IPOH, Sept 1 — Amid fierce competition from modern and innovative bakeries, Noor Jahan Bakery - a traditional shop on Jalan Raja Ekram, Taman Jubilee - has stood the test of time, serving customers since 1910.
Now managed by the founder’s third generation, the bakery continues to preserve its century-old recipes for buttercream cakes, coconut cakes, and doughnuts - timeless favourites that still enjoy strong support from customers.
It was founded by the late P. Abdul Munaff, who started the bakery business in a small stall in 1902, selling various types of bread and cakes to the residents of Buntong at the time.
Today, more than 120 years later, the business is carried on by his grandson, Ahmed Jaffar Sha Mohamed, 40, who has been fully managing the bakery for the past year.
Speaking to Bernama recently, Ahmed Jaffar Sha said he has remained committed to preserving the family’s traditional recipes, admitting that it has not been easy, especially when competing with more modern bakeries.
“We still try to maintain the colours, flavours and decorations of our cakes and bread as they were in the 70s and 80s. Among our most popular products, besides buttercream cakes, are coconut cake, fruit cake, sweet bread, doughnuts and raisin bread.
“The coconut cake became especially popular after the film Doh was released. Many customers, particularly from the younger generation, came to taste it for themselves. They loved it and often returned for more.
“We are still using some of the old machines purchased in the 1990s for our cake and bread production,” said Ahmed Jaffar Sha, who currently has five male employees at the bakery.
Sharing more of the story, the Singapore-born baker, who once worked as a project manager in the city-state, said his grandfather once owned a large bakery factory in Falim, Ipoh, and supplied bread and cakes to employees in the aviation industry at the time.
“After my grandfather passed away in 1996, the bakery business was scaled down. The factory was sold, and the shop was managed by other family members then,” he said.
Ahmed Jaffar Sha said he returned to Ipoh to take over the bakery after his cousin, who had been managing it, chose not to continue.
“ I had no choice but to take over the shop, as I didn’t want this legacy to fade away.
“It has been a year since I began managing it, and so far, things have gone well despite the ups and downs of business,” he said.
He added that the bakery, which operates daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., records a net profit of between RM13,000 and RM15,000 each month.
To reach younger customers, Ahmed Jaffar Sha also promotes Noor Jahan Bakery’s products on social media and has introduced new items such as muffins and cupcakes to meet market demand.
“Competition is intense, with modern bakeries offering all kinds of new products. But I believe people still crave the taste of buttercream and coconut cakes, which carry a sense of nostalgia. That’s the strength that keeps the Noor Jahan Bakery legacy alive,” said Ahmed Jaffar Sha, the eldest of two siblings.
Asked about the film Doh, which was inspired by the bakery’s story, he said although it was not 100 per cent true to reality, the emotions portrayed in the film resonated with his own childhood memories.
“After the film’s release, many people, especially the younger generation, came to the bakery to buy the coconut cake. Most of them enjoyed it and kept coming back for more,” Ahmed Jaffar Sha said.
Doh tells the story of Faiz, played by Syafiq Kyle, who grapples with the responsibility of running his late father’s bakery. His struggle intensifies when a modern, hugely popular bakery opens nearby, forcing him to defend his family’s traditions and uniqueness while competing with a contemporary rival that is capturing customers’ attention.
Meanwhile, one of the bakery’s workers, A. Marimuthu, 75, who has been with Noor Jahan Bakery for 45 years, said he is responsible for preparing a variety of buttercream cakes, fruit cakes and cupcakes daily.
Marimuthu, originally from Kuala Kurau, Kerian, said the bakery still uses the same ingredients - flour, eggs, margarine and sugar - to maintain the quality of its cakes.
“I had already learned baking before working here. The recipes and quantities of ingredients remain exactly the same as before - nothing has changed,” he said. — Bernama
