SHAH ALAM, Oct 27 — In recent years, Malaysians have developed a taste for espresso-based coffees.

Thus, begun the mushrooming of espresso coffee-serving cafés to the point roadside coffee vendors are popping up around the country — especially across the Klang Valley.

The coffee trend has gotten so big nowadays that at almost every big event or festival in Malaysia, it’s a safe bet at least one caffeine vendor will be there.

And another trend that is also being embraced by these vendors is the use of foldable camping chairs now nicknamed ‘healing chairs’ at their roadside spots, slowly replacing the usual plastic stools.

This trend of sideroad coffees and healing chairs even made its way to the sleepy neighbourhood of Subang Bestari, which is becoming a buzzing hangout spot for locals in the area and has become even more lively during the weekends.

What’s in Subang Bestari?

Located just 10-minutes away from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang Airport) near the border between Shah Alam and Sungai Buloh, Subang Bestari used to be a quiet neighbourhood with nothing much going on.

However, the past few years of growing development in and around the area such as the opening of Sime Darby’s Elmina (just five minutes away), HELP University as well as the Kwasa Damansara MRT station and not forgetting the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH), the area has seen a spike in both foot traffic as well as actual traffic.

Subang Bestari local Akmal Samsuddin welcomes the change.

In the past, he said, it used to be quite remote and mostly unknown.

"Seriously, back then, if you asked anyone, even people from Kota Damansara didn’t know about Subang Bestari but now, even some of my officemates have heard of it and some of them would even hang around here,” he said.

"And for me, this is a great thing because there’s a lot more to do here compared to before and previously, we had to go outside of Subang Bestari just to find a good hangout spot,” said the 32-year-old IT engineer grew up in Subang Bestari but is now living in Cyberjaya.

One such hangout spot is the open parking space located in the centre of the commercial shoplot across HELP University which has now become some sort of a food and coffee haven for locals here.

For the love of caffeine

At the time of writing, you can find around three to five coffee stalls at the parking space amongst other street food vendors who would normally open up shops during the evening.

Nota Anarki is one of these vendors and they were the first ones to set up a coffee stall at the parking space back in 2022 selling not just coffees but fusion food too such as Rendang Pasta and Beef Bulgogi Nasi Lemak.

Equipped with a coffee machine and a small makeshift kitchen at the back of a truck, Nota Anarki is run by 29-year-old Mohd Adha Mohd Idrus who has been in the local food and beverage industry for almost 10 years now.

"When we first started in 2022, this trend of roadside coffee was still kind of new, it’s definitely not as big as now,” he said.

"I’m an avid coffee drinker, I would have at least a cup of coffee a day and back in 2022, there were no espresso-based coffee shops in Subang Bestari, we would have to go out to PJ or Shah Alam or Kota Damansara just to get one.

"So because of that and also I know that there are other coffee lovers here who have faced similar situations as me, so we decided to open a roadside coffee shop for the local community here,” Adha said.

Since Nota Anarki’s inception, Adha is grateful for the ongoing support he gets from the local community and said that many have given them positive feedback throughout their two years of operating there.

With the parking space now given a new life through these vendors, Adha admitted that he has also seen a spike in his coffee sales as previously they could only sell around 20 to 30 cups of coffee but now the number of cups could reach up between 50 to 60 cups — and this is on a weekday while on weekends they could see the number soared up to 200 cups.

Healing chairs trend

The parking space wasn’t always as lively as it is today as previously, most of these vendors were scattered around the commercial shop lot area until in early September when they were ordered by Shah Alam City Council officers to relocate to the open parking space.

The Gerai Es Cokelat Malaysia Pertama were amongst those who have relocated and according to the owner, Akmal, the relocation didn’t only bring positive changes to the area but has inspired a healthy competition amongst the vendors there.

"Of course I’m a bit concerned about the competition now but honestly, I kind of like it that the area has attracted many vendors.

"As for the competition, at the end of the day, it’s the customers who will decide which drinks are on par with their taste, so we just have to keep making better quality drinks.

"For me, this is a healthy competition and there’s nothing wrong with it,” Akmal said.

Akmal who’s from Kota Damansara started off his stall by selling toast and ice chocolate before adding in coffees to his menu.

A crowd-pulling factor of his stall is due to him providing ‘healing chairs’ along the spacious pavement behind his stall, which has attracted many locals from different age groups to stop by to enjoy a cup of coffee or ice chocolate there while soaking in the suburban scenery of Subang Bestari.

Akmal who enjoys hiking and camping said that the shady trees that grew alongside the pavement gave the area a bit of a ‘back to nature’ feel to it and it was among the main reasons why he decided to open up shop there in the first place.

Aside from roadside coffee vendors, the ‘healing chairs’ trend is also being embraced by other traders and one of them is 53-year-old Azizi Osman, the owner of Uglybus Cheese Steak and Sandwich.

Using an old school bus as their kitchen and base of operations, Azizi would fill the surrounding area with tents, healing chairs and tables for his customers — an idea that came to him during one of his many riding trips to Thailand.

For Azizi, the cosiness of the healing chairs paired with a calm and vibrant ambience will make any spot a perfect hang out spot especially for his younger customers.

"To me it’s a young people’s economy, they are spending more than the elders now.

"And because I’m involved with this young people’s economy, I have to cater to the food that they like and their styles which is the ‘healing chairs’ trend.

"This trend is also happening in Thailand and the thing about (healing chairs) is that it’s easy to get now, you can just buy them online,” Azizi said.

Azizi, who has been living in Subang Bestari since 2004 added that every good residential area would have a good food court and the open car park space is a chance for the community there to introduce a ‘food court’ of their own.

The food and coffee vendors at the open car park space would usually operate from 6pm onwards while others might open earlier — Friday and Saturday evenings are when the area is at its busiest.