A couple months ago, a new global award took the world of coffee by storm—The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops.
One Malaysian business emerged in the top 10 of that list of 100, sitting at ninth in the world.
And that business is ONO Specialty Coffee & Matcha in SS2.
A master brewer
Shaun Liew is the co-founder of ONO Specialty Coffee & Matcha. But he’s not just that.
The man also runs his own roastery, Curate Coffee Roasters. His coffee career was built upon his accolades as Malaysia Brewer’s Cup Champion 2017 and 2019. Apart from that, he’s also a graduate in both Masters and Degree in Hospitality Management.
And before entering the specialty coffee industry, Shaun was actually a university lecturer, teaching food & beverage operations and event management. He was also previously a co-founder of popular F&B brands Yellow Brick Road cafe and Wizards at Tribeca.
Today, of course, he’s focusing on his core businesses, ONO & Curate Coffee Roasters. Yet, outside of ONO, Shuan still gets the odd cafe and restaurant consultancy job as well.
Onto ONO
ONO got its start back in December 2021 when the local cafe industry had been booming, with new shops mushrooming everywhere across Malaysia.
But this period also saw many businesses closing down, including Shaun’s.
“During that year my previous business partners and I decided to sell off our business (Wizards at Tribeca) as it was financially heavy to sustain the business in an uncertain future,” Shaun explained.
It was a time marred with several lockdowns, which severely impacted dine-in restaurants and eateries, especially those without many neighbourhood crowds.
“At that time, I needed to chart out my own career path for my own future,” Shaun explained.
Coincidentally, a friend—Syun, the co-founder of Niko Neko Matcha, who was a supplier for Shaun’s other businesses—had approached him.
Syun asked Shaun the fateful question of whether he’d be keen to open a cafe with him. Here, they’d focus on specialty coffee and matcha, both executed at the same level.
After all, Syun was good at matcha, and Shaun was good at coffee. Why not combine both their expertise and start a shop offering the best of both worlds?
Seeing an opportunity to create something new, ONO was created.
The story of ONO
According to Shaun, the word “ONO” means “you” in Japanese. This reflects ONO’s mission of creating a memorable experience through great food and drinks for their customers and team.
Shaun pointed out that their Instagram handle is @story.of.ono, referring to the “story of you.”
“At our store, we do our best to understand our customer’s preferences and recommend to them what we feel is the best to match that preference,” he explained.
“We want to connect as much as we can with our customers and also be able to build a positive relationship which could in turn [make them] regular customers at our store.”
Initially, ONO only served specialty coffee and matcha, as well as signature drinks and Japanese sandos (sandwiches). As time passed, market demands shifted, with more people seeking hot foods and desserts.
True to their ethos of connections, they hired a head chef to curate a more wholesome menu, while adding more seats to accommodate a larger capacity.
But adding to the menu means nothing without consistency and quality. That’s why ONO prioritises comprehensive training, ensuring the whole team is always aligned with the business’ values and direction.
To be one of the best
Creating ONO, the vision had always been to become one of the best cafes in the world offering both good quality specialty coffee as well as matcha.
This ambition, it appears, has culminated in the cafe’s recognition by the World’s Top 100 Best Coffee Shops Award 2025, where they were crowned as the ninth best in the world and second best in Asia.
“This gave us the validation despite being one of the younger cafes which were awarded as the Top 100,” Shaun expressed.
Of course, the journey doesn’t end with the award. From here on out, ONO will strive to continue to do their best, continually improving with the future in mind.
Shaun humbly and gratefully acknowledges the award, but definitely believes that there’s still plenty of room to grow and become better.
“To me, continuous improvement is what makes us better every day and we will continue to do our best to become the best in the world in the near future,” he said.
Up against a robust scene
The fact that the list mentions not one, not two, but three Malaysian coffee shops is a testament to the cafe culture in Malaysia. Visiting cafes and drinking curated beverages has become a way of life here, and due to that, competition has become fiercer.
Quality, Shaun believes, is still the ultimate factor for standing out. “In the end, if a cafe is able to deliver consistent quality products and service, this is what drives people to come back because they won’t be disappointed.”
Of course, there are other things too, like a unique offering (such as ONO’s combination of both high-quality coffee and matcha drinks) and a strong branding.
Like many F&B businesses, though, one big deterrent is still labour. Even the best coffee shop in Malaysia has a hard time locking down quality talents, it seems.
“Many of us find that the locals do not fancy being part of our industry. Even if they do, they only want to be part of it for a very short time before jumping to a different or similar industry,” he explained.
They have their reasons, of course, and Shaun knows it. For one, he understands that it could be due to the high stress levels involved as well as the pay.
“To overcome this problem, we do our best to treat our team like a family,” he said. “Provide them a better work-life balance. Give them proper training and guidance. Pay them well and also most important is to take care of the team’s welfare.”
So, what’s next for ONO, now that they’ve been recognised on a world stage? Well, things appear to be business as usual for the team.
They do intend to expand their existing kitchen though to offer more food offerings.
“We will also look forward to another outlet, maybe next year?” Shaun mused. “It all depends on the market situation.”
- Learn more about ONO Specialty Coffee & Matcha here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: ONO Specialty Coffee & Matcha
