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

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Second Visit to Pelangi City 彩虹城 (Tze Char) in Taman Serene Food Centre in Johor Bahru

After my first post on Pelangi City 彩虹城, my friend Kumes kept reminding me that I must try their signature fried sotong, curry fish head, fried prawns and ku lou yok (sweet and sour pork).

So, four of us went to Pelangi City last night to try out these signature dishes.

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The fried sotong was unique and delicious, indeed.


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MR Choong first deep fried the sotong which were cut into rings.

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After straining off the oil, MR Choong stir fried and tossed the deep fried sotong rings in his special sauce and in his trademark super heated style. 

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The resulting fried sotong was unlike any other I have tasted before. The sotong rings were crispy outside and still retained a little bit of bounciness inside. The gravy was savoury and the most striking thing about Pelangi City's fried sotong was their wok hei taste which was distinctive.

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It tasted almost like BBQed sotong with that subtle charred flavour which complemented the savoury gravy very well. This fried sotong is definitely a Must Try.

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Pelangi City's curry fish was another winner. We wanted to order curry fish head but MR Choong told us that he couldn't get good fresh fish heads that day, so he suggested that we try his curry with fresh grass fish instead. So, to borrow the Tesco tagline, now we know that MR Choong chooses the best ingredients for us so that we don't have to :)

Again, the taste and flavour of Pelangi City's curry was unique and highly likable. The curry was thick, smooth and creamy, and was a complex blend of sour, sweet, spicy hot and savoury. It was like a curried stew of brinjal (egg plant), lady fingers, dried chili peppers, assam, and lots of other good things. But this was not a stew; this curry was yet another magical creation that comes out whenever MR Choong throws all the stuff he got from the market into his magic wok. 

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Kumes said that this was the best ku lou yok (sweet and sour pork) he had tasted anywhere. Again, Pelangi's City's ku lou yok had that signature super heated treatment, so the outside was crispy and the pork inside was tender, and nice and easy to chew.

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This reminded me of the lovely ku lou yok at Loke Tien Yuen in Mersing, which in turn reminded me of my unforgettable first taste of ku lou yok in 1960s Toa Payoh in Singapore. 

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The fresh prawns fried in savoury umani sauce. The shells were seared so well that they felt glassy brittle and crispy even when coated with that tacky, wet gravy.

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Needless to say, the prawn flesh was still juicy and had that subtle freshness inside. I ate the whole prawn except for the head and that little bit at the tail end. 

This sumptuous 4 dish meal with steamed rice and herbal drinks for all, came to RM82.00.

->> Pelangi City is the little zhi char stall that can deliver like a restaurant. Just be warned that it's in a dark, dingy area (opposite the famous San Low restaurant).

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Restaurant name: Gerai Makanan Pelangi City 彩虹城
Address: Stall no. 11, Taman Serene Food Centre, Jalan Biru (opposite the famous San Low seafood restaurant)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/ZuvjP
GPS: 1.472193,103.774613
Hours: 6:00pm to midnight


Non Halal



Date visited: 15 Nov 2012

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8 comments:

  1. I was there 2 days ago. The fried sotong and sweet sour pork were delicious like you said. I ordered the sambal fried kangkong and it was fried well ..not too oily and the kangkong was tender. I wanted to try the fried fish like in your last post but the boss recommended the steamed fish since he had really fresh ones that day and it turned out really good too.

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  2. well. my family & i were there BUT the price & portion is not justified ...la,with the set up, and the overall taste is not that good. Im not going again..sorry

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    1. Yes, this is really just an ordinary food centre (with just one shop open in the evening).

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  3. hi, i am a fan of Johor kaki and i want to recommand a tze char stall located in Taman Johor, just at the opposite of a covered basketball court and it look like Gerai Makanan Pelangi City and the stall famous for curry fish head too !! The food and price are very reasonable !! the stall only available from 6:00pm to 10:00pm only !!!

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    1. Thanks! I shall visit the JJ stall soon :) Can you give me the street name? Appreciate much.

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  4. Went there on 16 Aug, ordered Hokkien Mee, Fried Sotong, Fried Promfet with Cai Po, Sambal Kang Kong. The food was nice, Hokkien Mee would taste better with a little lard but still ok as I eat healthy. Fried Sotong is actually so so. Looking to try the Curry Fish Head and Kou Lou Yok on my next visit.

    Yes the place is not that wonderful and the toilet is really far far behind with no lights (I went there at night) but I guess every place has its own characteristics and its acceptable to me, bill came up to about 51 for 2 I think is ok will give it another try soon. Thanks for sharing this place. Keep it up Tony!

    Regards
    Steven

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    1. Thanks Steven. I usually "borrow" the toilet at San Lou with thanks. Brighter. I personally think it is ok lah, since I do patronise San Lou once in a while :P

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