Kopitiam

This is an excellent Malaysian TV series. Compared to the usual fare on TV, "Kopitiam" stands out.

Marie (Joanna Bessey) inherits her father's kopitiam/coffee shop and a few moments after walking into it, loyal customers Uncle Chan (Mano Maniam) and Uncle Kong (Tan Jin Chor) walk in. They are joined by Marie's childhood friend Steven (Douglas Lim) who is a hairdresser who insists on NOT being called "barber" or "haircutter", stage-struck Joe, and a little later, Singaporean lawyer Susan (Lina Teoh).

This series is wonderfully peppered with bits of Malaysian-style English and is so, so very addictive, that my sister and I made sure - as much as possible - never to miss a single episode. Watch it.

I'm Canadian with Scottish/French heritage so I have no connection to this show but I saw it on Netflix and took a chance. This show is basically the television equivalent of comfort food. It's quirky and charming and there's some odd humour but every culture has that. I'd recommend it.

Kopitiam really is a welcome change from most of the boring and unintelligent local stuff I usually see - it's a fresh upbeat sitcom which is ACTUALLY amusingly catchy! Well, well ...

By the way, the title means coffee shop, and most of the story revolves around it, ala Friends. However it's not exactly the same, different cultures and etc, etc, gives this different slants and elements - it's another show altogether, and truly good enough to stand on its own. The script is great, so is the cast.

From what I saw in the first season this show is sharp and witty, definitely more so if you're a Malaysian or a Singaporean as it makes fun of the edgy relationship between these two countries (Susan is a Singaporean while the others, Malaysian), and also it has the very local flavor of English spoken here. But there's more ... see for yourselves. This show is fun!

It's been off the air so long, I only have fond memories of it. It's one of those quality local English sitcoms I used to watch as a kid. Also love the theme song, Empty Decorations, by Indecisive (which you can find online).

I'm not sure how well the regional humor translates outside Malaysia/Singapore, but it was funny - there was some shipping (long before the term came to play now) going on between two of the characters, effeminate hairstylist Steven and the snotty lawyer from Singapore, Susan. .. Other characters include mama's boy Joe, and long-time customers of said kopitiam, Uncle Chan and Uncle Kong.

Long story short, if you ever come across reruns of this, WATCH IT!