Having that morning cup of coffee to kick start the day is a must for many.
While most people begin their day after the sun breaks, others do so much earlier. They too need their caffeine fix and that’s where stalls like Rui Xing coffee stall in Bedok come into the picture.
The coffee stall opens at an ungodly 3am and if that isn’t impressive enough, it sells out by 10am.
As they say, you snooze, you lose.
Admittedly, some of us might even be asleep past 10am but thanks to Raphael Chang, we got a glimpse of the workings behind Rui Xing coffee stall.
The 25-year-old found this stall’s peculiar working hours fascinating and his parents had always mentioned to him how their coffee was “popular and really fragrant.”
On June 23, he headed out to Rui Xing coffee stall at 3am to have a look-see at what the fuss was about.
The 41-second video was posted on TikTok on Monday (July 18) and it has garnered almost 500,000 views at the time of writing.
@rhckaraage Replying to @aodrizzle 3am behind-the-scenes at one of the most fragrant kopi stores in the east. They sell out by 10am! #tiktoksg ♬ Sunroof – Nicky Youre & dazy
In the video, the elderly woman’s first task was to clean the coffee socks and start the water heater. Her early morning “arm workout” increased in intensity as she prepares ice, condensed milk and evaporated milk for the day.
Regulars began trickling in barely five minutes after opening.
The atmosphere seemed peaceful as Raphael was introduced to some of the regular customers.
Apparently, they refer to the elderly man as “coffee king”. To be fair, he probably does deserve the title given that he has been perfecting his trade for more than 40 years.
“They were very kind and the first thing they did when I arrived was to ensure that I had a cup of coffee and breakfast to start his day,” Raphael told AsiaOne.
In the comments section, netizens were cheekily questioning if his meal even qualifies as breakfast in the first place.
PHOTOS: Screengrabs/TikTok/Rhckaraage
While some locals left comments about how they’d never make the coffee stall’s opening hours, netizens from overseas were intrigued by the video and more specifically our choice of breakfast in Singapore.
Raphael was surprised by how much attention his video got on the international stage.
It has received comments from foreigners sharing fond memories of having breakfast here as well as a couple of questions for the Yale-NUS Urban Studies graduate.
PHOTOS: Screengrabs/TikTok/Rhckaraage
Scrolling down Raphael’s TikTok page, you’ll find that this video is part of a series of the secret life of hawkers and ‘mama shop’ owners for his project.
“It started when I was researching on mama shops for my undergraduate final-year project,” Raphael told AsiaOne.
He added that effort put in by hawkers and small business owners would often go unnoticed and underappreciated by many.
“I wanted to capture that and give them some recognition. I’m glad Singaporeans have gained a renewed appreciation for all these everyday heroes that are forgotten.”
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.