PETALING JAYA, Aug 24 — During the 70s, Campbell Road (now known as Jalan Dang Wangi) was known for its bustling hawker stalls selling a variety of local dishes.
And one of the famous coffee shops known as Lee Wah coffee shop was famous for its signature ais kacang or known as Air Batu Campur (ABC).
In 1973, the coffee shop was managed by Sophia Seet, an entrepreneur who had a good taste for food and whipping up local delights.
According to Seet’s daughter, Lo Jin-Yi or fondly known as Jin Lo, 47, her mother has always been an active person and had an entrepreneurial spirit.
“She enjoyed eating local hawker stall food and would try and experiment with different recipes with her own twist to it.
“On Merdeka day in 1973, mum took over the restaurant from my uncle who used to run it from the mid 60s and it was an important date for us even till now.
“Lee Wah coffee shop was among the 16 coffee shops that were operating and people would usually crowd the eateries especially late night movie-goers since it was near to the historic Odeon Cinema in Kuala Lumpur.
“But the coffee shop only lasted for six years as it had to close down to make way for the construction of the current Wilayah Complex.
Jin Lo said that during the six years when the cafe was in operation, it was the famous ais kacang that attracted people to sit down and indulge while chatting over their life stories.
“The ais kacang was made with only three ingredients which are red bean, corn and cincau, topped with a generous serving of shaved ice and with gula Melaka and syrup.
“The drink is also served in a tall glass so that the ingredients show the three distinct layers of the ais kacang.”
It took Jin about 40 years later to finally set up her own restaurant with the name of the once famous street, Cafe Campbell Rd in Kota Damansara in 2017.
“My mum really wanted to see another cafe being open to relive memories of the coffee shop back in Campbell Road those days.
“Mum, who is 72 this year, also wanted to bring back her ais kacang pride so we decided to fulfil her dreams which is to set up a cafe.
“The cafe that was set up in 2017 also has the ‘kopitiam’ atmosphere from its design to its furniture to relish the good old days and the memories we had during the 70s.
“Some of the famous dishes served are the curry laksa, sotong kangkung, Hokkien mee, popiah, chicken wings.”
Another interesting feature of the restaurant is that it caters to Malaysians of all races and religions and is halal-certified.
“During the 70s, all the food stalls that I knew were frequented by people of diverse races and they would share the same table when the shop was crowded.
“Hence, I also wanted all races to also witness the same muhibbah spirit in my newly-established Cafe Campbell Rd which is also in conjunction with the Merdeka spirit that we will be celebrating soon,” she said.
The cafe will also be serving their signature ais kacang desserts for anyone born on August 31 (Merdeka Day) this year upon showing identity cards for confirmation.
Anyone who wants to know more about the cafe and surf over to https://cafe-campbell-rd.business.site/.
The cafe is located at 43G, Jalan Sepah Puteri 5/1B, Kota Damansara.
