The afternoon, family bonding. All busy, busy, busy…working. All doing their own thing.

BintangMoolah or Starbucks, as it is more commonly known; was full house. With all the noise everyone was creating, it seemed the perfect place for work.

The ambience, the environment… Everyone seemed to be working. I wonder if Bintang Moolah can win an award for providing a conducive working space for those inspired to work… on a Sunday afternoon. How cool is that? For the price of purchasing these green and white logo-ed beverages, food and promotional products; you chup (or is it chop?) / book a table about 18 inches in diameter and a couple of chairs. Due to the scarcity of space at peak hours; you may find more than 3 people, hovering around these small tables.

The best part is… nobody complains. So, huddling around a small table, that barely has space for a laptop, a drink and a small plate of food; is totally cool.

I figure that there are favourite seats for possibly two groups of people.

One group of people want to be seen, so there is a need to sit at the front row – where traffic of people walking up and down, making their orders and then coming around again, this time to collect their readied orders when their names are called out…at times.

The second group of ardent Starbucks customers are those who basically want to remain incognito. If you look hard enough, you will find them clinging to corners with the least amount of light, or behind a potted plant…

My name is called most times – once, sometimes with a distinctively soft (many people say “small”) voice, “Alan, Allan, Ellan, Elan, Alen, Allen” …there is a permutation of spellings to my name. If you are not really paying attention, yet expect a booming or thunderous voice to shout your name, “Alan…calling Alan…calling one, twice…” ain’t gonna happen. Then, you wonder what’s taking your order so long. You walk up to the order taking / drink preparing guy, loosely referred to as a barista; only to find your drink is on the counter, waiting for you to collect it. I guess that is why there are times when you see people hanging around the counter, to pick up their orders as soon as the drinks are ready. On quieter days, these guys behind the counter, still don’t call out your name. Perhaps, I am behind time and need to catch up with the latest – follow almost everybody else: hang around the counter and pick up your order once it is ready.

Starbucks is a nice environment to get some work done. Perhaps, when you see people all around you with their faces almost glued to their laptop screens, or taking down notes, some with the tiniest of handwritings; you will feel inspired to put in some work, too.

Starbucks coffees and other beverages are typical Starbucks drinks as can be expected. They maintain standards they have set for themselves. And regulars come here, expecting exactly what they expect. That is a good thing, too.

As we, the family, pack up to leave for the evening; we are satisfied that we have accomplished some work while we were here, in a comfortable setting, right atmosphere and ambience. Looking forward to our next visit here.