.. "kopiccino" sounds sooo cool. Why didn't I think of that earlier! Pure genius!
ReplyDeletei do love those old school hainaniese coffee shops, but an incident kind of turn me off.
ReplyDeletei was waiting for my kopi siew dai when i saw the aunty using a single spoon for EVERYTHING. she use the same spoon to stir my coffee, scoop sugar, worse, scoop butter and kaya and then back into my coffee again. i didn't frequent that kopi shop again and i love starbucks. and all the ya kun stuffs are very commercial and ex. 3 years ago i swear a cup of kopi O was only 60 cents!!!
tsulin ++ - When you come to Singapore, we can hang out & have a kopiccino together. I thought it was brilliant too.
ReplyDeletekatherine - I'm not boycotting Starbucks but I just find less of a reason to head over. hehe can you buy anything for 60 cents nowdays ?
i miss kopi so much it hurts....the so called "singaporean" restaurant i've been to here...they don't serve kopi. too bad too bad!
ReplyDeletemust support local kopitiam before they are extinct.
ReplyDelete