In JB, I like it when I have to share a table with strangers. I always take the opportunity to ask my new friend why s/he like this stall. I would go further to ask him/her for other recommendations. That's how I was introduced to Tua Thow kway teow thng which old customers refer to as "Larkin Bomba kway teow thng" because it is across the road from the fire station. That was in January 2012, and I have been back at Tua Thow regularly ever since.
(Important note for drivers - As you drive along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak in the direction of Skudai, slow down and keep a lookout on your left for the small Mobil station, then filter to the left exit. If not, you'll miss Tua Thow coffee shop and now disused Shell station altogether and there isn't any other entrance to the entire Susur 4 lane.)
As usual, it's full house at Tua Thow on a Sunday morning.
Lady boss Mdm Tan busy at her station, the way it has been for the last 30 years.
Our usual order - a bowl of "dry" kway teow, soup with fish, pork liver and kidney. From the adjacent stall, fried leather jacket fish and braised tofu.
Mdm Tan cooked everything perfectly - pork liver, kidney and sea bass fish all had nice textures and flavours. All the ingredients are fresh.
I especially love the pork in Johor for it's freshness and the skill which good hawkers like Mdm Tan cooks them. I can taste the porcine flavour in this slice of kidney and it has a soft crunch and slight spring to the bite.
The cloudy stock bone broth was light bodied and rich with savoury sweet flavours.
The kway teow was tossed in a soy sauce and lard blend. The aroma of porky lard rise teasingly to our nose when we tossed the noodles. I like the rice noodles which they use at Tua Thow as they are soft, clean tasting and have a subtle rice sweetness.
The adjacent stall has sio bak, braised pork belly, braised pork trotter and more, but we always opt for their fried leather jacket (this piece for RM18). I prefer something light tasting to go with Tua Thow's kway teow soup.
The leather jacket fish is crispy outside, meaty, the tender white meat is slightly dry and gently sweet. It complements Tua Thow's fish and pork bone soup perfectly.
The generic tofu is soft, smooth and braised in a gently savoury sweet sauce. I like to eat this braised tofu with Tua Thow's kway teow soup.
After we were done, we can't bear to leave, so we ordered another round. This time it's kway teow thng with everything together in the large bowl (RM7).
Actually, I feel the kway teow soup tastes even better with everything thrown in, as each ingredient impart a bit of flavour into the broth. For example, the rice noodle's sweetness sweetens the whole soup.
The bill for all the food we had today came to RM40.
👍 Local JB folks love this old coffee shop slightly off the beaten track for the Teochew kway teow soup and braised and roast meat stalls, side by side. Well, Tua Thow's no gimmicks simple old school kway teow soup outlasted the Shell station next door - that should say something about their food :-D
My first post on Tua Thow back in 2012 👈 click
More good kway teow soup places in Johor Bahru 👈 click
Restaurant name: Kway teow soup (stall inside Restoran Tua Thow 大頭餐室)
Address: Susur 4, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak (next to disused Shell petrol station), Johor Bahru (filter left once you pass the Esso station, otherwise you cannot enter the side lane).
Map: http://g.co/maps/6vbnw
GPS: 1.484281,103.751953 / 1°29'03.4"N 103°45'07.0"E
Tel: +607 2233 140
Hours: Daily 7:30am to 2:00pm (closed on Fridays)
Non Halal
Date visited: Numerous times since 18 Jan 2012
^ click for details
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