A New FMS – Same Nostalgia But Refined

A new millennium FMS....DURBAR At FMS

The FMS has finally reopened but to a new name DURBAR At FMS.

I was there on its first day upon opening for lunch just as I was there during its last days of the old FMS eleven years ago. It has been worth waiting for.

Its look certainly reflects the image of Ipoh at Old Town today. A nostalgic picture reflecting a time and a lifestyle of an era in the history of Ipoh but which is now presented in a new and refined manner for visitors and residents to enjoy.

With its off-white walls adorned with photographs of Ipoh pre-war with matching furniture from that period it brought back memories of old Ipoh.

Totally new FMS, off-white walls .....

Front entrance ....

...side entrance

Seow used old furniture and it took time to blend and match

Old photographs adorn the walls for nostalgia  

I congratulated YT Lee, the owner of FMS for reopening just before Chinese New Year 2019 and the 11 year hiatus. He replied it was the new management agreeing to the term and conditions that did it.

DURBAR At FMS is now run by Ipoh resident an, ex-St Michaels Institution student and architect Seow Wee Liam.

Seow has no previous F&B experience or love of anything heritage. That is until he restored a vintage automobile to originality did he begin to see the finer side of Ipoh.

Seow, 40 is an architect that designs houses mostly residences and commercial buildings but loves restoring things specifically cars.

Seow with his restored Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV that got him interested in restoring buildings.

“I restored an Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV some years back when I lived in Bangkok working on special projects. When I returned to Malaysia I entered it in the prestigious Asia Classic Car event in Putrajaya.

It won the best classic restoration in the category 1965 – 1974 and the award for Best of the Show. Since then I have meeting people with the same passion for restoration”.

 To Ipoh’s benefit he slowly developed an interest for restoring old buildings something which he felt should be preserved and handed down to the next generation. Often when he passed by the FMS he wondered why the place hadn’t been maintained or restored.

“I heard there were a lot of offers but it was all turned down. One day in May last year a friend introduced me to the owner of FMS, YT Lee”.

I shared with YT my ideas of how FMS could be run and said that it was shame to have such a heritage building left empty for so long. YT on his part had a list of Terms and Conditions for me to accept”

By October of the same year Seow decided to venture into to the heritage and F&B line and DURBAR At FMS became a reality.

A Jewel in Old Town

FMS is really like a jewel. Situated at the other end of Ipoh Padang across from the Ipoh Club it has seen life in Ipoh for more than a century and YT Lee in singling out Seow has given a breath of fresh air to Old  Town.

An excerpt of the FMS taken from the book "Kinta Valley"

According to Seow, Durbar is an old Persian word for Ceremonial Hall and was used widely in the British raj days.

“We have now come into a new millennium and need to re-package old establishments to keep up with the times. Ipoh is a beautiful town and deserves to go through a cultural and architectural revival where every piece of history should be preserved. To abandon such a historically enriched place would be a mockery and our worst fear”

When we came in October 2018 certain things had been done by YT Lee. The floor had been tiled over and the timber boards from the ceiling was removed and replaced with a new floor.

Lee had salvaged a lot of the old timber and trusses and suggested I use it to rebuild the bar. It consisted of chengal and balau both local hard woods.

The Bar at DURBAR at FMS taken from the past to make anew. "YT Lee suggested i use the salvaged old timber and trusses to rebuild the bar" 

‘It was a wonderful opportunity and a good story, to take from the past and through adaptive reuse make anew”. 

I got a local craftsman to build the bar. He was 70 years of age and a one man show. I designed and sketched it for him and he cut the hardwood to size. He took two months to complete the bar. We still had timber so we built the cabinet behind the bar.

In order to gain additional dining space he pushed the kitchen backwards. When we put back all the round tables we had space left to fit four rectangle tables.

“I built the frame and sourced for matching 'carrara marble' tops and now can comfortably seat 80 diners at any one time”

Seow with wife Faith Wong.She described him as a 'perfectionist 'saying the four new rectangle 'carrara marble' top tables had to have the same edgings as the old FMS tables.

Seow had originally targeted to open in November but it was delayed to Christmas. He explained that he was using the furniture from the old FMS and antiques that YT Lee had picked up over the years.

“Because we were using old furniture it was an effort to get things to match with other antiques plus the fact that I am a perfectionist added to the delay. 

My only disappointment was not keeping the ‘cowboy swing doors’ as it was not practical with air-conditioning". He still had the doors and is considering placing them in a frame and displaying them for nostalgia.

The Historical wall is dedicated to the business persons at the time who contributed to life in Ipoh. 

Towkay Lau Ek Ching

The Royal Family

Maybe due to his perfectionist personality the outcome was a wonderful walk through time with Lee’s collection of antiques and photos. From a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to the Towkay’s who contributed to a colorful life in Ipoh they decorate the walls of DURBAR At FMS and evoke memories of yesteryear.

The FMS is back.

JAG