There was no wonggey.. wonggey cry that afternoon. Yes, that was how they used to howl right in front of their restaurant. It simply means 'come on, come on', inviting customers to try out their infamous curry dishes – Ipoh nasi ganja.
When we (Omar, Mohamad and myself) arrived at Yong Suan Coffee Shop, at Jalan Yang Kalsom, Ipoh, the time was almost 2.15 pm and people were already queueing, waiting for their turn to pick their favourites dishes. The restaurant was already packed and jammed with people. No empty and lonely table just for one! We had no choice but to joint the que and wait for our turn. The queue was rather long despite the fact that the day was Saturday! Such was the ‘pukulan and penangan' nasi ganja!. However , I observed one thing though, it was a rather interesting sight to see that all sorts people were there - Chinese, Malays and Indians - ordering and eating the same food under one roof!.
I was told by my in-laws that this place was the first nasi kandar eatery to be opened in Ipoh (about 50 years ago). Back to the time when the Tanjung Rambutan bus station was still operating, the business here was at its peak. The business of this restaurant still remained eventhough the bus station is no longer there. It was really hard to believe that Rostam never knew or heard of this place before. What the hell was he been up to then? Even our Ustaz Yusuf knew the place! It was a must-eat dish that made people wanting to come back for more. People just became addicted to this nasi ganja! I wonder what was the trade secrets! Since the place was packed, we decided just to tapau the food, including one specially packed for Rostam.
Rostam was still sleeping when we arived back at the apartment. After lunch, Mohamad, Omar and myself just lazed around, chitchatting while watching the television. I could not help but wondering how the situation would be like, if the likes of Awe Adek or Rashid Gong or even Che Wan and Mail Gebang, best still Wak Khairudin or Ansor or even Linggam Sibi or Halim Daud, were to be here right then. Better still if we have Tomo, Lookeman as well as Bidi Kominih, Che Jan, Rahim Cakpuk, Azman Ngokngek, Mat Dollah and Ajoi or even Saiful with us. I was sure we would turned the apartment into an Uptown Market!! We could even have life music provided by Ansor and Zainudin! Maybe with the support of Lan Chik and Omar Suhaimi and Kamarshah. Ahh! Wishfull thinking indeed!! But alas, in reality only 5 of us were here at the apartment now - one was already in a faraway land and deep asleep, two (who were busy teeing-off) will try to get some sleep (later on perhaps) and three other guys wondering whether to sleep or not to sleep. Those are amongt the items in my 'kempunan' list. I wonder what the other guys 'kempunan' lists would be? Especially Rostams?
End of episode two.
When we (Omar, Mohamad and myself) arrived at Yong Suan Coffee Shop, at Jalan Yang Kalsom, Ipoh, the time was almost 2.15 pm and people were already queueing, waiting for their turn to pick their favourites dishes. The restaurant was already packed and jammed with people. No empty and lonely table just for one! We had no choice but to joint the que and wait for our turn. The queue was rather long despite the fact that the day was Saturday! Such was the ‘pukulan and penangan' nasi ganja!. However , I observed one thing though, it was a rather interesting sight to see that all sorts people were there - Chinese, Malays and Indians - ordering and eating the same food under one roof!.
I was told by my in-laws that this place was the first nasi kandar eatery to be opened in Ipoh (about 50 years ago). Back to the time when the Tanjung Rambutan bus station was still operating, the business here was at its peak. The business of this restaurant still remained eventhough the bus station is no longer there. It was really hard to believe that Rostam never knew or heard of this place before. What the hell was he been up to then? Even our Ustaz Yusuf knew the place! It was a must-eat dish that made people wanting to come back for more. People just became addicted to this nasi ganja! I wonder what was the trade secrets! Since the place was packed, we decided just to tapau the food, including one specially packed for Rostam.
Rostam was still sleeping when we arived back at the apartment. After lunch, Mohamad, Omar and myself just lazed around, chitchatting while watching the television. I could not help but wondering how the situation would be like, if the likes of Awe Adek or Rashid Gong or even Che Wan and Mail Gebang, best still Wak Khairudin or Ansor or even Linggam Sibi or Halim Daud, were to be here right then. Better still if we have Tomo, Lookeman as well as Bidi Kominih, Che Jan, Rahim Cakpuk, Azman Ngokngek, Mat Dollah and Ajoi or even Saiful with us. I was sure we would turned the apartment into an Uptown Market!! We could even have life music provided by Ansor and Zainudin! Maybe with the support of Lan Chik and Omar Suhaimi and Kamarshah. Ahh! Wishfull thinking indeed!! But alas, in reality only 5 of us were here at the apartment now - one was already in a faraway land and deep asleep, two (who were busy teeing-off) will try to get some sleep (later on perhaps) and three other guys wondering whether to sleep or not to sleep. Those are amongt the items in my 'kempunan' list. I wonder what the other guys 'kempunan' lists would be? Especially Rostams?
End of episode two.
I have a few in my lists but unfortunately none can be revealed here. Even though my life after STAR in my opinion has been colourful, i still have fond memories of my STAR life.
ReplyDeleteBiarlah Rostam dengan rahsia kempunan list beliau aku hanya mampu tersenyum saja.Kenangan manis semasa di STAR dulu akan dikenang sampai akhir hayat.To Jabar please keep on writing.
ReplyDeleteGuys,
ReplyDeleteMemories and memories, mostly fond ones (perhaps some were 'fondling' ones!!). There was this one coded "susu".....wait till next year's OBW when we can unfold this one. Then then there was this "secret tryst" between a Peace Corpe warden and a long-legged lady teacher ("giant") at the warden's cube during dinner but they did not know that on Friday evening projectionists ate dinner early. This projectionist early got to pass by that particular house (short cut) en-route to the school hall. Lady teacher was seen walking up the hostel's stairs leading to warden's mess (this is surely a never-told story), projectionist managed a very short skodeng only coz needed to be on time at the projection room - again, to be unfolded at next year's OBW..... ada banyak lagi kot.....
Dear omasuha,
ReplyDeleteYou sure have a helluva method of keeping everyone(me included) in suspense.Elok juga simpan sikit untuk OBW 2010.To Jabar your attendence is compulsory no excuse or what so ever.Kalau hang tak datang siapa nak tulis cerita.
Fadzilah Din informed me that he couldnt make it to the OBW coz his daughter gave birth to his 5th grandchild. He'll try to come next year. Mat kau bila lagi nak jadi datuk?
ReplyDeleteDear Rostam,
ReplyDeleteAku kenalah tunggu sampai Sultan Johor berkenan nak bagi pingat tapi buat masa ni aku masih belum nampak lagi.Panglimaomar pun belum dapat lagi.Tahun depan lah kut but don't worry datang aku tetap datang.insyaallah.
Dear Jabar,
ReplyDeleteAku rasa hang kena promo sikit blog ni kat C73
yang lain.Seronok kalau ramai lagi yang participate.Lan Chik,omasuha,Rostam sure dapat membantu.