A diner washes his dishes after a meal.
KUCHING: A sign outside of Blincon Loving Cafe located along Jalan Lapangan Terbang here reads, ‘Self-Service/Self-Cleaning/Charity Contribution’.
This vegetarian café is unlike any other eatery here as diners always eat for free.
“Everything we serve here is free of charge and all we ask in return is for the diners to clean up after themselves by washing up their dishes and cups after having their meal,” owner Cyril Wong told The Borneo Post on Tuesday.
Wong started the charitable café in March last year to help those in need, in addition to introducing vegetarian food as a healthy option.
“I have come across some of my friends who are facing some financial setbacks in their life due to the bad economy and I told them not to worry as they are always welcome here at the café where I can provide them with food to eat.
“I find that by offering some form of assistance to those who need help, this will give them the confidence that they are not alone in this world and there are people who still care about them,” he explained, pointing out that anyone can have a meal at the café.
Wong said he introduced the self-service concept to inculcate self-discipline, especially among children.
“Children these days are quite pampered so with this self-service concept, it is to let them know that once they’ve finished eating, they should clean up after themselves.”
The free vegetarian dishes are freshly cooked and replenished.
The businessman said the café serves an average of 200 diners daily from 11am to 7.30pm, every Monday to Saturday.
“I have a chef and a helper who manage the cafe and make sure that the 10 to 12 varieties of vegetarian dishes are replenished,” he said.
While the response has been good, he pointed out that some diners did not take washing up after themselves seriously.
“Some people who dined here, they don’t wash the dishes properly once they’ve finished and my helper would have to wash them again.
“It’s quite disappointing as this is for the public and the next person who comes in will be using the plate and cutlery. So please clean whatever that has been used properly,” he said.
Wong also witnessed the ugly side of human nature when he first started Blincon Loving Cafe.
“When I first opened, I allowed my diners to tapau (take away) their food and there were a lot of people who came to do so by bringing their own containers or plastic bags.
“But they abused my good intentions. The worst came from one group of people who actually waited in their car for the food to be served. Once they saw the food, they came in and actually took everything that had just been cooked,” he revealed, adding that he was shocked to see their actions via CCTV footage.
Since then, he has not allowed takeaways at the cafe.
Blincon Loving Cafe’s chef replenishes the freshly cooked vegetarian dishes.
“Unless the diner asked for permission from me or my chef for reasons such as to take away for old folks and so on, then I will allow it.” Currently, Wong funds most of the cafe’s operations out of his own pocket at an estimated RM15,000 per month.
“I also set up a charity box at the café, where people can donate whatever they want and this money will be used to buy the ingredients, which are mainly vegetables.
“But it will be great if there are some kind Samaritans out there who can donate vegetables to the cafe. It can be any type of vegetable or if they would like to donate other items such as rice, cooking oil, noodles or beehoon, that will be great as well,” he said.
Blincon Loving Cafe is located at Ground Floor, Sublot Lot 12, Survey Lot No. 1530, Jalan Lapangan Terbang (behind the Blincon Building).