Founded in 1979, Restoran Ah Kaw 亚九 touts itself as the inventor of Johor's iconic San Lou bee hoon 三楼炒米粉.
The bee hoon is air dried till it is the right texture before it is sent to the wok
Unlike ordinary fried bee hoon which is only stir fried, San Lou bee hoon 三楼炒米粉 is pressed on a hot searing wok in the final stage of its preparation. This technique caramelises and slightly chars the bee hoon on the outside while remaining tender and moist on the inside. It is a uniquely delicious taste experience when done well.
The popular Restoran Ah Kaw has an extensive menu like other zhi char 煮炒 (boil & fry) joints. I observed that most of the customers are regulars and almost all the tables would include an order of their famous San Lou bee hoon.
This substantial plate of classic San Lou fried bee hoon at RM5 (2012 price)
On first look, Ah Kaw's San Lou bee hoon appears wetter than others. The trade mark crust of caramelised and charred bee hoon looks less pronounced in Ah Kaw's version.
The soft bee hoon is saturated with flavourful stock. The bee hoon is garnished with eggs, shelled shrimps, fish cake slices, chye sim (leafy green vegetable) and slices of pork.
Personally, I feel Ah Kaw's version uses more oil than others. This seemed to appeal to many customers as evidenced by the lunch crowd though I personally prefer less oil.
I need to mention the excellent sambal balacan chili provided with the fried bee hoon. The sauce is spicy, hot and slightly sour from the fresh lime juices squeezed into it. Goes very well with the greasy bee hoon.
Shall be back to try out other signature dishes on Restoran Ah Kaw's menu. Might have an encore of his San Lou bee hoon too :-D
Shall be back to try out other signature dishes on Restoran Ah Kaw's menu. Might have an encore of his San Lou bee hoon too :-D
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I wrote this article in Feb 2012, when I first started this blog after retirement.
I wrote a second article on Restoran Ah Kaw in conjunction with my book Find Dining with Johor Kaki in 2016.
Soon afterwards also in 2016, I had the chance to interview Ah Kaw, the man himself and wrote this article.
Ah Kaw's elder son-in-law runs Restoran Ah Meng 阿明家乡小炒 in Taman Iskandar.
Ah Kaw's younger son-in-law runs Ming Ji 铭记家乡小炒 in Johor Jaya Ros Merah.
At both son-in-law's restaurants, you will find Ah Kaw's DNA.
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Restaurant name: Restoran Ah Kaw 亚九
Address: 33 Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1.481951, 103.773802 / 1°28'55.0"N 103°46'25.7"E
Hours: (Closed on Tuesday)
Hours: (Closed on Tuesday)
Date visited: 5 Feb 2012
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
Fully agree with you, Bro JK. i tried the San Luo beehoon at the seafood restaurant at Jln Biru. It's drier and the waitress forgot to give me the sambal chilli. Really unforgivable of her!! Next round went to Ah Kow, so much better..hahaha..and by the way, the seafood rest at Jln Biru do a damn lousy version of fish head beehoon. Don't ever request for this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike for the tips ;D
ReplyDeleteThe service here is extremely terrible. The ladyboss cheated customer. I specified that I wanted no prawns in my dishes. But, they accidentally cooked it with prawns. I actually told her that I have very bad allergies with prawns. She didn't bother to cook it again. Instead, she just took it into the kitchen, took it out and served it back to me. Before paying the bill, I tried to tell her, but she just ignored and refused to listen to me. Don't ever go to this place.
ReplyDeleteThey are getting very uppish. Ah Kow is no longer around and the food is cooked by foreign workers. I asked for fried mee without chili to take away and they purposely put lots of chili in! To add insult to injury, they served customers who came later than me first! I sent it back, got my money back and walked out, telling the fat lady boss her workers were black hearted. Won't go there again. This is probably what happens when eateries become too successful - but remember, pride comes before a fall...
ReplyDelete