“SINI meja (this table)!” A motherly, tudung-clad lady hollers in our direction as we stand transfixed by the entrance, eyes furiously scanning for an empty table in this already-heaving kopitiam. It’s not even mid morning yet but Chong Kok Kopitiam, located just across the road from the single-storied Klang Komuter Station on Jalan Stesen, Klang, Selangor is doing brisk trade.
“Sini meja (this table),” repeats the lady, this time in a suitably harassed tone. You can hardly blame her. The modest space, already sardine-packed with regular punters tucking into their breakfast fare, coupled with curious customers milling around tables laden with the morning’s nasi lemak and local kuehs, is a veritable “jungle”!
Clamorous chatter, the languid hissing from whirring fans blasting cool respite against the humidity outside, the dragging of chairs against the tiled floor, only serve to add to the heady deluge on the senses. Welcome to the kopitiam, I mutter to myself as I gratefully accept the offer of a chair to rest my weary derriere!
Whipping out a small piece of cloth from her well-worn apron, the aforementioned tudung-clad lady proceeds to vigorously wipe our kicap-stained marble table before motioning to the menu on the wall for us to place our orders.
“Must try their specials,” suggests my friend, and we eventually settle for half boiled eggs, kaya butter toasts, packed nasi lemak, some kuehs, and the ubiquitous sweetened coffee from those familiar green-patterned ceramic cups.
As the lady departs to attend to our orders, my gaze is drawn to a table just towards the back of the shop where a lively and raucous discussion seems to be taking place between a “singlet”-clad Chinese uncle, a Malay man with a kopiah (skullcap) jauntily perched on his head, and a bespectacled Indian man. On their table, a bowl piled with mountains of cracked eggs shells and plenty of coffee cups.
Ahhh, just Malaysians sharing their love of food over a good banter! Certainly, there’s no better place to witness that Muhibbah spirit than kopitiams (coffee shop in the Hokkien dialect), the oldest surviving coffeehouses in Malaysia, and a “bastion of diversity” in our multi-cultural country.
OF TECHNOLOGY AND EGGS
“Oh good, you’re trying our eggs!” The sound of a friendly voice and the scraping of a chair against the floor as it’s being dragged whips my attention back to our table. Looming over me is the face of a beaming gentleman clad in a striking light salmon pink shirt. “I’m Foo Cher Ming, owner of this kopitiam” he says, before amiably extending his hand in a welcoming handshake and taking his place among us.
A gracious host, he proceeds to ply us with more food and turns out to be a lively companion. “Do you know we’ve perfected the art of half-boiled eggs?” he asks, before chuckling good-naturedly at our perplexed expressions.
“In the past, we used to boil our eggs, mamak-style. You know using boiling hot waiter and waiting for the right time to take them out? Now, we’re using technology to improve the quality of our eggs. The eggs are perfect now!” elaborates Foo excitedly.
As the egg talk continues, we learn that here at Chong Kok Kopitiam, the emphasis on perfect boiled eggs has much to do with the fact that it’s one of their staple offerings. A firm favourite with customers here.
“Do you know how long it takes to do a soft-boiled egg,” poses Foo, eyes delighting in our confusion again. “Normal soft-boiled egg requires only 2 or 3 minutes. Ours is 45 minutes! We’re using a very expensive machine. The technology is interesting as it uses a very slow heat to cook the eggs to perfection. Somehow this lengthy process results in a creamier yolk. Our customers love it!”
The egg-loving proprietor with a background in architecture believes in adopting technology to refine processes. “Kopitiams may be old but that doesn’t mean we can’t move with the time in other ways,” he points out. “I’m always inspired to see how things can be improved through technology. Even with something as simple as eggs. It has been a staple on our menu for generations and therefore we need to perfect it.”
GENERATIONS IN BUSINESS
Chong Kok Kopitiam as we know it today started life as a cafe tucked within a hotel known as Chong Kok Hotel. Founded by Foo’s grandfather in 1940, a very able Hainanese who was a whizz in the kitchen, together with three friends, it was a modest budget establishment in the-then bustling Klang enclave.
The hotel vied for customers with other budget establishments in the area. Recalls Foo: “Our hotel business — alone — wasn’t doing too well because there were just so many budget options to choose from. So I guess that’s when grandfather and our family decided to cease the hotel operations and start the cafe, calling it Chong Kok Kopitiam.”
Pointing to the cashier counter near the entrance, Foo shares that back in the days, that was where the hotel’s reception counter was located; where guests walking through the door would be greeted by the receptionist. On the wall I can still see a wooden key hanger where presumably, the hotel keys were strung in a row.
“We’ve not changed the space much,” confides Foo, a nostagic smile playing on his lips. “So guests would walk through there and go up the stairs where the rooms would be. Last time, the staircase was in the middle but we decided to move it to the back for more space. Back then, we had the kopitiam on the ground floor, the restaurant on the first floor and the hotel on the second. There were only six rooms, I think.”
The kopitiam business was faring a lot better than the hotel and the reins were eventually passed to Foo’s father and mother, with the help of other family members. “My father and mother were originally from Kedah and studied at a teacher training college there. That’s where they met. When grandfather decided to hand over the kopitiam business, it was to my parents, who by then were qualified teachers. I remember when they relocated to Klang to help grandfather, my parents became very active in the community and were known in the area for their community work,” confides Foo, one of six siblings.
Asked to recall his childhood memories in this kopitiam, Foo smiles. His eyes light up as he recounts idyllic days of running around the family shop, helping out during the school holidays to make some pocket money. “I remember we’d take orders and helped with little things. My father (who has now passed away) was determined that we learnt about the value of hard-earned money. Oh, and when we were not helping, we’d be eating quite a lot here!”
The youthful-looking 60-year-old remembers that the menu back then was pretty similar to what’s served today. Coffee, tea, bread, kaya, eggs... everything’s the same, except perhaps for the main items, he says. “Last time we also served Chicken Chop, Mee Hailam, steaks etc. But when my parents took over, they decided to just focus on the staples.”
Foo himself took over the reins of the kopitiam only in 2011. Prior to that, he was studying architecture in the US, returning to the country in 1996. “Dad believed in good education for his kids,” he muses aloud, adding: “On my return, I didn’t throw myself into the business immediately. I was just helping with product improvements, looking at ways on how we could move with the time.”
On the most significant lesson or advice his father gave him through the years, Foo confides that it’s the importance of earning honest money. “For example, if we’re going to sell something here, it must be things that we can eat. If it’s not good enough for us, it shouldn’t be good enough for our customers. Also, we believe in offering simple but high quality food at an affordable price. As long as we can make enough to cover our costs, it’s fine.”
Pointing proudly to a signage with some Chinese words by the doorway, Foo remarks: “See that? It says “ a grateful heart is the key to success”. I put it there so that whenever I walk into the shop, I can see it. And it reminds me every day that to be successful, my heart must always be grateful.”
MOVING FORWARD
Kopitiams may be well loved but their numbers are dwindling, in part due to gentrification and rapid development, particularly in cities. Whereas in the past these traditional coffee shops held court where ever they were found, pulsating with local life, today, they’re battling the likes of established coffee giants and independent cafes with much higher profit margins.
The landscape has definitely changed. But surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to faze Foo in the least — he actually welcomes it. “Without the modern cafes or modern kopitiams like Old Town etc, the coffee scene will die,” he postulates, brows furrowing. “We’re training the youngsters to drink coffee.”
Smiling, he elaborates: “Yes, we’re traditional coffee and Starbucks, say, is modern. But I believe that once a person starts to love coffee (whatever the type), they’ll eventually seek out more types of coffee. And this could even lead them to the traditional offerings. Who knows, they might actually like it.”
He’s excited to share that Chong Kok Kopitiam has already spread its wings to a more modern setting with the opening of their latest outlet at Central i-City in Shah Alam, Selangor.
Elaborates Foo, eyes dancing in excitement: “We’ve tried to recreate the original look there despite it being in a mall. It’s just not necessary for us to radically change our identity to fit in; people know us for our tradition and quality. And that should stand us in good stead as we move forward into the future.
Chong Kok Kopitiam
5, Jalan Stesen, Kawasan 1, Klang, Selangor
HERITAGE UNDERTAKING
As much as local business owners want to preserve their decades-old or even century-old businesses, they also hope that they can work together as a community to preserve treasures that lend character and history to their businesses, such as the Klang River that brought them to the area in the first place.
Like these business owners, it’s important for everyone to appreciate that the unique character of our local community is often strongly influenced by the presence of local businesses. The distinctiveness of our local community can increase our overall satisfaction with where we live and enhance the value of our homes and property. Furthermore, having unique and interesting local businesses and attractions elevates the tourism pull of a town.
This is one of the inspirations behind the Klang Municipal Council (MPK)’s bold move to become the nation’s first Royal Heritage and Digital City in Malaysia by 2035, through the MPK’s 2035 Local Plan (Replacement) initiative. The aim is to empower Klang as a world-class royal heritage and competitive port city by emphasising sustainable and holistic development and by focusing on its extensive digital connectivity while maintaining its rich heritage.
This initiative is further spurred by the Selangor Maritime Gateway, a project by the Selangor State Government managed by Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd — an environmental conservation and sustainable development company, to rejuvenate the Klang River and the areas around it in Selangor.
In the pipelines are a new interactive destination playground and park at Pengkalan Batu and an ecotourism site called Mangrove Point, both within the Klang area, which will open in stages beginning early 2020. Plans are also underway to return the Klang River to its former glory with a river taxi system that will offer an alternative means of transport — connecting various towns, villages and tourism spots along the river.
These undertakings are designed to breathe new life into the city of Klang, its businesses and its heritage, and improve the lives of the people that call this city by the river home. It’s hoped that with the continued support of local communities and new tourist arrivals in the wake of the upcoming attractions and promotions for Klang, businesses like Chong Kok Kopitiam will continue to thrive and serve customers for generations to come.