The Daily Sip: A father-and-son duo reimagines the kopi stall with cold brews and cheesecakes

Ever seen a hawker stall serve kopi, cold brews, and Basque cheesecakes — all under one roof?

That’s exactly what you’ll find at The Daily Sip, a drinks stall that challenges what a traditional hawker beverage stall can look like.

At first glance, it feels familiar, serving up your usual kopi and teh. But look closer, and you’ll notice bottled cold brews, trendy branding, and Basque cheesecakes that are akin to those you’d find at a cafe. 

Behind it all is a father-and-son duo — Wong Teck Thang, 63, and Norris Wong, 35 — who turned a life transition into a creative and bold opportunity.

How it all started

For Teck Thang, the journey into beverages wasn’t exactly planned. For about two decades, he ran Teck Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice in the same hawker centre. But when illness struck, he was forced to reconsider.

“I decided to pivot as the doctor told me to take on a less labour-intensive trade,” says Teck Thang. “The preparation and cleaning up for a drinks stall is much easier and less tedious than for chicken rice.” 

It also opened the door for Norris, previously a fitness instructor and financial advisor, to join his line of work. 

Originally, Teck Thang wanted to open a drinks stall selling kopi. But his son convinced him to join forces on a new concept instead.

“I’d always wanted to set up my own business, but couldn’t find the right place and people,” Norris says. “When my dad fell ill and wanted to switch to drinks, I saw it as a great opportunity to work together.”

He adds: “My dad was pretty agreeable with the idea of a drink stall that had a fresh concept.”

A new kind of hawker stall

The idea for The Daily Sip began with a conversation — Norris recalls brainstorming with his girlfriend, and eventually landed on a concept centred around coffee and bakes. 

From the outset, the goal was clear: Stand out, but not stray too far from tradition.

“We wanted to differentiate ourselves from the many drink stalls around us, but stick to the basics without chasing trends,” he says.

That philosophy is reflected in the menu today. At its core are hawker staples such as kopi, teh, and kaya toast, served side by side with cafe-style items such as cold brews, fruit teas, and Basque cheesecakes.

“Traditional kopi and kaya toast are the foundation,” Norris explains. “The cold brews and cheesecake are how we differentiate ourselves — why settle for one, when you can have both?”

The hawker-centre setting also played a key role — they deliberately chose the very stall where Teck Thang used to sell his chicken rice. 

“We wanted to remove the idea that coffee and bakes can only be found in cafes,” Norris says. “We also chose to open in a hawker centre because of the high footfall and the exposure to a wider age range of customers.”

One of the first things you’ll notice about The Daily Sip is its visual identity. Or more exactly, the quirky, hand-drawn logos displayed on the stallfront, as well as on custom-made mugs and its cold brew packaging.

Creative and thoughtfully put together, it feels more like branding you’d find in a cafe rather than a traditional drinks stall.

Much of that is the brainchild of Norris’s girlfriend Geenie, who works as a visual merchandiser. “She’s in charge of everything you see relating to the visuals and the setup,” Norris tells us.

The result is a stall that immediately catches the eye — a rarity in the typically cookie-cutter world of hawker drink stalls.

Even the unique name has a story. Originally called “Sip Sip”, the stall had to be rebranded after a naming conflict with another business. They eventually landed on “The Daily Sip”, a name that feels both familiar and distinctive.

Building the menu: From kopi to cold brew

Creating the menu itself involved months of trial and error. For its 24-hour cold brew coffee (from S$4.50), Norris approached multiple suppliers to test different beans.

“We tried many samples over months and constantly adjusted ratios,” he says. “Once most people preferred a particular bean, we knew it was the one.”

Unlike traditional kopi, which is made from Robusta coffee beans, The Daily Sip’s cold brew uses Arabica. This results in a smoother, more nuanced profile, in comparison to the more earthy and bitter flavour profile of kopi-O.

The cold brew’s house blend comprises beans from Brazil Cerrado and natural Colombia Huila supremo, with tasting notes of dark chocolate, caramel and roasted walnut. 

But introducing cold brew in a hawker setting wasn’t easy at first, as some of the older customers were initially skeptical.

“They would ask: ‘What is this? Isn’t it just coffee with ice?’”, Norris recalls. “So we had to educate them on the difference.”

Over time, perceptions shifted and more customers were willing to try the cold brew coffee.

The Daily Sip also offers two kinds of cold brew tea: Melon oolong and Singapore Dream (S$4.50). Instead of standard tea bags, Norris sources premium tea leaves.

“We don’t add artificial sugars,” he says. “So the tea leaves themselves must be of a high quality.”

As Norris tells us, flavours were carefully shortlisted based on one key question: Would you drink this every day?

That philosophy led to crowd-friendly options such as fruit-forward and floral teas — refreshing, accessible, and easy to enjoy after a meal.

Norris’ favorite flavour is Singapore Dream, with ingredients such as black tea, red rose petals, lemon peel and Marigold flower petals. As for the refreshing melon oolong, it comprises oolong tea, pineapple cubes, melon pieces, silver lime flower and guarana seed.

Beyond drinks, The Daily Sip also serves Basque cheesecake (S$4.20). But the menu wasn’t always this streamlined.

In its earlier days, the stall experimented with a wider range of pastries, including a chrysanthemum-flavoured Swiss roll and other rotating bakes. 

For Norris, baking wasn’t something he grew up doing. Instead, it was a skill picked up from scratch, with guidance from his girlfriend and plenty of experimentation.

Behind the scenes, though, having a variety of bakes came at a cost. In the first few months, Norris was baking late into the night — sometimes until 1am — just to keep up with demand and refine his recipes.

Over time, however, he found this difficult to sustain. Now, he has decided to focus only on cheesecakes, to prioritise consistency over constant rotation.

Our review

We started our taste test with The Daily Sip’s cold brew coffee, served chilled in a bottle. It’s smooth, clean, and less acidic than your usual kopi — with subtle chocolatey notes that linger on the palate. It’s easy to see why younger customers gravitate towards it.

That said, traditional kopi drinkers may find it a departure from the bold, robust flavours they’re used to. That’s where the good ol’ kopi-O (S$1.40 hot, S$1.70 cold) and kopi-C (S$1.60 hot, S$1.90 cold) will satisfy.

We also tried the Singapore Dream and melon oolong cold brew teas. The former leans more aromatic in profile, with a noticeable floral character that carries through the drink. It comes across as a more straightforward option, centred on a single dominant profile.

By contrast, the melon oolong feels more layered. The combination of elements gives it a slightly more varied profile, with both floral and fruit components coming through in the overall experience.

Next, we tried the Basque cheesecake. Creamy with a lightly caramelised top, it strikes a good balance between richness and lightness. It’s not overly dense, making it an easy dessert even after a full meal.

The kaya & butter toast (S$2.50) stays true to its roots — crisp toast, buttery kaya, and a comforting familiarity that anchors the entire menu.

Working together

Running a business with family is never straightforward. But for the Wongs, it’s been largely positive.“It’s a very new experience, and it’s been fun and enjoyable,” Norris reflects.

“It is easier and much more interesting to run a stall together with family,” agrees Teck Thang. 

Still, working side by side every day comes with its challenges.“Sometimes, when you spend too much time together, there can be minor disagreements,” he admits. “But it’s part of the process.”

Both father and son bring something different to the table. Mr Wong contributes decades of hawker experience, while Norris introduces new ideas and concepts.

“My father knows the stall inside out,” Norris says. “And he’s learned that a fresh concept isn’t as scary as it seems.”

Together, they strike a balance between old and new — tradition and reinvention.

 As more young hawkers enter the scene, concepts such as The Daily Sip feel increasingly relevant. Norris sees it as part of a broader shift.

“Many of my peers are tired of routine jobs and want to try entrepreneurship,” he says.

But unlike some trend-driven concepts, The Daily Sip doesn’t chase novelty for its own sake. Instead, it represents a quieter evolution — one that respects tradition, while modernising. 

“I see our stall as a transition from a traditional hawker stall to a modern look and concept, without neglecting perennial favourites such as kopi and teh,” Norris says.

For more ideas on what to eat, check out Park Bench Deli’s latest iteration as a CBD food truck, or the newest menus this month!