SINGAPORE: While shining bright with its spotless streets, efficient transport, and world-class skyline, beneath the polished glass and chrome lies a silent ache—a longing for the days when kopitiams were noisy, playgrounds were worn out, and hand-painted signs clung stubbornly to HDB walls like forgotten murals of a warmer era.
A Singaporean shared her candid nostalgia on Reddit, writing, “Sometimes it feels like everything in Singapore has got a little too perfect. The old kopitiams where the uncles joked around are slowly disappearing, replaced by clean, quiet cafés with fancy menus.”
Gone too are the humble stalls once bursting with personality—where an auntie knew your noodle order by heart and didn’t need a QR code to serve it. “The old shops, which used to feel a bit messy but warm, are gone too. Now, it’s just rows of neat, identical stores that all look the same,” she reminisced.
This wasn’t some rant against progress, but a soft lament for the spirit of a city slipping quietly away. “Part of me misses the slightly rough edges, the random auntie stall that sold the best noodles, the worn-out playgrounds, the hand-painted signs under HDB blocks. Everything felt more alive back then, even if it wasn’t picture-perfect,” she reflected.
“Singapore still looks amazing, but sometimes it feels like we traded a bit of its heart for polish. It’s hard to explain, but the old vibe had this warmth that’s just not as easy to find anymore,” she concluded.
Many Singaporeans also echoed her bittersweet reflection. “For me, it was more prominent post-Covid… many hawkers retired or closed due to higher costs and rent,” one commented, pointing out how the pandemic didn’t just pause life, but sped up the loss of its texture.
“The growth of e-commerce eliminated the need for mamak shops, coffee shops… this eroded another part of our identity,” he added.
The forum consensus was that something was missing. A certain kampung spirit. A flavour that can’t be bottled and sold in an air-conditioned café, even with minimalist decor.
“It feels a bit too polished nowadays. I guess it gets competitive, so people are all work and no play. A bit boring, like it’s not colourful,” said one, while another chimed in agreement that it’s “like everyone’s running on efficiency instead of colour or spontaneity.”
So it’s not just about aesthetics. It’s about vibes. About places to chill without worrying about whether you can afford to sit there, as one said, “Even relaxing needs a budget now.”
Singapore has indeed evolved into a sleek, shining city, but while it chased perfection, perhaps we may have inadvertently silenced a little bit of what makes us human. However, the heart of Singapore still remains—just hiding under a fresh coat of polish.
