Federal Restaurant, Ipoh
We thank Keith Nelson for this gem.
Just a thought: these young men were obviously checking out the sites of Ipoh Town during that time…..where were YOU back in 1959? 
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13 comments to Federal Restaurant, IpohLeave a Reply |
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What a delightful photo!
It certainly brings back a flood of memories. yes, our seniors then were dressed
in that fashion. Sleeves all rolled up high to parade whatever muscles they could display. They affected a very macho “all ready to rock” stance.
So we had 4 young men on the roll. Wonder who they are?
The “chick” blinds, the Mandarin scripts on the pillars and the beam at the frontage, the stand-alone bill board and the contraption for parking bicycles – these were all customary sights of those days.
There were hardly any milk bars then (other than perhaps the one in Cold Storage?) so local coffee shops could made do for the trendy Elvis fans.
I think this coffee shop is opposite of Ruby theatre.
Can see the signboard featuring what is showing on Capitol theatre.
good guess, AM. anyone else want to guess where this place is?
To answer the first question posed, in 1959 I was on board HMS Albion en route to Singapore and wondering what they meant by the Malayan Emergency!
The young men were British soldiers posted to Ipoh in support of the government in their fight against the communists. Not long out of school and the first time they had been posted overseas they were probably fans of Elvis and that very new Liverpool group called the Beatles. All ready to rock they probably were, but at the back of their minds they no doubt wondered what the CT’s and the jungle would bring them tomorrow.
‘am’ is definitely correct. It is the coffee shop opposite Ruby cinema along Anderson road.
Next to it was the Himalaya Pharmacy. Notice those bicycles rack. I used to buy newspapers
and magazines from the Indian store along the far side of the corridor.
Next to Himalaya Pharmacy was Lai Leng & Susu Hair dressers.My mum was a customer of theirs & as a child in 60s, I spent a lot of time eating & waiting in this coffeeshop for my mum to finish doing her hair. Ipohgal did mentioned in her blog that her old family coffeeshop at 188 Hugh Low St also had those foldable cinema signboards displayed. They are unfolded by the shop owner when they open shop & folded back when closing. For their trouble, they are rewarded with cinema passes.
Well i see something interesting in this photo. The metal structure behind those guys, if not mistaken was used to lock the bicycle. I am i saw it somewhere before in the past. It was something very common in town.
I tried and I failed trying to pinpoint the spot of this shop. Am may be right. It sure was a very good photo of Ipoh past.
Rosebud, wasn’t there an Indian newsstand/bookshop called Yobu near Lai Leng’s/Susu’s?
Hi Sybil – Yobu is not in the same row as Lai Leng/Susu but both these 2 shops are along Anderson Rd as those 4 guys are standing on. It is just a stone’s throw away somewhere at the row of shophouses across the road to the left of the photo.Looks like some of you are still not sure where this coffee shop is. If you walk to the end of the 5 foot way on the left of the photo towards those people in the background, you will see Lido & Cathay cinemas on the left & right respectively.
LMS136/Ika you are correct the four young men are British soldiers, all about 21 yrs of age.How do I know? well I am Keith Nelson,
the one on the left! We were all National servicemen conscripted for 2yrs service. I was lucky enough to be posted to Ipoh and was the electrician at REME,3 Coy RASC. and yes I was a fan of the Beatles(and still am) being born and bred in Liverpool, where I still live.
At first the C.T’s were an unknown quantity but after losing comrades the seriousness of the situation soon became obvious.
I have sent a lot of photos of my time in Ipoh, many of them have been posted.
Keith Nelson
Hi Keith,
Thanks for the photos and the information.Keep them flowing! They are intriguing as they fill up a gap in our life.
Hi Keith. We at IpohWorld can’t thank you enough for those lovely pictures!