PETALING JAYA, April 18 — Out with the old, in with the new.
That’s the first impression one gets when taking in the new Red Beanbag at Menara Mudajaya in Mutiara Damansara, PJ.
The space is larger with more natural sunlight flowing in. More wood in the décor but also a subtle (unintended, apparently) nautical touch with the mariner’s ropes hanging from ceiling bars and the chandelier resembling a ship’s wheel.
Behind the café’s wheel is still the husband-and-wife team of Lee Yew Kheong and Hai Lin Lee, steering their business into unknown waters, albeit with much excitement.
The new Red Beanbag had its invitation-only soft launch over the first weekend of April, followed by their official opening on April 3. Since then, the café has been bustling with both old regulars and fresh faces from the offices nearby.
When I visited on a Monday morning, I found most of the tables already occupied with happy breakfasters, akin to a Sunday crowd. I share my observation with the hardworking couple.
Yew Kheong says, "We have been incredibly blessed, especially with loyal customers continuing to support us. Also we were targeting office workers here, a shift from the scene previously at Publika where there are so many other coffee places that it became a price war, really.”
It feels like a rebirth, and for this iteration of The Red Beanbag, the couple are joined by their original head chef Ryan Cheah and close friend U-En Ng, who is helping with project management and finances, as business partners.
Their current team has also expanded to include new head chef Simon Teing and head barista Henry Ng, though Yew Kheong is quick to point out that most of the floor staff and kitchen crew had followed them from their old site.
First opened in 2011, the original Red Beanbag was located at the periphery of Publika in Solaris Dutamas. The concept then was to provide returning graduates from Australia a place where they can enjoy a much-missed brunch experience.
This doesn’t sound particularly exciting given that brunch cafés are a dime-a-dozen these days but when you realise that they were the first to offer both specialty coffee and cooked-to-order hot foods back then, The Red Beanbag’s pioneer status becomes clearer.
While ordering a flat white and eggs Benedict at a café is commonplace now, I still remember a time when you could only get the former at a few specialty coffee trailblazers such as Artisan Roast and RAW Coffee, and the latter at hotel breakfast buffets.
Along the way, Yew Kheong and Lin Lee nurtured and supported a Malaysia Barista Champion (former head barista Jason Loo), developed a number of new businesses (Yellow Brick Road, Wicked Pancake Parlour and Wizards) and trained some of the best food-and-beverage (F&B) professionals working in the industry today.
Over a decade later, there is a sea change: the local F&B industry has grown and customers have become more discerning. Expectations are higher and there is so much noise in the market.
It was time for The Red Beanbag to raise their game too.
The move was one radical but necessary step towards that. Lin Lee explains, "We always wanted a new home for The Red Beanbag anyway — our original location was getting old, the machines were breaking down. We did some minor renovation 4-5 years ago but ultimately we wanted a bigger space as the old kitchen was too cramped.”
Yew Kheong adds, "Also, being on the first floor is a disadvantage. So we decided the next place must be more accessible.”
Accessibility isn’t limited to ease-of-movement for customers; the new space is designed to enable a smoother process of workflow for the staff, such as with the specially designed barista bar where everything can be reached quickly.
Lin Lee laughs when recalling the coffee bar at the old place that she had designed without prior experience: "I was kind of googling designs and calling up my friends in Australia for reference points!”
I smile remembering how, some years ago, another café owner ranted to me about how his competitor came to the shop with a contractor to copy the décor. The Red Beanbag is a true original; even if they wanted to (they didn’t, of course), they had no one in KL to copy back then as they were the first of their kind.
Form follows function goes the classic adage. And so it is here, with their family-friendly philosophy.
Being young parents, the couple wanted to make sure families didn’t just feel comfortable but found an inviting environment when they visited the café.
Yew Kheong shares, "We want to give something back to parents, especially the new parents who are juggling work and their children.
"The food has to be more family-oriented. We have a new kids menu now where we made sure the ingredients are healthier and more nutritious.”
Of course, the adults aren’t left out. Classic brunch fare such as the Super Awesome Fry-Up and the signature RBB French Toast continue to delight customers.
There’s something sinful yet guilt-free about their Go-Chook-Jang Burger, I find; its quirky name balancing any caloric concerns.
Whimsical illustrations of anthropomorphic animals pepper the menu; Lin Lee worked closely with her friend Ellie, a concept artist and illustrator, on both the menu and murals.
She says, "We were inspired by Australian fauna, such as marsupials. Also humour: the fish is an Atlantic explorer!”
Such Alice in Wonderland meets Down Under drawings captivate the children. They have their own space upstairs in the mezzanine floor, in a kids playroom replete with fluffy clouds hanging from the ceiling, colourful books and toys.
Truth be told, it might be more of a parents room too as many join their children here. Yew Kheong says, "Those who work from home can now focus on their work while their kids have fun in the playroom. We want to create a safe, inviting space for both parents and kids.”
I observe that instead of reprimanding kids who run around, the staff will chat in a warm manner to the little customers.
The front-of-house would let families know that there is a more secluded space in the mezzanine floor where the playroom is located too.
The team is everything, Lin Lee explains. She says, "We have met and worked with some great people along the way at RBB. Some eventually became our business partners, such as Jason Loo and Ryan Cheah with Yellow Brick Road and Wizards, and some have ventured on to successful business, such as Renyi from myBurgerLab.”
Attrition is unavoidable in the fast-moving F&B industry, all the more with the recent pandemic. Lin Lee recalls, "The pandemic was definitely one of our biggest challenges because of low sales and high salaries to pay. Our food was not very delivery friendly so we also had to change up our menu.”
Tough times can also be a revelation, showing entrepreneurs what they are made of... to themselves.
Yew Kheong says, "We considered closing the business many times, but believed in the brand — that it hadn’t met its full potential yet even though we’ve been around for 11 years.”
Lin Lee adds, "Some of our employees who have been with us for more than 10 years and have followed us to the new location. It’s really humbling that they still stick by us through thick and thin after all this time.”
In other words, strangers who met as employers and employees, and fellow colleagues, have become a real family.
Which is all the more remarkable when you realise that The Red Beanbag was started by young people with no prior experience in the F&B industry, and who became the elders of their field along the way.
What we see today is a new Red Beanbag but also very much the same old Red Beanbag that is trusted and beloved by so many. There is plenty of the old charm.
The café is suffused with the original optimistic, can-do spirit; perhaps more so now, honed by years of experience.
Moulded by good times and bad, with better times to come, The Red Beanbag has always been and remains a place for families... built by a family. A found family, sure, but a real family all the same.
The Red Beanbag
G-2, Menara Mudajaya, 12A, Jln PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, PJ
Open daily 8.30am-5pm
Tel: 03-77318834
Web: theredbeanbag.com
FB: facebook.com/theredbeanbag/
IG: instagram.com/theredbeanbag/
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