At Kedai Ikhbal, breakfast comes with familiar faces

By 6am, Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Ikhbal is already coming to life, with customers settling in over nasi lemak, fried noodles, kuih and morning conversation.

For owner Ikhbal Ahmad, 66, many of those faces are familiar. After 25 years in business, some customers have been coming for so long that they feel less like patrons and more like friends.

“Our customers keep coming back. Every day, we see the same familiar faces, so we have become quite close to them,” he told Bernama.

Some travel to Negeri Sembilan from Johor and Kuala Lumpur, while others live nearby and have made the eatery part of their morning routine. Ikhbal estimates that Kedai Ikhbal serves close to 1,000 customers a day.

Part of the appeal is straightforward: the food remains inexpensive. Nasi lemak starts at RM1, while sweet and savoury kuih can cost as little as 50 sen.

Other breakfast favourites include kuey teow, bihun goreng and roti canai. The shop opens daily until 11.30am.

That affordability and convenience attracts customers of different ages and backgrounds, something Ikhbal has come to appreciate as much as the business itself.

“Malay, Chinese and Indian customers … everyone just comes to eat and have a chat,” he said.

Customers often share tables when the shop is crowded, particularly on weekends. For Ikhbal, there is nothing remarkable about is – and perhaps that is precisely the point.

“Food can bring people together. When we sit down together to eat, we are happy and do not think about our differences.”

When regulars become friends

Ikhbal runs the eatery with the help of one of his four children and nine workers, including several local residents. Some employees have stayed for years, with the oldest now in his 80s.

The same longevity applies to the customers. Ikhbal said some have become close to his family and staff, stopping by as much for conversation as for breakfast.

“We respect our customers, and they respect us, too. After so many years, some customers have become like friends,” he said.

Around 1,200 to 1,300 packets of nasi lemak are sold on an ordinary day, while weekends and public holidays can push that figure to about 1,700. Sundays are particularly hectic, with customers arriving early for takeaway and tables filling quickly.

Regular customer Syafiq Abdullah from Bangi makes a point of stopping by whenever he is in Negeri Sembilan. He enjoys the reasonable prices and kampung-like atmosphere, but also the ease with which strangers sit alongside one another.

“When people of different races sit together and enjoy breakfast, some even sharing a table, you can really feel the joy of it,” the 63-year-old said. “That is what Malaysia is all about.”

Delivery rider M Talayan, 24, is another regular who enjoys the relaxed mood. “I always come here. The food is cheap, and I like that people from different races can sit together and eat. It doesn’t feel awkward at all,” he said.

For Pang Woo Waan, 82, the feeling is nostalgic: he and his wife visit around three times a week, drawn by the nasi lemak as well as an atmosphere that reminds him of neighbourhood life years ago.

“These days, people tend to keep to themselves. You don’t always see this kind of atmosphere anymore,” he said.

“But here, we can greet one another like old friends.”

Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Ikhbal
Jalan Veloo, Taman Saga,
70200 Seremban,
Negeri Sembilan

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