If you are used to the super duper speed of service in Singapore (especially at the McDonald’s branches in Singapore during peak hours), you could be running out of patience at the fast food chains in Johor Bahru.
While an average ordering time at the counter takes 20 seconds in Singapore, it takes an average of 35 seconds in Johor Bahru (based on my own estimates). While the average time for the food to be placed on the tray takes 30 seconds in Singapore, it takes twice the time at Malaysia!
I was at the McDonald’s Branch at Holiday Plaza 2 weeks ago and the customer at the front of the queue ordered various items totaling RM28.00. Time taken for the McDonald’s staff to take the order: 5 minutes!!!
McDonald's at Holiday Plaza, Johor Bahru
Queue forming up at McDonalds, Holiday Plaza, Johor Bahru
Naturally, I run out of patience and started looking over at the next counter for a possible switch. Unfortunately, the queue is equally slow.
It took another 5 minutes for the order to be served for the customer in front, and another 15 minutes to clear the next few people in front of me before it finally came to my turn. Makes me wonder if this is really FAST food.
Anyway, I ordered an Ayam Goreng set (2 piece chicken meal) and as I was ordering, I can clearly see one staff at the kitchen putting a piece of freshly cooked chicken nugget into his mouth (Mm.. it is ok for them to eat while cooking at the same time?). While waiting for the food to be placed onto my tray, I saw another sight. A McDonald’s delivery man came over to the fries counter, and with his motorbike jacket still on, he scooped the fries onto a paper basket, in preparation for his next delivery! Can delivery people handle food as well?
Fundamentally, there is a large gap in terms of the delivery processes at Fast Food chains across both sides of the causeway. At Johor Bahru, you have to manage your expectations a little and not expect the same speed of service and the stringent controls in place at Singapore.
I have another story to share. At the KFC restaurant (also at Holiday Plaza) in Johor Bahru recently, I Read on…
As we wander about our daily lives, we are excited by the various offerings our senses can feast on; good food, cheap products, entertainment and gossip news.
Father’s day has just passed and most fortunate families would had typically had a mini-family reunion of sorts by gathering for a family dinner. Some would even top it out with a family outing.
As we go about pursuing our dreams, do take a pause and be thankful for all the goodness you currently have. And how your parents had nurtured your in one way or another, through their love for you.
Have a look at the video below, created by the Singapore National Family Council. Maybe it’s time to log off and give your parents a call to tell them that you love them too.
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In our earlier post in OCT 2009, we wrote about Singaporeans relocating during tough economic times to Johor Bahru. Conversely, there had been Johoreans who had relocated to Singapore, some eventually taking up Singapore citizenship.
In his post below, Andrew Ho shares the thought process he went through before deciding to convert his citizenship to Singaporean, and about life as a Singaporean now.
Most Chinese in Johor Bahru grew up watching Channel 8 (and nowadays Channel U as well). I still remember the good old days when SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) was showing 飞越银河, 青春123, 迷离夜and the list goes on.. While most of the dramas which fascinated me were fiction in nature, these serial dramas relate to people in both Singapore and Johor Bahru – they were touching, heart-warming, simple yet leaves a lasting memory.
I continued watching these serial dramas even all the way through to college, when I was studying in NTU. Life was carefree and I return to JB every weekend to be with my family, where my father would come into Singapore to pick me up. The trip was grueling due to the usual bad Friday jams but it was also a time for me to have a chat with my father.
As I stepped into my final year in NTU, trips to JB became less due to my final year projects where I had to meet up with my project mates over the weekends. My parents too, encouraged me not to head back to prevent time “wasted” while traveling. On Saturday and Sunday nights, I would occupy my time in hall watching SBC and subsequently Mediacorp dramas.
One of those late Saturday nights when I had nothing to do, I started switching on the TV again and while I can’t remember the name of the drama, it had something to do about a group of career young adults in Singapore. I looked at the scene of familiar CBD and started to realize how different Singapore and Malaysia had developed since the SBC days – there were MRTs, air-conditioned libraries, township developments and even a new Supreme Court building in the pipeline. Contrast that with Johor Bahru – there had been no central initiatives that would improve the infrastructure of the city. Neither was there any convincing master plan on how the city or nation would progress (back then, Iskandar Malaysia was still only on the drawing board).
And then, there was the issue with the Bumiputera policy.
Before the readers argue, please note that I do not dispute anything about Bumiputera policy in Malaysia. If the land had belonged to the natives (or sons of the land) in the first place, it might be fair that some policies be created to accord them more privilege. However, as a Chinese, this actually disadvantaged me. Agreeing that the Bumiputera policy should exist does not mean that I agree to live with the policy. Too often had I heard that just to get a deal from the central government, a Bumi partner had to be roped in for namesake and without doing anything, gets a cut of the revenue. If there was nothing I can change with regards to this policy, the least I could do is to plan ahead and give myself an environment with a more level playing field. And I do not have to look too far.. there is this land just across the causeway for me.
Agreeing that the Bumiputera policy should exist does not mean that I agree to live with the policy.
From that moment on, I began to put more thoughts into my future – what I am going to do after graduation and beyond that, where I should start my family (my girlfriend back then was also a Johorean). Immediately after graduation, I applied for Permanent Residency (PR) Read on…
