Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture · History

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Ah Yong Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles 家乡牛腩面 at Jalan Lumba Kuda (Near Hotel Suria) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

Over a year ago, the legendary Ah Teng retired from his very popular Hainanese beef teow business and closed his stall at Jalan Lumba Kuda (near Hotel Suria and Hotel Grand Blue Wave). Ah Yong then recieved a telephone call asking if he would like to set up a beef noodle stall at this same location vacated by Ah Teng.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

Ah Yong who is from Malacca and had been running his own beef noodle stall for over 10 years, accepted the offer.  

In the beginning when customers showed up at the stall, they expected to find Ah Teng but found Ah Yong, instead. Ah Teng's loyal regulars were understandably disappointed. Little wonder then that reception of Ah Yong's stall was at first lukewarm, at best.

Ah Yong and his family persevered and slowly but steadily build up his own customer base. One year later, Ah Yong now has his own following. When I was here this late Monday morning, I found that Ah Yong has regular customers of families, and a following from Johor and Singapore. A gentleman named Danny from Ulu Tiram was buying three packets for his family. I chatted with Danny and found that he is familiar with most of the beef noodle stalls in JB, Kulai and Tangkak. Danny told me that Ah Yong is his family's favourite now.

I also noticed Singapore taxi drivers who ply the Singapore - JB route among Ah Yong's customers. Well, many Singaporeans will tell you that, if you want to know where to eat in Singapore, ask the taxi uncles. They know where the best eats are.

And, I requested for a bowl of kway teow dry with mixed beef plus additional beef tendons, which I always found irresistible.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles
The beef was kept boiling with this large bag of herbs, perfuming the air

Sitting down and waiting for my beef kway teow, I caught whiffs of that beefy aroma that triggered flash backs to the beef noodle stall at the back lanes of 1970s Victoria Street in Singapore. I was then a 15 year old construction worker and I always looked forward to that Victoria Street back lane beef kway teow during lunch, which I bought with my handsome $2 a day salary :)
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles
Ah Yong squeezes in a dash of his signature black sauce before delivering his beef noodles

Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

My bowl of Ah Yong's beef noodles was snowy white kway teow bathed in a gooey gravy and Ah Yong's signature sticky black sauce. The kway teow and pieces of beef were topped with finely chopped preserved cabbage (kiam chye), parsley, spring onions, and a sprinkling of peanuts.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

I squeezed a lime into the noodles and gave everything a vigorous stir.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

The tacky gravy coated kway teow noodles were simply delicious.

Beef-Noodles-Johor-Bahru
 
This lai fun or thick rice noodles is the Hainanese way of eating beef noodles. The thick noodles while tender still have a slight firm and bouncy bite. My friends who have not tried lai fun before love the change from the usual kway teow or bee hoon.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

The gravy was robustly beefy with touches of sweetness and savouriness with just subtle herbal hints. The kway teow coated with this syrupy gravy was slithering soft and slippery smooth.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

The nicely well bodied soup was tasty and beefy too.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

Ah Yong cut the beef into tiny pieces with sissors which seemed to be the Hainanese style (as this was also done at Mok Chye, Mok Gao, and Ah Teng's elder brother's stall in Kluang).
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

The beef and tripe were tender and tasty. The tendons too were soft yet bouncy to the bite. I liked these all.
 
Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

Another customer's beef bee hoon soup. Looks delicious.

Ah Yong is a new player in JB, and in my humble opinion, he and his delicious beef noodles deserve a warm welcome from Johor and Singapore foodies.

Hainanese Beef Kway Teow Noodles

Restaurant name: Ah Yong Beef Noodles @ Restoran Yong Mui 永美茶餐厅-家乡牛腩面
Address: Off Jalan Lumba Kuda
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/MCnNt
GPS: 1.460827,103.767247
Hours: 7:00am to 3:00pm (Closed on Wednesday)
Non Halal

Date Visited: 5 Nov 2012, 16 Apr 2013

18 comments:

  1. a burst of flavors and textures! yum!

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  2. Looks good! And its so near the causeway!!

    slowly but surely, you are revealing your age hee.

    '1970s Victoria Street in Singapore. I was then a 15 year old construction worker and I always looked forward to that Victoria Street back lane beef kway teow during lunch, which I bought with my handsome $4 a day salary'

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    Replies
    1. hahaha aging with grace and happiness :) my aim.

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  3. $4 bucks a day? Sounds like my 10 sen allowance a day when i was in primary school. That 10 sen bought one bowl of curry noodles with tofu at the school tuck shop. It was deeeelicious and stlii trying to find something that reminds me of the good old days. keep truckin Tony!

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    Replies
    1. hahaha I think that beef noodle costed me a princely 50 cents. But it was worth it. Heavenly.

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  4. I am already salivating just by looking at the 1st picture, will be going again this week to eat my favourite beef noodle!

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  5. This bowl of beef noodles looks like the kind that I love! YUM.

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  6. What about the other beef noodle shop together with the duck shop on the same road. The new shoplot where they moved to. How is that beef noodles compared to this ayong?

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    Replies
    1. Both are good with their own style and clientele. Overall, quite similar.

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  7. Ah Yong's beef noodle is my favorite compared to the previous one... honestly tastier... that's the only stall I like now in JB.

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  8. Yah, I too remember those Victoria Street days

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  9. Still miss Ah Teng's beef noodles. I heard from a source a few years back that he decided to wind down because of an incident involving his son. :(

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  10. Does this shop sell pork, coz its say beef noodles

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  11. TASTE BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS SELLER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  12. TASTE BETTER THAN the MARINE PARADE HAWKER CENTRE BEEF NOODLE AND ALSO CAN equal the TOA PAYOH one !!

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