It's funny, just across the kilometre long Causeway and the iconic Singapore bak chor mee cannot be found in Johor Bahru. While hunting for the best JB hawker food, my heart skipped a beat when I stumbled upon 十五楼亚坚 Ah Kiang's mee pok in Permas Jaya four years ago. The resemblance is strong though there are obvious differences (like no bak chor or minced pork in the noodles). Still, I tried 十五楼亚坚's mee pok and liked it straight away.
Dropped by 十五楼亚坚 today. The friendly boss 亚坚 is always busy every time I visit him.
亚坚 is a picture of concentration when cooking his noodles perfectly right.
This is my usual.
亚坚's tossing sauce laced with lard is a blend of savoury spicy sweet, quite mild tasting as preferred by local palates. Coming from Singapore, a dash of sourish black vinegar is mandatory ;-p
亚坚 cooks the mee pok 面薄 through and soft al dente which gives it a slight spring to the bite.
The mee pok comes with a bowl of soup which has fish balls, lean pork, liver and fish cake slices inside. I always add 肉根 or tendon when it is available.
The socket bone broth is clear with bits of suspended minced meat. The broth was mildly savoury sweet and not overly oily.
My favourite add on, the soft tendon has a soft smooth feel and oh... so... naturally sweet.
亚坚 sent us this bowl of soup with pork kidney, liver, scallop, shell fish and fish maw.
The tender kidney was so good, as was the liver (which I didn't take a picture).
The fresh scallop.
A bowl of fish dumplings followed.
The flavoursome fish dumplings (her kiao) were hand made.
The crispy pork lard crackling.
^ STAY AT EIGHT DAYS BOUTIQUE HOTEL PERMAS JAYA ^
What is comfort food? How can we explain it? We know what it is because we grew up with it and it is part of our being. It's easier to feel it than to explain it.
Recommended for you 👍 The closest thing in JB to Singapore mee pok and with lots of choices of fresh add ons. Funny how we can miss our comfort food when home is just 1 kilometre south.
The first time I had Kiang's mee pok 👈 click
Restaurant name: Restoran Kiang 十五楼亚坚
Address: Jalan Permas Sepuluh, Bandar Baru, Permas Jaya, Masai, Johor Bahru (just beside Cosway redemption centre)
GPS: 1.495894,103.815487 / 1°29'45.2"N 103°48'55.8"E
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm daily
Non Halal
Date visited: 6 Mar 2012, 24 Dec 2012, 13 May 2016, 16 Dec 2019
yum yummy looking
ReplyDeleteJust be aware when paying the actual amount since the lady boss I presume had overcharge us. That was even after asking for a re count and then I asked the staff for a receipt,only then we saw it the actual amount. The staff repaid us the difference but the lady boss didn't even bother to apologise. Be aware the next time you visit this place.
DeleteYes! I agree with you that they have the habit of overcharging. I went there today and found out that their price is much higher than other places. The cheapest one with same qualty mee pok but better tasting soup with more ingredients is the one in Ungku Mohsin. I will never go to Restoran Kiang again. Today's my first time there and also the last!
DeleteGrossly overrated mee pok. Very average in quality and taste. Expensive with very few ingredients in soup. The one in Ungku Mohsin is far cheaper with same quality noodles and better tasting soup with more ingredients. I will never go to this restoran Kiang again! It doesn't taste anything like the good mee pok in Singapore. Average quality and very expensive for a place with no air-conditioning at all.
ReplyDeleteVery average in taste and quality. And very expensive considering the very few ingredients in the soup.
ReplyDelete