The interior of Roast & Coffee at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Baru.
A SINGAPOREAN family left their home in Bukit Batok at around 6am to beat the infamous Causeway traffic congestion in order to have breakfast in Johor Baru.
Syaiful Hafreez Ibrahim, his wife Nur Aida Purwanti Jame’at together with their son Noah Hayden Mikail and daughter Naura Hana Medina arrived at 9am just in time for breakfast.
They chose Restoran Kelab Kopi Lama in Taman Kempas Utama after seeing many recommendations on social media and from friends.
“It is our first time to this kopitiam. We plan to come back here again,” said the 34-year-old Syaiful Hafreez who is a civil servant.
He said the interior, furniture and walls adorned with large old black-and-white photos were unique.
A long line queue of customers waiting to enter Roast & Coffee in Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. — Photos: THOMAS YONG/The Star
The place also reminded him of the Kluang Rail Coffee at the railway station located about 105km from Johor Baru city centre.
Administrative executive Nur Aida, 32, said there were not many old-style coffeeshops serving halal-certified food in Singapore neighbourhoods, unlike Johor Baru.
“It is also cheap to eat out in Johor Baru due to the strong Singapore currency,’’ she said.
Indian national Vaishnav Subramaniam and Taiwanese Claudia Chang were in Jalan Tan Hiok Nee when they saw many people queueing up outside the entrance of Roast & Coffee there.
“We also joined the line because when there is a queue, it means the food is good. We were not disappointed,” said the 28-year-old Vaishnav who has been working as an engineer in Singapore for a year.
Chang, 25, from Kaohsiung, who teaches at an international school in Singapore, said this was her first visit to Johor Baru.
“It is good to see pre-war shophouses being converted into food and beverage outlets,’’ she said.
Vaishnav and Chang plan to return soon to Johor Baru in the near future to visit more F&B outlets along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.
