Farewell Continental Chicken Rice1130大洲鸡饭终于退休

September 15, 2017

Farewell Continental Chicken Rice1130大洲鸡饭终于退休

I thought he was joking when he said he's calling it a day 'You can't just close after so many years of serving us with your delicious chicken rice' I exclaimed.

He looked at me solemnly 'After 39 years of doing this, I'm feeling fatigue and I'm already in my 60's so how long do you want me to continue?'

'As long as possible' I said as I went back to the table and waited for my usual plate of his delicious soya sauce chicken rice to arrive.

The conversation above took place somewhere in Jun 2016 last year and today the inevitability finally came.

40 years ago what started out as a small stall to make ends meet soon grew into a popular eatery joint with a huge number of customers from all walks of life and sadly it would all come to an end on....

'1130 would be a perfect day to end this' he said. 'Whadaya mean by 1130?' I asked.

'It's the date 30.11.2017 I'm retiring for good and I've already said it last year but it was you guys that kept me going for another year'

大洲鸡饭终于退休11月30日最后一天

Mr Lok or fondly known as ‘Kai lo’ by many of his regulars would usually start his day at 5am and by the time the shop closes it would be around 4pm.

The toil of 12 hours a day is no easy feat and has taken a toll on his knees making it hard for him to bend down and squat. The pain can be excruciating at times and health should always come first before things get worse.

‘And no one is interested in taking over the business so might as well close the shop and after that I wanna go on a long holiday’ said Mr Lok.

Here's what we will miss.

The delicious marinated soya sauce chickens.

The chickens are firstly marinated and then cooked in a giant pot filled with his special soya sauce until it is golden brown.

Chopping the chicken into bite size pieces only took a few seconds earning him the title 快刀手 which literally mean ‘Fast Hand Cleaver’

If you like chicken legs I'm sure you will miss this big time. It is cooked to perfection with the skin falling off the bone.

The popular stewed egg in soya sauce.

Highly sought after and if you want to eat this you need to call up for reservation as it is normally finish before noon.

I will go to war over this scoop of chili sauce!

His most special creation and sometimes I would even drool in my sleep thinking about it and I'll miss this Big time.

Another special concoction of minced ginger in soya sauce and only the regulars would know about this.

This is the soya sauce that would make headlines
It has multiple use; to marinate the chicken, as a sauce poured on the chopped chicken and also as a gravy for the rice.

My favourite, the chicken breast in soya sauce.

This has been my usual since the first day I set foot into this shop.

Now I just walk in, sit at the marble table and this would come to me in less than a minute.

The most overrated chicken soup in town.
'Please try the soup it is made from the best essence of chicken with lots and lots of Ajinomoto'

He's got a great sense of humor.

Here are the jokes that he used to crack over the years.

‘Which chicken are you referring to? Upstairs or downstairs?’

‘You not happy with my chicken rice then please go to The Chicken Rice Shop’

In 2006 a group of Proton car salesman arrived in the latest Proton Savvy and after eating they asked him to test drive the new car and showed him the name Savvy and Mr Lok purposely pronounced it wrongly as ‘Sawi’ referring to the Choi Sum in Malay.

He doesn’t look a day older than forty and what is the secret behind his youthful look? “Over the years I've been using the chicken fat as facial moisturizer and do you want some to take home?”

‘Please try the soup it is made from the best essence of chicken with lots and lots of Ajinomoto’

‘I sell chicken rice is not about making money but it is about providing a community service to the people of Seremban!’

Welcome to the back room.

The classic single swinging door.

Old is gold.

Goyang kaki while whistling his favorite Sam Hui's song.

During lunch time it is usually crowded and most of the patrons are his regulars.

Full house.

His staffs busy at work.

Customers from all walks of life come here.

His regulars from across the street meet the team of doctors and nurses from Integral Dentist Clinic Seremban. Jess and Ling (left) said sometimes they would tapau if the clinic has many patients while Jevitha (right) preferred to eat at the shop and then tapau for everyone at the clinic.

Dr Oh Kok Leong (pink shirt) said he has been eating here since the day he set up his own practice many years ago and even joked "After Mr Lok is retired and he happens to visit my clinic, I'll extract his tooth for free… Ha ha ha"

'After you're retired where else are we gonna have our lunch?'

Due to time constraint many choose to tapau.

Timeless.

Flashback to the year 1988.

Vividly in my mind, we’ve got class on a Saturday as replacement for a holiday and right after class we decided to go for lunch together.

Let’s go eat at 'Kai lo’ said Christopher Tai.

'And where is that?' I asked.

'Next to the Ruby cinema and directly opposite the Plaza cinema. The Continental Hotel's chicken rice there is superb' he replied.

It was my first time there and Chee Yew poured me a glass of Coke and added some salt in it ‘Try this it's very cooling for a heaty body like yours’ he said.

It was my first taste of the soya sauce chicken rice together with a cooling glass of Coke with salt and those were the good times of our schooling days spent at this shop.