Converted Provision Shop Tian Kee & Co

Aiyaya... ...it's a sign of the times we're living in. First we had a cafe in Everton Park calling themselves "The Provision Shop" when that's the remotest thing to describe what they are actually doing. Now a cafe has swallowed up the dearly decaying space of a sweet old-time provision shop. Some sociologist should do a thesis on why the current cafe boom on the island is symtomatic of some underlying condition... ...are people so severely stressed out in Lion City that they need comforting spaces to retreat to? And if the place offers a connection to an idealised past, all the better?

Source: remembersingapore.wordpress.com
Places like this are fast disappearing on the island.. ...
The number has dropped from 1,200 in the seventies to less than 200 islandwide now.

Much have been said about the opening of this cafe taking over the space and name of a 50 odd year old provision shop - in an almost extinct two-storey SIT building - that has become quite the icon in the old and idyllic estate of Dakota Crescent. According to RememberSingapore, the estate has seen livelier days when Kallang Airport was in operation from 1937 to 1955.

The lions wanted to do some work on a Sunday afternoon and were lucky enough to secure seats in the packed space. Coffee (beans from Dutch Colony) was a little burnt and toasty, and the homemade pie with a side of prawn crackers was disappointingly bland. The lions heard that the line-up of homemade gelato would be ready soon, on top of ice-balls, hopefully improving things. The cup of SNAG served here is not a recommended drink for coffee lovers; it's more like bandung with a hint of weak expresso (more suitable for ladies who take selfies). You are much better off knocking back a few cups of rose lattes at The Little Prince cafe. Sorry for being so grouchy but the lions really wanted to like the place.