Fried Oyster Omelette (Oh Luak) @ Meldrum Walk near City Square in Johor Bahru

Oyster Omelette at Meldrum Walk

This is a popular fried oyster omelette (oh chien in Hokkien) stall at Meldrum Walk near City Square Mall.

This oh chien here is pretty much like scrambled eggs with plump succulent oysters plonked on top. It’s done skilfully so the eggs and fat juicy oysters remain soft.

The natural eggy flavour and the subtle sea salty taste of fresh succulent oysters were retained.

This is not the kind of oh chien with hard tapioca starch batter that features a crispy crust.

Looking at the unending orders at this stall, this soft version has its following.

My 80 plus year old lady neighbour in Singapore loves this oh chien and have her son bring her to Meldrum Walk every week for this. Hmm.. maybe the softer kind is easier for her J

If you like soft oh chien, this is it.

Restaurant name: Fried Oyster Oh Chien

Address: Stall in Meldrum Walk in downtown Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/9m437

GPS: 1.460045,103.764673
Hours: 5:00pm to midnight

Non Halal

My second visit to this oh chien stall in 2014 👈 click

 

Date visited: 13 Feb 2012

Original KTM Kluang Rail Coffee, Johor. Still the Same since 1938

Updated 14 Aug 2019. Any visit to Kluang town must include a mandatory stop at Kluang Rail Coffee at the Kluang KTM station, if for nothing other than respect for its revered place in the history of Kluang and Malayan Railway.

A. Jabar Kambing Soup @ Meldrum Walk in Downtown Johor Bahru

There are perhaps 6 or 7 kambing soup (Indian mutton soup) stalls in Meldrum Walk. They all looked popular and since I have not eaten at any here, I randomly picked one.

This stall like the others sell meat, tongue, stomach, ribs, shank (tulang), intestines and what looked like unmentionable organs. I saw customers given a bowl and tongs to pick the parts they want, just like the way customers pick what they want at yong tau foo stalls.

I ordered a mixed bowl to sample all the different parts.

The locals eat their kambing soup with a plate of rice or bread. I ate mine on its own - the way I am used to.

This bowl of mixed kambing soup for RM6 (SGD2.50)

It was my lucky day as my random choice turned out to be a good food find. My first sip of the rich, creamy, spicy, tasty soup and I was impressed.

The rich, creamy, spicy soup was delicious and fragrant. The characteristic aroma of mutton was only slight here. The soup was very smooth and had just the right body and texture. There was also very little oil (excessive oil is the bane of average kambing soup).

My mixed soup had at least a dozen good sized chunks of tender meat, stomach, and tendon. It was all flesh though I wouldn’t mind some bones. There was a piece of chewy sinew that added texture and fun of this soup.

Kambing soup is one of my life long favourites and I have been eating it for years in Singapore. Tried the famous stalls over the years. This one ranks with the best.

Sometimes, I get lumpy lumps in the soup. This one is completely smooth. Sometimes, I get a film of heavy oil floating on the surface. This one is pretty clear on top though I won’t know how much oil is suspended in the soup. Sometimes, I get watery thin soup. This one is creamy smooth, though not too thick.

The stall owner and his sole helper were busy but very friendly. I guess competition does wonders to the benefit of customers, who get good food with friendly service.

I also want to try the other kambing soup stalls at Meldrum Walk to see which is the best of them all.

Restaurant name: A. Jabar Sup Kambing
Address: Stall in Meldrum Walk in downtown Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/n7qhh

GPS: 1.460045,103.764673
Hours: 5:00pm to midnight

Halal

Date visited: 18 Feb 2012

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Kway Teow Kia (Kway Chap) @ 三楼 San Lou Kway Teow Kia in Stulang Darat, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Who would have thought that those blue coloured zinc shacks on a vacant plot along Jalan Stulang Darat are three popular food stalls.

Every day at about 5:30pm these stalls burst into life like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. This place stays a hive of activity until closing time at around midnight. 


This Jaguar is not my car☻

Somehow, when the food is good, people from all walks of life, from far and near will track it down.

One of the most famous here is the kway teow kia stall run by a pair of sisters. They have been running this popular stall here for more than 20 years!

Officially this stall has no name but the locals call it 三楼 (San Lou or 3-storey) kway teow kia, after these 3-storey flats around the corner.

My set of mixed braised pork and innards with a bowl of kway teow kia (flat rice noodles) in braising sauce costs RM6 (USD2).



Small intestines



Tongue



Skin and tongue before cutting into bite size.



Intestines large and small

Popular braised chicken eggs

The braised meat and innards are firm yet tender, naturally sweet and not salty.

Look at this kway teow kia, it is actually not too oily. The little globules of oil floating on the surface are actually fragrant shallot oil.

The lady boils the kway teow kia and then meticulously picks it up to let the water drip away. She makes sure that the customer is served only kway teow kia and braising sauce, undiluted by water.

The soup made from the braising sauce is subtly herbal and is not salty. I finished all in my bowl without realising ☻

Definitely a place I will come back to, for the food and the unique ambiance here.


Restaurant name: 三楼 (San Lou or 3-storey) kway teow kia
Address: Along Jalan Stulang Darat, Johor Bahru
Map: http://g.co/maps/km32z
GPS: 1.472092,103.777295
Hours: 5:30pm to midnight
Non Halal

Visited: 22 Feb 2012

Kluangite's Hometown Favourite Curry Mee @ Gerai Makan Botak in Kluang, Johor

Overseas Malaysians returning home, after mom and pop's cooking, would head out for their favourite hawkers to relive the taste of their comfort foods. Botak's curry mee, an over 60 year old institution in Kluang, is a magnet for locals and Kluangites returning from overseas. Fans from beyond Kluang are also growing steadily in strength.

Penang Fruit Rojak Buah on a Motorbike in Johor Bahru! 新山流动檳城罗惹

Take a careful look at this mobile rojak stall. Did you notice the Penang licence plate on the motorbike?

According to the rojak man, he came from Penang to Johor Bahru nearly 20 years ago riding this very same small motor bike to seek a living. Today, he is a well known rojak man with his fans trailing his mobile stall everywhere he went. He has also set up his family here in JB.

Braised Belly Pork 扣肉 Fried Bee Hoon @ Ban Kee 万记 in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai

 

I was at Ban Kee in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA) to try out their famous KL black Hokkien Mee. When I was done with the delicious Hokkien Mee, I realised that they also serve fried bee hoon with braised belly pork 扣肉.

This is a Hokkien comfort food served whenever the extended family gathers and is rarely sold in shops. At home, as making braised belly pork is tedious and requires considerable skill, it is often substituted by the canned variety. Ban Kee offers their fried bee hoon with homemade freshly braised belly pork. At this point, I am already filled and have way busted my cholesterol quota with the KL Hokkien mee.

But I just had to try this. Blame the family at the next table for their gleeful faces and loud splurging noises while eating their braised belly pork bee hoon.  

Only one size - RM14. Enough for 3 big eaters.

Well, it may not be very photogenic with the green chye sim strewn haphazardly on top of the braising sauce blackened bee hoon and braised pork in a well used plastic plate. But the taste of the braised belly pork and bee hoon fried with braising sauce more than made up for its humble looks. Actually, this look reminds me of familial, home cooking and adds to the pleasure ☻

The braised belly pork is tender and the whole dish fried with braising sauce is more naturally sweet and fragrant rather than salty. Slowly chewing the tender layers of skin, fat and lean meat together with the soft fried bee hoon creates a creamy, smoky blended mix in the mouth that seduces the taste buds. Ah…. maybe this dish is a constant feature in extended family gatherings because Ah Kong and Ah Mah (grandparents) can enjoy the tender, lightly flavoured meat together with everyone.

No regrets on my cholesterol indiscretion. Will definitely be back J.


Restaurant name: Restoran Ban Kee 万记

Address: 108, Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai

Map: http://g.co/maps/q7gs7

GPS: 1.522098,103.664171

Hours: Noon to 3:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 10 Feb 2012

CLOSED Claypot Catfish @ Restoran Shui Sean 水仙 in Taman Daya



The cutest restaurant logo that I have seen for a long while ☻

The signature dish here at Shui Sean 水仙 in Taman Daya, so eloquently stated by their logo, is their claypot catfish.

This claypot catfish for 3 persons costs RM18

When the pot of catfish arrived at the table, the sauce was still was bubbly hot and blowing steam. The fresh catfish is cut into large chunks and steaks and braised in a claypot with a spicy savoury sauce.

The flavour of the gooey caramelised sauce is a complex mix of sour, sweet, salty, spicy, hot and savoury. The braising sauce is made with red hot chili peppers, stalks of lemon grass, slices of ginger, onions, fermented black beans and many other spices and herbs.  There is also a subtle trace of cooking wine, which I like.

The large chunks and steaks of fresh catfish have bone and skin on. The thick pieces of catfish are moist, juicy and tender. The catfish’s light tasting white meat absorbed the flavours of the spicy braising sauce very well.

The thin smooth scaleless skin of the young catfish was gelatinous and soft, adding texture to the dish. (For those worried about the perceived muddy taste of catfish, there was not even the slightest hint of it here.)

The robust spicy braising sauce whets one’s appetite and it complements the lighter flavours of pearly white rice, soft tofu and fresh choy sum (green vegetable) perfectly. I realised afterwards that I unconsciously ate more than my usual amount of rice ☻

The friendly lady owner does the cooking personally to ensure the highest quality dishes are delivered to the customer. Once again, the pride and hospitality of the eatery owners in Johor made me feel more like a guest than a customer.

Restaurant name: Restoran Shui Sean 水仙

Address: 4, Jalan Sagu 38, Taman Daya, Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/92xam
GPS: 1.55001,103.764668

Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 21 Feb 2012

Tandoori Chicken and Naan @ Meldrum Walk in Downtown Johor Bahru

Authentic tandoori chicken and naan (Indian flat bread) made with the traditional clay oven (tandoor) for RM8? No kidding.

Salaam Tandoori Corner is the only tandoori stall in the popular Meldrum Walk. This stall is run by just one man - he does everything by himself. Besides making the naan and tandoori chicken, he delivers the food, collects and washes the used trays, and receives the money.

Watching the artistry of this man in swift action, is in itself an education in multitasking. Really respect this hardworking and cheerful gentleman.

Here is how he makes the naan.



Each piece of dough is kneaded by hand



Flattening the dough with a rolling pin



Putting the flattened dough into the tandoor (clay oven)



The dough stuck to the inside wall of the tandoor oven



The freshly baked naan just out of the tandoor oven



Quickly sliced with a pizza cutter while it is still hot

And now, time to grill the chicken using the traditional tandoor.

Putting the chopped chicken thigh marinated with yogurt, masala and spices into the oven



Chicken baking inside the oven with a ring of fire at the base



Sizzling hot tandoori chicken fresh out of the oven

 

The finishing touches - a dab of spice and squeeze of lime - before the tandoori chicken and naan is served

 

The complete set with tandoori chicken thigh, naan, dhal and mutton curry, all for RM8 

The chicken with some charred bits on the outside is fragrant, tender and moist inside, but not too spicy.

The thick naan is slightly crispy with browned bubbles on the outside and tenderly soft inside.

I love this humble stall. The tandoori chicken and naan are made in the traditional, authentic way and taste as good as any much more expensive Indian restaurant that I have tried before.

Restaurant name: Salaam Tandoori Corner

Address: Stall in Meldrum Walk in downtown Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/n7qhh

GPS: 1.460045,103.764673
Hours: 5:00pm to midnight

Halal

Date visited: 18 Feb 2012