Stephen, Ping & Mickael 29/06/2022
@Kafei Dansaert
Kafei, the first and only Asian coffee shop in Brussels was founded in 2018 by three Belgian born Chinese siblings, Ping, Mickael and Stephen who are now the best business partners.
Growing Growing up in their parents restaurants, running a hospitality business is never unfamiliar to them, but it still takes a lot of effort to start such a business. The beginning of the story of Kafei comes from Ping’s interest in baking. She had wanted to open ‘something small’, such as a bakery or a coffee shop. After graduation, while searching for a suitable career path, she was doing a part-time job on the weekend with Mickael at a sushi restaurant in the center of Brussels. Michael had developed his interest in coffee during this time. And Ping had never gave up the idea of having her own business even after she found a full time job.
Therefore, one day, Ping asked Mickael: “do you want to run a business together?” Recalling the memory of their childhood when the parents were busy with the restaurant business day and night, Ping and Mickael decided to open a coffee shop not only for their own interest but also to spare the night time for families.
Eventually Eventually after one year of searching, they found an address for their very first coffee shop Cup28 at Bailli, opened in 2017. In the meantime, Stephen came back to Belgium from a one year travel and study experience in China. Because he was majored in catering/hospitality. Ping and Mickael quickly persuaded him to join and be the head of the kitchen.
Growing Growing up in their parents restaurants, running a hospitality business is never unfamiliar to them, but it still takes a lot of effort to start such a business. The beginning of the story of Kafei comes from Ping’s interest in baking. She had wanted to open ‘something small’, such as a bakery or a coffee shop. After graduation, while searching for a suitable career path, she was doing a part-time job on the weekend with Mickael at a sushi restaurant in the center of Brussels. Michael had developed his interest in coffee during this time. And Ping had never gave up the idea of having her own business even after she found a full time job.
Therefore, one day, Ping asked Mickael: “do you want to run a business together?” Recalling the memory of their childhood when the parents were busy with the restaurant business day and night, Ping and Mickael decided to open a coffee shop not only for their own interest but also to spare the night time for families.
Eventually Eventually after one year of searching, they found an address for their very first coffee shop Cup28 at Bailli, opened in 2017. In the meantime, Stephen came back to Belgium from a one year travel and study experience in China. Because he was majored in catering/hospitality. Ping and Mickael quickly persuaded him to join and be the head of the kitchen.
From scratch to success, it took Cup28 one year. And the key was their delicious bubble waffles. Thus, when three of them had the idea of opening a second coffee shop,
Stephen insisted that fluffy pancakes (Japanese soufflé) need to be added to the menu even though he had never tried this recipe in person.
But the main reason is that this time they would like to put their identity in the shop, an Asian coffee shop that’s named Kafei was soon created, located only 1 tram station away from Cup28.
Fluffy pancakes is one of the most popular recipes at Kafei now. But it was a real challenge back then for Stephen to find a stable recipe that takes less waiting time. One year later, the final recipe works out and their brunch menu also became a huge hit. The pictures and videos of their Benedict egg brunch are all over Instagram in 2020. And that’s when Ping realized that they should emphasize the identity, Asian more in their menu.
First, they added miso in Hollandaise sauce, then replaced bacon with Chinese pork belly, which was inspired by their father’s best dish. They were afraid that the local western customers wouldn’t accept the change, but it turned out that nobody would say no to delicious food even though it’s a totally new fusion flavor for their customers. And this change truly made Kafei stand out from other coffee shops inBrussels.
Out of the passion of tasting different food, Ping has never stopped collecting new recipes when she travels. Now every 3 months Kafei launches a new recipe that well combines Asian and western specialties. And don’t forget, Kafei is Chinese pinyin for coffee, so serving tasty specialty coffee is also one of the most important missions for them.
First, they added miso in Hollandaise sauce, then replaced bacon with Chinese pork belly, which was inspired by their father’s best dish. They were afraid that the local western customers wouldn’t accept the change, but it turned out that nobody would say no to delicious food even though it’s a totally new fusion flavor for their customers. And this change truly made Kafei stand out from other coffee shops inBrussels.
Out of the passion of tasting different food, Ping has never stopped collecting new recipes when she travels. Now every 3 months Kafei launches a new recipe that well combines Asian and western specialties. And don’t forget, Kafei is Chinese pinyin for coffee, so serving tasty specialty coffee is also one of the most important missions for them.
In May 2022, kbakery, an Asian bakery was set up as a workshop to Kafei, located in Uccle. In June 2022, the second Kafei is opened in the Brussels city center, Dansaert. And the third Kafei is now on its way. You can find the same graffiti in all Kafei which has become a bridge that connects these three Kafei and more Kafei in the future.
The father of them 3 warned them in the early stage “don’t let business ruin your relationship with your families”. So Ping, Mickael and Stephan have always been transparent, honest and communicative with each other. Until today, their business actually has still been pulling them closer to each other than ever.
For the future, Kafei and its family businesses will continue to focus on producing quality homemade food, working with excellent local suppliers and trying to fight food waste and supporting sustainability.
The father of them 3 warned them in the early stage “don’t let business ruin your relationship with your families”. So Ping, Mickael and Stephan have always been transparent, honest and communicative with each other. Until today, their business actually has still been pulling them closer to each other than ever.
For the future, Kafei and its family businesses will continue to focus on producing quality homemade food, working with excellent local suppliers and trying to fight food waste and supporting sustainability.
