Chope that table man!

I learnt a new verb in the first couple of weeks here. It’s a mighty useful action and good to know about from the get-go:
I/You chope. He/She chopes. We chope, You all chope, They chope.

To Chope is to reserve a table at a busy foodcourt (called Kopitiam over here, the Malay words Kopi (Coffee) and Tiam (Shop) I believe) by way of placing a small token of yours in the centre of the table, leaving you free to visit the foodstall and return with your lunch. It’s brilliantly simple; a small pack of tissues will do it, and it is unbendingly observed by all visitors to the establishment. Though shalt not ignore or move the choping-token. My only problem is to make sure that I carry something small and of no value in my pocket when I go for lunch. We have tested this with a colleague’s faux-leather blackberry case, that worked too!

Go nuts, chope away and always have a seat to come back to.