THE old, grumpy waiters carrying sizzling steaks, the antique furniture and smoky room – these will now fade into memory with the permanent closure of the historic Coliseum Café in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur.

The iconic restaurant, which has dished out Hainanese western-style cooking and colonial-era nostalgia since 1921, served its last customer in March last year, never to celebrate its 100th anniversary planned for this year. Its other outlets, however, remain open.

Many other eateries in the federal capital may have suffered the same fate due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Coliseum Café’s closure will be mourned for the loss of a part of Kuala Lumpur’s heart and soul.

Azrain Azman, the restaurant franchise’s marketing manager, said the decision to pull the plug was made when the tenancy of the café in a pre-war building next to the Coliseum Cinema expired.

It had already been a tough year of struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

“Yes, it’s closed for good. We are saddened that we couldn’t celebrate our 100th anniversary,” Azrain told The Malaysian Insight.

The restaurant was faced with uncertainty since the first movement-control order (MCO) in March last year due to a sharp drop in customers.

“We hadn’t been able to sustain since the first MCO. We relied on dine-ins and the regulars who used to visit the café couldn’t come because the city was in lockdown,” said Azrain.

“The area was a (Covid-19) red zone and most customers worked from home. We didn’t do delivery because we were more of a dine-in restaurant.

“So, we had to close down when our tenancy expired.”

Last July, the café was still hopeful about reopening to celebrate its centennial this year.

But in all of 2020, the food and beverage industry only managed to enjoy a few months of dine-in operations. For most of the pandemic period, dine-ins have been banned and only takeaways and deliveries are allowed.

Azrain said the cafe had closed as per instructions from the government due to the MCO around the city.

Located less than 1km from the historic Dataran Merdeka, the holdover from the British colonial era had served its signature sizzling steaks to royalty and workmen alike.

Its most famous dishes were the tomato sauce-based Hainanese chicken chop, wet-aged steaks and other entrees.

It counted among its patrons English writer Somerset Maugham in the 1920s and planters and tin miners in the 1950s.

Even at the height of the communist insurgency, British officers continued to frequent the restaurant bar, known for its trademark “cham” or “setengah”, which was equal parts Guinness Stout and pale lager.

Another colonial favourite was gunner – equal parts ginger beer and ginger ale.

Another famous patron was cartoonist Mohammad Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, whose favourite dish was the steak served on a hot plate.

Prime ministers have also dined at the restaurant, including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who last visited with friends in 2013.

The classic furniture and fixtures from the flagship outlet have been salvaged and placed at the franchise’s newest outlet in IOI City Mall in Putrajaya. This outlet was opened last December, after the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman restaurant was closed.

Azrain said the antiques salvaged include chairs and cutlery, which are 100 years’ old. The IOI City Mall outlet also showcases some of the original café’s tableware in display cases.

“The outlet is new, but with an old nostalgia feel to it,” he said.

Fans of Coliseum Café can also try to recapture nostalgia at two more franchises, at Plaza 33 in Petaling Jaya and at MidValley Megamall, which have been operating since 2013.

Only the Plaza 33 outlet provides delivery, while the ones in Putrajaya and MidValley do not as they are located in malls, where traffic has been low because of movement restrictions. – June 6, 2021.