- Singapore is known for its kopitiams, or traditional coffee shops.
- Killinee Kopitiam is one of the city-state’s most successful chains.
- Founder Ng Tek Seng said catering to the tastes of Gen Z and Millennials is key to growing the business.
Ng Tek Seng grew up in the 1950s and remembers spending mornings in quaint coffee shops on Killiney Road in central Singapore.
As an immigrant, Ng felt a special connection to coffee shops. He immigrated from Hainan Island (an island in southeastern China) when he was three years old and felt that this was the place where he could find a piece of his native culture. He continued to go to the coffee shop every day for about 40 years.
In 1992, Ng learned that the coffee shop owner Ken Ho Heng was closing his shop. Eun was heartbroken. Traditional hand-pulled coffee has been a comfort to him for many years.
At the time, Ng had just retired from a bank and was looking for a new business. He thought this was it.
He decided to buy the business and revive it. Almost 30 years later, his coffee shop, now named Killiney Kopitiam, has become one of Singapore’s most successful chains.
But while traditional coffee shops are an integral part of Singaporean culture, not all of them are thriving. In fact, there are fewer of them than there used to be.
In the 1950s, more than 2,000 traditional coffee shops were found throughout the city-state. According to the Singapore Housing Development Board, only 776 units remain.
“We try to maintain the standard of coffee so that people always come back,” Ng, now 75, told me when I visited one of his stores.
Visit to original location
I met Woon on a weekday morning at the original shop in Killinee Kopitiam.
Located at 67 Killiney Road, it is one of the oldest coffee shops in Singapore. Located in the heart of Singapore’s Orchard shopping district. Orchard Road is busy, bustling and vibrant. It’s home to luxury hotels, expansive malls, and quaint shophouses, which is exactly where this store is located.
From the outside, it has a calm atmosphere compared to the stylish cafes nearby. The entrance to the store has a distinctive brown canopy, faded from decades of use. Inside, the old-world feel remains, with rusty wall fans, small wooden stools, and a fully stocked kitchen.
Mr. Ng owns the property. Killiney general manager Henry Orr wouldn’t say how much Woon paid to buy the old store, but it’s likely now worth millions of dollars. A similar shop in Killiney Road was listed on his December 11th. According to real estate listing site Commerical Guru, it sold for S$9.3 million, or $7 million.
Singapore’s unpretentious copy culture
“Kopitiam”, which refers to a traditional coffee shop in Singapore, is a coined word that combines the Malay word “kopi”, which means coffee, and the Chinese Hokkien word “tiam”, which means shop.
One of the characteristics of Singaporean kopi is the way it is prepared. Kopi is made by straining coffee through socks to make it smoother and more aromatic.
Killiney’s traditional kopi is made from Robusta and Arabica beans roasted in butter and sugar, then roasted in sweetened condensed milk. In Killiney, just one cup of kopi costs S$2. This is expensive compared to the average kopitiam price of S$1.20.
Kopitiam is probably best known for its traditional breakfast, and Killiney is no exception.
Breakfast usually includes three components. One is coffee or tea, which can be prepared in more than 15 different ways. Kaya, two pieces of white toast slathered with coconut jam. 2 brown eggs with shells. A soft-boiled egg is served in a bowl, broken, sprinkled with soy sauce, and topped with white pepper. Dipping crunchy toast into salted eggs creates a perfect combination of sweet and salty flavors. Breakfast at the Orchard outlet costs S$8.
lively atmosphere
I joined Oon and O at an outdoor table outside the store.
Most of the customers were wearing flip-flops and shorts, so Ng stood out in a blue button-up shirt and black slacks. He was drinking a Copic Coson (local coffee terminology for unsweetened coffee with unsweetened milk) from a white Killiney-branded mug.
On an average weekend, the 67 Killiney Road store sells about 1,000 drinks a day, most of them traditional coffees and teas, Mr Orr said. He refused to share in the company’s profits.
Many of his customers are in their 20s and 30s, he added.
The key to rejuvenating your palette? There will also be ice cream and fusion flavors such as matcha and milk tea, Oh said.
“It’s a combination of tradition and trend,” Oh said, adding that kopi is considered a local comfort food.
Back inside, locals and tourists alike perused the menus posted on the tiled walls before ordering in local coffee jargon. The scent of roasted coffee beans wafted through the air.
Yutu, a 27-year-old Singaporean visiting from Australia, wore a colorful wig and applied bold pink lipstick. She was a stark contrast to the typical kopitiam customer many imagine.
“It’s really good, try it,” Youtz told his two friends. She said it’s the first thing she always eats when she gets home for her visits, as it’s hard to find authentic Singaporean kopi in Australia.
Minh, 21, an Australian of Vietnamese descent, told me that in Australia she prefers kopi to Western-style coffee.
“It’s very strong and similar to Vietnamese iced coffee,” Minh says.
disappearing trade
As parts of Singapore’s traditional coffee shop scene fade into history, they are being replaced by the same big names found all over the world.
Upscale chains like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are popular in Singapore. A major Chinese coffee chain, Luckin, has begun opening stores in the city.
Killiney are one of those rare small-scale outliers who have managed to establish themselves. He has expanded to 35 stores across Singapore (most of them in shopping malls) and several overseas, including his one store in Palo Alto, California. Oh said the chain plans to open a second store in the United States early next year.
But that still doesn’t mean it’s easy. As Woon says, “coffee shops are on the brink of extinction.”
Ng’s nephew Tien Yuan took over as the company’s director. His goal, he said, is to continue to grow the business while staying true to the Kopi culture.
“Killiney has always prided itself on being a truly homegrown, traditional brand that many Singaporeans are proud of,” Tien Yuan, 36, told me in an email.
The Orchard store maintains an old-fashioned style. Tien Yuan said it’s a way to keep a piece of history alive.
“In order to maintain Hainan’s traditional heritage, we kept the old-fashioned look of the outlet at 67 Killiney Rd. I think people still want authenticity,” Tien Yuan said.
As Woon prepares to retire, he hopes Killiney leaves a lasting legacy.
“It’s really difficult, but we built the Singapore Kopi name and made kopitiam popular again,” Mr Ng said.
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