Deda cafe has survived the onslaught of foreign chains and now serves as a de facto Old Boys' club for the city's seniors

It is 7:15 on Monday morning. The flood of white collars has yet to descend on the metro station at People's Square, where the popular Chinese phrase renshan-renhai (a mountain and sea of people) really comes into its own. The Starbucks outlet above the station has just unlocked its well-polished glass doors, waiting for the first order.

Less than 1 kilometer away, a zigzagging line has been waiting outside Deda, an unpretentious cafe and restaurant, for the first sip of what many patrons describe as "the cheapest and most fragrant coffee in town".