"Kopi Tiam" (Hokkien for Chinese coffee shop)

This "institution" is very much a part of the Singaporean and Malaysian social scene and ideal for watching the world go by! "Kopi tiams" first appeared in the early 1900s and apparently started by Hainanese migrants who worked for expats and subsequently were delighted with this foreign beverage. The rest is history.

For a "kopi tiam" experience, here's our guide to what's what... kopi is coffee with sweetened condensed milk and sugar; kopi O is black coffee with sugar; and kopi kosong is plain black coffee.