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

Taman Serene Food Centre, Jalan Biru, Johor Bahru • 6pm - 10pm, Tues off

✍ 17 Apr 2024. Met up with buddy Malcolm for drinks in JB. Then, we adjourned for dinner. I suggested Pelangi City at Taman Serene (opposite the popular San Lou Seafood Restaurant).

I haven't been to Pelangi City stall for a long time and Covid-19 came between us. I was so glad to see bright lights and many filled tables when we turned into the dimly lit carpark.

Pelangi City stall is not for everyone. It is a hawker centre stall at Taman Serene and it is the only stall opened at night. The other stalls do the day shift and Pelangi City is the lone night shift stall.

The hawker centre has a toilet away from the building but most people will find it too dark. So, the alternative is across the road at the big seafood restaurant. Just make sure to patronise the big restaurant sometimes also lah.... .

Pelangi City is a zhi char stall. It's menu is on the signboard. It has:

* Ikan Kampung 甘望魚

* Ayam Lada Hitam 黑椒鸡

* |kan Goreng 怪味魚

* Lala 啦啦

* Katak Kong Pao 宫保田鸡

* Kepala Ikan Kari 咖哩魚頭

* Udang Indonesia 印尼蝦

* Sup Daging Masam 猪脚醋

* Udang Goreng Kering 干煎蝦

* Daging Goreng 咕嚕肉

* Udang Kong Pao 宫保蝦膏

* Kangkong Sotong 魷魚蕹茱

* Sotong Kecil 蘇冬仔

Boss Seng hails from Ipoh. Seng is supported by his wife and a small team of workers. Seng is glad that he has regulars who give his little stall steady business.

Just two of us, we didn't order many dishes this round. I mainly meant to come and say hello to Seng and team, see how they were doing.

Today's signature ikan goreng was made with sea bass. Seng makes it with grass fish when it is available.

The crisp fried fish was smothered in a thick blanket of fried sweet preserved turnip with a bit of chili. So, the fish tastes savoury, salty, sweet, spicy. The dish is sweeter and more moist tender if grass fish is used, when available.

I always order this fried fish when I come to Pelangi City stall

姜丝蛋花汤 This is Malcolm's favourite at Pelangi City. It is minced pork and scrambled eggs in a pork soup heavily laced with julienned ginger. Nice. I will order it again next time.

Sambal kangkong, a familiar savoury spicy stir fried vegetable dish I often order at zhi char stalls. Seng cooks a nice rendition.

Didn't order much food today, but Pelangi City stall is business as usual. You can see my previous post below for more dishes and you may also like to experiment with other dishes.

Pelangi City is a hyperlocal experience for a slightly adventurous foodie.

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Written by Tony Boey on 17 Apr 2024

✍ 17 Nov 2012. 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.

The fried sotong was unique and delicious, indeed.

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

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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).

My first visit to Pelangi City stall when I tasted their Hokkien mee and fried fish with chai poh 👈 click

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)
GPS: 1.472193,103.774613
Hours: 6:00pm to midnight

Non Halal

Date visited: 15 Nov 2012

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