Time to cash in: Eng Loh coffee shop is buzzing with activity as tourists from China enjoy the Golden Week holiday, which began on Oct 1, here. Malaysia is one of the Asian destinations that is top on the list for Chinese visitors looking for good food and a relaxing holiday. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Amid ever-changing trends, an old-school coffee shop just refuses to close down despite challenging times, and instead seeks to adjust while staying traditional.
This coffee shop prepares a menu in Chinese to cater especially to tourists from China enjoying their ‘Golden Week’ break here.
Holidaymakers Zach Zhao and Ivy Han, both 26, said the menu at Eng Loh Kopitiam made it easy for them to order nutmeg and hawthorne juice, which are among the signature beverages at most Penang coffee shops, owing to the colonial days when the island had some of the largest plantations of the fruits in the world.
“We have never tried such drinks before and are happy that the menu made it easy for us to spot them,” said Han.
The pair, who dressed in traditional Straits Chinese garb rented from the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, also sampled a variety of hawker dishes at the eatery.
Zhao was spotted taking many photos of Han in her Nyonya kebaya dress, an outfit worn on several occasions by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing in Melaka when she was made the state’s tourism ambassador in June.
Micah Ooi, owner of the 80-year-old coffee shop, said he prepared the menu in Chinese when he found that some of his workers did not understand the Mandarin dialect spoken by tourists from China.
“The Golden Week holiday has been a boon to our business and we are seeing a tremendous lunchtime crowd,” he said while observing that most tourists preferred to try char koay teow, koay teow th’ng and Hokkien mee.
The tourists from China are enjoying their week-long break in conjunction with China’s National Day on Oct 1.
Asian destinations like Japan and Malaysia are among their favourite places to spend the holiday.
