Curry Laksa at 珍記 in Johor Bahru, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah
Curry laksa is one of my favourite local dishes because it is so delicious. I am also fascinated by it's harmonious fusion (not a marketing gimmick) of Indian, Malay and Chinese elements representing the three major communities of our region.
Yesterday morning, I am back to my favourite pastime of pounding the streets looking for good food, in other words lepak or loafing around. Stumbled upon the busy but humble 珍記 stall in Wan How kopitiam in a buzzing corner of Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (across the road from the old three storey flats).
珍記 stall serves a wide range of local staples like wantan mee, congee, noodles and curry laksa.
I zeroed in on the curry laksa.
Tried 珍記's curry laksa and quickly fell in love with it.
The curry laksa is made with the recipe created by the lady boss Ms Liew. Ms Liew hails from Kedah state (Malaysia) and had been running 珍記 stall with her son and daughter for 14 years.
The curry broth has a thick but not overly rich body. It felt slightly grainy from the spices and ingredients inside. The broth was loaded with layers of spice flavour and aroma. It had a mild spicy sting that lingered a while before fading. The broth was savoury from the base stock and belacan, spicy from the spices and sweet from the coconut milk. It was clean tasting as everything in it was fresh. I drank the curry broth merrily to the very last drop.
Where did that lovely spicy sting come from? Some of it from these fresh chili paddy blended into the curry laksa.
Every day at 珍記, Ms Liew makes a new barrel of steaming curry laksa.
Ms Liew's daughter (and son in the background) busy at 珍記 stall.
What's in the RM4 bowl of piping hot curry laksa?
The factory made generic bee hoon was well prepared, so they remained slightly toothy, doing a good job of soaking up the flavoursome curry broth.
The fresh bean sprouts were cooked just right, so they remained juicy and crunchy.
The see ham (cockles) were quite small but they were clean, fresh and tender.
The clean tasting tau pok sponged up the spicy curry broth very well.
Each bowl of curry laksa had a couple of these fried wantans.
These fish crackers are popular in Johor Bahru and are often used with curry here. The savoury fish crackers can be wet with curry broth and remain crispy like a biscuit.
Sliced fried fish cake. Personally, I prefer fried fish balls a la Cathay laksa style.
The curry broth was so good that I didn't need to use this spicy sambal chili. This sambal chili was good too. I just ate this neat by itself. Infused with hae bee (dried shrimp) feel, taste and aroma :D
How much do I like this?
We ordered an immediate second bowl as soon as we finished the first, even though we had an invited food tasting lined up in a couple of hours' time.
Drank the curry broth to the last drop, again.
->> Little gem of a laksa in a humble corner coffee shop.
Restaurant name: 珍記 stall in Wan How kopitiam
Address: Jalan Perkasa 4, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/eV1g0
GPS: 1.508549,103.649235
Hours: 6:30am to 2:00pm (Closed on alternate Thurs)
Non Halal
Date visited: 22 Jul 2014
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Thanks for the review! The curry laksa is very tempting. Will surely come to this stall if I go to Johor.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ken for dropping by my blog and for your comment :-D
DeleteWah,immaculate description.Ms Liew should fete u a lifetime complimentary laksa.frm her stall
ReplyDeleteblush blush :p
DeleteThis stall, really selling cheap and nice food..aunty is friendly too
ReplyDeleteYes, I noticed this for some time already :-D Want to go back soon :-D
DeleteThe laksa gravy reminds me of a less lemak version of the gravy of Yew Swee Laksa. Loved the fried wontons and the fish cakes. It is of course, much cheaper, by far ,than Yew Swee Laksa
ReplyDeleteLooking at it now, it is really delicious and very reasonably priced.
DeleteNothing beats a good Singaporean Laksa. Haven't been to Ms Liew's but will on my next visit. Beats the stuff here in NZ easily
ReplyDeleteThank you Robert for dropping by my blog.
DeleteRecently me and my wife went there two time last week after reading the post.
ReplyDeleteReally tasty, and the S size is huge ! Very satisfying !
this stall have shifted out of this coffeeshop and moved into a nearby shop lot. Do check out their facebook page "珍记面"
ReplyDeleteNew add : NO 42,JALAN PERKASA 2,TAMAN UNGKU TUN AMINAH 81300 SKUDAI JOHOR