The first packets of poached chicken rice at Chua Joo Cafe leave the counter before seven, wrapped for neighbours who need breakfast before work. It has been this way for nearly five decades, give or take: the Goh family has been feeding this stretch of Ong Tiang Swee Road longer than most of today's regulars have been alive, and the second generation is dishing out the same plates today. [image: 1789125447854-chicken-rice.jpg] Source: DayakDaily The current boss, Goh Hui Nah, was not raised for this trade. She spent more than fifteen years in Singapore's hotel industry before her father's passing tipped the family eatery onto her and her mother, a two-woman operation that later brought her husband into the kitchen as well. Her mother kept cooking into her eighties and only hung up her apron about five years ago, after the pandemic. Nothing here is complicated on purpose: the same poached chicken rice, the same savoury kolo mee, quick plates with generous portions that the morning crowd wants before the day starts. [image: 1789125450003-patrons-dining.jpg] Source: DayakDaily What should you order? The chicken rice, obviously — succulent poached chicken over rice, fast to serve and easy to eat — and if you are with a friend, add the kolo mee, which is her husband's domain and has built its own following among patrons. By mid-morning the fast-food stations open up with more substantial dishes for the lunch rush. This is a working kopitiam rather than a showpiece: the pleasure is in watching regulars order the same dish they have eaten here for thirty years, served by the same few faces across the counter. [image: 1789125451799-cafe-identity.jpg] Source: DayakDaily I would come early, between 6.30 and 8am, when the chicken is at its freshest and the crowd is mostly neighbours who already know what they want. Arrive at the right hour and you will understand why a cafe named for the owner's grandfather and father — Chua, then Joo — has outlasted almost every other shop on this road. It is the kind of meal worth planning a Kuching food trip around, not for novelty but for a plate that tastes like continuity. Chua Joo Cafe (泉裕茶室) is at No. 14, Ong Tiang Swee Road, Kuching, open daily from 6am to 3.30pm except Sundays and public holidays. For enquiries, call 012-8878745. Open in Google Maps

早上七点前，泉裕茶室（Chua Joo Cafe）柜台的第一批白切鸡饭已经打包好，等着交给赶着上班的邻居。这样的日子已持续将近半个世纪：Goh 一家在这条 Ong Tiang Swee Road 上喂饱的邻居，比店里大多数熟客的年纪还大，如今轮到第二代在柜台后头做同样的餐食。 [image: 1789125447854-chicken-rice.jpg] 来源：DayakDaily 现在的掌舵人 Goh Hui Nah 本来并不是做这一行的。她曾在新加坡的酒店业工作超过十五年，父亲过世后，她才回来接掌这家店，最初是母女两人撑起整间茶馆，后来丈夫也进了厨房。母亲一直做到八十多岁，大约五年前、疫情过后才真正放下围裙。店里没有任何刻意花巧的东西：一样的白切鸡饭、一样的咸香哥罗面，出餐快、分量实在，正是早上开工前的人想要的。 [image: 1789125450003-patrons-dining.jpg] 来源：DayakDaily 怎么点？白切鸡饭当然是第一选择——鸡肉嫩、配饭快、吃得省时；如果两个人一起来，再加一份哥罗面，那是店主丈夫的拿手范围，在常客之间已经自成口碑。到了上午中段，快餐档会再添几道更扎实的菜，接上中午的客流。这是一间还在运转的茶室，不是展示厅：真正好看的，是熟客二三十年如一日吃着同一道菜，柜台前后始终是那几张熟悉的脸。 [image: 1789125451799-cafe-identity.jpg] 来源：DayakDaily 我会建议一早来，六点半到八点之间，鸡肉最新鲜，周围大半是清楚自己要什么的邻里。选对时间，你就能明白一间以店主祖父与父亲名字命名的茶室——祖父 Chua、父亲 Joo——为什么能在这一条路上走过几乎半个世纪。来古晋吃一趟，为它不是为了猎奇，而是为了一口像传承一样扎实的白切鸡饭。 泉裕茶室（Chua Joo Cafe）位于古晋 Ong Tiang Swee Road 14 号，每天上午 6 点至下午 3 点 30 分营业，星期天与公共假日休息。查询可拨 012-8878745。 在 Google Maps 打开