IN GEORGE TOWN (Penang)
THE best thing about walking around George Town is the eclectic unpredictability of its old town centre.
You will find a mosque squashed in between a coffee shop and a bakery, or a Chinese temple sandwiched between the shops of a mechanic and a shoemaker.
On Armenian Street which is fast becoming gentrified, you'll still find a messy old-fashioned ceramics store, a traditional shoe-maker, a guild, an ornate Chinese temple, and the meltingly quaint Amelie Café.
The whitewashed Amelie Café is the most charming eatery you could hope to find. With its exposed brickwork and a rustic air, it is a little gem.
George Town's Amelie Café. PHOTO: Carolyn Hong
And its furniture and decor are 100 per cent recycled. Every bit had been salvaged off the streets by its owner Loh Choon Kueng, 37, or Hung as he prefers to be called.
The multi-talented Hung has turned discarded wooden crates and driftwood from the beach into tables and chairs. He has painted bits of battered wood with colourful images for the white wall.
"Even old nails are salvaged and straightened for reuse. That's how our fore-fathers used to do it," he said.
He has even salvaged old school furniture, and it brings back mixed memories to sit on the famously rickety chairs with knees banging against a scratched school desk.
Amelie Café's furniture and decor are 100 per cent recycled. Every bit had been salvaged off the streets. PHOTO: Carolyn Hong
The tableware is a mismatched lot too, from jam jars to lime-green cups that must have been bought cheap at a flea market. The kitchen equipment is sourced from a Buddhist charity where Hung donates his time.
The scavenging was necessary as he and his business partner did not have much money. He estimates that it cost them about RM2,500 (S$1,042) to get started, excluding rental for the tiny prewar shophouse.
"But we put in many, many hours," he said.
His stint as an interior designer helped, although his last job was as a mechanic.
The menu is a small and familiar one of pastas, sandwiches, coffee and cake. Hung cooks and bakes, and his partner Yen makes the drinks.
Tourists and locals enjoy the ambience of Amelie Café in George Town. PHOTO: Carolyn Hong
"I'm glad people like it," he said, as two tourists pop through a doorway so narrow that it almost looked like they might get stuck.
Amelie Café is at No. 6, Armenian Street, George Town, Penang. Open 10am to 7pm, closed on Mondays.