Affordable Western food near USM

By Chong Jia Ni

Eating is one of the fundamentals of a human's life. Someone may care about having a different and delicious dish for their meals daily. There is a Chinese restaurant, LK Western Cafe at Plaza Ivory, just opposite Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). This is a Western food restaurant that is pork-free and has no alcohol. It serves over 50 kinds of Western dishes at affordable prices. 

LK Western Cafe located at Plaza Ivory. Picture by Chong Jia Ni

LK Western Cafe is open daily from 11.30am until 9.00pm, with the last order being placed at approximately 8.00pm. Each dish is around RM20 with enough portions. They also offer delivery service through the platform Food Panda.

According to one of the restaurant directors, Mr. Kaw, who is about 50 years old and originates from Kedah, he had worked there 11 years ago. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the cafe's business hours were in the evening from 4pm to 11pm. However, he gets many complaints that no restaurant is open at noon. Thus, he earlier the business hours until now to make sure the customers can have their lunch easily.

“The strategic of the restaurant is strategic and it places near the USM, so that the customers mostly are the students. Our menu also variation which include chicken, fish, rice and spaghetti. We will renew our menu ever year to bring new dishes to the customers,” he emphasized.

Kaw added that they offered lower prices without surcharges such as SST and service charges. This is because the students are the majority of the customers, and they would like to reduce the burden on students. 

He emphasized that his cafe was not focused on profit but on the benefit of the students. He only increases in price by about 5% each year. In addition, a cup of free tea will also be provided to the students who dine there. 

“Last two years, the number of China customers occupied seven over ten compares with the local customers. I understand that the local customers have more choices on their meals. For example, the customers might like to have roti canai, Sichuan and Hunan cuisine or Korean dishes on different day,” Kaw said.

“We also faced the trends that the competitors increased as the more China restaurant were opened along the street. The most China customers have been attracted by the new restaurant,” he added.

The boss of LK Western Cafe, Mr. Kaw was friendly and willing to help USM students to promote their events. He will put the poster and flyer on his cafe and introduce the USM event to his customers. He also supported it and purchased the event tickets in USM, which are open to the public.

However, Kaw has received reports from the customers about the environment of the restaurant without an air conditioner. He explained that the restaurant had three tables with an air conditioner inside. Considering the economic benefits, using the air conditioner for only the three tables is not worth it. Hence, he closed the inner space and opened only the outdoor tables for the customers.

A customer, Zong Tian Jie, who lived at Plaza Ivory, said that he always came and had dinner at LK Western Cafe as it was near to his house. The food tasted good, and the portion was enough to get him full at an acceptable price. 

The worker gives a recommendation dish to a customer. Picture by Chong Jia Ni

 Zong also suggested that USM students try Western food here as the customer service was good. A crowd of friends eating here while chatting will be a good environment. A small secret here is that the boss might give promotions to frequent customers.

The menu of LK Western Cafe had remarked the hot sales dish like grilled mushroom chicken. This small action could help the customers who come first time to make decisions easily. 

 Ong Rui Ci, Biological Science 1, said she went to LK Western Cafe with her senior. There was a hidden and unexpected place for the first-year student. The service there was fast, and the dishes were delicious. 

“I think that more people need to know LK Western Cafe so that the USM students have more option for their meals,” she expressed.