MORE than three decades of sharing an address is bound to leave one with a tinge of nostalgia.
Jaya
Noodle House founder and head chef Lai Kok Choy, however, has a more
pragmatic approach in dealing with change. Believing that people should
evolve with the times, he simply uprooted his restaurant of 33 years to
make way for new development and moved to a different address.
“My
dad was one of the pioneer group of tenants to set up shop in Jaya
Shopping Centre, then known as the Jaya Supermarket, at Section 14,
Petaling Jaya.
“He was also among the last few to move out after
we were informed of plans to demolish the building and turn it into a
lifestyle mall,” Lai’s youngest daughter Chelsea, 37, revealed at the
Jaya Noodle House's new premises at Jaya One, PJ.
Nostalgic sight: The old orange-and-cream tables and chairs are still a fixture at the outlet.
The
new Jaya Noodle House opened in February and conveniently overlooks
Jalan 13/6, opposite the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman's PJ campus. It
nestles among eateries established at the Glutton’s Row known as Wai Sek
Kai.
When her father opened Jaya Noodle House in 1975 with three
other partners, Chelsea was only four years old while her sisters, Bee
Ling and Bee Kuan were seven and six, respectively. They now handle
public relations, finance and kitchen operations.
A poultry
supplier by trade, Lai went to Hong Kong to learn about the concept of a
noodle house and returned to set up “the first air-conditioned noodle
house in PJ.”
He and his partners came up with a modest capital
of RM5,000 each to start Jaya Noodle House but Lai bought over their
shares two years later.
Still at it: Lai is still hard at work in the kitchen 33 years on.
“I
decided to go with my instincts to stay put and abide by the
management’s decision to increase rental because Jaya had the Cold
Storage Supermarket then and people would swing by the noodle house
after grocery shopping.
“We stayed on till the eve of Chinese New
Year this year because Cold Storage was still open and our regulars
kept coming by,” Lai said.
Initially, the noodle house had eight
to nine items on its limited menu. An original copy is still available
where a bowl of Abalone Noodles was then priced at RM3.80. The present
menu offers over 70 dishes, including stalwarts like the Pig’s Fore
Shank Noodles, Steamed Duck with Salted Cabbage Soup, Stewed Beef
Brisket Noodles and Yok Chuk Chicken Soup.
“Our local cook has
been with us for over 20 years but my dad is still the best cook. He
still makes the best Char Siew Noodles and we are grateful that his
personal touch has remained throughout the years,” Chelsea said while
giving her father a fond glance.
The sprightly senior citizen turns 66 this year and has not thought about retiring.
“Your
mind wanders when you have free time and I prefer to keep myself busy. I
relax by working out at the Clark Hatch Fitness Centre at the Hilton
Petaling Jaya,” he said but Chelsea cheekily prodded him and said he
also headed there for naps.
The warmth shared by father and
daughters flows through the restaurant that has many regulars. One of
the ways Jaya Noodle House has maintained its old customers is by
retaining the old orange-and-cream chairs and tables.
Blast from the past: An old photograph of Lai standing in front of the old premises of the outlet at Jaya Supermarket, as it was then known.
“People
are often unable to read our sign while driving by but glancing at the
tables and chairs does the trick. Most of our customers are also senior
citizens and Jaya One has ample ramps and parking facilities for the
elderly and disabled,” Chelsea explained.
The noodle house is the
same size as before but has its own washrooms and was renovated at a
cost of RM200,000 to include a new kitchen.
Rental is a cool
RM25,000 monthly, a far cry from the RM2 per sq ft (0.09 sq m) Lai paid
when he first opened at Jaya Supermarket.
When Lai opened there,
only a handful of the lots were occupied. It is the same scenario in
Jaya One with the Lai family poised once again for a new beginning.
JAYA
NOODLE HOUSE (Non-halal) Lot 35-LG2, Block C, Jaya One, No 72A, Jalan
University, Petaling Jaya (Tel:03-7954 2639). Business Hours: Daily,
10am to 10pm.
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SEPANG,
Feb 24 — Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam returned to Malaysia
today, vowing to help voters and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) oust the Barisan
Nasional (BN) government in Election 2013. Balasubramaniam fled the
country since he made a second sworn statement to refute his first
statutory declaration (SD) that implicated Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in the 2006 murder of
Mongolian Altantuya Shaaribuu.
