{"id":10189,"date":"2026-02-11T09:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T09:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paparazzi.com.my\/newthemepaparazzi\/?p=10189"},"modified":"2026-04-07T05:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:14:37","slug":"king-of-kopitiam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paparazzi.com.my\/newthemepaparazzi\/2026\/02\/11\/king-of-kopitiam\/","title":{"rendered":"Kampung Boy\u2019s Entrepreneurial Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oriental Kopi Holdings Berhad\u2019s latest outlet in KLIA forms the crowning glory of Dato\u2019 Calvin Chan\u2019s empire<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Self-professed kopitiam connoiseur Dato\u2019 Calvin Chan is every bit as likable as his highly popular Oriental Kopi Holdings Berhad chain of restaurants, dotting sweet spots on the holy grail food trail in the Klang Valley and beyond, including the latest outlet opening in KLIA.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote: \u201cIn every business, you have to be very sincere\u2026 You cannot just want to seal the deal and need to disclose the negatives,\u201d – Dato\u2019 Calvin Chan, Founder of Oriental Kopi Holdings Berhad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY YVONNE YOONG<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way to a man\u2019s heart is through the stomach, goes the popular age-old saying. Similarly, for Dato\u2019 Calvin Chan, Founder of Oriental Kopi Holdings Berhad (Oriental Kopi), he has discovered that the way to the heart of a nation, is through its stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, if the proof of the pie is in the pudding – then Oriental Kopi, having being listed on the IPO (Initial Public Offering) in record time, would by all means – be validation that the authentic Malaysian cuisine restaurant has found the secret sauce to success. Indeed, the year before the IPO listing that happened on 23 January 2025 itself boasted recorded impressive sales revenue of some RM133 million and profits of RM20 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u73b0\u5728\u5199\u7684\u662f133 & 20, 2023\u7684figures<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Selected as one of the 53 popular restaurants by Grab HQ besides amassing a list of other accolades including the WOW Awards recently \u2014- one of the latest honour too was the group clinching the 2025 Best IPO Award from Alpha Southeast Asia, an authoritative financial media outlet in South East Asia which is an affirmation and encouragement from the capital market and investment community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, even as the Year of the Horse prepares to gallop in at full speed, he is already well ahead of the F&B (food and beverage) race with his latest Oriental Kopi outlet having just opened at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At 43, the charismatic and talented young entrepreneur is smiling all the way to the bank while basking in the fact that families across the nation will be meeting to savour authentic Malaysian recipes at his popular chain of restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, that is perhaps the most authentic version of this amazing entrepreneur who takes most delight in families enjoying their meals together under his roof as his vision is to bring the authentic taste of Malaysia to the world by exporting their products to countries across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He recalls how – that in the midst of running his very first outlet in Puchong which is the first in Selangor – he had overheard a granddaughter coaxing her grandma to not worry about the pricing of the menu – but to just order whatever favourite dishes she relished having eaten as a child, to which her grandma broke intosweet smile while ordering, which warmed his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oriental Kopi – in a nutshell – is the realisation of a dream come true for this highly relatable and charismatic entrepreneur who determined from the very beginning that Oriental Kopi should be halal-certified to represent all three races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we started Oriental Kopi, we wanted all races to be gathered to have a meal together under one roof. Since Day one, we don\u2019t sell any pork as we want to represent Malaysia and one day, bring authentic Malaysian taste to the world. And, if we want to represent Malaysia, we must have three races so from Day 1, we already decided we must establish a halal kopitiam for Malaysia and wanted a halal restaurant for everyone in Malaysia,\u201d he shared on his simple but profound conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ease with which he can relate to other races is rooted in his childhood growing up in a small Malay village where his father worked as a rubber tapper while his mother was a housewife raising a brood of four children. Chan recalls his father having to make several trips on the one lone trusty family motorcycle just to fetch the entire family to a particular location and back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Incidentally, it was his hometown that saw the humble beginnings of the early rise of his entrepreneurial journey taking root – renting two glass cabinets at a small corner of a grocery store in 2003. After two years, success grew and enabled him to rent six glass cabinets to start a mobile phone business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, his customers would consistently complain after a week or a month later – that the bill from the operator \u2014 ranging between some RM300 and RM400 per month was too expensive – so they couldn\u2019t accept it and would come to complain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young Chan discovered then, which is what he still applies to his Oriental Kopi operations now – that \u201cIn every business, you have to be very sincere\u2026 You cannot just want to seal the deal and need to disclose the negatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I always try my best. Even if you don\u2019t purchase, it\u2019s ok. I can spend two to three hours just to explain to you. If you\u2019re ok, you can sign up. If not, no problem. Maybe next time, when you have a demand for us, you can come to us,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second principle in business he said, is to acknowledge the fact that \u201cgood things do not always come\u201d as was the case in 2006 and 2007 respectively whereby two major floods damaged his handphone inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being an eternal optimist, he persevered until he even managed to expand his business to the point of owning a shop lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt that time, I had to try to start all over again. And, after many years I was still trying. I had dark circles under my eyes as I always work till 5am. After a few years, we opened more shops and I became a mobile phone reseller,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, he started to have \u201ca bigger ambition\u201d with the thought that – \u201cjust as food always come from other countries\u201d, maybe he could similarly, create his own mobile phone brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this brainwave, his self-established Malaysia Mobile Devices (MMD) brand was finally born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBut, my phone always \u2018hanged\u2019 to the point that even I also couldn\u2019t accept MMD. I couldn\u2019t use it but still wanted to take photos and do a billboard,\u201d he said in a colloquial, no-frill presentation – drawing peals of delighted amused laughter from the audience while showing an old photograph of himself proudly showing off his own brand of handphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the lukewarm reception here made him change the name of the mobile phone brand to Leagoo with the intention of selling them overseas as he thought he would be able to revive the mobile phone business there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And, since he started to get acquainted with more business partners overseas, the desire to want to promote the Malaysian brand and travel to other countries to sell his phones was realised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, because he was always travelling, he started missing a lot of Malaysian food as it was very hard for him to find authentic good tasting Malaysian cuisine served at restaurants in other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, realising that producing his own mobile phone brand to be sold overseas wasn\u2019t fruitful, he thought that maybe one day, he could open a restaurant that serves good Malaysian food overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

END OF ONE DREAM & THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is our journey in December 2008 when we tried to turn our mission into reality. We didn\u2019t have a mission or the economics but we had a big dream to serve our community and maybe also promote this overseas. It started from five of us including my sister, my brother-in-law, and etc and I didn\u2019t even know how to cook but I knew how to eat,\u201d he shared of how Oriental Kopi was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being very focussed and still very hardworking, he started on a relentless quest to experiment on making egg tarts. Being both a coffee and egg tart lover, he spent about one year on R&D (Research and Development) alone. A factory he had commissioned to produce egg tart moulds he related, had asked for RM100,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though not knowing how to bake, he had contemplated what he would do should the venture not take off – but having made some money in the mobile business, he decided he could afford the risk anyhow and is thankful that his investment has already since recuperated the costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am an egg tart lover. The mould maker market is very small but finally, I found a factory which could make the moulds. But the problem was that the factory which could make the moulds asked for RM100,000 for the inventory. I thought to myself – that if I should fail, who will pay for this? But I thought I can still try as I can earn a bit from the overseas market,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His troubles were far from over as after opening his first outlet, Covid-19 reared its ugly head. The pandemic could not have come at a worst time – with many business operations having to shut their doors to dine-in guests. However, takeaway orders saved the day with customers also packing orders for their friends and families to his relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, such is the charms of Dato\u2019 Chan, with Oriental Kopi being an extension of who and what he is and loves, in so much as seen in the perfection of the recipes – with the creation of the egg tarts alone, one of his personal favourite treat – taking him about one year\u2019s worth of research & development (R&D) experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, he did not have to worry as the proof of the pie is in the pudding and testament to its popularity, the restaurant has sold over 30 million egg tarts to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, its signature Polo bun has also been acknowledged by the Malaysian Book of Records while its coffee – unique to its chain of restaurants – comprising a blend of Arabica, Liberica and Robusta coffee beans – gives credence to the saying \u201cWake up and smell the coffee\u201d – delivering a unique, fragrant and aromatic brew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not bad at all, for someone who could not cook or have any baking experience. But, even having discovered the perfect recipe – although the egg tarts taste good – he also still faced many problems as \u201cnot everything goes well for businesses\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disarmingly candid, it is easy to tell how his natural charm and childlike optimism, humility and ability to take life with a pinch of salt and failures in stride with a dash of humour has earned him a legion of fans which is a rarity in an age of inflated egos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warmth, Opportunity and Worth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extending his gratitude in his address to the audience for their support at the \u201cWOW\u201d Conference in which he was given the Icon of Entrepreneur Leadership Excellence award by the Branding Association of Malaysia (BAM), he shared that this accomplishment in itself was especially meaningful as it all started with a dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Extending his gratitude in his address to the audience for their support at the \u201cWOW\u201d Conference in which he was given the Icon of Entrepreneur Leadership Excellence award by the Branding Association of Malaysia (BAM), he shared that this accomplishment in itself was especially meaningful as it all started with a dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing his experience from the heart, his simple explanation, humility and sense of inclusivity won hearts and admiration that day, just as Oriental Kopi has won throngs of customers and has overnight exploded into a household name for this homegrown brand which prices itself on a nationalistic level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This \u201cWOW\u201d Icon\u2019s visionary journey as someone who levelled up his love for Malaysian food is extraordinary as he explained his breakdown for \u201cWOW\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first \u2018W\u2019 stands for \u2018Warmth\u2019 which is at the heart of what we do. Every cup of coffee, every plate of nasi lemak should feel like coming home. Just like Malaysia — comforting, comfortable and filled with care. At Oriental Kopi, we want every customer who enters our store to feel seen, valued and taken care of,\u201d he said of this sincere expression from his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWarmth\u201d he opined is the reason people return because they don\u2019t just remember the taste but they \u201cremember the feeling\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, \u201cO\u201d is for \u201cOpportunity\u201d because every challenge and customer feedback, surprise issues and market challenge is a chance for them to learn and also for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, we don\u2019t ask why is this happening to us. But we ask what we can do to improve and what can we do better for our customers and also for country as truly, this is a treasure Malaysia should share with the world,\u201d he enthused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why he explained, they work so hard to bring Malaysian flavours to other countries. \u201cWe want other people from overseas to taste our food and say this is truly Malaysia. This is Malaysia. This is our home. This is our culture,\u201d he elaborated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last \u201cW\u201d he encapsulated stands for \u201cWork\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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