KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Whenever I visit Taipei, there’s nothing I look forward to more than a dan bing or two for breakfast.
These Taiwanese egg crêpe rolls can be stuffed with all manner of delicious fillings, from ham to pork floss. Alas, a well-made dan bing can be hard to come by in KL... until I discovered them at Morming Kitchen.
Some are filled with crispy hash browns, a nod to another great breakfast staple. Others deploy the never disappointing marriage of bacon and cheese, a match made in heaven. These are the dan bing of my dreams.
Run by former mass communications major turned barista Seh Ming, Morming Kitchen offers a simple menu spanning a variety of Taiwanese and Japanese style dishes such as tomato minced pork rice and saba shioyaki (salt grilled mackerel). This is homemade comfort food, albeit inside a café in Taman Desa.
That café is Await Café, a familiar name to fans of siphon coffee brewed using single origin beans.
Seh first encountered the shop when she applied for a job as a barista, despite having no prior experience in the F&B (food-and-beverage) industry. She didn’t even really drink coffee.
The affable 27-year-old, known to regulars as Xiao Ming, recalls having a hard time adjusting when she returned to Malaysia after graduating from Taiwan: “While I had worked when I studied there, I couldn’t find a job in my field of study when I came back to KL. This made me feel very down, to be honest.”
Finally Seh decided to swallow her pride and hunt for opportunities in other industries. Even then, she never imagined she’d become a barista.
She explains, “I wasn’t into coffee or cafés prior to Await, which admittedly is strange because the café culture was very strong when I studied in Taiwan.
"There was an element of fear, of whether I could hack it, but I was desperate to find a job, so that helped me overcome my fear.”
Seh’s story was something Jane Lee, the owner of Await Café, could identify with as she didn’t start her career in F&B or coffee either.
A former managing editor at a Chinese-language magazine, Lee had studied journalism in Taipei where she first discovered siphon coffee.
Setting up a drip coffee bar in KL over seven years ago, back when specialty coffee was nearly unheard of, was a risk.
So Lee understood the risks Seh would be taking but also the need to make a living. The Buddhist saying that “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” remains true here.
A mentor-protégé relationship ensued and Seh eventually proved herself, gaining trust and knowledge of operations over a period of two years.
Then came an opportunity: Lee had observed that running a hot food kitchen detracted from her baristas focusing on coffee — their strong suit — and considered outsourcing that part of the café.
She knew that Seh was a lover of simple, homecooked dishes, the sort that they used to enjoy as students in Taiwan. Would she be interested in taking over the kitchen?
“I was terrified,” confessed Seh. “But I had also always harboured a dream of opening my own shop serving dan bing, the way most Taiwanese get their breakfast rather than making their own.
"I had already observed our breakfast culture was limited to kopitiam food but I was told by my friends I was being naïve, that it’s very difficult to start a business.”
Far from an instantaneous yes, Seh had to mull the offer thoroughly and beyond that, get past the negativity of others who had either failed before or never even tried starting a business.
Her own fears, re-emerging after her initial setback in finding a job after graduating, were also a factor.
“Ultimately I thought, if the end point is to start my own shop, why not cut to the chase and try this, even if I fail, rather than keep pursuing a dream without taking action?
"If Jane hadn’t suggested, I wouldn’t have tried but I also needed to have courage. Daring to make a move meant my life could also move forward.”
In the beginning, Morming Kitchen (its name a witty pairing of “morning” and Seh’s nickname) operated as a pop-up serving breakfast as Await Café didn’t open so early due to a lack of morning customers.
The soft launch menu of freshly made dan bing would prove a draw and testing ground for earlier opening hours for the shop.
“This was back in August 2018, weekend only pop-ups lasting for seven months. I had many beginner’s problems such as pricing or portions that were too small for local appetites.
"Having no clue, I just adjusted according to the feedback I got from customers. I realised they wanted full meals and variety, so I incorporated more dishes that I enjoy, which tend to be Taiwanese or Japanese.”
Morming Kitchen eventually took over providing the hot food menu for Await Café. Once the business had enough traction, Seh began introducing more dishes such as cōng yóu bàn miàn or Taiwanese style noodles with aromatic scallion oil as well as Japanese style hambāgu steak with rice.
What was originally her personal preference is now the unique selling proposition of her business.
Seh notes that she learned by trial and error. She says, “My style is to keep falling down and getting up. I learn and repeat. It’s lots of falling down and lots of getting up again.
"I consider myself lucky with this unexpected path: I took only two years to start a food business where others might take up to 10 years. Jumping into running a full business would have been overwhelming, what with shop overheads and manpower, so this arrangement is a good middle ground.”
Today Morming Kitchen is growing slowly but steadily. Seh handles most of the food preparation, with additional help on weekends.
It’s been a deeply moving journey for her, to go from unemployed to now employing staff, albeit part-timers.
She says, “Experience is important for running a business but I had never worked full time before. I had to overcome my own prejudices and stubbornness along the way.
"Had I insisted on getting a full-time job first in the field I had spent years studying, I wouldn’t be here today. I had to accept and understand that things don’t always go my way, and that’s okay.”
That hard-earned lesson might be the greatest gift Seh has received for all her struggles, that whatever happens, she can get up and continue her journey if she lets go of everything that holds her down. Not just in business, but in life.
Morming Kitchen
9-1-5, Jalan 3/109f, Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur
Open Mon-Fri (Tue closed) 11am-8pm; Sat-Sun 9am-8pm
Tel: 018-266 1218
www.facebook.com/mormingbreakfast/
