It’s a hot sticky evening in Singapore, and I’m halfway through ordering a serving of nasi goreng at the Maxwell Food Centre when my stomach lurches. Not with hunger, but with the realisation that I’ve neglected to secure my favourite table by placing the obligatory calling card in its centre – a practice known as “chope-ing”.
Head to any hawker centre – the satay-scented, Unesco-listed food halls where locals queue alongside tourists to feast on delicacies such as chicken fried rice served by Michelin-listed vendors – and you’ll notice packets of tissues on empty tables. No, this isn’t litter (this is super-clean Singapore, after all), but a polite way of showing other customers that a table has been taken. As a keen choper myself, I’ve loved watching the ritual’s evolution – when in Singapore, I now often see customers substitute a packet of tissues with an iPhone or a laptop (not something I’d recommend doing in many other cities).
