Ais Kacang @ Awiet Corner in Larkin Bomba, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

 

Awiet Corner at the food centre near Larkin Bomba just beside the fire station is famous for its cold desserts, especially its ais kacang special.

This is Awiet Corner's RM4 Special. Isn’t this irresistible, especially on hot sizzling days in humid, tropical Johor?

On top of the little mount of shaved ice were two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Over the ice cream and ice mountain, they drizzled chocolate syrup and dropped a few roasted peanuts.

Ice Kacang can be found everywhere in Malaysia and Singapore but only in Johor will you find delicious melted chocolate topping over it.

The ice mountain itself was doused with rose syrup, evaporated milk and gula Melaka.

Buried underneath the mountain of ice were boiled red beans, creamy sweet corn, grass jelly and attap seeds.

The ice mountain crumbled rather quickly even under the cool shade of Larkin Bomba food centre – the heat attacking it from top and me stabbing its underside with my plastic spoon digging for treasures inside. Attacked from the top and bottom, the ice kacang was soon reduced to a sweet concoction of rose and chocolate syrup, soft sweet corn, gula Melaka, evaporated milk and melted vanilla ice cream. We were given a straw to drink up this multi-flavoured sweet mixture.

 

Restaurant name: Awiet Corner @ Medan Selera Larkin Bomba

Address: Next to Larkin Bomba fire station off Jalan Tun Abdul Razak

Map: http://g.co/maps/5mjb2

GPS: 1.485632,103.749389

Hours: 7:00am to 2:00am daily

Halal

Date visited: 20 Mar 2012

Fish Head Curry @ Chua Kee in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru

Reader Vien suggested that I try out her favourite curry fish head at Chua Kee in Taman Perling. So I made a trip to Chua Kee on Vien’s recommendation and had a fine curry fish head lunch. Thank you, Vien! Appreciate it J

Chua Kee is a typical, old established, family run corner coffee shop. It is located in a row of shop houses across the street from Perling Mall, off Jalan Persisiran Perling 1.

Actually, Chua Kee’s curry fish head reminds me of another of my favourites which is Kam Long’s curry fish head. To me, their fish head curries looked, smelled and tasted very similar J  Difference is, eating at Chua Kee felt a lot more rustic and calm while at Kam Long, it felt hectic and frantic due to the buzz from the busy, rumbling traffic along Jalan Wong Ah Fook outside.

In both restaurants, the good curry fish head all boils down to super fresh ingredients. Both Chua Kee and Kam Long use hand picked sea fish that is ocean fresh.

The curry gravy is flavoured with coconut milk but not overly reliant on coconut – with just the right amount of lemakness. The curry is fragrant from the ground spices in it and not too spicy hot – it doesn’t bite the tongue or throat. The curry gravy has a nice aroma, tasty and smooth. Fresh green vegetables like long beans are thrown into the curry and fish head together with tau pok and tau puey (fried tofu), adding interesting textures and tastes to the dish.

This curry fish head was well worth expending my calorie quota on and the RM23 I paid J

Chua Kee also serves bak kut teh which appears equally popular with the customers.

Restaurant name: Restaurant Chua Kee

Address: Across the street from Perling Mall off Jalan Persisiran Perling 1

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

GPS: 1.496952,103.682548

Hours: 11:30am to 2:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 2 Mar 2012

Nasi Ambeng @ Mat Corner in Selera Mahsuri, Bandar Baru Uda, Johor Bahru

^  Click on photo for latest post on Mat Corner  ^ 

Mat Corner is the most popular stall in Selera Mahsuri. They do a brisk business from opening time at 11:30am till about 3:00pm or sold out. Their hot seller is their nasi ambeng, so you have to come early for that.

Beggar Oyster Rice & Melon Soup @ Ban Heong Seng near Danga Bay in Johor Bahru

Besides the beggar’s chicken and the country fish, the remaining two of the “Four Heavenly Kings” at Ban Heong Seng restaurant are their oyster rice and melon soup.

Country Fish @ Ban Heong Seng near Danga Bay in Johor Bahru

There are “Four Heavenly King” dishes on Ban Heong Seng restaurant’s menu. They are their beggar chicken/duck, oyster rice, country fish, and melon soup.

Country fish at RM20

At first glance, the country fish looked like any ordinary fried whole mackerel fish.

Once you pick up a piece of fish, you will realise that it is actually made of pieces of fish cake.

This country fish is made by scraping out the meat from a fresh mackerel fish, mashing the flesh into a paste, mixing it with additional ingredients, spices, and then carefully stuffing the paste back into the skin of the fish. The “remade” fish is then deep fried to produce this boneless country fish dish.

This fragrant fish cake is crispy outside and the flesh is firm and tastes salty and sweet - much like any other good fish cake, though a little overly salty and stiff for my taste buds.

However, Ban Heong Seng’s unique style of this country fish gives their fish cake added interest compared to the usual form of fish cakes we normally get elsewhere.

Nice and fun to eat!

->> The only place in Johor to get "beggar's dishes" fit for emperors.




Restaurant name: Ban Heong Seng 万香城 (call 016-757-1887 or 07-237-5194 to book 1 day in advance as the dishes need to be prepared hours ahead of serving) 
Address: 113, Jalan Impian Emas 22, Taman Impian Emas, 81300 Skudai
GPS: 1°32'12.9"N 103°40'27.1"E | 1.536913, 103.674204
Waze: Ban Heong Seng 万香城 Beggar chicken
Tel: Call 016-757-1887 or 07-237-5194 for takeaway only

Old address below for the historical record.

Restaurant name: Ban Heong Seng Restaurant (call 016-757-1887 or 07-237-5194 to book 1 day in advance as the dishes need to be prepared hours ahead of serving)

Address: 34-B, Jalan Skudai, Batu 3¼, off Jalan Tahar, Johor Bahru

GPS: 1.483683,103.721548

Hours: Call 016-757-1887 or 07-237-5194 to pre-arrange lunch or dinner

Non Halal

Date visited: 9 Mar 2012

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Beggar's Chicken @ Ban Heong Seng 万香城 Restaurant near Danga Bay in Johor Bahru

Ban Heong Seng 万香城 restaurant is known for its four signature dishes. I shall call these Ban Heong Seng's “Four Heavenly Kings” dishes. Ban Heong Seng's beggar's chicken/ duck can be considered their “King of Kings”. Ban Heong Seng's other signature dishes are country fish, oyster rice and melon soup.

UTM Students' Favourite - Black Pepper Chicken Noodles @ Restoran Shang Hai 上海 in Taman Universiti, Skudai, Johor

Our memories are often anchored to the sights, smells, tastes, feel and even the sounds of our food. This unphotogenic but delicious “black chicken mee” in Taman Universiti is in the fond memories of many Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students.

Restoran Shang Hai 上海 was the “black chicken mee” stall in Ong Lai coffee shop before it moved into its own large corner shop. This “black chicken mee” story is yet another one of those inspiring stall-to-shop folklore of underdog success.

Restoran Shang Hai 上海 serves wanton noodles, chicken chops, and of course their signature “black chicken mee”.

The homemade egg noodles are doused with gooey black peppery sauce and topped with pieces of baked chicken marinated with black pepper.

The chicken is marinated in black pepper sauce and then baked. The chicken meat is juicy, firm and slightly chewy. It is coated with a caramelised layer of salty, sweet and subtly peppery sauce. Nice! No wonder this is so popular with UTM students.

The noodles are the same as any good wanton noodle - heavy with eggy flavour and feels smooth and slightly crunchy.

The big difference lies in the sauce – here the noodles are coated with the same slightly salty, sweet, fragrant black pepper sauce used to prepare the chicken.

I really enjoyed this unique “black chicken noodles”.

Restaurant name: Restoran Shang Hai 上海

Address: 58, Jalan Kebudayaan 18, Taman Universiti, Skudai, Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/hw84n

GPS: 1.539078,103.630876

Hours: 06:30am to 3:00pm
Non Halal

Date visited: 22 Mar 2012

Ji Sheng Kopitiam in Taman Universiti

While food finding in Taman Universiti, I noticed that Ji Sheng coffee shop was the most crowded – actually every table was filled. Even at 10:00am, I had to share a table with another customer.

As always, I observed what the other customers were eating and realised Ji Sheng has an extensive menu of many items. I also noticed that their coffee, toasted buns, mee siam, and nasi lemak were very popular as most tables had these items.

I ordered mee siam and nasi lemak, but was told they were sold out L  I asked the lady boss and the customer whom I was sharing table with for recommendations, and they suggested fried mee hoon which the shop will fry on order i.e. always available J  So I settled for coffee and fried bee hoon.

Wow, the coffee (kopi kau) was a blast! The coffee was full bodied and flavoured. The fragrant aroma was dense and the brew tasted bitter and sweet. Excellent.

Every cup of coffee is personally brewed by the boss MR Ngwan and he told me that it is an art that follows a precise process that demands precision timing – otherwise the coffee will taste different.  Knowing the precise timing takes years of experience and thousands of cups of coffee to master.

The boss further explained that consistency is crucial – his regular customers will instantly detect any differences with their taste buds. That is why his shop has been getting his supply of coffee beans from the same reliable supplier Chop Chai Huat coffee factory for the past nearly 20 years.

I also enjoyed my tasty fried bee hoon made from simple and fresh ingredients such as shrimps, sotong, eggs and taugeh (bean sprouts). Subtly salty and sweet. The bee hoon and taugeh were tender yet crunchy. It had just the right moistness – not too much water nor too oily. In fact, there was almost no trace of oil left over on the plate after I finished my bee hoon.

Definitely must come back for another cuppa, and try out the other popular items on their menu.

Restaurant name: Ji Sheng Kopitiam

Address: 55, Jalan Kebudayaan 16, Taman Universiti, Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/wnk8v
GPS: 1.539676,103.630697

Hours: 6:30am to 5:00pm

Non Halal

Date: 20 Mar 2012

Drunken Prawns @ Kong Kong Tai Son Seafood in Kampung Kong Kong Johor

Reader Muffyn Liuliu asked where did those rosy hued prawns in the header of my blog came from.

They were drunken prawns at Kong Kong Tai Son Seafood Resort :-D

Drunken prawn is one of many classic ways of serving prawns in Chinese styled seafood restaurants.

Ah See Wanton Mee in Batu Pahat, Johor

It is no exaggeration to say that almost every one who lives or had lived in Batu Pahat knows about Chop See Kee or Ah See wanton mee.

This popular wanton mee shop has been around since the 1940s and generations from Batu Pahat have grown up with Ah See’s wanton mee.

While I was enjoying my wanton noodles at Ah See’s on a Saturday at 3:00pm, there was a constant stream of customers coming in to dine and a queue was always at the front waiting for their take-away packets of wanton noodles.

Many of Batu Pahat’s diaspora are always longing for this wanton mee. For many, coming back to Batu Pahat from all over Malaysia and from around the world, a stop at Ah See is mandatory. The aroma, taste, sight of the shop’s front, interior, the cooking area, the kopitiam chatter, and the noodles all have rich memories and meaning embedded in them.  

Ah See's self made egg noodles coated with a film of the lightly coloured, aromatic sesame based sauce were very smooth and tasty. The fresh noodles, heavy with eggs, were crunchy yet tender. Absolutely delicious – comparable to the best anywhere that I have tried.

Ah See’s large and meaty wantons are wrapped in smooth wanton skin. The smooth wanton slides in your mouth easily and the fragrant, tender pork filling melts in your mouth.

The self made char siew had a cheery red hue and was sweet.

Love it, hate it or don't care about it, Ah See is the most written and talked about wanton mee in Batu Pahat. This hilarious post by Suanie is my favourite J

If you are in Batu Pahat, you may want to give Ah See a try. It’s not just about the wanton noodles, eating here lets you in on a window to the heart and soul of Batu Pahat and its people.

Restaurant name: Chop See Kee (every one here calls it Ah See wanton mee)

Address: 2, Jalan Jenang, Batu Pahat

Map: http://goo.gl/maps/o4T2d
GPS: 1.853994,102.927668

Hours: 8:30am to 9:30pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 10 Mar 2012

Famous Nasi Bariani Power in Batu Pahat, Johor

✍️1 Jan 2024. I wrote about Nasi Bariani Power, one of Batu Pahat's most famous nasi briyani shops over ten years ago. BP Bariani Power has grown from strength to strength, and to many it is the best nasi briyani in Batu Pahat today. Our BP hometown boy, Vincent certainly thinks so.

Yong Hwa Kway Teow @ Taman Perling in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Kway teow soup, which is a Teochew staple, can be found everywhere in Johor Bahru. Among the more popular ones, Yong Hwa is the local favourite in Taman Perling.

The design of the shop is a blend of the modern and traditional. The bright contemporary sign board stands out among the shop lots along Jalan Persisiran Perling 1. Yong Hwa has a cool comfortable air conditioned section like many modern cafés. It is very popular with customers who welcome a respite from the searing afternoon sun and stifling tropical humidity. 

At the front of the shop, the cooking area and the ingredients are laid out like a traditional push cart stall – charming and attractive.

The wide range of super fresh ingredients sits colourfully on a bed of cold ice cubes. Customers can pick any additional ingredients that they want at extra cost. There are prawns, fish slices, abalone slices, fish cakes and many more. 

The area in front is like a mini stage – the kway teow and ingredients are prepared with seasoned, swift, fluid, ballet like movements of the stall holder and his assistant. Always calm and efficient, no matter how big is the crowd of customers waiting.

The kway teow with the fresh rice fragrance is soft, thin, and melts in your mouth. In fact, it will start to "melt" as you stir it with the fragrant chili and dark sauce.

For RM4, we get a load of different ingredients with the soup like handmade pork ball, tofu, fish ball, lean pork slices, and liver. All are skillfully done just right by the stall holder.

The clear soup is naturally sweet as it is made by boiling fresh pork bones and also seafood.

Definitely a worthy favourite among kway teow soup shops.

Restaurant name: Yong Hwa Huey Teow

Address: 501, Jalan Persisiran Perling 1, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/rk8fp

GPS: 1.482870,103.686347

Hours: 7:30 to 5:00pm (closed on Monday)

Non Halal

Date visited: 6 Mar 2012