Colonial Simplicity

This 2,400-square-foot café, filled with clean lines, natural textures and a pop of colours, takes full advantage of its historic building structure.

- Joan Chan

As a historical source of delight and nostalgia, pre-war shophouses are considered a prevalent building type in Kuala Lumpur’s architectural and built heritage. These small, narrow units speak to us of Asian culture and history more strongly than almost any other structure does. Fortunately for this generation, many of these dilapidated buildings are given a new lease in life. Business entrepreneurs and sentimentalists alike have converted old shop houses into swanky boutique hotels, indie cafes and art galleries – paving the way for the awareness and appreciation of building conservation, particularly among the locals.

When it comes to cafes, most of them seem to look alike. With the same kind of food albeit slight variations to the menu and typical “hipster” settings – one can almost picture the halogen glow of Edison bulbs, fabricated midcentury stools and a group of young, trendy customers in a quest for a singular experience. Among many of these lookalikes, a new café proves to be quite different from the rest, both visually and gastronomically. A real gem. Its name is Hoppers.