Kafe Enampuluhan along Stulang Laut, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Kafe Enampuluhan is one of the most popular cafés for casual dining in Johor Bahru. Breezy and spacious, across the road is the beach and the scenic Straits between Singapore and Johor.

Together with my friend Kumes, we tried three of their most popular items, namely their renowned Stulang Laut mee rebus, nasi goreng Pattaya and fried bee hoon.

True to form, the Stulang Laut mee rebus was a cut above. The gravy was heavy (not drippy), thick, not too spicy, fragrant from the spices, and slightly sweet. A squeeze of calamansi added a little tanginess and the signature crackles made the plain yellow noodles more interesting.

The fried bee hoon was well executed with clear evidence of wok hei (intense heat radiating from the wok). The bee hoon was dry and tasty with the slightly spicy sauces well absorbed by the rice vermicelli.

As you can see on the plate, there was very little, if any residual oil, which is the way I like my fried bee hoon.

The Pattaya fried rice was nicely done too. I liked that touch of writing the number 60 on the rice with mild chili sauce.

Simple fried rice with just diced carrots, spring unions and wrapped with fried eggs.

Everything is laid back and casual at Kafe Enampuluhan. The food is simple and decent with nothing overwhelming, and herein lies its charm to me. Here we can relax over a nice meal and a cool iced tea overlooking the Straits, without the food becoming a distracting topic of discussion. Even foodies want to talk about things other than food, sometimes :)

Restaurant name: Kafe Enampuluhan
Address: 69, Jalan Ibrahim Sultan (off Stulang Laut), Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/CunHF
GPS: 1.462929,103.774226
Hours: 11:00am to 1:00am
Halal

Dates visited: 21 August 2012