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

Adventurous Foodie Geographer's Diary with 70 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com

Hawkers Omakase by Maybank & Makansutra 2026 • Dulukala Peranakan • 戚師傅 Chef Chik


Maybank with Makansutra have just launched the world's first Hawkers Omakase. 

It is a ground breaking celebration of Singapore hawker culture involving six hawker stalls across the island running from 23rd April to 30th June 2026. 

Inaugural stalls are Dulukala Peranakan at Jalan Silat by chef Zan and 戚師傅 at Haig Road Food Centre by chef Chik.

Foshan Shunde Jindeng Village Restaurant 顺德金登饭店 · 乡村私房菜 📞 27799223 📞 18934308391

This is the kind of dining experience I willingly to fly hours for. I am told that in Guangdong (and around China) there are many such village type eating places 乡村私房菜. I would love to come back for itineraries made up entirely of eateries like 金登饭店 Jindeng Village Restaurant. You know...., others cafe or bar hop, I love village restaurant hopping.

Kacang Pool📍Kedai Kak Nur Yishun Park Hawker Centre


Kacang Pool appeared in Singapore hawker centres only a few decades ago but never became mainstream. Today, only a handful of hawker stalls (less than 10) serve this dish.

Foshan Pork Organ Porridge · Haiji Zhou Gong Zhou Po · Congee Grandpa Grandma 佛山海记粥公粥婆 ☎ 13129199628

Well...., we didn't plan to come here. We actually wanted to have pork kidney at the famous Tiande 天德 but were turned away on arrival because their kidneys were sold out (even before opening for dinner service 🙄🥹 ).

Foshan Juhao Food Review · Goose, Raw Fish · Quality Ingredients, Authentic Yue Cuisine, Great Flavours · 聚豪园林美食(桃园店) 佛山 ☎ 0757-85222666


During our Foshan 佛山 food trip, one of the highlights was Juhao Food restaurant 聚豪酒家. The dishes (we tasted many) were good to excellent, and I was amazed by the scale of the enterprise as well as the inspiring story of the boss, chef Feng Zanbo 冯赞波.

Foshan 102 House Restaurant 佛山 壹零贰小馆 ☎ +86 132 8843 2145

Kaki kaki Clarence had a memorable experience with Chef Xu Jingye 徐涇業 during his last visit to Foshan in 2018. Chef Xu, protégé of Cantonese master Chen Daben* went on to win many accolades including the Black Pearl Young Chef Award. 

Now based in Shanghai, chef Xu's 102 House Restaurant at the House of Roosevelt at The Bund in Shanghai is Michelin 2-Starred ☆☆ and in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list.

Port Asam Pedas by Sang • Johor Style Sour Spicy Fish & Seafood📍Beletime Danga Bay JB ☎️ +6019-735 7556


I am a big asam pedas fish fan, so I am always on the look out for good places for this delicious National Heritage Dish of Malaysia. Went to Beletime Mall Danga Bay to hunt for the best at Port Asam Pedas by Sang.

History of Asam Pedas · Legacy of Malacca Sultanate Melting Pot


Asam Pedas is one of my favourite dishes. In Malay, asam means sour and pedas means spicy (hot) - sour and spicy hot accurately describes this dish's taste profile.

Ming Jii Chee Cheong Fun Kampar Style📍Johor Jaya Dedap 19 明记金宝猪肠粉 ☏ +6018 219 1962


Ming Jii Chee Cheong Fun in Taman Johor Jaya has a steady following of local folks. It is a comfort rice noodle dish with options for sauces and eaten with a variety of small bite size sides.

Ah Hua Kway Teow • Taste of Old JB • Little Swatow 亚华 • 小汕头粿条 • 老新山的味道


Johor Bahru is sometimes referred to as "Little Swatow" 小汕头 because the main Chinese community, most old JB folks 老新山 here are Teochew. Swatow or Shantou is a major city in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong province where Teochew people came from in China.

Yang's Epok Epok Singapore


So we finished a heavy lunch at Haig Road hawker centre. Kaki kaki suggested going to the basement of KINEX Mall for epok epok and kopi.

Food Guide to Pudu Wai Sek Kai Glutton Street • 4 Eyes Fried Chicken 半山芭 • 为食街 • 四眼仔胜利炸


4 Eyes Fried Chicken is perhaps the most popular stall in Pudu's legendary glutton street or Wai Sek Kai. WSK is a side street off Jalan Pudu and its official name is Jalan Sayur (which means Vegetable Street in Malay). 

"Vegetable Street" was the original wet market of Pudu before it moved to its present location (at Pasar Pudu Baharu). Cooked food stalls replaced vegetable stalls after the latter moved to Pasar Pudu Baharu but the name Jalan Sayur remained.

Leong Kei Tai Bu Hakka Noodle 📍 Pudu Wei Sek Kai Glutton Street 📍 Jalan Sayur 半山芭 为食街 亮记大埔面 ☎ +6016 607 9983


I always love Hakka noodles - so simple - egg noodles sauced with lard and soy sauce topped with fried minced pork and eat with wanton soup. So comforting, tasty, filling and affordable.

Piman Terrace x Chez Sonia Italian Cuisine📍Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club Khaoyai ☎ +66 4 475 6210

This was our sumptuous dinner at Piman Terrace at Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club before calling it a day in Khao Yai, and returning to Bangkok the next morning 😄 It was a nice capping stone to an interesting 3 day, 2 night trip to Khao Yai.

I will write a separate article of our Khao Yai itinerary. Khao Yai is like "Little Europe" as it has cool "Alpine climate". hills (national park), waterfalls, flower gardens, European themed aesthetic cafes, restaurants, bars and homestays / hotels. 

Alternate History on the Origin of Japanese Curry • Spoiler Alert - Oldest Recipe that wasn't from Britain or India

Curry rice or kare raisu カレーライス is relatively new in Japanese food culture but is already considered one of her national dishes, up there with ramen, sushi, tempura and other culinary icons.

Eng Seng Famous Joo Chiat Still Road Black Pepper Crab now at 9007 Tampines • Menu & Review 永成餐室 黑胡椒螃蟹 ☎️ 8611 2247


Yeah..., when it comes to black pepper crab, the first that come to my mind is "the one at Still Road there".

Decades ago, we used to queue at least an hour for a table for "Still Road pepper crab".

Harappa Brinjal Mango Curry • World Oldest Vankaya Mamidikaya Dish that Crossed 5000 Years & Continents


Did you know that the brinjal and mango curry you ate at the Indian restaurant, your friend's house, or learnt to cook from cookbooks / social media go back over 5000 years? It can be traced back to the Indus Valley, one of the cradles of human civilisation along with contemporaries at the Nile River Delta and the Yellow River Basin. 

Xiao Wang Zi 小王子 Nasi Lemak • Mee Siam📍Restoran New Fook Lim Taman Daya 福林茶室


This dry mee Siam is another of kaki kaki AW's favourites.

Actually, 小王子 Nasi Lemak stall's signature dish is their nasi lemak, that's why they are named that way 😁 And, I always prefer soupy mee Siam over dry mee Siam.

But anyway, kaki kaki recommend, so I go try with an open mind lo 🫢