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The Singapore Coffee Shop Heritage Gallery is a gift to the nation for Singapore’s 60th birthday in 2025, from the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association. Built at a cost of about $600,000, the approximately 4,900 sq ft permanent gallery, will be free for the public to visit from Dec 2, 2024. SINGAPORE – Sock filters for straining coffee, ceramic cups and saucers with simple matching floral designs, and vintage soft drink glass bottles with nostalgic charm. These are a few of the nearly 3,000 artefacts and photographs going on show in a new heritage gallery highlighting the evolution of Singapore’s coffee shop culture. The Singapore Coffee Shop Heritage Gallery is a gift from the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association to the nation for her 60th birthday in 2025. Built at a cost of about $600,000, the permanent gallery, which spans approximately 4,900 sq ft, will be free for the public to visit from Dec 2. It is located on Level 4 of the Foochow Building at 21 Tyrwhitt Road, and open from 10am to 5pm on weekdays. The association welcomes contributions of coffee shop artefacts from organisations and the public. When asked what the motivation behind the gallery was, Mr Hong Poh Hin, 76, chairman of the association, said: “Singapore’s coffee shops have grown and thrived with the nation, and... have become part of Singaporeans’ lives.” The association, whose history can be traced back to 1921, has over 300 members, who own more than 400 coffee shops here. Singapore’s coffee shops began over a century ago during the British colonial period. In the early days, hawkers operated from wooden carts. Over time, some rented shop spaces that shielded them from the sun and rain. They were mostly run by Chinese immigrants from Hainan and Fuzhou. By the 1950s, there were over 2,000 coffee shops across Singapore. From the 1960s to 1980s, the Singapore government implemented policies that transformed the scene. Street hawkers were not allowed to set up stalls on the streets. At the same time, urban redevelopment plans required many coffee shops in old shophouses to relocate to new housing estates. Owners of these coffee shops started renting out stalls to vendors selling a variety of food. Today, according to Mr Hong, there are about 1,100 coffee shops and food court, of which over 700 are in HDB estates. Besides serving the classic combination fare of coffee, soft-boiled eggs and kaya toast, and a variety of local food from different races, coffee shops have also welcomed Vietnamese, Thai and north-eastern Chinese cuisine to cater to evolving palates. Said Mr Hong: “Coffee shops are a microcosm of Singapore society. The increasing variety shows we are an open and multicultural society.” He added: “Coffee shops are not just for uncles and aunties, and will always be relevant to everyone. Young people these days don’t know how to cook. They eat out often, and coffee shops offer a good variety of budget-friendly meals.” (From left) Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association Singapore chairman Hong Poh Hin, assistant honorary secretary Sherry Lim, and honorary secretary Tian Took Earn, at the Singapore Coffee Shop Heritage Gallery. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO The Ministry of National Development and Housing Board rolled out a budget meal initiative in 2018 . Since then, all new HDB rental coffee shops that are tendered out to operators must provide budget meals and a budget drink. These are meals priced affordably, compared with the average price of meals sold at nearby eating places. Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann told Parliament on Nov 13 that more than 440 rental and privately owned coffee shops are providing over 1,100 budget meals island-wide. She added that Singapore is on track to have all 374 rental HDB coffee shops offer budget meals by 2026. Beyond food, coffee shops also serve as social hubs for emotional connection and “coffee-shop talk”, bringing communities closer together, said Mr Hong. Ms Sherry Lim, 58, assistant honorary secretary of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association, said coffee shops also provide employment for many older workers. Approximately 30 per cent of coffee shop workers in various roles are aged 60 and above. While it is important to respect heritage, coffee shops also need to move with the times, she said. Some have adopted technology such as digital ordering systems, automated food preparation and coffee brew machines, to address manpower shortage and increase efficiency. However, coffee shops will remain cherished social hubs, she added. “Even if a coffee shop (goes) fully automated one day, it will still be a community node where people congregate.” Sock filters used for straining coffee, at Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association’s Singapore Coffee Shop Heritage Gallery. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel nowCanada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.22%
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NoneLuigi Nicholas Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a healthcare executive in New York City, apparently was living a charmed life: the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation's top private universities. Friends at an exclusive co-living space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Hawaii where the 26-year-old Mangione once lived widely considered him a “great guy,” and pictures on his social media accounts show a fit, smiling, handsome young man on beaches and at parties.MDR Pet Calendar Contest brings in $700 for Cuddle Babies RescueWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden faces a stark choice as he contemplates broad preemptive pardons to protect aides and allies from potential retribution by Donald Trump: Does he hew to the institutional norms he’s spent decades defending or flex the powers of the presidency in untested ways? The deliberations so far are largely at the level of White House lawyers. But the president has discussed the topic with senior aides, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. No decisions have been made, the people said, and it is possible Biden opts to do nothing at all. Biden is taking the idea seriously and has been thinking about it for as much as six months — before the presidential election — but has been concerned about the precedent it would set, according to another person familiar with the president’s discussions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Pardons are historically afforded to those accused of specific crimes –- and usually to those who have already been convicted of an offense — but Biden’s team is considering issuing them for some who have not even been investigated, let alone charged. The president could, if he chooses, issue blanket pardons to specific people whom Trump and his allies have threatened to punish. Or he could pardon a broad class of people — not unlike pardons issued to those convicted of federal marijuana offenses or those ensnared in the “don't ask, don't tell” military policies. Either way, he'd be using the powers of the presidency in a new way. Some worry that Trump and his allies, who have talked of enemies lists and exacting “retribution,” could launch investigations that would be reputationally and financially costly for targeted people even if they don’t result in prosecutions. The door has already been opened, given that Biden has extended a broad pardon to his son, Hunter , who was convicted and pleaded guilty in tax and gun cases. Biden explained that decision by saying he believed the prosecution of his son had been poisoned by politics. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden plans additional pardons before leaving office though she would not elaborate on the process. She repeatedly referenced “changing factors” that motivated the president to pardon his son despite promising he wouldn’t. She said Republicans have continued to try to see Hunter Biden investigated for an array of alleged offenses, a rationale that could support additional pardons for Biden aides and allies. It was two weeks ago that one of the president’s closest allies in Congress, Rep, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, encouraged Biden to pardon his son Hunter. The morning after that conversation, Clyburn told Biden’s staff that he believed the president should also pardon those being targeted by Trump. “I was very forceful in my discussions with him about what I thought he ought to do regarding his son,” Clyburn said Friday. “But I also told them that I thought he ought to go even further, because all the noise about Jack Smith and Liz Cheney and Doctor Fauci and all of that.” Special Counsel Jack Smith has been investigating Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for accusations he hoarded classified documents at his home. Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican , was the vice chairwoman of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris. Fauci, an infectious disease expert, was instrumental in the government's response to the coronavirus. All have raised the ire of Trump. Clyburn said he told Biden’s team, only half jokingly, that because the Supreme Court has already said that the president has certain immunities, “let’s give that same immunity to Jack Smith for carrying out his duties and to, Doctor Fauci, Liz Cheney, they were carrying out their duties.” Among those mentioned publicly for possible presidential pardons, there are different sentiments on whether pardons would even be wanted. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported the president’s move to pardon his son, but has been silent on the speculation that Biden is considering additional pardons for her or others. A top Pelosi ally, Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic congressman who led Trump’s first impeachment, has panned the idea of pardoning Biden's allies. He says “the courts are strong enough to withstand” the worst of Trump’s threats. “I don’t think a preemptive pardon makes sense,” the incoming senator told NPR recently. “I would urge the president not to do that. I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary,” Schiff said. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who was the lead manager on Trump’s second impeachment, on the charge of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, said members of Congress already are protected by the speech and debate clause in the Constitution, which protects them prosecution for participating in their legislative duties. Raskin said figures like Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and John Kelly , Trump's former White House chief of staff, would similarly be protected by the First Amendment. But Raskin said the question is, “Should they go through the criminal investigation and prosecution for not doing anything wrong? I think that’s why this whole issue has erupted.” Raksin added that with Trump promising to pardon hundreds of people who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6th, “I can hardly fault President Biden for exploring the use of the pardon to protect people from a fraudulent and unjust prosecution.” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he’s had no conversations with the White House regarding any preemptive pardons for current or former members of Congress. ___ Associated Press Writers Kevin Freking and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report. Colleen Long, Zeke Miller And Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press