There was always a small bowl of boiled eggs on the table whenever my dad and I had breakfast at the old kopitiam near our neighbourhood.
By the time we arrived, the hard boiled eggs had already been placed on the table first, sitting quietly beside small saucers of soy sauce and white pepper. While waiting for the toast, my dad would be stirring his kopi O (black coffee) slowly with the spoon tapping softly against the cup ☕.
My dad used to teach me how to peel the eggs properly. He would gently tap the shell against the table, turning it carefully in his hand before peeling it bit by bit. I remember how patient he was, showing me how to remove the shell without breaking the egg apart. And then, the funny thing was dad would take a small bite on top of the hard boiled egg until its yellow coloured yolk visible, so that he could pour the soy sauce on top of the egg yolk and would letting it be absorbed into the whole boiled egg, before eating the entire intact egg! 😂.
However, I occasionally became impatient and peeled too forcefully, leaving the egg with holes and missing pieces. Dad would just laugh softly and say, "Slowly, don't rush."
While teaching me, he would sip his kopi O, looking calm and unbothered by the world outside. The aroma of kopi O combined with toasted bread, hard boiled eggs and the sound of people chatting around us somehow made life feel secure. Back then, happiness was really that simple..😃. With hard boiled eggs on the table for breakfast with my dad and, nowhere else we needed to be!
I think, what made kopitiam breakfast special was not just the food. It was the feeling of it all. The old wooden chairs, the uncle shouting drink orders across the shop, the newspaper folded beside the coffee cup, the slow mornings that never seemed to hurry anyone. It had a genuine, lived-in feel.
Anyway, my dad almost never took me to any western breakfast outlet when I was a kid 😬. My dad was not a big fan of McDonald's, KFC, Burger King or SugarBun... Maybe because, speaking about "older-generation parents", I think for many families, western food outlets simply were not part of normal family life 😅. They rarely took their kids to western food outlets to eat because it was considered a luxury and western food was often expensive.
In those days, I still remember that western restaurants were not common, especially in our neighbourhood. Thus, my dad usually dined at local coffee shops or hawker stalls.
Today, when I walk into a western breakfast outlet, everything feels cleaner, quieter and more polished. The meals may look prettier, but somehow, they do not carry the same warmth. In a kopitiam, breakfast was never only about eating. It was about me and my dad, our quiet routine and small moments shared together. Actually, when I was a child, I never thought much about those mornings. To me, it was just breakfast with my dad before the day started. But now, whenever I see boiled eggs on a kopitiam table, it brings me straight back to those simple days 💗.
Even today, sometimes, it makes me think that I know my dad is a person of few words. But, although he is someone who doesn't talk much... To me, at those times as a kid, I am truly happy enough for him to teach me how to peel the eggs easily. Hence, I really miss him for that! 🥺.
Maybe that is why boiled eggs still mean so much to me now. They remind me of my childhood, of simpler times and most importantly, of my dad sitting across from me with his kopi O, teaching me little things that never really left my heart.
I can say that it's all about appreciating simple daily blessings and quiet moments of love. The story of how God often speaks through ordinary things, not only through big miracles or dramatic moments but through small daily experiences that shape our hearts 🙏.
Give us this day our daily bread. - Matthew 6:11
The verse fits the kopitiam breakfast beautifully. The boiled eggs, toast and kopi O were simply daily provisions, yet they became meaningful memories. It makes us aware that God's blessings are most often ordinary things we overlook until much later in life.
Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred. - Proverbs 15:17
It reflects the warmth of those breakfasts with my dad. The meal itself was simple, but the love and presence around the table made it rich in meaning. It shows how God values humble moments. There are many important conversations and acts of love happened around meals and tables. A simple breakfast can become sacred because love is present there.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6
My dad teaching me how to peel boiled eggs may seem like a small thing, but it represents guidance, patience and care. Sometimes parenting is not only about big lessons, it is also about little moments that stay in a child's heart forever.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. - Philippians 4:12
This matches the feeling of simpler times. Back then, life may not have been luxurious, but there was peace, enough food, family and togetherness. God teaches us that contentment brings a deeper kind of joy.
Be still, and know that I am God. - Psalms 46:10
The slow kopitiam mornings... No rushing, no distractions reflect this verse well. Sometimes God is found in quiet moments, in stillness and in simple routines shared with loved ones.
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18
My dad may not have needed grand speeches to show love. Sitting with me in the morning, peeling eggs and sharing breakfast were already acts of love in themselves.
Looking back now, I realize God was present in those simple kopitiam mornings.. All through my father's patience, through humble meals and through the quiet joy of being together 😊.
I can therefore learn today that life does not always need to be complicated for it to be meaningful. Back then, happiness came from togetherness, not from having much. God constantly tells us that peace can be found in simple things, such as sharing a meal, spending time with family, slowing down, being thankful for daily bread and ordinary mornings. A simple story telling me that modern life sometimes makes us chase bigger things while forgetting the beauty of enough. The kopitiam mornings with my dad showed contentment and that contentment itself is a quiet blessing from God. And, I think, maybe the deeper message is this...
God was there even in those ordinary mornings. In the warmth of the hard boiled eggs. In my dad's patience. In the laughter over broken egg shells. In the simple life that now becomes a precious memory. And sometimes, we only realize later that those simple moments were never "small" at all. They were gifts! 🙏.
My kopitiam memory is a beautiful thing because it gives me as something of a reminder that meaningful lives aren't always built from big events. At times, it's built from boiled eggs, kopi O, old wooden table and a father quietly spending time with his child.
So, when I view it through the lens of faith, those classic mornings become tiny reminders of God's grace woven into our everyday lives.
