Dine in New Village nostalgia

 

“Come for a meal, stay for the vibe,” this thought crossed my mind when I had my own experience at that corner coffeeshop called Medo.

 

Entrance into Restoran Medo

This name in Chinese language simply translates into the word for “taste.” Whether it was spelled, Medo or Mido, it is quite a common name for Chinese restaurants.

 

With its façade designed in wooden planks and a wide window that was flipped opened outwards, the motorcycle parked under the window seemed to imply that this was someone’s home.

 

The window-frame, decorated with Chinese couplets painted on Red paper, along with ‘sheets of paper’ postered on both sides of the wall that bordered the main entrance, exuded a nostalgic charm.

 

Traditional vending instruments... spot
the sheet of paper for the tikam-tikam game

Looking closer, I saw that these sheets of paper were in fact traditional vending instruments for small toys like plastic guns, yoyos and fix-it-yourself polystyrene planes, priced at a princely sum of only RM3 a piece.

 

Another sheet of vending instrument was pasted with small squares of tear-off tickets in a popular game I recognized as tikam-tikam.

 

This, I believe, was one of the earliest gambling games that children were tempted to spend their precious pocket money on, with the hope to tear-off a ticket that won them a grand prize.

 

More of the traditional vending
 instruments to sell small toys

The sight of this tikam game gave me a flashback to that familiar provision shop opened next to our grandfather’s house at No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng, where I observed children playing this game.

 

No, we were not allowed to spend money on this game as (we were told!) the whole idea was to encourage children to spend money while there were probably only a few “winning” tickets in the entire game.

 

The nostalgic charm of this kopitiam continued indoors where the windows were wide open for natural light to pour in.

 

Vertical metal rods were the simple security grille in the windows but to keep the air-conditioning effective, sheets of transparent acrylic were fitted across the open windows.

 

Check out the window and 
old-fashioned ways for ventilation

Above the windows were louvred wooden slats and further above, were rows of square wire mesh that bordered the entire wall.

 

Back in those days where people lived without ceiling fans or air-conditioning, these methods were applied for better ventilation.

The exposed wooden planks and beams have their own rustic charm, something that I remembered from visiting houses in New Villages when our parents were based in Masai for work.

 

That was when I learnt the phrase, chu kia, Teochew and Hokkien dialect for, small houses. These were humble homes in the villages, many of which did not even have concrete floors but only bare red earth.

 

Old-fashioned electrical switch
above a kuda calendar on the wall

I liked that the wall décor in Medo included kuda calendars, traditional calendars that earned its name from the horse illustrations featured on the dates when horse races were held.

 

I was pleased to see that even the old-fashioned electrical switch on the wall was consistent with the rustic charm in their interior decoration.

 

It was just ahead of lunchtime so I watched as customers arrived in pairs and groups or families, to choose their seats.

 

I saw that the wooden tables and stools also matched the décor, as were the round marble-topped tables, wooden cabinets and decorative artifacts.

 

Enter here to a modern
toilet facility in Medo

While they may have done well to keep the décor simple, I observed that there was room for more decoration to further enhance the New Village vibe.

 

Meanwhile, my friend and I took our time to look at the photographs in the menu to pick our choice of items to order. And when I had a question, a helpful staff came over to answer my query.

 

Their menu – I discovered – has non-Halal versions of popular kopitiam favourites that range from rice and noodles to kaya toast and sandwiches, as well as hot and cold beverages.

 

After we had finished our meal, we lingered as I had to check out their washroom. And was pleased to see that it was (thankfully!) a modern toilet facility.

 

Restoran Medo, a non-Halal kopitiam with indoor and outdoor dining areas, is located at No. 70 Jalan Permas 10/7, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor. Open daily from 7am to 6pm. Closed on Tuesday.

 

Note: Read The Legacy of New Villages documented in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the third and final instalment that completed the trilogy of My Johor Stories books.

 

This book is available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online from mphonline. In Johor Bahru, this book is available from JARO, shortform for Johor Area Rehabilitation Organization at Jalan Sungai Chat, Johor Bahru, Johor.