When the British left Malaya after independence, besides leaving behind a good civil service, good legislature and the english language, it also left behind a good railway system.
Connecting the small towns along the west coast of the peninsula, the railway was the main form of transportation before the advent of highways and expressways. The railway stations in these small towns became hubs of activity.
One such small town was Kluang in the southern state of Johor. Even with the decline of the railway as a the main form of transport these days, the railway station in Kluang still stands until today.
One of the main reasons why the station still remains an active hub until today, is its prominent location in town. The other is of course the presence of the Kluang Rail Coffee kopitiam.
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| The original Kluang Rail Coffee. |
A kopitiam is of course an ethnic chinese coffee house and is now an endearing symbol of the malaysian identity. Kluang Rail Coffee was founded way back in 1938 in the Kluang railway station. Today it has become a landmark of Kluang town and an institution in itself.
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| The Kluang Railway Station. Adequate parking at the station. |
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| The railway station is a simple single storey structure. |
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| Although it has been modernised, it still evokes the feel of colonial British Malaya. |
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| You can still sit and watch trains goes by. |
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| Not many trains nowadays though. |
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| The Kluang Rail Coffee takes up a prominent location in the station. |
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| For a kopitiam, it does have a substantial menu. |
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| But of course the main attraction is the Bun Kaya. |
When you think of a kopitiam, you of course think about breakfast and having a cup of local coffee, soft boiled eggs with pepper and soy sauce and toast with thick slabs of butter and kaya (coconut jam).
You can get all of that here as well, but there is also a bunch of other stuff on the menu as well. Our top tip here is to forget the toast, instead go for the Bun Kaya. The bun is soft and fluffy on the inside and charred and smoky on the outside, with generous lashings of butter and kaya. The difference here is that it is toasted with charcoal which makes the difference.
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| Rojak Mee |
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| The Karipap, or malaysian syle curry puffs. |
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| Cucur Ikan Bilis |
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| Some prices. Very cheap and affordable. |
If you are in the area, and are craving for some old-fashioned grub, why not head here and get your fix. While the owners now have other outlets in the town, and there is also that other Kluang Station franchise chain all over the country now, nothing beats the authenticity of the original one located in an actual railway station.
Be advised that it is extremely popular, and you may need to wait awhile to grab a table whenever one becomes vacated. Being primarily a breakfast and teatime venue, it is not open for dinner.
Kluang Rail Coffee
Address: Jalan Stesen, 86000 Kluang
Telephone: +60 17-755 7273
