✍️23 May 2026. HJ Wahid mee rebus is the most famous and oldest of Johor mee rebus.
Founder Basid Ali Karam Ali or Wak Baidali started selling mee rebus in 1918, near the Balai Zaharah Building and around Kampung Air Molek in Johor Bahru.
Wak Baidali plied the streets with two rattan basket slung on a bamboo pole across his shoulders. (This is an image of a satay seller in Singapore in 1907. Wak Baidali's two basket mee rebus stall in Johor Bahru would be a similar set up. There were still such two basket mee rebus hawkers in Singapore in the 1960s.)
In 1938, Wak Baidali's son HJ Wahid Basid Ali started his own mee rebus business at the Satay Club (now demolished) opposite the KTM train station in Johor Bahru.
The business became known as both HJ Wahid and Baidali Mee Rebus. Nowadays, the name Baidali is seldom used.
In 1978, one of HJ Wahid's sons HJ Halim opened his mee rebus stall at Tepian Tebrau hawker centre (near Lido Beach). HJ Halim later moved to Plaza Angsana in 1997 (where he still operates today).
HJ Wahid's eldest son Abdul Rahman bin Wahid opened his stall at the Larkin Sentral bus station (level three) food court. Encik Man now runs the Larkin stall with his daughter.
Another of HJ Wahid's sons, Zainal opened his shop at Taman Seri Tebrau but it closed in 2026.
HJ Wahid mee rebus stalls can now be found from Johor Bahru to Putrajaya to the Klang Valley, run by the third and fourth generations of the Wak Baidali / HJ Wahid clan.
The thick heavy sauce is the soul of the mee rebus dish. Every mee rebus brand has their own secret recipe, so HJ Wahid's mee rebus is no different.
Regular customers and fans of HJ Wahid mee rebus believe there are beef stock and beef oil in the thick sauce made with sweet potato, groundnut, taucheo (fermented bean paste), onion, shallot, garlic, ginger, cilantro, cumin, turmeric, dried shrimp, etc.
HJ Wahid stalls still fry their own shallot which is more flavourful and aromatic than those fried by factories.
HJ Wahid stalls provide a crisp topping known as "pendaram" made with egg, flour, turmeric and garlic. In the past, some prawns were used but no more due to cost.
All HJ Wahid stalls serve the original basic mee rebus of yellow mee and bean sprouts, smothered in the signature thick sauce, and garnished with parsley, koo chai (garlic chive), tau kwa (fried tofu), green chili pepper, crisps (pendaram), a fresh lime, a wedge of hard boiled egg.
HJ Wahid's mee rebus is served with a dash of cuka (white vinegar) and kicap manis (sweeten soy sauce).
Whereas it is customary to drop a dollop of sambal in mee rebus in Singapore, HJ Wahid mee rebus is not served with sambal.
In addition, some HJ Wahid serve optional add-ons like lamb shank bone (tulang or gear box), beef slices, and shredded boiled chicken.
The blanched yellow noodles are soft tender, slightly spongy. The strands are smothered in the thick sauce which tastes savoury salty umami. The toppings add their own textures and flavours to the dish - the lime added tangy zest, the pendaram crisp and crunch, the green chili pepper provides a bit of heat, etc.
Add-ons like lamb shank and beef slices make the basic noodle and sauce dish more hearty and satiating.
Written by Tony Boey on 23 May 2026
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
✍ 19 Jan 2012. Haji Wahid’s Mee Rebus, one of the most popular in Johor, has a long, illustrious history. Wak Baidali began selling this famous mee rebus in 1918, and his son Haji Wahid took over the business in 1938. (That’s why Haji Wahid’s mee rebus is also known as Baidali mee rebus.) Today, Haji Wahid’s mee rebus has several branches in JB (and Putrajaya) run by the descendants of Wak Baidali.
According to one account (I am still looking for the source), Wak Baidali came from Pakistan and was a street side teh tarik hawker. There was a mee rebus hawker from Java along the same street. When the Javanese decided to return home to Java (Indonesia) he taught Wak Baidali everything about his mee rebus before leaving. Wak Baidali picked up the craft and started his own mee rebus stall in 1918. This was the birth of Baidali mee rebus (which later became Haji Wahid mee rebus which we enjoy to this day).
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| Zainal's Place, 89 Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, JB (Closed) |
The sauce (kuah in Malay) is the soul of mee rebus. Haji Wahid’s sauce is subtly fragrant. Sometimes, I caught whiffs of the distinctive aroma of ground dried shrimps. Ground dried shrimp is a traditional ingredient that I seldom find in mee rebus stalls nowadays. Kudos to Haji Wahid’s for keeping to tradition.
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| Hj Wahid Mee Rebus at the top level food centre at Larkin Bus Terminal in JB |
I love the friendly, relaxing ambiance here above the noise and din of the bus terminal and market below.
Haji Wahid’s sauce is heavier and nuttier than others due to the use of more groundnuts. Again groundnut is another traditional ingredient which average mee rebus stalls use less of these days. Some I believe use very little, if any groundnuts at all, which is a pity as it detracts a lot from the texture and flavour of the gravy.
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Haji Wahid's at Plaza Angsana is one of the busiest branches. There is always a queue waiting patiently for their mee rebus.   If sauce is the soul of mee rebus then Haji Wahid's @ Angsana has lots of soul. Just look at the number of pots of sauce being prepared for sale.   |
I love the cool, cheerful ambiance at Plaza Angsana food court.
Haji Wahid’s mee rebus is served with a dash of vinegar and dark soy sauce, and a topping of crispy fried crackles. These add zing to the dish without loading the dish with too much frills.
The yellow noodles and bean sprouts in Haji Wahid’s mee rebus are also boiled just right. The noodles and bean sprouts retain a slight spring and crunchiness unlike some other stalls that over cooked them till they taste flat and limp.
The yellow noodles and bean sprouts in Haji Wahid’s mee rebus are also boiled just right. The noodles and bean sprouts retain a slight spring and crunchiness unlike some other stalls that over cooked them till they taste flat and limp.
Unlike in Singapore
Mee rebus is one of my comfort foods and a gastronomic link to my humble but blissful childhood in 1960s Singapore Singapore
Thank you Haji Wahid for that 😄
Restaurant name: Restoran Zainal's Place Closed
Address: 89, Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1.487536,103.770096
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm
Restaurant name: Haji Wahid Mee Rebus @ Larkin
Address: Stall MS 35, Food Centre at Larkin Bus Station
GPS: 1.496438,103.743612
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm
Restaurant name: Haji Wahid Mee Rebus @ Plaza Angsana
Address: Stall at Plaza Angsana
GPS: 1.495183,103.705229
Hours: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Restaurant name: Restoran Zainal's Place Closed
Address: 89, Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1.487536,103.770096
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm
Restaurant name: Haji Wahid Mee Rebus @ Larkin
Address: Stall MS 35, Food Centre at Larkin Bus Station
GPS: 1.496438,103.743612
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm
Restaurant name: Haji Wahid Mee Rebus @ Plaza Angsana
Address: Stall at Plaza Angsana
GPS: 1.495183,103.705229
Hours: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
Avoid the Angsana stall. Noodles serving too small, barely enough for a small bowl; total bits of crackles can be counted in one hand. Unpleasant peppery taste. The same hand that pulls out raw noodles also gives out change.
ReplyDeleteThe dish from different stalls, look different !!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best mee rebus in Jb
ReplyDeleteHaji Wahid was a family friend. He used to send to our home a large pot of his famous special mee rebus gravy on Raya. When he passed a few years ago, sadly we don't get to taste the special gravy anymore.
ReplyDeleteMy father knew his late father, those days we called Mee Baidali, used to sell his mee rebus at the old Johor Bahru market. Now his grand children sell their famous mee rebus Haji Wahid all over Malaysia. Just last week I bought a friend to have mee rebus at Amart food court in Kampas.
Tony Boey Do you remember there was this mee rebus stall at the old Jln Trus bus station. Can't remember the name, it was run by a long hair guy. This is one of the best too. Now when to fill my mee rebus craving, i either goes to angsana or mee rebus house at melodies gdn. I will try the Amart mee rebus at Kempas next time 🤗
ReplyDeleteAllan Chuah the one at Amart is opened by one of Hj Wahid's son or grandson, same recipe & flavour.
DeleteThe one you refer to at Jalan Terus bus station was perhaps Mee Baidali (Haji Wahid's father).