PETALING JAYA, June 15 -- With its narrow, densely packed roads and many businesses still run out of converted homes, Sungai Way has an aesthetic unlike other suburbs in Petaling Jaya.

While rapid development has transformed much of the city into a landscape of shopping malls and bustling commercial hubs, Sungai Way retains its distinct roots.

Established as a Chinese new village under the Briggs Plan, it remains one of the city's last visible vestiges of Malaysia's colonial past.

As in many former new villages, the eateries that have become pillars of the community are often still run out of a family home, with the people behind them still living under the same roof.

Kedai Kopi Hoh Piah is one such spot, and despite the kedai in the ...