Cupful of history

Set in a striking pre-war building, Ipoh’s pioneer hipster cafe, Burps and Giggles not only offers a great cuppa but also charms with its intriguing back story, writes Intan Maizura Ahmad Kamal

AsCuFFlE. And then sounds of heavy footsteps marching up the stairs. the pale-faced Japanese man, slight in size, throws his body in front of the wooden door as barricade against the uninvited visitors. But it’s to no avail. He’s too late. His clandestine operations are busted. “... And all the while the guy was operating this place as a photo studio when he was actually a spy. they found all the equipment etc upstairs.if you go outside, you’ll see the words MiCasa photography on one of the pillars, but the letters are very faded already...,” rattles the bespectacled Amanda teoh, manager and co-owner of Burps and giggles, a charming hipster cafe set in a pre-war building located in the old part of ipoh town.

the arrival of a piping hot cup of cappucino placed in front of me by a smiling wait staff interrupts the dramatic visuals that had hitherto been playing like a film reel in my wandering mind. teoh’s story of the building’s origins has somehow added a more intriguing sheen to this charmingly rustic cafe, one of the pioneers in ipoh’s hipster cafe scene.

“so you mean upstairs there used to be a spy hole,” i ask, my eyes travelling to the wooden stairs just to the left of where i’m seated. teoh’s head bobs enthusiastically in response. “Wow”, i mouth to her.

According to the affable 32-year-old, MiCasa was one of the first photo studios in perak. it was opened by a Japanese and he ran the business as a front for his ‘other’ activities. But then his ruse was discovered and he was apprehended. the place was subsequently closed down for a few years before it was taken over by a group of sikh tailors.

“the place then became a tailor shop, sometimes in the late 1930s i think, and it was called u.s. peter,” says teoh, brows furrowing in her attempts to recall these nuggets of history. “the owner, pertap, led a team of tailors, and they basically sewed dresses, gowns and men’s clothing for the British officers and their wives for social events. the meticulousness of pertap’s handiwork made him a household name among the European community in ipoh.”