KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 – Walk into Capital Cafe on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman at any hour of the day and you will find people of all races eating in there. The humble coffee shop run by the Lin family draws the crowd with its delicious pork-free fare and old world charm.
“Time stands still for 50 years here as there have been no changes to the structure and it remains like a twilight zone except the people are getting older,” says KY Lin, 55, who runs the iconic eatery with his siblings.
Their 90-year-old father is retired but the three Hockchew siblings still work hard to carry on the coffee shop's business.
The eldest brother Lin Kee Hua, 65, makes the drinks, toast and eggs with the help of their sister, Lin Boi Eng, 51 while KY mans the wooden cash counter keeping tabs of the cash collections in an exercise book.
Like all old places it is hard to pinpoint the exact year it was founded. KY recalls his family taking over the coffee shop sometime in the 1960s. An old menu stained with age dated 1956 is proof of the cafe's existence way back then.
Sneak a peek at the framed menu now stained with age and you will discover dishes like mee goreng or mee rebus translated into Jawi script. This seems to indicate that it has been serving pork-free food from Day One.
Upstairs was once a guesthouse known as City Hotel. Nowadays, the rickety wooden-floor covered space is occupied by foreign workers.
Literally the last one standing along the block, Capital Cafe was once neighbours with long forgotten names such as the antique shop Peiping Lace, radio dealers Kee Huat Radio or even the textile shop Globe Silk Store.About five other eateries in the same block including a chapati stall at the corner are now long gone, all replaced by colourful textile shops.
According to KY, in the early days the coffee shop was a partnership with the landlord and the Lin family. Following the abolishment of the Rent Control Act in 2000, the old partnership was dissolved and the family purchased the property.
Space is limited and just enough to fit only 17 marble-topped tables and wooden chairs. During peak time, it is often impossible to find an empty table and people would complain to KY. His usual reply to these customers is, “1 table, 5 kongsi (share)” to encourage them to share the table with total strangers.
Loyal customers cut across the generations; Daniel A. Rajan, 53, first ate here when he was 10 years old with his father. Nowadays he brings his own children to enjoy the food here.
Kampung Baru resident Sri Shahratul Bariah binti Md Saad, 27, also frequents the coffee shop for mee hailam and fried beehoon after she was introduced to the place by her grandmother and mother.
One of their most devoted customers is Jaafar bin Ashin, a regular for 40 years who comes in each day without fail for his meal accompanied by his favourite teh tarik.
The atmosphere at the coffee shop is convivial and the Lin siblings know all their regulars like Rajan who is now a close family friend.
You also get a sense of trust here unlike at other coffee shops where they hurriedly collect your money once they have served you. Payment is just like the old days, as you pay at the counter after you finish.
Regulars throng this place for a taste of yesteryear. Example, the mee hailam -- noodles cooked with cabbage, prawn and chicken. Many oldtimers love its simple taste that reminds them of the forgotten Hainanese fare once served in KTM's buffet coach and government rest houses.
The fried noodle dish has left such a lasting impression on many customers that some are willing to endure a 40-minute wait. Anyone who tries to hurry the noodles will be given a look of disdain and told “anybody can wait” by KY.
The stall is manned by Uncle Teng or Ah Pek as the regulars like to call him. The affable man has been frying noodles and rice for the past 36 years. Newcomers to the coffee shop who are unfamiliar with its offerings often ask for a plate of char kuey teow when they spy the cast iron wok.
“Char kuey teow is George Town and Lim Guan Eng,” KY will gently reprimand them.
During lunchtime, there will be long queues at the Nasi Padang stall as everyone bumps elbows to reach for their favourite dishes. Each day from 11am onwards, the kitchen churns out more than 50 varieties of dishes such as tempe goreng, bergedil, fried fish stuffed with sambal and the list goes on.
One of its popular items is the dendeng or beef pieces which are steamed, fried and topped with the fiery red sambal balado. The stall traces its origins back to 1962 when it was opened by Wahab bin Amir, a Minang descendant from Sumatra.
The busy stall is now run by Wahab's son, Asril and his two brothers. They also have another stall at Menara KWSP, Jalan Raja Laut. From 7am to 9.30am, nasi lemak is also served. Plans are also underway to open a branch in Shah Alam Section 24 that will be run by Asril's son.
In the middle of the restaurant, you find two Indian men manning the rojak and mee rebus stall. The older man, who goes by the name Nathan, prepares rojak with fritters, hard boiled egg and cucumbers, all drenched in a creamy mild tasting peanut sauce. Customers often opt for the mee rebus with a sprinkle of sotong for a quick snack or lunch.
As the evening approaches and the rojak stall packs up for the day, it's time for the satay man to take over. Ramli Yusuff, 46, continues his wife's grandfather's legacy at this stall which was founded in 1960.
During the day, Ramli works as a taxi driver and from 5pm onwards, he is busy grilling the satay over a hot charcoal fire together with his assistant, Mulia Nik Ariff.
People flock here for his delicious Javanese style satay especially the beef variant. Unlike other stalls, each stick of beef satay is skewered with a piece of fat between two pieces of daging batang pinang or tender sirloin meat.
The fat keeps the meat moist when grilled over the hot fire. The chicken satay uses chicken breast meat and a piece of chicken skin. Even his peanut sauce is a bit different – thinner consistency and a mild spicy taste.
Most customers prefer to pack the satay to enjoy at home. Ramli will wrap the satay, ketupat and cucumbers using a piece of banana leaf, which emits a fragrant aroma when it is opened. His delicious satay has even pulled him royal customers and you find him busy grilling satay at Istana Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan for their Hari Raya open house every year.
During the Raya festivities, he is often busy with open houses, which he will cater for a minimum order of 5,000 sticks. Throughout the three hours the stall is opened, Ramli is kept on his toes fulfilling non-stop orders.
The future of the cafe remains to be seen. None of the third generation family members have expressed an interest in running this institution. For the Lin siblings, it's business as usual to honour their father's wish to continue the coffee shop.
Once asked to franchise and replicate the coffee shop's business model, KY's reply sums up the coffee shop perfectly. “The Capital Cafe, there is only one.”
Capital Cafe is at 213, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur.
Open: 7am to 8pm (Monday to Friday),
9am to 8pm (Saturday).
Closed on Sundays.
This story was first published in the print edition of The Malay Mail, August 30, 2013.
