PETALING JAYA, April 9 -- Tucked within the timeworn corridors of Happy Mansion in Section 17, PJ, where ageing apartment blocks now house an eclectic mix of independent food businesses, sits Rundle Street Coffee.

The modest coffee bar, which opened in January, is essentially a one-man show run by barista founder Keith Liew. His journey here has been neither direct nor predictable, however.

The 34-year-old's academic grounding was in communications, film, and media studies at Taylor's University and the University of South Australia - a foundation that led him into corporate roles.

"I once had lofty dreams of becoming a radio host or a filmmaker," he says. Instead he began his career as a brand executive at a media company, before movi...