“Locals don’t appreciate what we’re doing here,” mused Keijometo’s owner, a filmmaker who started his cafe as a passion project for in-between shoots. Surely it’s older Johoreans who he’s referring to? Apparently not.

“Young JB people also! They play critic on Instagram, saying ‘what kind of design is this? I can also do. My boyfriend say he don’t want come back because the building looks abandoned,” said Wei, who declined to give his full name.