Who's more chill? American expat gives verdict on interacting with local Malays and Chinese

Having a chat with baristas at a coffee joint is relatively normal practice for TikToker Ericnyker.

But now that he's based in Singapore, the US foodie realised that this isn't something widely practised in our local Starbucks.

During his coffee runs, Ericnyker also observed something rather specific and took to his TikTok account to wonder aloud if it is true.

"Who is more chill [or] easy to talk to in Singapore?" he asked.

To add some context, Ericnyker was comparing specifically between local Malays and local Chinese.

That's right, once again, the race card is out. So, let's thread this together lightly.

The expat shared that, back in America, customers and baristas would typically chatter about anything under the sun, the weather included.

@ericnyker

Who is more Chill / easy to talk to in Singapore?

♬ original sound - Eric from NYC

In Singapore though, even at US establishments such as Starbucks, this friendly interactions do not happen as often.

According to Ericnyker, there is a "distinct difference" between the Chinese and Malay Singaporean service staff, and he uses a trip to a coffee joint as an example.

"I just have a lot of fun with the Malay Singaporeans," he said, adding that the chit-chat is similar to what he experienced in America.

There'll be jokes thrown around and it does sound like all parties actually enjoy the interaction.

With the Chinese Singaporeans, however, Ericnyker's experience hasn't been as perky.

He's received more "huh" and "what" from them and it sounded like Chinese Singaporeans are just more taken aback by Ericnyker's friendly nature and the fact that a customer is making the effort to converse with them.

"Just an observation, I wanted to know what really is the deal," he added.

In the comments section, another foreigner echoed their feelings on the matter.

"As a foreigner here, that's true from my experience as well," the netizen commented.

There were plenty others who agreed with his observations too. No prizes for guessing which ethnic background these netizens are of. 

This observation from Ericnyker is just one of many TikTok videos he's shared of his experiences assimilating to local culture and trying out local food.

In June 2023, he headed to Pilot Kitchen, a restaurant run by four Gen Z chefs, and was blown away by the food served.

ALSO READ: From delivery culture to condo living: Expat couple explain why they love living in Singapore

amierul@asiaone.com

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