Familiar corner cafe called Sedap Corner

In Malay, sedap means tasty or delicious. And because the location of its flagship outlet is a corner lot at Jalan Abdul Samad, this café was thus named Sedap Corner.

My Johor Stories with the Lam family at Sedap Corner

My earliest memories of this café must be the delicious taste of a traditional local kueh or cake called Seri Muka, a delicacy that soon became synonymous with Sedap Corner.

I can recall the pleasure of sinking my teeth into the distinct layers of creamy kaya-like top layer, fragrant with the aroma and natural colour of fresh pandan leaves, through to the tasty bottom layer of perfectly steamed glutinous rice. Mmm…

At the peak of its popularity, fans of this kueh used to queue up to buy Seri Muka when it was fresh out from the steamer around 2pm in the afternoon.

Johor folks may fondly recall that when Sedap Corner first opened, it served a menu of Asian food in a fast-food concept with limited seating in a cosy corner.

Signing my books to present to Mr & Mrs Lam Soo Liang

The business then gradually evolved into a full-service Halal certified café that not only serves their signature range of local kueh but a menu of local food with a section dedicated to Johor cuisine.

Because it is virtually a one-stop food destination for local cuisine with something for everyone to enjoy, Sedap Corner gained the enviable reputation for quality food and service standards that proudly reflect Johor’s warm hospitality.

Now Sedap Corner is a familiar household name.

In fact, whenever my sister and her family visited us from the UK, one of our must-go destinations in the itinerary, was for a meal at Sedap Corner!

Mr Lam sharing his stories with me...

Over the years, our family must have dined in all their outlets opened in various malls throughout the city.

Recently when my eldest sister expressed her desire for a taste of her favourite Pandan Layer Cake, I suggested to go to Sedap Corner, where I was sure she would find her heart’s desire along with a menu of local food for our takeaway lunch.

And I was right.

Because I was familiar with the taste, food quality and service standards, when I was at various events, I could instantly recognise the food caterer as Sedap Corner.

From newspaper and magazine reports, I learned that Sedap Corner was a family-owned business with a Thai-Chinese heritage.

Mr Lam sharing more stories with me...

Then a few years ago, I met with Executive Director, Alisa Lamlertkittikul, who was now actively involved with the business operations.

Our paths crossed several times, but it was never for work. Our most recent encounter was last year, by the swimming pool at The Westin Desaru Coast Resort.

So, while I was considering the subjects for my Book Three, I thought that Sedap Corner fitted in beautifully among the proudly Johorean brands that were established here and have grown into a household name.

When I wrote to Alisa with my proposal to include Sedap Corner in the Proudly Johorean section of my next book, she responded with enthusiasm and said she wished to discuss the matter with her parents before setting up our meeting.

Then Mrs Lam shared her stories with me!

Alisa did very well to prepare her parents (I was later told!) who were at first, rather apprehensive but she assured them the meeting with me would be a comfortable and casual chit-chat.

When the meeting was arranged, I thought it was significant that we should meet at their flagship outlet at Jalan Abdul Samad, the very place where their business started so humbly.

Alisa managed to gather newspaper reports, now yellowed with age, and old photographs to share with me, while her father had prepared a carefully typed out document with important details for his own reference.

When we met – seated in a section of the renovated café that once was their original kitchen - I took time to introduce My Johor Stories to her parents, Mr and Mrs Lam Soo Liang, and presented them with copies of my autographed books.

Alisa also provided valuable input in our meeting

I opened the pages of My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage to share snippets from the published stories to fill them in on my family and pointed to a faded photo of three-month-old me in the arms of our mah-jie helper, snapped at the hospital compound, a site just a short distance away from Sedap Corner.

It was interesting that when I was born in the Johor Baru General Hospital, I lived with my parents in the government quarters at nearby Jalan Dato Wilson.

From knowledge garnered mainly from my dad’s collection of old photos (because I was then too young to know anything!) this was a familiar neighbourhood that was prone to seasonal floods…

I also shared with them, the story of Madam Sweet Potato, featured under Portraits in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, about how that family treasures her story that was documented for the benefit of future generations.

Sedap Corner, The
tradition lives on!

I was pleasantly surprised that Alisa had arranged for her brother, who was also involved in the business, to join us in this meeting.

In the brief introduction, I learnt that Amnart Lam, better known as Mike, was responsible for the Research and Development in their business.

Wow! I was indeed privileged to have the key people in Sedap Corner to share with me their collective memories and significant moments, since the business started in October 1987.

If they had any uneasy feelings about speaking to me, all was forgotten as they readily shared their stories with me, each one filling in details for the other to give me a clearer picture of the development of Sedap Corner, in chronological order.

Time quietly slipped away as they shared details about themselves and the reasons why this corner at Jalan Abdul Samad was the spot to open their first outlet.

From the next venture to open Sedap Corner kueh counters in Johor Baru’s early malls like Holiday Plaza and Plaza Pelangi, the business continued to expand into other JB malls and even to Singapore for some time.

A selection of Premium Cookies by Sedap Corner

It was indeed a most beneficial time together as the Lam family cooperated with me to share some of their fondest memories from the early years, with the highs and lows and interesting anecdotes, and modestly mentioned that their products were also proudly presented to VIPs and even to Royalty.

While I was focused on asking relevant questions and recording every detail, I was aware that Alisa and Mike were also capturing the moments in photos.

Someone had said, A picture is worth a thousand words.

Later when they shared their photos with me, I was both happy and amused to see the expressions of Mr Lam and Mrs Lam, who each took their turn to tell me their stories with passion and in vivid detail, so beautifully captured in these action shots.

They are the heart of Sedap Corner, a loving couple who poured their blood, sweat and tears into the business when they started a small business in a corner lot at Jalan Abdul Samad.

Now in semi-retirement, they continue working behind the scenes in advisory roles as their children continue the legacy of the Sedap Corner brand by staying true to their tagline, The tradition lives on.