Driving up from Johor Bahru in the morning, we pulled in first and foremost at Hoover coffee shop in Kluang as we were all low on caffeine and our auntie/uncle bladders were full.
Hoover is a busy kopitiam with nice small town warmth (Kluang has a population of around 300,000 in 2010). It's a large kopitiam spanning 2 shop lots.
There's the usual anchor stall serving drinks, toasts, and eggs. A few other stalls serve homely staples like kueh (local cakes and snacks), curry puff, egg tarts, fried noodles, nasi lemak etc, and there was also a chicken rice stall.
Lady boss Lulu Lim is the niece of Lim Luan Hee, who founded the iconic Kluang Rail Coffee in 1938 i.e. Lulu's dad is Lim Huan Hee's brother. Seeing that we were from out of town, Lulu came over to our table to introduce us the food and drinks served at her coffee shop - such is the charm of small town kopitiam.
Lulu couldn't remember when her dad founded Hoover restaurant but this safe was already here before she started working at the coffee shop. I joked that there must be gold bars inside, she replied "the safe is yours, if you can carry it away".
So nice 😂
First things, first - the coffee. I had kopi O siew dai (coffee without milk, less sugar) which Lulu understood, as the Lims are Hainanese. In Malaysia, e.g. in Kuala Lumpur, you have to say kopi O siew tim i.e. in Cantonese.
I love the kopi at Hoover. The black coffee has nice smooth body, tastes and smells good. There wasn't much Robusta bitterness, any of which was well moderated by the small pinch of sugar. It's a good cuppa for me.
The lightly browned white bread toast was light and crisp. The kaya (coconut and egg jam) was smooth, aromatic and not overly sweet. The melt-in-the-mouth butter was silky and gave the kaya toast a pleasant buttery savoury balance. Love this.
The white bread toast was good but I like the toasted bun even better as I enjoyed its soft-crisp texture more. The bun also had a bit more flavour from its browned skin.
The half boiled eggs were beautifully done. Smooth with nice viscous body. The natural fresh egg eggy flavour and aroma was something I've not ever tasted in Singapore coffee shops 🤭 A dash of light soy sauce and a puff of white pepper, the orangey lava flows down the throat like a good wholesome tasty broth. Yeah...., we don't use spoons for this - we pour the runny egg straight down the throat from the saucer.
First things, first - the coffee. I had kopi O siew dai (coffee without milk, less sugar) which Lulu understood, as the Lims are Hainanese. In Malaysia, e.g. in Kuala Lumpur, you have to say kopi O siew tim i.e. in Cantonese.
I love the kopi at Hoover. The black coffee has nice smooth body, tastes and smells good. There wasn't much Robusta bitterness, any of which was well moderated by the small pinch of sugar. It's a good cuppa for me.
The lightly browned white bread toast was light and crisp. The kaya (coconut and egg jam) was smooth, aromatic and not overly sweet. The melt-in-the-mouth butter was silky and gave the kaya toast a pleasant buttery savoury balance. Love this.
The white bread toast was good but I like the toasted bun even better as I enjoyed its soft-crisp texture more. The bun also had a bit more flavour from its browned skin.
The half boiled eggs were beautifully done. Smooth with nice viscous body. The natural fresh egg eggy flavour and aroma was something I've not ever tasted in Singapore coffee shops 🤭 A dash of light soy sauce and a puff of white pepper, the orangey lava flows down the throat like a good wholesome tasty broth. Yeah...., we don't use spoons for this - we pour the runny egg straight down the throat from the saucer.
The trinity of coffee, toast, and egg - all nice. Win already lor.... as we say in Singapore.
However, the tapioca cake and yam cake weren't as convincing. They tasted and felted mass produced.
Lady boss Lulu suggested we try their chicken rice. We didn't order at first because we don't normally eat chicken rice for breakfast, and the forlorn looking bird in the window didn't look inviting. Also, I personally prefer poached chicken to fried.
But, how to say no to such a nice lady, right?
Lulu was right. Turned out that this chicken rice was one of the memorable dishes from this Kluang trip.
The fried chicken had layers of savoury flavours in the well browned crisp skin and sweetness from the tender, juicy white meat underneath. The rice wasn't the best quality and it was a little clumpy, but wow... it was well infused with chicken stock, lemongrass, pandan leaf, and other complementary savoury sweet flavours and aromatics. The rice had a nice tenderly nutty feel to the bite and wasn't overly greasy.
Recommended for you 👍 Leftovers don't lie. If you have been to Kluang Rail Coffee ad nauseam, then check out the other Lim's coffee in Kluang. For all the great time and good food we that had, the bill came to a grand total of RM31 (2019 prices).
If you haven't done your pilgrimage to Kluang Rail Coffee 👈 click
Restaurant name: Hoover 豪華茶餐室 (the signboard outside says Kluang Lim 林)
Address: No. 24, Jalan Ng Pi Ton, Taman Sayang, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'18.2"N 103°19'52.7"E 🌐 2.038391, 103.331303
WAZE: Hoover Restaurant
Hours: 6:30am - 5:00pm (closed on Friday)
Tel: +607-771 2772
Non Halal
Date visited: 10 Dec 2019 | Updated: 1 Mar 2023
Photo credit: Wikipedia
However, the tapioca cake and yam cake weren't as convincing. They tasted and felted mass produced.
Lady boss Lulu suggested we try their chicken rice. We didn't order at first because we don't normally eat chicken rice for breakfast, and the forlorn looking bird in the window didn't look inviting. Also, I personally prefer poached chicken to fried.
But, how to say no to such a nice lady, right?
Lulu was right. Turned out that this chicken rice was one of the memorable dishes from this Kluang trip.
The fried chicken had layers of savoury flavours in the well browned crisp skin and sweetness from the tender, juicy white meat underneath. The rice wasn't the best quality and it was a little clumpy, but wow... it was well infused with chicken stock, lemongrass, pandan leaf, and other complementary savoury sweet flavours and aromatics. The rice had a nice tenderly nutty feel to the bite and wasn't overly greasy.
Recommended for you 👍 Leftovers don't lie. If you have been to Kluang Rail Coffee ad nauseam, then check out the other Lim's coffee in Kluang. For all the great time and good food we that had, the bill came to a grand total of RM31 (2019 prices).
If you haven't done your pilgrimage to Kluang Rail Coffee 👈 click
Restaurant name: Hoover 豪華茶餐室 (the signboard outside says Kluang Lim 林)
Address: No. 24, Jalan Ng Pi Ton, Taman Sayang, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'18.2"N 103°19'52.7"E 🌐 2.038391, 103.331303
WAZE: Hoover Restaurant
Hours: 6:30am - 5:00pm (closed on Friday)
Tel: +607-771 2772
Non Halal
Date visited: 10 Dec 2019 | Updated: 1 Mar 2023
Photo credit: Wikipedia
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