My nostalgic
stories about No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng, never fails to elicit some exciting responses
from readers who are connecting with My
Johor Stories.
Road sign on Jalan Ngee Heng in Johor Baru |
Last June,
I received a comment from a reader based in San Francisco, who said his family
lived at No. 160 Jalan Ngee Heng before they moved to Jalan Sentosa in Larkin.
He makes an annual trip back to Johor Baru to visit his mother and siblings and
hopes to meet me when he’s back here.
Last
December, a reader who calls himself Dr K wrote to ominously say, “Our paths may have crossed decades ago when
you went to school at SIGS or CHIJ.”
Later I
discovered that he used to live on the main road, Jalan Dato’ Jaafar, in Larkin
Gardens before they moved to Malacca. But his childhood memories of Jalan Ngee
Heng, before they moved to Larkin, included (to him) the best kway teow soup noodles from a pushcart hawker
who plied his trade down Jalan Ngee Heng all the way to the pasak-kia or food court at Jalan Ungku
Puan.
Dr K's favourite kway teow soup is still being sold at the food court in Melodies Gardens |
He said
when his parents were staying in Larkin, he used to buy takeaway kway teow soup
for breakfast whenever he visited them and lamented that it used to be just RM4
per pack then. He was even aware that
this noodles business was taken over by the hawker’s son and the business
continues in a morning food court in Melodies Gardens!
When he
told me his mum was known as Nurse Cheah, it all clicked as she was a friend
and former colleague of my parents in the Johor Baru General Hospital. He said
she was attached to the Maternal & Child Health Unit of the hospital and her
team went to primary schools for screening tests and BCG vaccinations.
I can
never forget her friendly and chirpy image, dressed in her crisp uniform and
how she used to wear her long hair woven in two braids and wound up into buns
at the side of her head – pretty much in the hairstyle sported by Princess
Leia!
Once I figured
out who his mum was, it was rather amusing because that meant that his dad,
Uncle William, was my driving instructor!
Smooth tau-foo-fah with a side of syrup is how some cafes serve this sweet treat now! |
He said
his father taught both him and his brother to drive and was quite busy with
students until he fell ill. He recalls
the driving lessons with his dad and commented that the pressure felt like
slave driving but it ultimately made him a good driver. So it turns out that Dr K and I obtained our
driving skills from the same source – his dad!
During
our email exchange, I kept my mum updated because his mum and mine were former
colleagues. Then my mum, the former midwife, reminded me that when Nurse Cheah was in the maternity ward after
delivering her baby by C-section, they had a conversation about naming her
newborn son. Since he was born by
C-section, my mum had a brainwave and suggested that Cheah name him Caesar!
I
reminded Dr K about this and he admitted that his childhood name was indeed Caesar
and many of his relatives still call him by this name and don’t even remember
his Chinese name. It was so interesting
how we have connected through our parents!
In
January, I accepted an invitation for food tasting at a Nyonya restaurant in JB
and when I met the proprietress, one of my questions to her was whether she was
a nyonya?
Devotees at the annual Johor Chingay parade which still uses its traditional route along Jalan Ngee Heng |
She
candidly replied, “No!” She was in fact, Hakka and her grandfather, who used to
sell beancurd from a pushcart, lived at Jalan Ngee Heng and his route to down
to the pasak-kia at Jalan Ungku Puan
was also via Jalan Ngee Heng!
I asked
her for their address at Jalan Ngee Heng but she didn’t know as it was one of
those houses nearer to Jalan Kebun Teh Lama, next to present-day Danga City
Mall.
One of my
childhood memories about living with our grandparents at Jalan Ngee Heng was
buying street food from hawkers en route to the food court downtown. I distinctly remember a Chines couple who
sold beancurd drinks and dessert from a pushcart which regularly passed by our
house.
Our Aunty
Polly – a fan of street food – often sent us, the children, on errands to stop
the hawkers to buy food or snacks from them.
In fact, we were so familiar with the beancurd couple that unknown to
them, we gave them a nickname – Beano!
International sportswoman, Aunty Sylvia, at the peak of her badminton career in 1976 |
Another
reader, Dr Jo, Assistant Professor with the Faculty of
Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton (Malaysia Campus) wrote
me a heart-warming message. He said:
“I am an avid reader of your nostalgic JB stories. Being a born-bred Johorean 80s baby, your
stories always manage to keep me on tenterhooks, all the way to the last word. Your recent story on the changes that
happened to Jalan Ngee Heng, however, tugged my heartstrings on a totally
different level.
This is because I also have lots
of fond memories growing up in my own Ah Kong’s house at 72-C Jalan Ngee
Heng. It is on the other side of Danga
City Mall, as opposed to 154 Jalan Ngee Heng.
Thanks for detailing how Jalan
Ngee Heng was like from the 60s to 70s.
I can now fill in my own knowledge of Jalan Ngee Heng from the 80s to
the present day, creating a nice little moving picture of how Jalan Ngee Heng
evolved in the last 50 years.
My mum and I had a great
mother-and-son night trying to piece out the surroundings of Jalan Ngee Heng
last night, using your story as the guide.
Jalan Ngee Heng would again take
the spotlight, with the annual Chingay happening this Friday. This reminds me of a little tidbit of info
that I would like to also share.
My mum and I spent the last
Chingay, watching the parade near the Convent JB area with your Aunty Sylvia. I also had the pleasure to take a photo with
such a legendary sportswoman. I hope to
be reading more of your stories in the foreseeable future!”
Uncle Robert with his sports trophies during his secondary school days at English College, Johor Baru |
This
month, I received yet another cool message that opened with these lines: “It is
with a sense of nostalgia and some degree of emotion that I am writing
this. I was searching for photos of old
Johor and Jalan Ngee Heng in particular, and among the photos, I noticed one
where I recognised a familiar face – that of your grandmother!”
This
JB-born reader who now lives in Brisbane, Australia, went on to describe his
memories of JB and the people – our family members – whom he and his parents
were acquainted with and his vivid memories of how they used to live at No. 30
Jalan Ngee Heng before moving to Taman Kebun Teh.
Among
other things, he mentioned that his parents may have attended a couple of
weddings in our family and he certainly remembers his parents going across to
No. 154 to pay their respects at the passing of Uncle Robert.
I
remember that sad period in 1970 when uncle – a sportsman and non-smoker – lost
the battle to cancer. His funeral wake
was held on the badminton court at No. 154.
He
concluded by saying, “Coming across your
blog has made me realise I still have that Johorean in me! Perhaps it is high time for me to make a
special trip back to my roots. I hope
you don’t find this message too rambling – I have just poured out my thoughts
impulsively, writing this straight after reading you blog posts.”
I’m
deeply touched by the candid comments and special memories shared by readers
who are responding to My Johor Stories, all of which encourages me to share
more stories to inform, interest and involve Johor-born people like you! Happy Reading!
Hi Peggy, I am from 92-K, lorong 2. My house was by the big longkang and railway tracks.
ReplyDeleteWell, as the keow teow soup, the guy in his sixties was our childhood friend in lorong 2. He used to helped pushed his father's cart to lorong 3, and not to pasak kia at Ungku Puan as stated. It was only 30 sen per bowl then.
We Ngee Heng Lor 2 people still go to his stall in Melodies Garden. I went there this (2017-02-26) morning but it was not open. Heard that he is retiring soon. He's 66 now.
As for the beancurd family. The proprietress that you mentioned may be the niece of the two brother and sister who used to pushed the cart down to pasak-kia. The sister was my school mate, whom we fondly called her 'tauhu moi' (豆腐妹) in teochew. The brother is now running a laksa stall somewhere outside JB town. I used to eat at his laksa stall, but lately he has moved. They stay in a single terrace house on the road leading to Union Ice Cream factory. Remember Union Ice Cream?
Another great article! Keep them coming. Just wonder, do you do after dinner talks? If you do, do you do it for love or Kopi money?
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