A $2 Taste of Tradition: Singapore’s Classic Coffee Breakfast
For months now, my mornings have begun the same way: with a short walk to a neighborhood coffee shop, just a couple of hundred meters from Queenstown MRT station. There, for just $2, I enjoy one of Singapore’s most beloved morning rituals—the traditional coffee breakfast.
At a time when rising rents and inflation make affordable meals harder to find, this humble breakfast feels like a small luxury. Many other coffee shops charge at least $3 for the same fare. At the very same outlet, an Indian roti prata stall sells two plain pratas for $2.40—still cheap, but not quite as unbeatable as the coffee set.
My Go-To Order
My regular is simple but deeply satisfying:
- Kopi O Kosong – a strong, black coffee with no sugar or milk
- Two soft-boiled eggs – silky and perfectly runny
- Two slices of toasted bread – crisp, with a thin layer of sweet kaya spread
It’s an unpretentious meal, but paired with the morning walk, it fuels me with enough energy for a whole day of writing code at home.
How I Learned to Love Black Coffee
My preference for strong, unsweetened coffee dates back two decades, when I traveled to France for the ICASSP international conference. At the time, I was still drinking 3-in-1 coffee mixes. But since the hotel didn’t serve breakfast, I ducked into a café on the way to the conference and ordered a coffee with a croissant.
The drink was bold, bitter, and aromatic—nothing like the sugary, creamy instant mixes I was used to. That first taste showed me what coffee could really be: simple, pure, and powerful.
Coffee, the Singapore Way
Singapore’s coffee culture is just as rich, though with its own unique twist. Traditional kopi comes in many variations, each with its own name that signals exactly how it should be prepared. For locals, these names are second nature, but for visitors, it can be confusing.
Thankfully, the Singapore Tourism Board has put together a handy guide to decoding kopi culture—explaining the different blends and even how to pronounce them: Order Coffee Like a Local.
A $2 breakfast like this is more than just a meal. It’s a piece of daily life in Singapore—affordable, familiar, and deeply comforting.
