26 October 2024

A reminder of old times
and old ways with
a strong black drink
in a café in Kuching

A reminder of when the clocks go back and of old times … in the Hiap Yak Tea Shop in Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

In Britain and Ireland, I know, autumn is well advanced, winter is on the way with darker mornings and evenings, and the clocks go back tonight, allowing people to have a little more sunlight in the morning.

Many people are going to indulge themselves with an extra hour in bed tomorrow – but not here in Sarawak, where the clocks do not go back.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not observed here. Malaysia continues with Malaysia Time (MYT) all year round, and the clocks do not change in Kuching tonight.

Since we arrived in Kuching almost two weeks ago, the temperatures have been in the 30s each day, but the humidity has made it feel like anything as high as 40 most days, so any talk of summer time and winter time in this climate seems absurd. And yet, even though there are still two full months to go, the main Christmas Tree is already up and lit in Padang Merdeka, the main square in the heart of Kuching.

Because we are so close to the Equator, there seems to be an almost equal length to the days and nights, from 6:30 to 6:30. Indeed, the last time there was a Daylight Saving Time change in Kuching, Malaysia was on 13 December 1941.

The other morning I was in the Hiap Yak Tea Shop, an old, traditional Chinese-style coffee shop on Lorong Kai Joo, off India Street. There I found myself sitting beneath a clock that proclaimed ‘Guinness Time’ … replete with two Guinness Harps.

I enjoy my strong coffee in the morning. But this Guinness clock was a reminder of how that other strong black drink had once extended its reach from Ireland around the world in colonial times. And Guinness remains a popular drink in the bars in Carpenter Street and this part of Kuching.

However, there was another reminder of old times and old habits in Kuching that morning too.

I was asked whether I wanted butter in coffee. It seemed the most incongruous combination I had ever heard of.

But, of course, there had to be a story behind the suggestion. The café is run by Madam Tan Mui Kim. And there was told how the legendary method of drinking coffee with butter started when men coming from the opium dens would order a cup of coffee with butter to lubricate their dry throats.

Until today, I was told, this unique brew remains a favourite with local residents and one that tourists are invited to try … well, at least once.

The café even offers it as takeaway in an old-fashioned way. The hot coffee is sold in washed and rinsed recycled milk tins. Madam Tan is one of the few coffee makers keeping this old-time tradition alive in the side streets of Kuching.

It’s another strong black drink with a creamy top … but I have yet to try it.

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