With the extended lockdown firmly in place due to the worrying Covid-19 situation in the country, there could never be a better time than now to curl up with a good book and transport yourself to fascinating places or live vicariously through others without leaving the safety of your home.
And if that doesn’t sound inviting enough, founder of Third Space, Agnes Yeoh, 41, created her own page-turner by launching the Travelling Book Program, a novel (pun intended) business in which books are sent to your very doorstep with a box of delightful pastries.
The Sarawakian bookworm explained to FMT that Third Space, set up in January was originally intended as a cafe and co-working space where people could come to work or even hold events.
However, all that changed when the country went into lockdown because of the pandemic.
“We have a lovely library in Third Space with over 1,000 books of all genres, catering to all ages. Most of the books are from my personal collection while the rest were donated by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and kind Samaritans,” explained Yeoh.
“Instead of my precious books gathering dust at home, I thought why not give them to others to enjoy?
“Along with a good novel, they can also sample delicious pastries and cakes,” she said, believing fully that a good read and great eats can help pull anyone out of lockdown depression.
The teatime selection varies on a weekly basis, ranging from local delights such as kek lapis, to Western finger-food like mini sandwiches and pies, butter sponge cakes, croissants, doughnuts and cheese tarts.
“Last week, we had a Malaysian teatime twist featuring colourful local kuih paired with mouthwatering Indian snacks.
“For International Women’s Day, we served two mini savoury pies, mini classic donuts, mini butter croissants, curry-cheesy puffs, buttercream sponge cakes, slices of Sarawak Kek Lapis and mini sandwiches,” said a beaming Yeoh, as she explained that Third Space curates teatime treats in such a way that customers can enjoy five to six kinds of pastries or kuih in each set.
And how do customers select the books?
Yeoh says all anyone has to do is specify their preferred authors or genres, and she will work her magic in selecting three mysterious books from her library to send along with the box of teatime treats.
Customers have the option to keep these books for themselves once they’re done reading it or swap it for other books with the next order. That’s not a bad deal, considering that each set costs only RM19.90.
“With the Travelling Book Program, my books are being enjoyed by readers and I relish the fact that people out there are finding joy in them. After all, reading is almost a lost art nowadays,” sighed Yeoh.
Launched just two months ago, response from the public for the Travelling Book Program has been extremely encouraging, said Yeoh.
The Travelling Book Program is currently only available to those in Shah Alam and Klang. However, if those living in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor wish to order her book and pastry sets, Yeoh requests that they band together and place a group minimum order to help smoothen the logistics.
“There are also more people learning about us, reaching out to us to donate books. In fact, last week I received over 200 books from donors,” said Yeoh, adding that she is also working with MBSA for a steady supply of books.
The Travelling Book Program aside, Third Space also sells specially curated meals every weekend to support home bakers and home cooks.
“Currently we are doing an Indonesian street food series since our chef is from Indonesia. It’s basically food you wouldn’t be able to find in Indonesian restaurants in Malaysia, such as Nasi Kucing which is similar to our nasi lemak.”
Previously, Third Space collaborated with a home cook, famous for her vegetarian biryani with chicken masala. For Raya, they helped out a talented home cook, who was unable to return home due to the lockdown, by selling her ketupat, lemang, rendang ayam, kuah kacang and sayur lodeh.
“100% of the sales goes back to the home cooks. Through this, we hope to support other businesses and ride out this pandemic. Why? It’s our tagline, after all, we don’t compete, we co-exist,” smiled Yeoh.
The Travelling Book Program delivers books and pastries every Wednesday and Saturday. To place an order, head over to Third Space on Facebook and Instagram or WhatsApp Agnes Yeoh at 016 240 0179.
Third Space
1-1, Jalan Astaka 4A/KU2
Bandar Bukit Raja
41050 Klang
Selangor
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