KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — For 86 years, Hainanese coffee shop Yut Kee had been serving customers from its Jalan Dang Wangi shop, watching them grow up, have kids and the kids grow up to have their own kids.
Owner Jack Lee inherited the coffee shop from his father and now the coffee shop has been passed down to his son Mervyn.
The father and son team kept the family recipes true to the original taste which is the reason why every day there is a queue waiting for seats at the well-known establishment.
When news broke that Yut Kee had to vacate the place because the owner wanted the building back, diehard customers feared it would have to close down. That caused the coffee shop to be overwhelmed with even more customers and people who had never tried the delicious roti babi or Hainanese chicken chop flocked to the place. However, Yut Kee announced that they would move and a collective sigh of relief came from the old and new customers.
On August 10, 2014 Yut Kee had its last business day at Jalan Dang Wangi. It was no surprise that many customers showed up, afraid to miss out on the memorable occasion.
"We officially opened our new premises on August 25 at No 1, Jalan Kamunting. My dad (Jack Lee) used to live in the second last house while growing up. Previously, we were running Bodhi Tree restaurant at this spot. It wasn't doing as well as it used to be so we decided to move Yut Kee there," said Mervyn Lee.
The three-storey building was renovated to fit a lift, a baking area on the second floor and workers' quarters on the third floor.
Yut Kee engaged an interior designer to make the place look old and re-create the feel of the previous place. The same price signboard, cake counter, mirrors and other familiar pieces from the old shop now reside here.
Loyal customers who have been coming for years are pleased with the new place, said Mervyn. When asked if the prices would be increased because of the new place, Mervyn said he already made a price increase back in March. That was the first price increase in three years.
So, basically everything still costs the same and more importantly, the food has retained its original portions and flavours.
Yut Kee's new digs actually has more space — a 50 per cent increase in seating to 86 seats. That's 43 extra seats compared to the old place.
However, Mervyn tried to match what the kitchen can produce. He feels that it is no use increasing seating while compromising food quality and service. At the end of the day, he wants to foster long-term relationships with his customers.
"We want to uphold respect from others," said Mervyn. Although there are still long queues and waiting time, Mervyn manages it well and it is from the past experience of managing it in the old spot.
The increase in customers is probably due to the publicity Yut Kee got when they were moving. These are new customers who are curious and had not heard about Yut Kee until they were moving.
"It was overwhelming at first but I have streamlined the processes. The food still tastes the same and prices haven't changed. We still have our cakes. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays we still have our roast pork. Overall, customers like us and are loyal to us," said Mervyn.
And that is the truth because even on busy days you can see Jack and Melvyn sitting down with their customers catching up like old times.
