No Lard Fish Ball Kway Teow Soup @ Ah Hua 亚华 along Jalan Stulang Darat, Johor Bahru

I pass this Ah Hua 亚华 fish ball noodle shop a few times before but never stopped to try it as I somehow do not fancy franchises. I did notice that this corner shop is quite popular even though it is along, rather out of the way, Jalan Stulang Darat. I finally gave it a try on a day when all my favourites in the area were closed.

It turned out to be a surprise find ☻

First, this Ah Hua 亚华 has no relations with its famous namesakes sprinkled around JB. I found that out after asking the owner, if they are related. The owner told me they have no relations at all and their shop started as a push cart stall at the beach (facing Woodlands, Singapore.)  Ah…. another inspiring push cart to shop success story ☻

So, what is so special about this fish ball kway teow shop? After all, even handmade fish balls are everywhere in JB.

The first thing that struck me was the fragrant sauce. Its aroma was subtle and coated the kway teow with a light, fresh flavour. When I asked the owner did he use lard to make the sauce since it was so flavourful, he surprised me by replying, no.

Unlike most kway teow soup shops that use lard, this Ah Hua uses only shallot oil  葱头油 – oil that had been used to fry fresh shallots. I like this healthy choice that does not compromise on taste and flavour.

The soft kway teow coated with a fine film of soy sauce and shallot oil blend was lip smacking delicious. The bean sprouts (tau geh) stirred into the kway teow were crunchy and fun to bite. The tau geh made a rather loud gashing sound in my ear bones as I chewed on it.

The unevenly shaped, homemade, handmade fish balls were bouncy, tender yet firm, and had a delightful fresh fish fragrance. These were one of the best fish balls that I have ever tasted.

Look, they take a lot of trouble to keep the fish balls fresh. The fresh fish balls are kept under a constant stream of cool running water.

The clear soup has that old time 古早 taste and aroma, triggering memories of my primary school tuckshop’s kway teow soup stall.

I took a look at their steaming big pot of soup and saw lots of soy beans and anchovies tumbling around crazily inside the furiously boiling, bubbling broth.

I love this Ah Hua 亚华 kway teow soup shop. This will be my kway teow soup of the day whenever I am on cholesterol quota preservation mode.

Restaurant name: Ah Hua 亚华 Handmade Fish Ball Kway Teow Noodles

Address: G-08, Jalan Pandan 1, Pangsarpuri Impian Stulang, Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/wbuz2

GPS: 1.472768,103.77802
Hours: 12:00 Noon to 4:00pm (Closed on Monday)

Non Halal

Date visited: 22 Feb 2012