The FMS bar and restaurant is one of the most famous bars in Ipoh, and possibly Malaysia, on par with the Coliseum in KL. This Federated Malay States bar was established in 1906 by a Hainanese immigrant, and was very popular with the colonial planters and miners.
It is located in Ipoh old town on Jalan Sultan Idris Shah (Brewster Road) and is opposite the padang and close to St Michaels.
It closed in Feb 2008 for renovation and is currently still closed. I was lucky enough to have a private tour with some journalists, we were able to see the bar and the upstairs which will possibly be converted into a boutique hotel. Currently the upstairs is being used as a store for all the antiques collected by the owner.
The
NST reporter did a write up the following day. I've posted it under blogs, as it won't stay on the NST www for very long. The
Star write up came out in March.
View from a couple of years ago
2010 -
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| back view |
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| side view |
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| window shutters |
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| inside the bar |
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| front door is solid wood |
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| side door |
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| upstairs toilets |
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| some of the antiques |
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| upstairs above the bar |
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| old dining area |
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| hanging floor |
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iron safe
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| chimney for kitchen |
UPDATE 2019
The FMS reopened in Feb 2019. Now called Durbar at FMS.
© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission
Lucky you! Envious....
ReplyDeleteI hope they will be able to retain the old atmosphere and not do a Raffles job...
We'll have to wait and see, though it might not be to everyone's taste!
ReplyDeleteNot such a privilege after all since nothing much has happened to the old FMS except for the new concrete slab replacing the old wooden floor. Sorry to disappoint you but the owner will most likely do a Raffles. He never consulted anyone. The people in City Council don't really care.
ReplyDelete