KAJANG, Dec 26 (Bernama) — Behind a row of one-story terraced houses in Taman Kantan Permai, here lies a hidden gem of a coffee shop adorned with a collection of antiques and vintage items that are decades old.
Not only the furniture, but also the cups, plates, bowls and glass bottles that are used to store food evoke the nostalgia of the 1960s, especially as the tunes of old songs fill the air.
The owner of the premises known as ‘Kopi Jiran’, Wan Atiqah Misha Mohd Hairul, 26, said all the antiques that adorned the stall were part of her parent’s personal accumulated over the years since 2013.
“Actually, my parents have long dreamed of opening a cafe. So, when my cousin and I expressed our desire to open Kopi Jiran, they were very supportive and shared ideas in terms of decoration.
“The oriental decoration aims to relive the past so that today’s generation can have a taste of that bygone era. Alhamdulillah many customers enjoy the atmosphere,” she told Bernama recently.
Wan Atiqah started running the outlet with her two cousins, Sofia Zaireen Mohd Kamal, 36, and Sofia Mariah Mohd Kamal, 23, during Phase One of the National Recovery Plan on Aug 31, 2021.
“We were targeting residents in the surrounding area so that it would be convenient for them to enjoy a cup of coffee in a laidback atmosphere without having to go far, given the pandemic situation at that time.
“But we did not expect the response to be very encouraging, including from outside where the cafe became a conversation piece among coffee enthusiasts and went viral on social media,” she said.
Kopi Jiran, which opens on Thursday to Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm and can accommodate 30 to 40 customers at a time, has been receiving up to 200 customers a day.
Wan Atiqah, who has lived in Kajang for more than 20 years, said that they had to limit the operating hours of Kopi Jiran to respect the neighbourhood and did not want to disrupt the peace enjoyed by the neighbors.
Speaking on the menu at the cafe, Wan Atiqah Misha said Kopi Jiran serves a variety of coffee-based drinks that use local coffee because of its uniqueness and enticing aroma and fresher taste.
“Local coffees such as Kopi 132 and Kopi 133 have become Kopi Jiran’s signature because they are brewed using filters according to the traditional method.
“We also offer a variety of other drinks such as americano, mocha, caramel latte, caramel macchiato, tea, hot chocolate and so on. We want customers to have an experience like drinking an expensive brand of coffee,” she said.
Among the popular menus at Kopi Jiran, she said, are banana leaf nasi lemak, baked bread, banana pancakes, pastries, scones, rainbow bread, croissants and ‘kuih lopes’.
“Besides being home-made, the food is also provided by the surrounding neighbours thus providing a side income for them,” said Wan Atiqah who plans to expand her business in the city next year.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency