Article written by By YIP YOKE TENG and featured at the star paper on Friday, 12th August 2011.
Faster wi-fi, lower prices or the most number of plug points? What does it take for one kopitiam to outdo hundreds of other competitors in what seems to be the strongest food and beverage trend in the Klang Valley? StarMetro takes a closer look at the bustling business.
It is no exaggeration to say there is a modern kopitiam at almost every other corner in the Klang Valley now. These eateries are multiplying at lighting speed over the past few years, in a way giving the city a facelift as it moves forward into a modern era.
Interestingly, apart from serving almost the same range of delicacies, many of the kopitiams seem to favour a similar theme colour, interior set up and sometimes even have similar names as some latecomers imitate the more established brands to share a piece of the pie.
The trend entails fierce competition among the operators. Like in a battle, they use different ways to lure customers because they just have too many things in common.
Some go for lower prices but many of them just race to offer the fastest wi-fi service as the common perception has it that consumers throng these kopitiams to surf the net or do their work.
To the outsiders, it seems that these kopitiam operators merely jumped on the bandwagon but a closer check revealed that the trend was driven by a need to transform old coffeeshops to keep up with changing times.
Behind these modern kopitiams are visionary entrepreneurs who know what the market wants.
Interestingly, many of them are also Hainanese, the clan which also almost monopolised the trade of olden coffeeshops with culinary expertise passed down by their forefathers.
They used to work as chefs for the British and royal families during colonial times.
The Kluang Station was established on such a ground by J. J. Phun whose great-grandfather founded the famous but nameless coffeeshop at the railway station in Kluang in 1938.
While the old coffeeshop is popular as ever with its aromatic cuppas and homemade kaya, the 34-year-old entrepreneur wanted to take the business one step forward and at the same time save the dying Hainanese cuisine.
“I think the Hainanese were the first to create the fusion cuisine. They learned how to cook western food from the British and they added the local touch to create something favoured by even the royalty.
“Unfortunately, the Hainanese did not want their children to be cooks but doctors or lawyers, and they would rather take their skills to their graves than pass it on to others,” said Phun when interviewed recently at the first Kluang Station outlet at the 1Utama shopping centre, Petaling Jaya.
With experience and knowledge in both culinary and strategic marketing, Phun embarked on his venture with his grandfather’s blessing, the expertise of old Hainanese chefs he met in Penang and a new system that can manage the huge volume of food while maintaining consistency in the flavours.
“It was rocky initially as the system is so much more complicated than in a coffeeshop. I had to change the entire structure. Food was the only thing that remained unchanged. The key to maintaining consistency is in measuring everything. If it can be measured, it can be perfected,” he said.
In addition to that, all eight Kluang Station outlets are supported by a central kitchen equipped with blast freezers and nylon bags to prepare the specialities, especially the kaya, that according to Phun “only four people in the world know how to make”.
Phun admitted that there were already other players in the industry when he opened the first outlet six years ago. But he refused to regard them as pioneers.
“The people who started this trend were Starbucks and Coffee Bean and that showed them the potential in this business,” he said.
He banked on running his business based on the brand’s rich heritage, run professionally as a business instead of a family joint.
“There are many coffeeshops now because everyone thinks it is a viable business and it is. However, they are not backed by passion and they do not have the history,” he said.
The common perception is that the kopitiam crowd is in for the wi-fi, but it is the last thing on Phun’s mind as his outlets provided the service only from early this year, and he got the lines free.
“There’s no denying that wi-fi appeals to certain age groups but this selling point is wearing thin now with every outlet having it.
“Besides, with more than six people sharing the same line, it will be slow anyhow,” he said, maintaining that food is still the draw.
Barley white, chicken nest wire and other familiar elements of an old railway station adorn the Kluang Station chain which is expanding without using the franchise licence as Phun does not want to risk compromising on the quality of food. He had offers to expand overseas, too, but has yet to meet the ideal partner.
Meanwhile, Hailam Kopitiam’s managing director K.A. Goh prides himself on offering authentic Hainanese fare, as well as the rich Hainanese history dating back to colonial times, including the old wooden chairs taken from his grandfather’s 70-year-old coffeeshop in Kuala Pilah.
The wi-fi, he said, was just supplementary.
The kopitiam grew into 30 outlets in only two years through licensing and Goh insisted that the food quality had been kept optimal with stringent monitoring, responding attentively to customers’ feedback and keeping an efficient central kitchen.
“A Kopitiam best captures the colours of Malaysia!” he said, adding that it was dear to Malaysians as evident in how fast his chain had grown through word of mouth!
Formerly a businessman trading in plaster ceiling, Goh focused on the food and beverage industry in 2006 when it started gaining momentum.
He also felt the need to modernise his family business as traditional coffeeshops were fading out.
“You can never go wrong with the food business as everybody has to eat. I used to visit the coffeeshops five to six times daily to meet my customers there,” he said.
“Food is the largest trade in the world and coffee is the second largest commodity after petroleum. It’s not even sugar or rice, so just imagine how big it can grow,” he added.
Hailam Kopitiam brands itself brown, complete with marble tables, wooden chairs and antique lamps to enhance the traditional coffee and toast experience.
“I chose brown because it is the colour of coffee. It is the identity of coffeeshops.
“Our colour is different from that of other kopitiams, it is in a lighter tone,” Goh said.
Ng Taw Heng, who is running the one-and-only Kopi Oh! in Petaling Jaya is also a Hainanese, whose father runs a 50-year-old coffeeshop in Johor.
He said it was only natural for him to bring his family business to the capital — where he studied — as the coffeeshop was “his life”.
Five years down the road, his kopitiam is now regarded as the neighbourhood place among residents and the working community there.
To him, good service, cleanliness, comfortable ambience and wi-fi are the basic requirements of a kopitiam but food still rules at the end of the day.
“Food and beverage operators are like doctors who treat the stomach. People return to the same doctor if he’s professional and dedicated. It is the same with us. If the food is bad, customers will never return,” he said.
To beat other kopitiams, Ng plans to enhance the menu dominated by local and Hainanese delights with halal Hong Kong delicacies in the near future.
“We are confident that customers will like the variety,” he said.
Goh and Ng are already working to promote their kopitiams overseas, especially China, and they are certain the Malaysian fare will please the palate of foreigners.
So, no matter how fiercely kopitiams are “fighting” among themselves, customers are the ones to benefit at the end of the day, and the fierce competition has also given rise to a strong Malaysian product which is set to shine internationally.
