Ipoh kopitiam going strong for 40 years

IPOH: For more than 40 years, the New Hollywood Cafe has been a melting pot of sorts, welcoming Malaysians under one roof.

The Hainanese kopitiam in Canning Garden is run by Chan Jit Keong, with his wife and mother.

The friendly and affable Chan is a second-generation kopitiam operator, taking over from his father in the 1990s.

“In the old days, many Hainanese were into the kopitiam business.

“I am continuing my father’s legacy. It’s a tough job as we rest only two days in a month.

“The kopitiam is where people come to start their day with a hearty breakfast,” the 46-yearold told the New Sunday Times in between making tea and coffee for his patrons.

It started in the 1970s when his mother was approached by college students to provide porkfree dishes for them.

Seeing the potential for more customers, she spoke to the hawkers.

It was not easy as pork is an integral part of Chinese hawker fare, but they decided to go for pork-free recipes.

“The hawkers replaced pork with chicken, and this was well received,” he said, adding that the kopitiam had been visited by dignitaries and royal family members.

Chan serves kopitiam dishes, such as curry noodles, hot cakoi, roti canai, rojak, chee cheong fun, wantan noodle, char kuay teow, asam laksa, toast, prawn noodle and caramel custard.

He said other kopitiam operators tried to emulate his success by going pork-free, but had been less successful.

“Trust is important. You need to have the patrons’ confidence that the food is pork free.”

In recent years, the kopitiam’s popularity has increased tremendously and Chan was offered franchise partnerships, which he declined.

“I have only one pair of hands. Money is important but it isn’t everything.

“The satisfaction of knowing that your efforts brighten up the day for others, that’s priceless,” he said.