Artisanal coffee shops charge $6 for what tastes like burnt water. Nanyang Old Coffee at Everton Park still roasts beans the traditional way - with sugar and margarine. Uncle Tan's been perfecting this for 40 years.

Order kopi-o kosong (black, no sugar) to taste the actual roast. Marble tables, plastic stools, feels like 1980s Singapore. $1.50 versus $6 at hipster cafes, and the flavour has this deep complexity you can't get from modern roasting methods.