the(new)mediaslut

themediaslut thanks LA Girl for summarising the Singapore Starbuck Challange and putting it up at her blog.

Yes, most of the Starbuck outlets look the same in Singapore.

However,
themediaslut felt it was her duty to also show how the other local
coffee joints look liked and looks to dispell any perception Singapore
is made up of only Starbucks.  

themediaslut decided to put
it under Starbuck Challange as she feels that the challange also lets
people understand the different work and service culture throughout the
world thought they are from the same organisation with a US HQ. 

The
local coffee joint below is call Yakun. It has become like a Starbucks
of Singapore and have opened several franchises in Singapore, and some
say China.

Besides coffee, Yakun is also famous for its Kaya toast. Kaya is like a
jam paste made of coconuts and eggs. Very fattening but very delicious
too.

Yakun has kept to using traditional wooden tools and marble table tops.
This is how the other coffe joint looks like and themediaslut bets LA
GIRL can’t get it in LA.

themediaslut apologise for the blurred image, but yes, that is the
barrister at work. No french press or coffee machine.. each cup of
coffee is literally hand made.

This is a typical and popular breakfast set, though it is also
available throughout the day. Two soft boiled eggs, two slices of
toasted bread with a generous spread of butter and kaya and of course a
cup of coffee. The price? Only SGD$3.50 and that’s about the price of
the regular cup of coffee of the day at Starbucks.

Though the variety of coffee isn’t as much as Starbucks, you could
still order a cup like a mix and match. Oh, the local term used for
coffee is KOPI (pronouced Ko-Pi). Some of the combinationsare as
follows and they cost less than a SGD dollar:

KOPI      - Coffee with condensed milk
KOPI-O  - Coffee black
KOPI-C  - Coffee with evaporated milk

After one Starbucks Challange blog entry and two weeks later, it
seems that Starbucks in Singapore has really put in the effort to make
know of its Fair Trade Coffee. 

In the earlier blog entry
"Singapore Starbucks on alert", a Starbucks  barristar noted an
email was send out to the outlets in Singapore informing them about
Fair Trade action.

Never trusting mere words of the PR folks,
themediaslut decided on having another cup of Fair Trade Coffee. This
time round themediaslut decided to try an outlet at the SIA building on
Robinson Road. 

TMS: Can I have a cup of Fair Trade Coffee please?

Barrister: Sure no problem. If you see the hangee at the cash counter,
its Fair Trade coffee from Timor Lorosa. Is that ok with you?

TMS: Sure. Save some room for milk please. By the way, can you tell me
more about Fair Trade coffee? I saw it on somebody’s blog.

Barrister: The Fair Trade coffee is bought from third world countries to help their economy….
TMS: Bought at normal market rate?
Barrister: No, bought above market rate to help these countries..

Ohh.. themediaslut was impressed. Two weeks ago, a barrister at Capital Towers gave me a blank look.

 It got even better.. While waiting for the coffee, the barrister added
a few insights, "If you want a greater collection of Fair Trade coffee,
you can get it at Orchard Road."

Kudos to the barristers at SIA Building, Robinson Road, Singapore.

On a side note, there is a map created at
http://www.frappr.com/starbuckschallenge where one can put pins on
locations where the Starbucks Challange was attempted. Kool app..

It has come to the attention of themediaslut that the licensee of
Starbucks in Singapore has send out an email to all its stores to
inform them about the Starbucks Challange. 

From "http://sahishdah.blogspot.com/"  

 "ya another exciting news.. there has been a challenge goin around the US rite
now, bout this gerl asking others to do a Starbucks Challenge.. itz a simple
thing.. all you have to do is to go to any of the outlets in Singapore and ask
if you cld have a cup of fair-trade.. then write down your experience in this
website and tell the rest of the world how we fared.."wrote
ShiDah IshDah

"so far, Capitol Tower was
a success all though the barista was a bit blur bout it… but neway, they have
send out an email to all the stores and my partners and i actually noe wat to
do.. i hope! hahahahah but pls do try the challenge out then let me noe wat you
get.. neway, we’ve been brewing Fair-Trade Timore Larosa’e for the past few
weeks and will be doin so till i dun-noe-when… hahahahaah click on to find out
bout the Singapore experince.. http://themediaslut.com/2005/10/73"

themediaslut guess that somebody in Starbucks corp is reading this blog over a brewed cup of Fair Trade coffee…

PS: themediaslut was informed that MDK PR is responsible for the PR for Starbucks in Singapore. Maybe they be interested to leave a comment here… 

Malaysia, October 21, 2005 

themediaslut
was in Kuala Lumper, Malaysia, over the weekend and tried the Starbucks
Challange at two shops which were not prepared to offer Fair Trade
Coffee.

First, themediaslut was at Midvalley CityMall
where the first challange was held. themediaslut went up to the
barristar and asked, "Can I have a Fair Trade Coffee of the Day
please?"  

The Barrister replied, "We have no Fair Trade Coffee of the Day."

But he points to the packed coffee beans and said, "But we do sell Fair Trade Coffee over there."

"Could you make me a cuppa then?" asked themediaslut.

"We can, but it will cost you another RM6 more," replied the Barrister.

themediaslut did take a look at the signboard and it did say
that Coffee of the Day was from Timor so they could have been serving
Fair Trade coffee without knowing it. 

themediaslut took trip down to Bungsar Village to meet up with a friend and tried the Starbucks Challange there. 

However,
the result was the same as they did not serve Fair Trade Coffee and the
barrister did not know anything about it either. 

But he proudly said, " We are serving our Anniversary Mixed. Care to have one?"

While the Starbucks in Malaysia failed the Starbucks Challange,
they had free wireless Internet though. It is not the same in Singapore
where customers need to be subscribed to a servicer provider.

Bummer!

PS: To the emails themediaslut received, the photo below is taken by themediaslut and is not themediaslut. 

Singapore, October 18, 2005

themediaslut tried out the Starbucks Challange at Capital Towers, Singapore and was surprised with the findings. 

Not
only were they brewing Fair Trade coffee as the coffee of the day, it
was also Fair Trade week at this Starbucks outlet. 

Hence, it was quite easy to get a Fair Trade coffee for a cuppa. 

The
barristar did look a bit dumbfounded when themediaslut asked for a Fair
Trade coffee and he had to ask a fellow staff about it..

tms: A cuppa of Fair Trade Coffee please?
Barristar: ehh… wait… (turns to fellow staff) oh coffee of the day is Fair Trade Coffee from Timor.

themediaslut
also noticed the lack of information regarding Fair Trade coffee and
couldn’t find any leaflets or poster about Fair Trade week though.

Btw,
Capital Towers houses major US giant corporations like Cisco Systems
and JP Morgan. Maybe, themediaslut should try the Starbuck Challange at
a small neighbourhood outlet.

themediaslut is going to try a Fair Trade coffee tomorrow in Singapore and will try to blog (if possible videoblog) asking the barristars for a cuppa… 

wish themediaslut luck!