Restoran New Country  

From Johor Bahru Directory

Restoran New Country at No. 12, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak Susur 4, (formerly Jalan Larkin), directly opposite the former JPJ head-office in Johor Bahru.

Restoran New Country is a 55-year old coffee shop in Johor Bahru that was opened in 1956, about a year after the old Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan Negeri Johor (JPJ) began operations at its then premises along what is now Jalan Tun Abdul Razak (previously Jalan Larkin).

2.   Services: Opening 7 days a week from 7.00 am - 5.00 pm (except Sundays when it closes at 3.00 pm), including public holidays except Chinese New Year, Restoran New Country serves breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner for those who get into the shop before 5.00 pm. The coffee shop serves various types of noodle soups, as well as bread and coffee, for breakfast. Noodle soups are available until 2.00 pm. The main fare for lunch is economy rice, although cook-to-order fried rice, fried noodles, and other dishes are also available upon request. The coffee shop also caters for celebration functions where prior bookings are made to allow time for food preparation.

3.   Distinctiveness: The main distinctiveness of the food served at Restoran New Country is that it relies very heavily on the natural taste of fresh food for its flavor. The owner, popularly known as Ah Meng, goes to the central market every day at dawn (except on Mondays when the market is closed) to get fresh ingredients for the day's cooking. All raw ingredients are washed thoroughly, unlike many outlets these days that do not bother to wash either their vegetables or their meat. Family members eat the same pre-prepared food that is served, a point that may seem trite, but has often being praised by customers as evidence of the food's wholesomeness and hygiene.

4.   Clientele: Restoran New Country depends on a very loyal following for its business, since there is only a handful of commercial premises and no residential housing estates in the vicinity. Many customers who once patronize the shop still come on and off, long after they have stopped working in the vicinity. The coffee shop's customers also include a number of Singaporeans who come on weekends, after they "discover" the coffee shop during the annual Cheng Meng Festival.

Brief history

One of three still existing sets of jati-wood bench and table, bearing testimony to its nostalgic past when New Country Restaurant doubled as a bar in the evenings of the mid-1950s.

1. New Country Restaurant was started in 1956, about a year after the old Johor Road Transport Department (JPJ) began operations at its then premises, right opposite the coffee shop. It was opened jointly by a Hainanese (who subsequently became a datuk) and my dad. At that time, there was only a row of 3 shophouses in the area, one of which was occupied by the Alec Bus Company head-office, the owner and developer of the three shops. It was the boss of the Alec Bus Company who suggested the name, "New Country Restaurant" for the name of the coffee shop. A road led directly from the JPJ Department to the front of the shop until the 1970s when the Jalan Tun Razak highway was built.
2. Enterprising as he was, the Hainanese partner maximized the use of the premises by converting the premises into a bar at night, where jukebox, singing, and bargirls were available. The clientele at that time include British servicemen who patronize the place in the evening. There were three wooden benches to the left of the shop, with curtains that could be drawn to afford customers some degree of privacy when they were being entertained by the bargirls. These benches are made of jati wood, and being very durable, continue to sit where they had been more than half a century ago.
3. In the early 1970s, the Hainanese partner withdrew from the partnership after a car distributorship that he had acquired a few years earlier brought him immense wealth.