Coffee Shop Culture in Singapore and Malaysia - A Different Art of Coffee Drinking

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Before there are Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves, most people in the region of Singapore and Malaysia know only kopi, a Baba Malay language for coffee. Kopi is basically robusta coffee. Espresso and cappuccino are extravagant coffee in the early days, meant for the rich, and only available in hotels.

Today, a cup of espresso coffee or any other gourmet coffee still costs a few dollars, and a cup of kopi is only between 70 and 90 Singapore cents.

Latte or long black is unknown in local coffee stalls and kopi tiam. Tiam means shop in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect. Instead it is commonly called kopi, kopi-o, and kopi-c.

Kopi is not brewed in coffee maker, but steep in a tall metal pot with a long spout with a cotton coffee filter, a long cone bag, within. Milk and sugar are not served separately on the table. When you order your kopi, you have coffee with condensed milk, a sweetener, and sugar, already added.

Kopi-o is black coffee, with sugar added. O sounds like black in Hokkien.

Instead of condensed milk, Carnation evaporated milk is added to kopi-c, with sugar. The c stands for Carnation, a brand, even though some have replaced it with other brands.

Most of the early kopi tiam are started by Chinese who are Hainanese. Today their lingo still stays. Ask for kopi-c siu tai, it is coffee with evaporated milk and less sugar in the cup. More sugar, ka tai. But for no sugar, it is kosong, a Malay word which means nothing.

Sarabat stalls are coffee stalls run by Indians and Malays. They are famous for their teh tarik. Teh means tea, and tarik means pull back. A cup of tea with milk and sugar added is then juggled between two cups at an altitude. The original purpose is to lower the temperature of very hot tea for easy drinking on a hot day, for the climate in Singapore and Malaysia most of the year is of summer. However, the action has also produced a foamy top for the tea, much like cappuccino. This spurs the creation of kopiccino, using the same method but instead of tea, it is coffee.

Many migrants came from China in the old days. Chinese meal will always have a cup of Chinese tea besides their food. It is not surprising to find in the local coffee shop and food court, too, that coffee and tea are usually ordered together with meals, much like having a cup of Chinese tea, or ice water in western meal. But for some, hot kopi is still best reserved after a meal.

Nevertheless, for those who still crave for a piece of cheese cake with gourmet coffee, it is still Starbucks, hotels, or café. For others with a budget, Ikea offers value for money for a cup of brewed coffee with cheese cake.

Any opportunities to travel to Singapore and Malaysia, kopi with roti kaya is a must. Roti is bread in Malay, and kaya is a coconut egg jam.

SgWine offers a wine index of more than 800 wine, and a collection of lead free crystal stemware. Look out for monthly promotion of wine and crystal wine glasses. Delivery only within Singapore. http://www.sgwine.com

Collection of coffee reading http://www.sgcoffee.com

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Bigbang - Wild Bird Live @ Øya 07

This is the norwegian rock group Bigbang perfoming one of there songs at the Øya festival in Oslo, Norway. Guitar/vocal: Øystein Greni Drums/backing vocal: Olaf Olsen Bass/backing vocal: Øyvind Storli Hoel From Album: Poetic Terrorism (2005) Fansite: www.bigbangfans.com Bandsite www.thebigbangweb.com Now on tour in USA! New CD! Edendale. realese date 9. March. 09!

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Interesting Facts About Olympic Nations-Chile

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Did you know...

Chile is the birthplace of Luis Subercaseaux. Who is he? Luis was the first and only Latin American sportspeople to compete at the 1896 Olympic Games in Greece. He competed in the 100m, 400m, 800m (track and field).

Jaime Fillol was one of the best tennis players in the 1970s. He is remembered for his fantastic perseverance, discipline, constancy and hard work. Under his leadership, Chile reached the finals of the Davis Cup in 1976.

This nation has had famous athletes in the 1950s and 1960s: Oscar Cristi (Olympic equestrian silver medalist, 1952), Luis Ayala ( American champion, 1959), Ramon Tapia (boxing / Olympic silver medalist, 1956), Marlene Ahrens (Olympic athletics silver medalist, 1956), Carlos Lucas (boxing / Olympic bronze medalist, 1956), Leonel Guillermo Sanchez Lineros (soccer / one of the best football players of the world ), Miguel Villugron (boxing / American champion, 1963), Cesar Mendoza (Olympic equestrian bronze medalist, 1952). In a "Golden Age" for Chile sports, the South American country also produced famous coaches such as Orlando Guaita ( track & field ) and Luis Alamos Luque (soccer).

Sebastian Keitel was considered South America's fastest man in the 1990s. He dominated the 100m and 200m sprints in South American athletic events.

This Latin American nation has won more Olympic medals than Venezuela, Israel, Colombia and Slovenia (1896-2004).

Edmundo Warnke won the Saint Silvester Marathon in 1976. He is one of the most respected and recognized runners in South America. For many years, Edmundo competed in Helsinki, Barcelona, Oslo, Munich, Rome and Copenhague. Edmundo was denied the opportunity to competed at the 1980 Moscow Games because Chile boycotted those Olympics.

The most popular sport is football.

Alejandra Ramos was elected the best sportspeople of Chile 1976. This runner won many international medals ( 400m, 800m, 1500m).

This Latin American country hosted the FIBA Women's World Cup in 1953. Final standings: 1. United States, 2. Chile, 3. France, 4. Brazil, 5. Paraguay, 6. Argentina, 7. Peru, 8. Mexico, 9. Switzerland, 10. Cuba. The best player was Onesima Reyes. She led Chile to the silver medal at the World Championships. This sportswoman is one of the greatest female basketball players of all time. Under her leadership, Chile also won two South American championships.

Emilio Ulloa claimed the gold medal in the 3000 metre steeplechase at the 1983 Pan American Games and finished 17th at the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA (1984). In the 1980s, he was ranked amongst the top ten runners in Latin America. From 1979 to 1987, Emilio won seven South American championships (1500 and 3000 metre steeplechase). Ulloa was born in Arica, Chile.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Chile hosted the Orlando Guaita Tournament, one of the best athletics tournaments in the Third World.

This country won three medals in tennis at the 2004 Olympics in Athens (Greece).

Men's singles:

Gold medal: Massu, Nicolas (Chile)

Silver medal: Fish, Mardy (USA)

Bronze medal: Gonzalez, Fernando (Chile)

4th Dent, Taylor (USA)

5th Grosjean, Sebastián (France)

6th Youzhny,Mikhail (Russia)

7th Moya, Carlos (Spain)

Men's doubles:

Gold medal: Gonzalez, Fernando-Massu, Nicolas (Chile)

Silver medal: Kiefer,Nicolas-Schuettler, Rainier (Germany)

Bronze medal: Ancic, Mario-Ljubicic, Ivan (Croatia)

4th Bhupathi, Mahesh-Paes, Leander (India)

5ht Erlich, Jonathan-Ram, Andi (Israel)

6th Black, Wayne-Ullyett, Kevin (Zimbabwe)

7th Llodra, Michel-Santoro, Fabrice (France)

Chile hosted 10 countries and over 970 sportspeople at the 3rd South American Games, held in 1986. Athletes competed in archery, artistic gymnastics, aquatics (swimming & diving), athletics, boxing, bowling, cycling, fencing, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, soccer, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. The host country Chile came second with 50 golds, 66 silvers and 60 bronzes.

Marlene Ahrens Ostertag is an example for many sportspeople. At the 1956 Olympics in Australia, she was agonisingly close to winning a gold medal, but she sealed her place in the affections of the Chilean public when she won the gold medal in the javelin throw at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. Four years later, Marlene won her second Pan American title in Sao Paulo (Brazil).

From 1951 to 2007, Chile won 215 Pan American medals.

Hosts..............................................Gold..................Silver.............Bronze............Total..........Ranking

Rio
2007..........................................6........................5....................9......................20..............10

Santo Domingo
2003..................2........................10.................10.....................22..............13

Winnipeg
1999...............................1........................4.....................7....................12...............12

Mar del Plata
1995........................2.........................6..................10.....................18................9

Havana
1991..................................2........................1....................7......................10..............10

Indianapolis
1987........................1.........................2....................4.......................7................13

Caracas
1983...............................1.........................3....................9......................13..............10

San Juan
1979.............................1.........................4....................6.......................11...............8

Mexico
1975..................................0.........................0....................2.........................2..............19

Cali
1971.......................................0.........................3...................4..........................7..............16

Winnipeg
1967............................1..........................1...................3..........................5..............10

Sao Paulo
1963..........................2..........................1...................6.........................9................9

Chicago
1959..............................5.........................2....................5.......................12................6

Mexico
1955.................................4........................7...................13......................24................4

Buenos Aires
1951....................7.......................20..................11......................38................3

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: He is a freelance writer. Alejandro is of Italian, African and Peruvian ancestry. He has published more than seventy-five research paper in English, and more than twenty in Spanish, concerning the world issues, olympic sports, countries, and tourism. His next essay is called "The Dictator and Alicia Alonso". He is an expert on foreign affairs. Alejandro is the first author who has published a world-book encyclopedia in Latin America.

He admires Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), José Gamarra (former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, 1970- 1982), Hillary Clinton (ex-First Lady of the USA), and Jimmy Carter (former President of the USA). Alejandro said: "The person who I admire the most is José Gamarra. He devoted his professional and personal life to sport. José played an important role in the promotion of Olympism in Bolivia -it is one of the Third World`s poorest countries- and Latin America. His biography is interesting". The sportspeople he most admire is Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman. "This African-American sportswoman is my idol... "

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