GEORGE TOWN: A 106-year-old Hainanese coffee shop, favoured by some of Penang’s most prominent businessmen, will pour its last cup next month.
The closure of Kong Thai Lai will mark the end of a family business that has weathered generations, relocations and changing times here.
Established in 1920, the coffee shop is famed for its traditional Hainanese coffee and kaya and butter toast.
Now helmed by third-generation brothers Tan Jeng Seow, 68, and Tan Jeng Kiang, 77, the shop still makes its own kaya, and roasts and blends its own coffee beans.
Jeng Seow said the shop at Lebuh Dickens will stop operating on Sept 26 because the building’s owner decided to take back the premises.
“Another reason is that both of us are not young anymore. It’s time to call it a day.
“My son is 28 and works overseas. He will not be taking over the business,” he said when met at the coffee shop recently.
Jeng Seow said the business was founded by his grandfather in 1920 along Lorong Hutton, where the family also lived above the coffee shop.
The family’s long association with Lorong Hutton ended in 2016 when the building was sold and the new owner sought to take back the premises.
The family subsequently moved to Lebuh Leith before relocating to Lebuh Dickens in 2022.
Some of the history remains in the current premises, with the old blinds bearing its former Lorong Hutton address and a cabinet from the original shop inside.
The coffee shop’s history is also closely linked to some of Penang’s most prominent businessmen.
The late Penang tycoon Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew was a regular customer and reportedly visited almost daily.
He would sit at his favourite marble-top table with friends, sipping coffee and discussing business.
He was so fond of the table that he reportedly once offered RM10,000 to buy it, but the family declined because of its sentimental value.
Loh was also said to have had a favourite order of strong coffee with condensed milk and butter and kaya toast, with a cup specially reserved for him.
Another prominent customer was business magnate Tan Sri Robert Kuok, who reportedly visited the shop and bought 8kg of its coffee powder after enjoying drinking it at the shop.
Jeng Seow, who has been part of the business for about 40 years, said the shop now serves regular customers, although new patrons still drop by to experience the old coffee shop ambiance and get a glimpse of its history.
“Most of our customers now are regulars.
“But sometimes new customers come because they have heard about the shop and want to see the old things and experience the history here,” he said.
