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'Kopitiam': from Chinese trader hubs to national hangouts
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Bitter or sweet: Black coffee, coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk, as well as toast filled with srikaya jam are typical menu items at a kopitiam. (JP/Tonggo Simangunsong)
(JP/Tonggo Simangunsong)
B
reakfast and coffee – kopitiam (coffee shops) have become hangout joints, but their historical context in Indonesia is far deeper.
“This is one of the oldest kopitiam in the city. Every morning, it’s filled with people who want to have breakfast. The kind of people who usually come here are generally traders, politicians and sometimes tourists who want to know the history of Medan city,” said Suyanto Husein, a veteran coffee exporter and former chairman of the North Sumatra Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industry (AICE).
Suyanto is referring to Apek’s Kopitiam, located in the center of the city. For decades now, it has been a popular meeting hub, where people congregate for formal and informal occasions. It is a particularly popular breakfast spot, with a typical kopitiam menu, including: milk coffee, thick robusta black coffee, toast with srikaya (coconut) jam, half-cooked free-range-chicken eggs and a variety of Chinese specialties, such as kwetiau (rice noodles), buns, Hainanese rice and dumpling noodles.
It is currently run by Suyanti (no relation to Suyanto). She is the only daughter of Thia A Kee, aka Apek, and his wife, Khi Lang Kiao, who inherited Apek’s Kopitiam from Apek’s parents in 2012.
Apek's Kopitiam was founded in 1922 by Apek’s father, an immigrant from mainland China.
As Apek carried on and popularized the family business, patrons began calling it Apek’s Kopitiam.
Like many legacy businesses that have managed to continually thrive, Apek’s Kopitiam is not about to undergo any major changes soon.
