Ipoh Old Town's Missing Marbles Cafe With Old School Ambient 旧怡保街场伪装成眼镜店的复古 Missing Marbles 咖啡馆17/2/2015 Rummaging through old boxes that have been sitting in the corner of my room collecting dust (during the lately spring cleaning for the lunar new year) had unleashed a gush of nostalgia. As snippets of the past are unearthed, a certain poignant fondness tends to fill the heart. Exploring old towns during my travels, too, can ignite similar emotions. Nothing ever seems to change in sleepy Ipoh. Until now, that is. All of a sudden in the last couple of years, Ipoh’s old quarter is showing signs of a chic revival as quirky cafes and guesthouses open their doors there. Stylish new cafes have also opened elsewhere in the old quarter, spurring the old-school shops selling traditional food like pastries to spruce up their storefronts. While the past is rarely flawless, it is often romanticised. Putting up at a classic, old building that was turned into a cafe certainly kick started the trail. The unique concept of preserving an old building and giving it a new purpose did lead to an exciting stay. The Ipoh heritage trip late last year had the feel of a torn-down place, perfecting the step-back in time for me. As I hoofed it around the area, the rustic buildings laden with history that lined the streets of Ipoh Old Town promised a fruitful heritage and culinary discovery to a keen traveller. I was particularly curious to see whether Missing Marbles Cafe in the heart of Ipoh Old Town has lost their marbles or found them in all the right places. Missing Marbles is actually located in the same row with Burps & Giggles Cafe (see my previous blog post on Burps & Giggles cafe at this link). 位于吉隆坡和槟城之间的怡保,60、70年代以锡矿而致富,不过后来矿藏淘空,经济无以为继,渐被世人遗忘,怡保的一切也彷彿停止了一样,多年来风貌没多大改变,纯朴简单、宁静安逸,一幢幢老旧的楼房,都在这里尘封完好。 旧街场是怡保最早发展的地方,也是当地行政中心,当年大街一带摆满小吃摊,十分兴旺。不过后来锡矿采光,大街变得平静,加上政府又重新规划街道,小贩无法摆摊,年轻人也多到外面打拼,很多老旧建筑都人去楼空,而一幢幢美丽的楼房就待在这儿,原封不动。 两年前,一名年轻人希望活化旧街场,他一口气租下数个弃置多年的空间,装修改建成餐厅和咖啡馆,两间名为 Burps&Giggles,之后在隔壁又开了一间名为 Missing Marbles Cafe。 由旧眼镜店改造,保留了老店原有的地板和墙壁原貌,连眼镜店的黄色老招牌都保留着,整体只以装饰凸显童年这个主题。举目望去,尽是各种童年玩意,玻璃弹珠、脚踏车、算命折纸、跳房子、矮凳子、手作挂饰,还有一些小学教室才看到的木桌椅,让人怀念的儿时回忆,点点滴滴浮现眼前。想寻找失落的童年,来这里准没错。 装潢走相同路线,保留老店留下的地砖,墙壁斑驳的油漆和裂缝,甚至连招牌都保留着,反而店子本身的招牌超级不显眼。这种反张扬的招牌,像在和慕名而来的客人玩躲猫猫。 新中见旧,旧中带新,简单一个门口已经充满味道。 Missing Marbles front door, the optical display windows making it a very unusual restaurant faced. 当年眼镜店的玻璃陈列柜干脆被保留下来,啥也不装修。 Taking a step into Missing Marbles is like stumbling into Alice's Wonderland. It is a curious and curiouser concoction of whimsical, vintage and art. Even the red tiled five foot way outside the cafe has a carefully sketched out hopscotch - which I couldn't resist hopping on! For a brief moment of time-traveling, doing the Hopscotch can be a wise way to ignite a conversation about the good old childhood days. The cafe used to be an optical shop and gives a new meaning to the word shabby chic. Layers of old paint are streaked across the concrete walls looked like it was untouched since the 50s. For the nostalgic, you can find old school round metal tables and stools that used to be popular at outdoor hawker centres before plastic was mass manufactured. 店里装潢同样走怀旧风,木桌子椅子很像回到小学的课堂。 Missing Marbles的古董弹子机,大人小孩一样玩得忘形。 All the colourful lampshades infused a cheery, vibrant charm to the laid-back surroundings. Aside from removing the staircase to the upper floor, a big portion of the ex-optical shop is retained to sustain that nostalgic aura. True to its name, rows of marbles-filled glass jars as well as other brick-abrac stretch across an old wood and glass shelf. The whimsical vintage look of Missing Marbles is a common aesthetic theme in the old town Ipoh. Artistically arranged bicycle seats adorn peeling walls where handwritten menus also hang and a mishmash of old-school furniture give it its nostalgic feel.
I must say that the whole old town Ipoh is reminiscent of the boom in George Town which began five years ago on the steam from a newfound interest in heritage tourism. The joint listing of George Town and Malacca as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008 sparked a nostalgia wave. Five years later, Ipoh became a natural beneficiary of this resurgent interest as it still has an old quarter which remains largely unchanged since its heydays. Ipoh’s revival is being driven by its wealthier sons, as was also the case for George Town. Can this new surge in heritage appreciation revive Ipoh’s dwindling fortunes and save its crumbling shophouses? Well, all i can say is that nostalgia can be actually good for business. Missing Marbles 咖啡馆在怡保旧街场提供一个安静舒适的环境让你好好享受一杯香醇的咖啡,顺带享受那得来不易的悠闲时光。
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