KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 -- It is probably not accidental that near the bridge linking The Gardens Mall and Mid Valley Megamall, Hock Kee Heritage Kopitiam now occupies what was once among the busiest branches of Starbucks.

Inside, customers linger over kopi and kaya toast, some chatting in groups while others sit alone with laptops open - scenes once closely associated with international coffee chains.

In Malaysia's cafe landscape, the future increasingly appears dressed as the past.

Or at least, a carefully curated version of it.

Across urban shopping malls, kopitiam-style chains such as Oriental Kopi, Nanyang Cafe and Hock Kee Heritage Kopitiam are repackaging an imagined version of old Malaya into a contemporary cafe experience built ...