Updated 14 Aug 2019. Any visit to Kluang town must include a mandatory stop at Kluang Rail Coffee at the Kluang KTM station, if for nothing other than respect for its revered place in the history of Kluang and Malayan Railway.
We arrived at Kluang Railway Station from Johor Bahru on a very comfortable air conditioned train ride which took slightly over 2 hours.
I've been here at Kluang Rail Coffee a few times since my first time in 2012. Not much, if anything has changed physically, thankfully - it looked much the same as 2012 or even 1938 when it first opened.
Lim Jit Pang's grandfather Lim Luan Hee came to British Malaya from Hainan island in China's Guangdong province in the 1920s. He settled in Taiping, Perak and ran a coffee shop as many Hainanese immigrants did in British Malaya.
Old Mr. Lim took the opportunity to move to Kluang when he was offered the chance to operate the canteen at the newly opened Kluang Railway Station back in 1938. He served the staples of kopi, teh, kaya toasts, half boiled eggs, nasi lemak etc. Nothing fancy, but Kluang Rail Coffee soon gained the trust of generations of travellers through Kluang Railway Station. The rest is history as they say - the Lim family now runs more than a dozen Kluang Rail Coffee branches, franchises, hotels and other affiliated businesses in Kluang and beyond.
I like Kluang Rail Coffee's kopi - it has a nice medium body, not too bitter and doesn't have any of the ashiness which I sometimes get from other Nanyang kopi places. Balanced with a little sugar, it's a nice way to get the needed caffeine kick to get, up and going for the day.
Old Mr. Lim took the opportunity to move to Kluang when he was offered the chance to operate the canteen at the newly opened Kluang Railway Station back in 1938. He served the staples of kopi, teh, kaya toasts, half boiled eggs, nasi lemak etc. Nothing fancy, but Kluang Rail Coffee soon gained the trust of generations of travellers through Kluang Railway Station. The rest is history as they say - the Lim family now runs more than a dozen Kluang Rail Coffee branches, franchises, hotels and other affiliated businesses in Kluang and beyond.
I like Kluang Rail Coffee's kopi - it has a nice medium body, not too bitter and doesn't have any of the ashiness which I sometimes get from other Nanyang kopi places. Balanced with a little sugar, it's a nice way to get the needed caffeine kick to get, up and going for the day.
The toasted kaya bun has a nice crisp outside, the kaya inside was not overly sweet, the butter gave the bun grease and a bit of savoury saltiness to make each mouthful a pleasant savoury sweet treat. Easy to overindulge in this.
The crisp savoury sweet kaya toast was equally good.
The crisp savoury sweet kaya toast was equally good.
Recommended for you 👍 A visit to Kluang Rail Coffee is like a trip to a historic destination with the added bonus of enjoying heritage food which is faithfully prepared in the old way and served at reasonable prices.
I wish one day, I have the time in Kluang to take a window seat at Kluang Rail Coffee and dreamily watch trains go by all day with coffee and kaya toast in hand.
Restaurant name: KLUANG RailCoffee
Address: Jalan Station, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'01.1"N 103°19'02.5"E 🌐 2.033636, 103.317354
Tel: 07-773 8391
Hours: 7:00am - 6:00pm (Fri closed 12:00 noon - 2:30pm)
Halal
Tel: 07-773 8391
Hours: 7:00am - 6:00pm (Fri closed 12:00 noon - 2:30pm)
Halal
Date visited: 15 Feb 2012, 3 Aug 2019
Archive post dated Feb 2012. This was my first time at the original Kluang Rail Coffee; after hearing so much and reading so many blog posts on it, my expectations were set pretty high. I ordered Kluang Rail Coffee's famous coffee, soft boiled eggs and roti keping (kaya and butter toast).
Kluang Rail's kopi C kosong and roti keping today were good but with nothing to set it apart from average coffee shops.
Kluang Rail's soft boiled eggs today were good too but about the same as those at average coffee shops.
Kluang Rail's soft boiled eggs today were good too but about the same as those at average coffee shops.
Would I then, come back again to the old Kluang Rail Coffee? Strangely, even though Kluang Rail serves average coffee and food, I am sure that I will come back again.
I simply love this place.
I simply love this place.
Maybe it is its rustic, nostalgic ambiance. I like that quaint KLUANG RailCoffee signage.
Kluang Rail's unique wire cage enclosure, instead of walls, is also rather charming. It makes the place very cosy, breezy and airy. It is a nice comfortable place to chat while watching the train, the world go by with the corner of our eyes.
There is something about the spirit of the place.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and tea.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and tea.
Maybe its plain people watching - look whose here, whose coming and whose going. Maybe this place calms people down, slows the heart rate, lowers our blood pressure. Or is it the colour scheme? Or, is it about our identity? That it is one of those very few things from our growing up years that has remained pretty much the same and so we treasure it? Or, are we afraid that this too will disappear, like so many precious links with our past. If you think of other possibilities, please share with me a comment. I would appreciate it very much 😄
The business hours
Restaurant name: KLUANG RailCoffee
Address: Jalan Station, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2.033543,103.317584
Halal
Halal
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