IF Lee Kea Huay's mother had her way, her daughter would be enjoying a conventional office job in marketing. But, instead, the soft-spoken 31-year-old is thriving in a completely different arena — as a cafe owner. The smell of freshly ground coffee wafting invitingly in the air of a bustling cafe in Cheras, I find myself seated opposite a beaming Lee on this sunny Saturday afternoon. Around me, customers make a beeline for any vacant tables they can find.
"You know, if it were not for my mother, this cafe wouldn't be here," she confides, simply. It's a statement that takes me by surprise considering that as just minutes earlier she'd told me that her mother had tried to steer her into enrolling for a marketing course at college after her secondary education. As far as her mother was concerned, pastry-making need not be anything more than just a hobby, I'd discovered.
But, muses Lee, her mother really only had her best intentions for her daughter. Having worked in night markets for years manning food stalls, her mother had first-hand knowledge of the kind of backbreaking work that went into serving food for a living. It wasn't a career option she dreamt for her daughter.
"There were no major fights," Lee assures me, adding sheepishly: "Just some minor arguments over what I wanted to do." In the end, her mother relented with the words: "If you really want to open your own bakery one day, you must be serious about this. You will spend long hours in the kitchen and have to survive on very low salary."
What did you tell her? I couldn't resist asking her. Lee smiles, before replying: "I was very resolute when I told her that I would not regret my decision."
JAPAN CALLING
Lee spent only one semester studying marketing before giving up the course because as she puts it, "…it was totally uninspiring." She switched to a culinary course at another local college, which would take her nine months to complete.
What followed thereafter were stints at hotels and a chocolate factory, before Lee made the move to Japan to hone her skills further, training under the expertise of Japanese pastry chefs. She prepared herself for this new journey by enrolling in a number of Japanese language classes. For three years, she made Japan home and learnt from the best.
Having served her years, Lee returned to Malaysia and engaged in stints as a home baker and collaborated with other cafes before finally opening Engi Patisserie on June 1, 2020. Why the name Engi (pronounced En-gi instead of Eng-gee)? I ask, although when I'd googled the meaning before our meeting, I'd discovered that it was the word for "origin".
Smiling, Lee tells me a story about a Japanese chef whom she'd worked closely with in Japan. Fondness in her voice, she says that the chef felt that she was more Japanese than a foreigner to him; it was almost as if Japan, rather than Malaysia, was her country of origin.
"The Japanese were very kind and generous to me. They bought me gifts. In return, I bought them gifts too and treated them just like how they treated me. I showed them gratitude and appreciation. I guess this was why they said I behaved very much like a typical Japanese."
JOURNEY TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP
It was her parents who provided her with the capital to open her business — money that was meant for their retirement fund, confides Lee, adding that from initially opposing her daughter's decision to enter this industry, in the end, mum became her loudest cheerleader.
Voice low, she shares: "My mother said she was giving this (the capital) to me as a present." Knowing that her parents had made such a big sacrifice for her, Lee was determined to repay them back — with success. But she hadn't bargained on the challenges that were to come with the nationwide imposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that began on March 18, 2020. The unprecedented phenomenon presented the new entrepreneur with her first challenge. Her business hadn't even gotten off the ground yet.
"When we first opened, it was right during the MCO. We had to suspend all renovations. We could use the kitchen, but could not run the front-of-house service. We had to set up a table outside the shop to sell our products," recalls Lee.
Suddenly looking sombre, she continues: "I was worried about a lot of things. Capital was limited so I had to do a lot of cost-cutting. In the end, I couldn't do the renovations according to the design that I'd wanted. I guess, what was more important was to actually start operating the business."
Fortunately, her desire to taste success drove her to keep going. Despite the challenges, Lee remained optimistic. "We found a way to make it work. It was very difficult. Every day was just about solving problems. I may be good in the kitchen, but it doesn't mean I'm good with service operations. I can make coffee and teach my staff to make coffee. My main difficulty was ensuring that my staff worked as a team."
Expression visibly relaxing now, she confides that things are good now and that her focus is on strengthening her team. "Without a strong team, nothing will work. I constantly remind my staff that they need to put their heart into whatever they do. Without this, the quality of your output will be affected."
Expression earnest, Lee confides that she really loves her team and the fact that they work well together. "When we have events, we have to get up early and work late. My team does this willingly. Sometimes when I forget things, they remind me of what needs to be done. If I make a decision too quickly without taking something into consideration, they alert me to the things that I might have overlooked."
MALAYSIAN PALATE
"My dream is to own a dessert cafe, where I serve only coffee and desserts," admits Lee, grinning happily, before adding: "I want my customers to be able to sit in my cafe and enjoy my coffee and cakes." But, as she soon discovered, it was not realistic to offer such a limited menu.
Says Lee: "There are many families staying in this area and when they come for lunch, they look for hot food. When we first opened, that was all the customers wanted. In the end, we decided to serve hot food and set up a hot kitchen. Slowly, they came to know that we also served desserts and that's when the desserts started flying off the menu too."
Ah, desserts. What do Malaysians like? I ask her, curiosity piqued.
Her eyes light up when Lee replies: "In Japan, desserts are kept simple. The Japanese believe that even the way you cut the cake, as simple, neat and straight as can be, is an art form in itself. So, they don't need extra decorations for their desserts."
Malaysians, however, like their cakes to come with decorations, shares Lee. "After five years of being in this line, I've realised that I cannot just come up with something simple and nice. I need to add something to 'complete' the appearance. We're so influenced by French pastries which are fancier and more three-dimensional."
Elaborating, she tells me that Lee says Malaysians like strong flavours when it comes to their food. But for desserts, they prefer something light, not too sweet. They don't want to feel full after eating desserts. "Malaysians generally prefer sponge-based cakes because they're light so they can be eaten often. That's why my Fraisier cakes are my bestsellers."
The Fraisier cake is a classic French cake made from vanilla custard butter cream and strawberries. It's also one of Lee's personal favourites. "In Japan, they put cherry alcohol in the Fraisier cakes. I ate so much of it when I was there," exclaims Lee with a chuckle.
But here in her cafe, her desserts and food in general are alcohol-free. "Actually, no one told me to exclude alcohol from my food," says Lee, adding: "It's my choice. I don't consume alcohol so I don't want to serve anything with alcohol as part of my business."
While her Fraisier cakes are a hit with the customers, there are some desserts that do not enjoy the same level of popularity, admits Lee. "For example, my walnut caramel cakes with buttercream filling. I use premium ingredients, but my customers don't seem to favour it much. They say they like it, but won't finish eating it. I think it's because of the heavy aftertaste."
Malaysians, adds Lee, are open to trying out new dessert creations, but in the end, still go back to the comfort and familiarity of sponge cakes. "But if there's one thing that Malaysians can eat a lot of, in addition to sponge cakes, it's chocolate!" she says, chuckling heartily.
Suddenly, her eyes widening in glee, Lee asks me: "Do you eat desserts?" "Err, who doesn't?" I reply back, beaming broadly. It doesn't take long before Lee arranges for the Mont Blanc dessert to be sent to our table. The name Mont Blanc is derived from the abbreviated transliteration of the French Alps (Mont Blanc aux marrons).
Happily, I scrutinise the tiny mound of pastry with the light brown chestnut cream swirls covering it from top to bottom, a sprinkling of white sugar dotting its surface, and peppered with small chunks of what I assume to be candy, suddenly materialise in front of me. It's almost too beautiful to eat.
"I tasted my first Mont Blanc in Japan," Lee shares, as I take my spoon and cut through the dessert ever so slowly, revealing the layers underneath. Continuing, she explains: "You can find this dessert everywhere in Japan, it's very popular. We use only ingredients imported from Japan to make it."
As I slowly devour the delightful dessert, I throw the affable young entrepreneur my final question. What's the secret ingredient behind what you do?
Her eyes light up and without a need to reflect on the question, Lee replies: "Definitely passion. Without it, there's no way you'll be able to tolerate the long hours and hard work that go into running this kind of business."
ENGI PATISSERIE
WHERE: 14, Jalan Nadchatiram, Taman Taynton View, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
OPERATION HOURS: Opens daily (except Monday) from 8am to 5pm.
