With independent cafés sprouting around the nation, people in the country have started a trend of café hopping in recent years. This fad is enthusiastically embraced by the younger generation. So, why is café hopping a much hyped trend?
In café hopping, these patrons would explore the country for new cafés and visit the place for a new experience of ambience and get a taste of their menu. Apart from that, they would also take pictures of these places and would put them up for sharing on Instagram or other social media network.
Café hopping has become a form of socialising and with many cafés still standing strong, it seems that this trend is here to stay. So, why do people café hop? Is it the charm of a stylishly chic ambience? Is the alluring aroma of good coffee? Or is it just the mouth-watering food and desserts that are dished out in these places?
We went down to the cafés in Kovan in great anticipation to interview the patrons there. Unfortunately, the managers of the café requested us not to interview their customers as the weekends are considered peak period and it would disturb their momentum. However, the staff suggested emailing the owners of the café to explain our project in black-in-white and get their approval. They also suggested for us to come by another day but this is not possible for us as we do will not be able to complete the project on time. Although permission was denied to interview, the managers happily allowed us to take photos of their café to use it for our project.
Despite the let-down, we decided to go down to the streets to interview people and ascertain why people café-hop. We also managed to interview 5 people in cafés of other areas, and it resonates with our perception where the younger generation engage in this activity.
These café enthusiasts would normally café hop with friends. When probed further why they would not café hop with their parents, they mentioned that their parents do not like the food that is served in the café. It seems that the older generation prefer traditional food.
For those who do not engage in this hobby, it is mentioned that time is not a luxury for them. Apart from that, they feel that the prices of food and drinks at these cafés are rather steep. It also seems that there is nothing special about cafés that would attract them to try them out.
This project looks into the trend of cafe hopping in Singapore and the reasons behind this activity.
Links
