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Last week, I had a conversation with a client from Johor Bahru. Somehow, we ended up talking about China House, a well-known café-gallery-bakery in Penang.
“It’s one of my favourite places in Penang,” she said.
“Not just because of the heritage building, but because it has a soul. The smell when you walk in. The things they sell. The music they play. It’s not just the form, it’s the content.”
That word stayed with me: soul.
For a long time, I’ve been noticing cafés and eateries around Singapore. Even though they may be well-designed and the food is good, many feel “flat”.
And I wonder:
How do you maintain soul when you scale? Is soul only possible when the owner is still stirring the pot? Does the pursuit of economic efficiency inevitably squeeze out the soul?
I don’t have the answer. But I’m glad that one sentence from a conversation opened up this whole thread in my head.
What are your thoughts?
Photos taken by me at China House on 16 May 2025
