Still sweetly reminiscing...

 

The long-anticipated grand dinner celebration held on August 30 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Johor Bahru may be over but the alumni are still sweetly reminiscing on a memorable and meaningful reunion with former schoolmates and teachers in Johor Bahru.

 

Dinner together in our own reunion 
celebration in Johor Bahru

Johor, more specifically Johor Bahru, was the destination for alumni of IJ Convent Johor Bahru who travelled from abroad and from other states and cities in the nation to join the grand celebration that was held in the evening of August 30.

 

Now that the event is over, I am hearing from various sources that these former students of IJ Convent Johor Bahru had strategically planned their travel to Johor with an itinerary of activities that included visiting familiar sites and tasting favourite food that are unique to Johor.

 

Afternoon tea and receiving their own copies
of the100-Year Anniversary Souvenir Book

I can understand the wisdom of such plans because that was what I advised my former schoolmates to do when they were discussing travel plans to Johor for the school’s centenary celebration.

 

As the celebration dinner was scheduled on a Saturday evening, it made sense to arrive ahead of that day to meet with former schoolmates for our own gathering, visit places and taste much-missed flavours before or after heading to the school’s celebration.

 

It was interesting to discover that the desire of my former schoolmates when they came back to Johor Bahru, mirrored that of other groups of alumni – from other years – who were in Johor Bahru that celebration weekend.

 

Ice-kacang drizzled with 
chocolate sauce

While many have moved away to live abroad or have settled in other cities, there are still many – like me – who remained in dear old Johor Bahru. So a group visit such as this, always included a get-together with school friends who still live in Johor Bahru, to chit-chat and catch up on each other’s lives.

 

Our group held our own mini reunion with school friends over afternoon tea that stretched into dinner together, ahead of the school’s dinner celebration. While some have retired and are looking after grandkids, many are still working so our evening meet-up was to accommodate those who could join after office hours.

 

Our gathering was graciously hosted in the home of one the girls and as the visitors arrived, they did not come empty-handed but kept the tradition of bringing buah tangan – a gift of fruit or food.

 

The goodies kept coming and it was fun to discover and taste the delicacies each brought along for afternoon tea. Homemade kueh or best-bought ones, familiar favourites and the much-longed-for-taste of Johor treats.

 

An unusual spread for breakfast that day!

While some of the girls had tickets to join the school’s dinner celebration, others did not plan to join. But they had preordered their copies of the Limited Edition, souvenir book and I had the privilege of pass their books to them at our meet-up.

 

It was hard to resist looking into this souvenir book, published to commemorate our school’s 100-year anniversary since its founding in Johor Bahru, in 1925.

 

So as the pages were turned and the photos popped up, the sight of familiar faces triggered off conversation topics and fond recollections of our school experiences and adventures with teachers and friends.

 

Anytime is always a good time for an icy treat

As we shared familiar experiences with our visiting schoolmates, it was also an opportunity to share with them, some new experiences in our city.

 

It started that evening with dining in a charming restaurant that served Malay specialties and the next day, taking a drive around the city and to Iskandar Puteri to explore new sights and experience the exciting developments at Kota Iskandar, Medini, Puteri Harbour and Sunway Iskandar.

 

In the aftermath of the alumni’s visit to Johor, we discovered that tasting favourite food found-here-and-not-elsewhere seemed to top the list of must-do activities when these girls were back in Johor Bahru.

 

Almost-did-not-recognise her
former home in residential area

Among the must-have treats was the familiar taste of ice-kacang, rojak, tahu-bakar, noodles like mee rebus and laksa Johor, favourite kueh and cakes served by familiar vendors, cafés and restaurants here.

 

Yes, these particular treats may be available in other states and even abroad, but these girls can vouch that it all does not match with the original Johor taste and they must take advantage of a visit here to enjoy that familiar taste again.

 

While each may have their own family favourites, it was amusing to discover that many chose to go to the very same vendors – thankfully, at different times – or else there could have been mini alumni gatherings at those hawkers, cafés and restaurants!

 

Many of these vendors are family-run businesses and the girls soon discovered that the businesses are now run by next generation family members or that they have relocated to new destinations.

 

With the help of modern technology, social media, and simple word-of-mouth, these resourceful girls were able to track down their favourite vendors to once again, satisfy their tastebuds as they savoured that familiar longed-for taste.

 

A taste of Johor mee rebus

Among the must-do items for my schoolmates on this visit to Johor Bahru was to visit familiar roads, in particular, the addresses where they lived when they were school-going girls.

 

While it may just be a morning drive for me, visiting these destinations again was a nostalgic and meaningful experience for my friends who wanted to see the sites and reminisce about their growing-up years in that neighbourhood.

 

Our drive took us to various sites including Jalan Mariamah where three houses once stood. These houses have been demolished and in its place was a multi-storey apartment block.

 

Then to a residential area, Taman Kebun Teh also known as Taman Melodies, to Jalan Meranti in search of that house along that road where our friend once lived.

 

Most of the houses here have been renovated and no longer had its original façade so it took some time to locate that particular house. And when we found it, I insisted that we stopped for a photo session to capture such a memorable find. 

 

Afternoon tea hosted at a friend's place
in Taman Eco Botanic, Iskandar Puteri

Our drive downtown revealed various building developments that was changing the city skyline. A lot of work was in progress, the most obvious being construction of the tracks across the city for the Rapid Transit System (RTS) that will link Johor Bahru to Singapore.

 

Someone recalled once staying at the Mutiara Hotel in Johor Bahru so I showed them the site where it once stood along Jalan Dato Sulaiman because the building was no longer there and an exciting new building was taking shape in its place.

 

In our search for Jalan Senyum, we discovered that the network of roads near Jalan Abdullah Tahir seemed to be lost in the construction of commercial and residential blocks in this area.

 

Welcome back to Johor!

After going round and around, we realized that old buildings had to be demolished to give way for development and it was regretful that we could not even find the site where our friend’s former house used to be. It was indeed, a bittersweet trip down the proverbial Memory Lane.

 

Then we moved on to explore new sights in Iskandar Puteri and ended my specially tailored Fifty-Sen Tour with afternoon tea, hosted in the home of another friend in Taman Eco Botanic, a modern township in the city suburbs.

 

In the last weekend of August 2025, we not only celebrated the 100-Year Anniversary of IJ Convent Johor Bahru but we also celebrated Johor food, our friendship and the warm fellowship that has lasted since our schooldays in the Johor Bahru Convent.

 

And now we are left with fond memories to reminisce over until we meet again, virtually online or when our friends visited Johor Bahru again. Farewell and welcome back again – soon – to see the completed developments here. See you again, soon!