1629 Kontena Cafe – Miri’s First Container Cafe

Miri has joined the upcycling bandwagon whereby something old is turned into something new with the recent launch of the 1629 Kontena Cafe. Tucked inside the compound of Persatuan Jatti Meirek along Jalan Jee Foh, the café uses an old container as an operational hub.

Intrigued by reports in the local dailies as well as Facebook postings, I decided to check out the place this afternoon. This is the first such café in Miri but the concept has been catching on in many countries. In Kuala Lumpur, the most famous of such cafes are probably Bxie Blonde and Metal Box.

Bxie Blonde in Kuala Lumpur

Metal Box Kuala Lumpur

There were only a couple of other customers when I arrived. I guess the heat had something to do with it. The tables are made of timber planks and the stools are wooden ones too. I think these wooden furniture blend well with the container.

1629 Kontena Cafe

Wooden table and stools

1629 Kontena Cafe

A sign hanging on the container

The view of the back of the container

As expected, their menu isn’t wide due to the limited kitchen space. They serve light food such as curry puff, popiah, kelupis, nasi lemak, satay and cakes.

I wasn’t hungry so I just order two pieces of sardine puff and a piece of popiah and a can of lemon tea. I quite like the sardine puffs but I found the skin of the popiah a bit too hard. Total for my order was RM3.

The two sardine puffs and the popiah

This trendy container has the potential to become a social media-worthy outlet and a new place for hipsters to hangout especially in the evening. They are open from 8am till 9pm.

1629 Kontena Cafe