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.
