PETALING JAYA, April 9 — Tucked within the timeworn corridors of Happy Mansion in Section 17, PJ, where ageing apartment blocks now house an eclectic mix of independent food businesses, sits Rundle Street Coffee.
The modest coffee bar, which opened in January, is essentially a one-man show run by barista founder Keith Liew. His journey here has been neither direct nor predictable, however.
The 34-year-old’s academic grounding was in communications, film, and media studies at Taylor’s University and the University of South Australia — a foundation that led him into corporate roles.
“I once had lofty dreams of becoming a radio host or a filmmaker,” he says. Instead he began his career as a brand executive at a media company, before moving into “advertising with NagaDDB Tribal and later influencer marketing with SushiVid as Head of Brand.”
Liew’s professional trajectory continued into e-commerce, where he “spent four years across different functions and played a role in setting up Flower Chimp and CakeRush,” before moving into the events space with Informa Markets.
Yet, parallel to this corporate climb ran a different, more tactile interest. He says, “In between these roles, I worked at cafés like Rekindle and The Hub Coffee Roasters, which shaped my passion for coffee.”
That prelude gained urgency following a retrenchment. Liew shares, “I was eventually retrenched after two years, and spent several months looking for a corporate role before becoming an e-hailing driver for about one and a half years.”
It was during this period of recalibration that the idea of a coffee bar took form. He says, “With encouragement from my wife Crystal, I presented a plan to start a solo coffee bar and received a small loan from my parents to get started.”
The early iterations were pragmatic but unsustainable. He recalls, “We began with pop-ups and a home-based takeaway setup, but found the model unsustainable due to high costs and inconsistent returns.”
The conclusion was clear: a permanent space, however modest, would be necessary.
The name of the café offers a clue to its conceptual anchor. Liew explains, “I named the coffee bar after Rundle Street in Adelaide, where I spent much of my time while studying — meeting friends, having coffee, and enjoying the mix of culture and food there.”
The reference is not merely geographic, but cultural. He says, “I want the coffee bar to reflect that period of my life. The name often becomes a conversation starter, which ties into the Australian coffee culture where small talk and relationships between baristas and customers are important.”
This emphasis on interpersonal exchange underpins Liew’s broader philosophy: “In Australia, coffee is part of a daily routine and relationships between customers and baristas develop naturally over time. In Malaysia, there is more of a trend-driven culture where people seek out the newest or most viral spots.”
His response to this social media-driven cycle is deliberate: “My philosophy is to focus on quality, consistency, and genuine customer relationships rather than chasing trends.”
Running the business solo has its challenges, Liew admits, but “it allows me to focus on what matters most.”
The menu reflects this restraint. “Every item on the menu has a purpose. I want customers to feel welcomed and to know they can rely on what we serve.”
That same clarity extends to how the business grows — or rather, how it doesn’t. “I also don’t believe in paid marketing or influencer campaigns. I value organic word-of-mouth — when customers come because someone recommended us, it means the experience genuinely resonated.”
The physical space itself was shaped as much by circumstance as by intent. Liew shares, “I came across the space by chance and had to rethink my usual approach to design, as the coffee bar shares space with an Indonesian restaurant filled with antiques and décor pieces.”
Rather than impose a separate identity, he chose alignment. “It was important that the coffee bar complemented the overall environment rather than clashing with it.”
The outcome is a compact, open-bar layout with limited seating. “The result is a small, intimate space with limited seating that encourages interaction — both between myself and customers, and among customers themselves, similar to small izakayas in Japan.”
Functionally, the setup serves a second purpose. Liew says, “The open bar setup allows for direct engagement, and the compact layout also improves efficiency, especially for takeaway orders.”
On the beverage front, the approach is similarly pared back but intentional: “I exclusively source my coffee beans from The Hub Coffee Roasters, where I previously worked. I serve only single origin beans across all beverages.”
Coffees range from the usual suspects such as espressos and flat whites to less common offerings such as a Magic, a double ristretto topped with steamed milk and served in a 5oz cup (“a Melbourne-style coffee that is not commonly found in Malaysia,” Liew says) and a Sticky Chai Latte, “made with a blend of milk and oat milk for a balance of spice, creaminess and nuttiness.”
Weekends bring a collaborative dimension: “My wife Crystal joins and brings her specialty in matcha. We offer matcha latte and dirty matcha latte.”
The cakes, including the popular Salted Pandan Gula Melaka Cake and Onde Onde Cake, abound with local flavours and are sourced from Elevete Pâtisserie in Taman Megah.
Liew says, “I’ve known the owner for years, and their cakes offer a strong balance of quality and value. Importantly, they are halal-certified, which allows us to cater to a wider audience.”
If the ethos of Rundle Street Coffee appears measured, it is partly because of the constraints that shaped it.
Liew notes, “Capital was the biggest challenge. Equipment like the espresso machine and grinder alone made up about 60–65 per cent of the startup cost. There were also concerns about whether a permanent setup would be viable.”
Yet, early signs suggest optimism. “After a few months, we’ve started to build a small but growing base of regular customers, mainly residents of Happy Mansion, Section 17 and even neighbouring suburbs like Bandar Utama and TTDI.”
For now, Liew’s ambition remains cautious and contained: “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I intend to keep the promise of quality of my creations and service to whoever walks through the door.”
In a landscape often driven by novelty, Liew’s approach reads as something else entirely — less about expansion, more about passion; less about visibility, more about presence.
Rundle Street Coffee
AG-6, Ground Floor Block A,
Happy Mansion,
Section 17, PJ.
Open Tue-Fri 8am-3pm, Sat-Sun 10am-3pm (Mon closed)
Phone: 012-206 8713
