I mentioned almost exactly two years ago that my mom found Ben the coffee man. Ben's shop had a drinks stall, a Thai restaurant and a Malay restaurant / food stall. Ben made my life better, every day, for nearly two years. While on maternity leave, Samara and I went to his little shop every morning to get me an iced coffee, not so sweet (kopi ping siew tai). Once I went back to work, I went everyday on my way to the bus, and I had a special thermos cup so that it could last until I got to work. When I started working two days from home, I would bring Samara on those days and Saturdays.
Ben and Rong, his star employee from China, watched Samara grow. They used to hold her when she was a baby, and then they would bring out things to entertain her, like the service bell, the cash register, stools, coins, ice, straws...whatever a coffee shop has! They stopped business and sat and watched diggers with her. They absolutely loved seeing her, and she loved going to visit them. We would usually visit with them for at least ten minutes each time we went.
Rong speaks no English at all. She taught me "swee teau" which means sleeping, "zhao ahn" good morning "lai" - coming, and other words as well. She spoke to Samara in Chinese. She brought back gifts for Sam when she went home to visit. She got her a birthday present when she turned one. She is an extremely hard and dedicated worker and made the best coffee in the area.
We would make extra dessert when we had people for shabbat dinner, and we would bring that. We brought kugel, challah, and any treats we could think of. When we went back to Michigan we brought jams, sauces and other things we thought they might like to try. They also shared their Chinese treats with us - for all holidays and occasions.
I loved to go speak with them about the challenges of getting work passes for foreigners in Singapore, about Ben's mom, his kids - I met all of his kids when they visited. I learned so much about the issues of running a coffee shop / restaurant in Singapore, and I also learned that he is a super simple, good man. It's a hard life for these people right now in Singapore - and he worked so hard to do the best that he could for his business, his employees and his family.
In June 2012 our friends Ari and Julia stayed with us on their way moving out of Singapore (boo...). They left their wonderful espresso machine in return for our love and hospitality. At the same time, I realised that sweetened condensed milk was probably not helping me fit into my clothes, which were getting a bit tighter around the waist (what took me so long? I don't know - that coffee is just SO good!!). I decided to make my own lattes every morning. While they were super delicious, hot, caffeinated and convenient, I had the Ben dilemma. Do I keep visiting, even though I don't want to drink the coffee? I had really came to love Ben and Rong...
I decided that we would go visit on Saturdays, and I would get coffee sometimes. We loved our visits. [This is where it turns into the Giving Tree...] but then we got busy. Sam slept later. We skyped with family. We had plans after my yoga class...and we stopped going so often. We would skip weeks. Ben mentioned that there were problems with his landlord, but there always seemed to be something that he was working to solve.
One week in August, we went to see Ben, and he wasn't there. The whole shop was gone. No tables. No people. No umbrellas outside. Nothing. My heart sank. I didn't have Ben's phone number, and I had no way to find him. Matt and I talked about asking the shops around him if they knew where he went, but we never did it.
Three or so weeks later, we went to Tekka Market to get fruits and veggies. "Hey!" We heard someone yelling to get our attention. It was the Malay uncle who ran the Malay stall with Ben. He knew us well, as we always said good morning and chatted with him. Matt and I were SO excited that we had found him. He gave me the new address and Ben's phone number. He let me know that the landlord had given them one week to get out.
Sam and I are hoping to go visit Ben tomorrow morning, unanounced. He will be super excited.
Ben and Rong, his star employee from China, watched Samara grow. They used to hold her when she was a baby, and then they would bring out things to entertain her, like the service bell, the cash register, stools, coins, ice, straws...whatever a coffee shop has! They stopped business and sat and watched diggers with her. They absolutely loved seeing her, and she loved going to visit them. We would usually visit with them for at least ten minutes each time we went.
Rong speaks no English at all. She taught me "swee teau" which means sleeping, "zhao ahn" good morning "lai" - coming, and other words as well. She spoke to Samara in Chinese. She brought back gifts for Sam when she went home to visit. She got her a birthday present when she turned one. She is an extremely hard and dedicated worker and made the best coffee in the area.
We would make extra dessert when we had people for shabbat dinner, and we would bring that. We brought kugel, challah, and any treats we could think of. When we went back to Michigan we brought jams, sauces and other things we thought they might like to try. They also shared their Chinese treats with us - for all holidays and occasions.
I loved to go speak with them about the challenges of getting work passes for foreigners in Singapore, about Ben's mom, his kids - I met all of his kids when they visited. I learned so much about the issues of running a coffee shop / restaurant in Singapore, and I also learned that he is a super simple, good man. It's a hard life for these people right now in Singapore - and he worked so hard to do the best that he could for his business, his employees and his family.
In June 2012 our friends Ari and Julia stayed with us on their way moving out of Singapore (boo...). They left their wonderful espresso machine in return for our love and hospitality. At the same time, I realised that sweetened condensed milk was probably not helping me fit into my clothes, which were getting a bit tighter around the waist (what took me so long? I don't know - that coffee is just SO good!!). I decided to make my own lattes every morning. While they were super delicious, hot, caffeinated and convenient, I had the Ben dilemma. Do I keep visiting, even though I don't want to drink the coffee? I had really came to love Ben and Rong...
I decided that we would go visit on Saturdays, and I would get coffee sometimes. We loved our visits. [This is where it turns into the Giving Tree...] but then we got busy. Sam slept later. We skyped with family. We had plans after my yoga class...and we stopped going so often. We would skip weeks. Ben mentioned that there were problems with his landlord, but there always seemed to be something that he was working to solve.
One week in August, we went to see Ben, and he wasn't there. The whole shop was gone. No tables. No people. No umbrellas outside. Nothing. My heart sank. I didn't have Ben's phone number, and I had no way to find him. Matt and I talked about asking the shops around him if they knew where he went, but we never did it.
Three or so weeks later, we went to Tekka Market to get fruits and veggies. "Hey!" We heard someone yelling to get our attention. It was the Malay uncle who ran the Malay stall with Ben. He knew us well, as we always said good morning and chatted with him. Matt and I were SO excited that we had found him. He gave me the new address and Ben's phone number. He let me know that the landlord had given them one week to get out.
Sam and I are hoping to go visit Ben tomorrow morning, unanounced. He will be super excited.
This is right when my mom met Ben.
Coffee with Alex in Oct or Nov 2010. Iced coffee on the left, iced tea in the middle and iced black coffee on the right, for Alex.
This is Ben and Rong with Flat Stanley, around Feb 2011.
Me, Matt, Sam and Rong
Ben playing with Samara in March 2012
Samara organising the chairs, also in March 2012
1 comment:
So happy you are blogging again.
What a great story, thank you for sharing this one .
Loved all the Sam & Mel updates in the last few posts as well.
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