"Half S'porean, Half Angmoh" TikToker Questions His Identity After Getting Scolded Twice By Coffeeshop Aunties
What makes someone Singaporean? Is it knowing how to order at coffeeshops, or being used to the "fierce" aunties and uncles?
Recently, a TikToker @sgproverbs posted a video sharing his encounter with a drinks stall auntie.
The content creator, who often posts videos talking about local culture and habits, is "half-Singaporean, half ang moh", and has been living here since 2017 when he enlisted for National Service.
In his latest video, he revealed he was "exposed as a chao ang moh" for not knowing about a common practice at coffee shops. "This was proof that I'll never be a true Singaporean, even though sometimes I really feel like one," he said.
He recalled: "Today, I was at a hawker eating cai fan. There was an auntie there from the coffee shop serving drinks, then she asked me [if I wanted to order a drink]. Then I ordered a 100 Plus."
"And then I forgot, when you order with the drink auntie right, you must pay cash," he continued in fluent Singlish.
He asked the auntie if he could Paynow, but she told him off. He was met with an "aiyoh", then schooled about how he should have ordered at the counter if wanted to use Paynow.
Sgproverbs then went to the counter to pay for his drink, where he was again, scolded by a different auntie for the same reason.
He added: "I kena scold twice at the hawker centre, and in my mind I was like 'wah buy drink also kena scold'. I didn't want to create a scene lah, I didn't scold back, I was just like 'paiseh, paiseh'."
"But yeah, these are moments that make me realise a true Singaporean would know that. But these moments keep me humble lah. Try so hard to be local, but you'll never be a true Singaporean," he concluded.
Although the experience, for him, made him feel like a non-local, many netizens argued that being in that exact situation is just part and parcel of being a real Singaporean.
"Being scolded by random uncles or aunties is part of being a true Singaporean," wrote one commenter, while another asserted: "How to be local if you don't kena scold."
One netizen even dubbed the encounter "a typical day at a hawker centre".
Some Singaporeans, us included, often forget to check if we have cash on hand before ordering our drinks or food, especially with alternative payment methods made available almost everywhere these days.
"I'm local and I learned this lesson only recently too," wrote one netizen, while another said the auntie wouldn't have scolded an "actual foreigner".
There were also a handful of commenters who kindly explained that drink stall aunties usually earn a small commission per drink from taking orders at a table.
"If the drink cost $1.50, then auntie get it from the counter at $1.40, bring it to you and you pay cash $1.50. That’s how she earns her 10 cents," one wrote.
We're sure not every Singaporean knows about the practice. So @Sgproverbs — perhaps you're still one of us after all.
