Kopi Tiam is a Southeast Asian coffee shop and breakfast restaurant, popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It serves a diverse range of food, including Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Indian cuisine, as well as Western-influenced dishes. The name is a portmanteau of the Malay word for coffee and the Fukien word for shop. Coffee, tea, and other beverages are popular, as are fruit stalls and dessert stalls.
Kopi Tiam is somewhat of a cross between a coffee shop and breakfast restaurant traditionally located in Southeast Asia, predominantly in Malaysia, Singapore and the Riau Islands in Indonesia. It has been especially popular in Singapore, where many of these shops are located in the city’s government-funded housing estates. Kopi tiam usually has a long menu of different dishes, but the staples that are constantly featured are eggs, bread, tea, and of course, coffee.
The term “kopi tiam” is considered a portmanteau, a term combined from two different words. The word ‘kopi’ comes from the Malay language which literally means ‘coffee’, while ‘tiam’ is a Fukien word which translates to ‘shop’ or ‘shop’. Together, the phrase literally refers to being a coffee shop. Often, the two words are combined together as “kopitiam”. It is very likely that Malaysia was the place of origin of the kopi tiam and the latter was said to be most numerous in the city of Penang. When Malays migrated to Singapore in the 1940s, they brought kopitiam with them and the coffee shop has since become popular in Singapore, probably even more so than in Malaysia.
In its initial stages, the Kopi Tiam was a small shop that would largely cater to the lower class which mainly included blue collar and factory workers. The shop served snacks, drinks and sometimes even cheap meals, which was usually a portion of rice and a viand. Since then, these small shops have grown into large areas lined with food stalls, much like a food court.
The cuisine served in a typical kopi tiam is a variety of cultural diversity, from Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Indian influences. Some of the foods found are meager sums, noodle soups, seafood and meat curries. The growing population of Muslims and Hindus who don’t eat pork and beef, respectively, has pushed for more food diversity and healthier options in vegetarian dishes. Western-influenced foods such as burgers, fish and chips, and french fries have also become popular in a kopitiam.
Fruit stalls are also present in grocery stores. Interestingly, the durian fruit, known for its pungent smell, is the most popular of the fruits sold in a kopi tiam, despite the fact that the fruit cannot enter public areas and vehicles due to its smell. Other fruits sold are jackfruit, pineapple, mangosteen and longan. It is not unusual for desert stalls to be located next to fruit stalls, in order to sell desserts and fruit drinks.
As the name suggests, coffee, tea and other beverages are very popular in a kopi tiam. Coffee mixed with condensed milk would be “kopi”, while “kopi-bing” refers to coffee mixed with sugar, milk and ice. Tea, on the other hand, is referred to as “teh”. Other popular beverages include soy milk, sugar cane juice, and bubble tea.
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