Guest house the favourite among locals and tourist

BATU PAHAT: Motorists travelling along the Pontian-Batu Pahat trunk road in Rengit town here would have mistaken a double-storey kampong house as being a private residence. Located off Jalan Madu just metres away from the town centre, it really stands out from the other kampong houses.

Ahmad Azam: Plans to add another two rooms for guests this year at the backyard compound.

The house never fails to attract curious onlookers and many are pleasantly surprised to find out there is more than meets the eye.

The house is actually a home stay and it houses the Sarang Tempua Café which relocated from its former location in Kampung Parit Ahmad Laut off Kampung Bumiputera Dalam.

The latter is famous for second-hand goods sold by orang asli traders such as used furniture, electrical items and home accessories sourced from Singapore.

The façade of the house was in fact its backyard prior to the completion of the two rows of double-storey shop houses last year.

Best sellers: Soto Madura and Mee Rebus Singapore are the two main dishes popular with diners at Sarang Tempua Cafe in Rengit, Batu Pahat

“I’ve decided to turn the backyard of my house into the main entrance and it works as the house is able to attract curious passers-by,’’ said owner Ahmad Azam Johar. He has added an additional floor to the backyard which is now the room for home stay guests. The ground floor remains the private area for him and his family, while the home stay guests staying on the first floor enjoy their privacy too as they enter through a separate entrance.

Centre of attraction: Ahmad Azam Johar’s house in Rengit town, Batu Pahat stands out from other ordinary kampung houses nearby.

Ahmad Azam, 50, has plans to add another two rooms for the guests this year at the backyard. While many typical home stay rooms in kampung houses look ordinary, Ahmad Azam has managed to spruce up the place, making it look like a hotel suite with a private bathroom. He said since opening its doors to guests, the house has received many visitors including Singaporeans and locals from outside Johor who have business trips or those attending weddings in Rengit.

Ahmad Azam said his skills of carpentry and electrical wiring were useful when doing house decoration and it helped cut down on the cost of hiring experts. He restores second hand furniture diligently and makes garden furniture, water fountains and pergolas and also does landscaping for his house and clients.

The Sarang Tempua Café is famous among locals for its best selling dishes like Soto Madura and Mee Rebus Singapura and finger food such as tempe goreng (fried fermented soya bean cakes) and fried tapioca served with soya sauce mixed with cili padi. The café opens from 3pm until 10.30pm everyday expect on Thursdays. For details call 012-797 0064 or 07-424 1360.

-thestar online.