Wifey and I were wide awake quite early last Sunday morning at my mom and dad's. We felt like taking a break from the kids and we decided to have breakfast on our own at our favourite kopitiam opposite TNB, Jalan Temenggung Ahmad, Muar. It happens to be my late grandad's fave too!
Decided to walk 2km to the kopitiam just in case our kids would hear the engine of the car revving. Luckily they were glued to the idiot box and we managed to sneak out of the house after whispering to my mom that we were leaving the kids in her charge.
Walking the 2 km brought back my childhood years in vivid colours (see the pics below). My parents used to teach in Batu Pahat, a town in between Ayer Baloi (dad's hometown ) and Muar (mom's hometown) which they consciously had to decide as a compromise. BP was home for a good 20 years for all of us until mom got a bit lonely without her siblings around after I got married. I was only physically in BP 24/7 for a good 4 years as I was "sent" away to a boarding school. Mmm..not really, it was my decision which I regretted during the first year in boarding school. Dad "refused" to let me return as he wanted me to be responsible for my own decision. At the end of my first year, I surprisingly, enjoyed being away and staying with friends for a change!
Anyway, I was hit by the simplicity of life which one can have whilst taking the stroll with wifey - in particular the life in Muar compared to the hustle and bustle life in KL. But Muar is fast being hit by rapid development. One thing which I wish that will be preserved for the mankind are the pre-war shophouses. The local council has done relatively well working with the shop-owners by asking them to apply fresh coat of paints every now and then.
Seriously, I have not justice to Muar with these few photos below. There are other interesting places and buildings FYI!
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - breakfast after our 2km walk.
This bakery has been here as far as I can remember. My mom used to wait for freshly baked bread before we return to BP during weekends in Muar. Believe it or not the bakers were kneading the dough on the table in the five foot way.
Mango trees are mandatory for all the houses in Muar. We (my cousins, brother and I) used to nick mangoes from the neighbourhood and eat them with plenty of sugar immersed in dark soy sauce (chilli is optional!) whenever our grandad's tree would run out of them.
This is Muar's answer to Cold Storage. They stock yeast for making bread (this was the only place in Johore then which sells yeast), frozen food, imported canned fruits, philadelphia cheese etc etc.....
Muar has a Trade Centre now with Secret Recipe as one of the tenants. This used to be the UMNO building.
Another kopitiam in town - my parents' fave as the lontong and nasi lemak are nice.
Sate grilling stations are prevalent along the five-foot-ways in Muar
3 comments:
Thank God for parents. This weekend, I will get my once-a-year one weekend away from kids break, accompanying hubby on his yearly pilgrimage to his alma matter.
ftm
On my mum's side, we have cousins living in Muar, but most of the younger ones have migrated to KL. Those were during the days when some Perakians were sent off to seychelles and later were forgiven and came back. Some decided to make muar their home, no doubt sudah tawar hati, tak nak balik perak lagi.
oh.. i didn't know there's so many nice kopitiam in muar.. hubby's aunt lives in muar n normally she cooks for us when we were there. so, no need to eat out.
i tried the mee bandung muar once n a broken piece of the prawn's shell got stuck to my throat. it was awful n hurt a lot! bad experience indeed..
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