Reminiscence Of The Yesteryears

Recollections Over A Local Brew

Hill Street Coffee Shop aims to recreate the coffee experience that once populated the scenes of Singapore. Be brought back to the early days of coffee shop where you find yourself surrounded by the aroma of freshly brewed Kopi or coffee in Hokkien, strong flavours of kaya, mosaic flooring, marble tables and the hustle and bustle of a coffee shop in the golden era.

Hill Street Coffee Shop will be a place where the older generation relives their memories and young Singaporeans and tourists learn about the history of Singapore.

The Coffee Shop History of Singapore

In the 1920s, Singapore witnessed the entry of the coffee shop business brought in by the Hainanese. The current Bugis area (formerly known as Xiao Po or Small Town) of Singapore was once the enclave of the Hainanese where the business of coffee shops flourished. It was then when the Kopi, or coffee in Hokkien and kaya toast culture cultivated and form root in the lives of Singaporeans.

Time spent over a coffee in a coffee shop was mainly filled with laughter and warmth by patrons enjoying a coffee with their families and friends. Though times have changed, the deeply etched culture of coffee drinking is still a common scene in modern Singapore.

History of Hill Street

The name Hill Street originated as it was situated at the bottom of the Government Hill, now Fort Canning Hill. Located near the port and in Xiao Po of early Singapore, Hill Street witnessed the hustle and bustle of early Singapore. Till date, Hill Street houses some of Singapore’s oldest gazette national monuments such as Armenian Church, The Central Fire Station and The Old Hill Street Police Station. Other icons include, Coleman Bridge, Stamford House and Stamford Court.