Kopitiam Culture in Klang

Kopitiam Culture in Klang English 2 (ENGL 0205)

Assignment 2

Kee Zhong Jian (0309584)

Tan Jia-Qi (0310107)

Jocelyn Tan Wan Wei (0310050)

Goh Yee Thong (0310044)

English Project 2- Comparative Report

FNBE March Intake 2012

FNBE SEPT 2012 - ENGL 0205 English 2

Names of group members: Kee Zhong Jian; Tan Jia-Qi; Jocelyn Tan Wan Wei; Goh Yee Thong

Content Page 1. Research Report

2. Attachments

3. Reference List

pg 1 – pg 11

pg 12- pg 15

pg 16- pg 17





Research Report

Over the past 60 years, the culture of kopitiam plays an important role in life of

every Malaysian. “Kopi”, in Malay means coffee whereas “tiam” in Hokkien means shop.

The common perception about the kopitiam is that it is a place where people start their

day by sipping a cup of coffee, perusing the newspaper. It is a place where the true

local Malaysian culture can be shown and a media for the culture to merge together

among different races. We chose two kopitiams in Klang, Cheong Foh (located in

Lorong Gopeng,Klang) and Chong Kok( located in Jalan Stesen Klang) for research and

have drawn a few conclusions in addressing these following questions:

1.What is the origin and history of Cheong Foh and Chong Kok kopitiam?

2.What are the signature foods in kopitiam?

3.What is the targeted market and who are the main customers?

4.How does the business promote and advertise its products?

5.What are the main threats/competition to the kopitiams and the strategy of facing the

competition?

6.How does technology affect the kopitiam?

7.What is the future plan of kopitiam?

These review on kopitiam as trade and business are based on these questions.

What is the origin and history of Cheong Foh and Chong Kok kopitiam?





According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “origin” means the

ancestry or the point at which something begins or rises or from which it drives

(Merriam-Webster, 2013). A quotation by Marcus states, “A people without the

knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” The origin

or family history of Cheong Foh began in year 1950s. The founder of Cheong Foh was

the descendant of “Hakka” and “Teochew”, the unique ethnic groups of "Han" Chinese.

“Hakka” are thought to be one of the earliest "Han" settlers in China. During the long

migration history of 2000 years, the “Hakka” people have also married with other ethnic

groups and adopted their culture. For this case, the founder of Cheong Foh is the fusion

of the two different ethnic groups. Until now, “Hakka” people preserve certain cultural

characteristics that could be traced to pre-Qin period as expressed in the custom,

spoken language and food culture. The “Chao Zhou” people which commonly known as

the “Teochew” are native to the Chao Shan region of eastern Guang Dong province of

China who speak the “Teochew” language. The shop is operated by Mdm. Goh Shw

Hui, daughter-in-law of the founder of Cheong Foh with assistance of her son. Mdm.

Goh was previously a teacher teaching English at a local primary school. She then took

over the business when her father-in-law passed away. She was unfamiliar with the

operations of Cheong Foh, but with her hard work she was able to cooperate and

manage the business well. The location of Cheong Foh has changed three times before

the shop that currently located at Lorong Gopeng. The shop was first located under the

Klang Bridge then it was shifted to Jalan Nanas. It was then moved to Lorong Tapak for

renovation purpose.





The next coffee shop, Chong Kok was first founded in 1940. With the history

of 70 years, Chong Kok is the most established coffee shop in Klang. The founder

himself was a Hainanese. In the past, the traditional occupational of the Hainanese

group was coffee shop operators. “The 1930s was a pivotal period for the overseas

Chinese population in Malaya due to two remarkable developments, which are the

Great Depression and the China National Salvation Movement.” (Book News, 2009).

“The Hainanese Chinese were among the last to make their way to British Malaya,

beginning in the late 1800s and continuing into the early 20th century.”(Eating

Asia,2012). Majority of them were exposed to various cultures such as the Peranakan

culture and the British culture, by working as a cook in the rich British military camps

and also in the homes of wealthy Chinese. “In Singapore and Malaysia, the term

“Peranakan” refers primarily to Straits-born Chinese- that is, to those born in the former

Straits Settlement (specifically Singapore, Melacca and Penang) or in the former British

Malaya and their descendants.”(Encyclopedia Britannica,2012). The founder of Chong

Kok was one of them. He was once a sailor during the British colonization. He worked

as a chef on the ship and learnt to cook in western style. Hence, he adapted the British

style breakfast with Hainan style and here goes the born of Hainanese coffee shop

concept. Chong Kok is operated by the third generation of the family with no relocation

involved. During the 1940s, Chong Kok was once named as Chong Kok Hotel because

the rooms at the upper floor were for rent and there was a restaurant and bar at the

ground floor. It was then converted to Chong Kok coffee shop.

What are the signature foods in kopitiams?





In terms of traditional Hainanese breakfast, there are three important

components which are the coffee, toast with kaya and butter spread, and half-boiled

egg. It is believed that coffee is originated from Ethiopian province of Kaffa. The coffee

culture in Malaysia is rather special. There is a need to specify the order in local

kopitiams. One will actually get a cup of milked coffee, which is served with great

amount of condensed milk while one orders “Kopi”. In order to get a taste of the local

baked coffee, one has to mention “Kopi-O” while taking order, O is black in Hokkien

dialect. Hainanese derived their recipes in preparing the best coffee after learning the

habit of drinking coffee was introduced by the British. “The Hainanese cooks could often

afford only cheap beans, they enhanced their aroma by wok-frying them with butter (or

lard) and sugar.” ( Tan,2012). Coffee can be brewed in various style and the methods

are originated from the Europe. According to Kummer (2003), the examples of coffee

brewing methods are the manual filter method, which involves dripping of coffee from

the filter, and the Chemex, which was introduced by Peter Schlumbohm involving the

usage of a handblown glass coffee maker with an-hour glass shape. In traditional

kopitiams, the freshly brewed coffee is poured into the coffee filter net. Both kopitiams

has their recipes on frying the coffee beans. The recipe created by the founders was not

leaked to any outsiders as it is the key of winning the customers’ heart. Coffee beans in

both Cheong Foh and Chong Kok are fried by outsiders and packed in small packages.

It enables the tourists and loyal customers to brew the coffee on their own.

The charcoal toasted loaf of bread with thick butter and kaya(coconut jam)

spread is one of the signature foods in kopitiam culture. Kaya, has the other name





which is called sri kaya, in Malay which means prosperous in its colour of golden. The

main ingredients of preparing the coconut jam are coconut milk, duck or chicken egg

and sugar. It is also essential to add pandan leaf to enhance the aroma of kaya. Origin

of this mouthwatering spread is Indonesia or Malaysia as all the ingredients can be

found locally. Miller et al.(2010) suggested that kaya has a creamy textured and

available as golden brown or green coloured depending on the amount of pandan and

extent of caramelization of the sugar. Duck eggs are used in producing kaya spread in

Chong Kok and Cheong Foh as it will create a smoother texture. According to owner of

Cheong Foh, Madam Goh, 200 duck eggs are needed one day in order to cater the

crowd. The mixture of coconut milk, brown sugar and duck eggs are constantly stirred in

a huge boiling pot by the worker to ensure the well mixture of coconut jam.

What is the targeted market and who are the main customers?

Basically, both Chong Kok and Cheong Foh target local market. According to the

Department of Statistics Malaysia, the total population of Klang is 744062 in year 2010.

Statistics also show that the population by age group of 0-19 is 255719; age group of

20-29 is 164511; age group of 30-59 is 277777; and age group of 60 and above is

46109. From our observation, both Chong Kok and Cheong Foh customers’ age group

range from 30 to 70. Klang is a developed township and a high percentage of

residences involve in construction, plantation and service industry. Blue collared

workers are the major customers as the food in kopitiam is affordable for them. In the

year of 2010, the population of Malay, Chinese and Indian is 335739, 190854 and

140519 respectively. Customers of Chong Kok are from various ethnic group as it





serves a variety of halal foods like Nasi Lemak or Nyonya cake. In contrary, Cheong

Foh serves mainly Chinese food such as soup noodle and chicken rice. Consequently,

only Chinese and Indian customers visit Cheong Foh. Chong Kok and Cheong Foh

target customers of the middle income group. According to the statistics done by the

Department of Statistics Malaysia, the average percentage of household by income

class in year 2009 is RM4, 025. There are tourists visiting both kopitiam from outstation

during the weekends due to the promotion and reviews online.

How does the business promote and advertise its products?

Chong Kok and Cheong Foh Kopitiam find that they need all three

components of marketing communications such as promotion, advertising, and public

relations, in some combination. In order for their business to succeed, they generally

promote their products or services to the same customers that their competitors are

targeting. Cheong Foh and Chong Kok Kopitiam consciously utilize public relations as a

way to obtain free advertising about their products and services. What is public relation?

Often, it gets confused with advertising, yet advertising is a very different medium – and

can be defined as the antithesis of public relations. Public relation is the art of managing

perceptions and building relationships with the people who use your products, where

both Chong Kok and Cheong Foh rely much on the recommendation of the customers.

Both kopitiams package their coffee beans and homemade kaya and sell

them to their customers. Moreover, Chong Kok Kopitiam always update its website to

avoid visitors encounter outdated material, difficulties with navigation, and poor layout.





Also, regardless of company size, Chong Kok Kopitiam’s blog includes a “News and

Events” section. This is a place to release its news and events. Its website has updated

biographies and photos of company management and a contact email and phone

number for media inquiries. In order to be successful in their public relations efforts,

they also introduce themselves to key media. They are familiar with all the reporters,

broadcast and print, that would potentially cover their company or brand. Before

introducing themselves to a reporter, the kopitiam owners claim that it is essential to be

fluent in what the reporters regularly write about, what reporters have recently said that

they could reference, or to offer a counter position that makes their business or products

more interesting. Besides, there is social food web that offers free tools to help them

attract and reward customers. For example, Foursquare has millions of business

listings, all submitted by customers who go to those places. Customers will pin their

location, price, cuisine, distance ratings and reviews, links to websites. Customer use

foursquare to “check-in”, which is a way of telling people their whereabouts, some

customers even pin the Kopitiam’s location, distance, ratings and reviews, and website

links. When people are searching for great meals and great places to go, they look to

Foursquare for recommendations; it is a great way to help people discover Chong Kok

and Cheong Foh Kopitiam as they are already very famous in town.

What are the main threats/competition to the kopitiams and the strategy of facing the

competition?

Cheong Foh and Chong Kok Kopitiam are competitive with respect to

price, value and promotions, service, location, and food quality. There are a substantial





number of restaurant operations that compete with them for customer traffic, some of

which have significantly greater resources to aggressively market to consumers, which

could result in their concepts losing market share. Consumers are highly focused on

value and if other restaurants are able to promote and deliver a higher degree of value,

their guest traffic levels may suffer, impacting revenues. In addition, with improving

product offerings at quick-service restaurants and grocery stores, coupled with the

present state of the economy, consumers may choose to trade down to these

alternatives, which could also negatively affect revenues. In order to counter the

competition with new kopitiams, Chong Kok always keeps their ears open. Many

restaurants “reviews” only get passed on through word of mouth, so they listen to what

people are saying, both on the street and at their business. Often times, customers in

their kopitiam will be talking about the competition in comparison with where they are

currently eating. They also ask their servers and other staff to keep their ears open for

any comments like this. But overall, both Kopitiams do not face really big threats and

competition as they are well established and well reputed.

How does technology affect the kopitiam?

In terms of technology, a minimal amount of technological knowledge and

machines are required to run the traditional coffee shop businesses. According to the

owners of both coffee shops, Closed-circuit television (CCTV) system is used in the

shop for security purpose. This is because Klang has always been known as a place

with safety issues. (Ch’ng, 2012) On the other hand, to prepare the food in the shops,

the owners have chosen not to use any machines and remain using the manual way of





cooking food and brewing coffee. It was said that no changes are supposed to be made

to the food including the method of cooking to preserve the original taste of traditional

kaya. Therefore, the kaya is stirred and cooked manually in the shop every day.

Besides that, one of these coffee shops also opened up a website to promote its food

and update food lovers on their new product and so on. Such way of advertising is

definitely helpful towards their business as it is free and the information can be spread

easily online. Other than that, reviews given by authors online can also bring a big

impact to the coffee shop businesses. A good review can help in boosting the shop’s

popularity and reputation while terrible ones can close you down. (Doward, 2012) In

conclusion, we can say that the technology does help in bringing positive impacts and

benefits to the traditional coffee shops.

What is the future plan of kopitiam?

According to the owner of Chong Kok coffee shop, they have decided

that their shop is most likely to remain more or less the same and has no plans of

expanding the business any bigger in the future. This is because they believe that the

old and authentic style of the shop is one of the main reasons why people like to visit

their coffee shops. They also hope that these old style coffee shops will not be replaced

by the new coffee chains as this industry is growing fast with restaurants like Paparich

and Old Town White Coffee opening up. These new coffee chains adapt the traditional

cuisine into their modern designated restaurants and provide a more comfortable and

hygienic environment for their customers to eat in. They are also well spread in all

around the country with franchises. As for Cheong Foh coffee shop, it has a branch





nearby which is a more modern coffee shop managed by the owner’s son. The new

branch serves the same food as its headquarter but provides a better environment for

its customers.

In conclusion, Chong Kok and Cheong Foh coffee shops are two very

similar shops with some differences. One of the biggest similarities between Chong Kok

and Cheong Foh coffee shops is that both of the shops were opened for more than 50

years and are now being managed by the 3rd generation owners. Both of the shops

also have similar opening hours which are from around 7am in the morning to 6pm in

the evening. According to the owners of both, their customers are multiethnic and wide

in age range. The shops are usually busiest in the morning as their customers love to

have breakfast in their shops before going to work or study. Besides that, Chong Kok

and Cheong Foh coffee shops are also famous for their bread, toast and homemade

kaya. Both shops have their own special recipe and way of making kaya which are left

by the founders of the coffee shops. They have been using these recipes since they

opened up the coffee shops and no changes are supposed to be made to remain the

taste of the traditional kaya. Their kaya is revealed to be made of duck eggs and is

cooked manually everyday in the shop without any high technology machines.

On the other hand, there are also a number of differences between Chong

Kok and Cheong Foh coffee shops. First of all, Chong Kok coffee shop is run by a

Hainanese family while Cheong Foh coffee shop was founded by a Hakka. Therefore,

there is a difference in the menu of these two shops. Chong Kok coffee shop serves

their food in Hainanese style and offers a much wider variety of dishes such as





Hainanese Chicken Chop, nasi lemak, malay kuihs, and even homemade cheesecake.

On the contrary, a Cheong Foh coffee shop only serves basic toast with butter or kaya,

all the other food are served by the individual food stalls in the shop. Besides that,

Chong Kok coffee shop hires foreign workers to work in their shop including the kaya

and coffee makers. On the other hand, Cheong Foh coffee shop’s baristas and kaya

maker are local people, one of the barista is even the shop owner’s relative. It was said

that most of their workers have worked with them for a long time. Other than that,

Chong Kok coffee shop has never relocated its shop before. According to the owner,

Chong Kok was previously a hotel in the 1940s and the ground floor, which is currently

the coffee shop, was previously a bar in the hotel. Contrastingly, Cheong Foh coffee

shop was relocated for a several times before it moved to its current location. It was

said that the food stalls owner also followed them every time they move.

The kopitiams displayed the food culture in Malaysia and it is certainly a

valuable asset for Malaysian to preserve and embrace.





Attachments:

Figure 1. Group photo with Madam Goh Shw Hui and her son

Figure 2. Interview Session





Figure 3. Cheong Foh Kopitiam counter

Figure 4. Process of Kaya making





Figure 5. Kitchen in Chong Kok Kopitiam

Figure 6. Chong Kok Kopitiam





Figure 7. Counter of Chong Kok kopitiam

Figure 8. Nasi Lemak stall in Chong Kok Kopitiam





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In Peranakan. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 23,2012, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/451004/Peranakan Kummer ,C. (2003). The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcour. Retrieved January 23, 2013 from http://books.google.com.my/books?id=qNLrJqgfg7wC&dq=brewing+of+coffee&source=gbs_navlinks_s McQuillan, M. (2008). Picasso. In Oxford Art Online Encyclopedia. United States: McGraw-Hill.Retrieved February 25, 2009, from http://www.oxfordartonline.com. Miller,F.P., Vandome, A.F., & John, M. (2010). Coconut Jam. Germany: VDM Publishing. Retrieved January 23, 2013 from http://books.google.com.my/books?id=r1cjYAAACAAJ&dq=coconut+jam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3Bf_UJ2aD4r9rAeym4DACw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAw Portal Rasmi Majlis Perbandaran Klang, 2010. Maklumat Taburan Penduduk. [online] Available at:<http://www.mpklang.gov.my/web/guest/taburan_penduduk>[Accessed 18 January 2013] Tan, Cheryl.(2012). A Ritual for Starting the Day in Singapore. Retrieved 23 January, 2013 from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.taylors.edu.my/ehost/detail?sid=3989e165-a1dc-4c86-a23f-8e5eb13dadd7%40sessionmgr14&vid=5&hid=25&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=fsr&AN=77419974

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.taylors.edu.my/ehost/detail?sid=3989e165-a1dc-4c86-a23f-8e5eb13dadd7%40sessionmgr14&vid=5&hid=25&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=fsr&AN=77419974




Kopitiam Culture in Klang

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