SEREMBAN: Kampung Jiboi Baru folk are a proud lot now after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dropped by to savour their signature dish known as Cendol Songkok Tinggi here.
The Prime Minister stopped by the outlet located in Ampangan to try out the coconut milk-based iced dessert typically made with rice flour jelly and palm sugar syrup en route to perform Friday prayers at the Dato' Klana Petra Mohd Yusof mosque in Sikamat.
Apart from its staff who could be seen wearing the songkok tinggi, this stall is known for its delicious cendol which also features a decadent sugar syrup consisting of palm, brown and cane sugars, as well as scoops of canned sweet corn, red beans and glutinous rice or pulut.
Co-owner Ahmad Dani Daud 42, said his team of more than 20 workers who were also residents in the area had been working tirelessly since they got the news that Anwar was planning to make a stop.
"The Prime Minister's office only confirmed his visit two days ago.
"And when that happened, it was all helter-skelter as we wanted to make sure we were fully prepared," he said.
Ahmad Dani when news went around of the VVIP visit, he started getting visits from many quarters including the police, village committees and the public who were keen to get a glimpse of the Prime Minister.
He said what made the outlet different was the fact that it was started by 10 friends who wanted to run a community-based business.
"Some of them, including my father, were government servants who had chosen to retire early.
"Since they had time on their hands, they thought of doing something to keep themselves busy and they started off with a small-scale catering business in 2010," he said.
One of the 10 friends had sound knowledge of making the songkok tinggi and that was how the business got its name.
He said business began to grow and new items were soon introduced on the menu.
When business flourished, they decided to set up the outlet and among the dishes on the menu were mee laksa Johor, mee rebus Johor, jemput-jemput bilis/udang/bawang (also known as cengkodok in other states), soto, lontong, nasi lemak and traditional Johor cakes.
"We chose to promote dishes popular in Johor as my dad was from Segamat and we do not have much variety of Johorean food sold here.
"Also, since someone was already selling mee bandung (popular in Johor), we chose not to do so as we wanted to be unique," he said.
Ahmad Dani said his father's friends used to supply the additional dishes and these would be sold at the outlet.
"Today, we are invited to do catering from all over the peninsula and we are happy to be able to promote the Kampung Jiboi Baru brand," he said, adding that part-time employment is also offered to young people who have time on their hands.
