Kopitiam


The word kopitiam originates from the Hockien dialect and it means coffee shop. It is a place where the lower income clan hang out and a place where the higher income clan shun. This is the heaven for old men. In kopitiams you will find an array of people. Some can sit in there the whole day and just order a cup of coffee, and some even greater ones order none. It is usually packed with people as these regular loyal customers has difficulty parting with the chairs in the kopitiam while sipping from the coffee cups that never runs dry. Kopitiams are the Starbucks of the olden days minus the Wifi. Kopitiams are usually set up in houses.


Which is why I think my house has been mistaken for one. People usually come to my house as though they are visiting a kopitiam. They will 'hang' at my place for hours without caring whether or not they are bothering us. They take my place as a rest house whereby they come in to escape the sweltering heat outside and while away their time as well as ours. They must be thinking why bother going to a kopitiam and wasting 70 cents on a cup of coffee when they can get free drinks as well as enjoying Astro while resting on the couch. My dad is to be blamed for our crib being mistaken for a kopitiam. These people would call for reservations when they are right outside my house to ask whether we are in. There was one who came in to pass time while waiting for his wife to finish work at 5 and fell asleep on our comfy couch, mouth open wide with drool almost coming out of it. They even pop in during dinner time and we have to sieze eating to entertain them. How thoughtful of these people.