KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 -- Long before the city stirs, when Jalan Yap Ah Loy is still in shadow, Wong Pek Yoke is already awake.

At 1am, in a kitchen far from the bustle of Kuala Lumpur's daytime crowds, the 84-year-old begins preparing kaya the same way she has for decades - slowly, carefully, without shortcuts.

Hours later, as the morning light reaches a narrow alley opposite Malaysia's first Maybank branch, her yellow-umbrella pushcart appears, tucked into a lane that has quietly held her life's work for more than half a century.

"There used to be eight of us (vendors) here but all of them either retired or passed away, so it's just me now," Wong told Malay Mail during a recent visit.

Facing her stall is a mural chronicling the life...