If Only We All Could
smile and be as happy as this woman selling her pineapples. I wonder how long she has been plying this trade and how much she makes each day. Is it enough to feed her family? Is her income just supplemental? Are the fruits from her own farm or others? Is she just tending the store or are these the literal fruits of her labor?
Coffee Overload or Underload?
Looking at this pile before me I'm wondering if I had a cup of milk or a cup of coffee.
A Cup of Joe
Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to make right. For some reason, even though a cafe is really not that difficult to set up, for a lot of people who do put one up, they can't seem to put together just the right mix of elements.
Here is one place that gets all the little nuances right- from the recycled marigold tin cups, cheap buckets hung upside down as pendant lamp shades, canteen like seating but with just the right cushion and pizazz, no wonder people like hanging out at 40 Hands despite the other offerings (although also quite frequented) around the hip and happening Tiong Bahru neighborhood.
And of course, the food and especially the coffee has to be good for all of this to work out. So while some places are trying to be something- 40 Hands seems to just be- and it is this that makes the place authentic in a neighborhood that is gentrifying and trying to find its new identity.
