North-South Highway lunch stop – Tangkak revisit

I started off from KL fairly early in the morning and i wanted to have a quick lunch stop. Well, more like a snack stop. As with Yong Peng, Tangkak is just a short distance from the Toll booths, so it is good for a quick stop.

Everyone probably goes to the beef noodle shop. Not for me when i want to grab a quick bite and run. From Google maps, the eatery that caught my attention was Lok Pin Hotel & Coffee shop, conveniently located on the main street. From the name, you would know that it harkens from the days (many decades ago) when it was popular to run a hotel and coffee shop as part of the same business. It certainly reminds me of Chong Kok Kopitiam in Klang, which uses 中国酒店 as its Chinese name, meaning China Hotel. Except, Lok Pin Hotel is actually still in operation.

My simple snack. The coffee was very good.

Having ordered my food, i enquired about the Kopi powder which they advertised to be available. The uncle who was apparently the business owner was very friendly, and showed me the Kopi powder which was sold in 2kg packs. Way too much for me. He also told me about Kopi powder which he sells in 1kg packs. Yes, that would suit me. That was what they used to make Kopi in their shop. Perfect. It was under RM18 (S$6) for 1kg of Kopi powder, much cheaper than the ones i usually buy from the market stall in Singapore, which are sold at S$6 per half kg. Although, it might be blended with other ingredients, whereas the ones sold in Singapore are pure coffee beans. I don’t mind, anyway.

The uncle became very interested to chat with me, and all the more so when he found out i was on my way to Singapore (i guess they don’t receive that many diners from Singapore – they are probably all at the beef noodle shop!). He excitedly told me about those days when he was living in Hougang, about how he would ride his motorbike all around Singapore. To be honest, i concur that those were truly good old days, when it was much more carefree in Singapore.

So i asked about how old the coffee shop is, and was told it began in 1958. Obviously, he’s the second generation owner. He even told me that i could come and buy durian from them, instead of buying from those roadside sellers who have steeper prices. The lady who was sitting next to him was a durian plantation owner. You know what, i might just do that. Was told the next durian harvest season was 3 months away.