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Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru. Update 2019

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

Tapai Tang 大排档海鲜饭店 was the third stop of our JB food trail today. I wanted to come here because my last visit was 7 years ago and I just got back from Ipoh. With that still fresh in my mind, I hope to see how Tapai Tang's salt baked chicken match up to Ipoh's famous brand.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

Founded in 1998, Taipai Tang is a household name in JB yet remained relatively unheralded in social media. We were at Tapai Tang during the lull between the peaks of lunch and dinner. At this hour, it's a sort of laid back hang out for locals with beer and wifi. Furnishings were spartan but the air conditioned restaurant was clean, cool and comfortable.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

Tapai Tang has a big menu book but all its signature dishes with prices were up on this board.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

We had the salt baked chicken, of course. Price now is RM29 per whole bird. Plating wasn't as pretty as it was, way back in 2012.

Tapai Tang make their salt baked chicken in two batches everyday at the restaurant, so we always get the birds freshly cooked.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

Whiffs of savoury sweet herbal aroma greeted our noses as the bird arrived at our table. 

Set in layers of parchment paper, sitting on a shallow pool of its own warm tacky juices, the kampung chicken was lean but the meat was tender and juicy. 

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

The tender juicy meat had a savoury sweet taste (that I prefer over the Ipoh famous brand which was saltier and flatter in flavour). The savouriness wasn't overwhelming, so I can taste the kampung chicken's natural sweetness. There was also a subtle herbal taste from dang gui root 當歸. Overall, the flavours and aromas were mild, complex yet well balanced.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

We had some stomach space for Tapai Tang's signature fried julienned kailan greens and French beans topped with fried ikan bilis. We enjoyed the crisp and crunch of the fried greens and beans complemented by the savoury chewy fried dried anchovies.

This dish I enjoyed but felt was slightly pricey at RM22 a serving.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

Recommended for you 👍 Okay... perhaps not as tasty as my over romanticised memory of it, but Tapai Tang still has the best salt baked chicken in Johor (and it compares favourably even with the famous brand of Ipoh).

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.

Restaurant name: Restoran Tapai Tang 大排档海鲜饭店
Address: 128, Jalan Chengai, Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru  
GPS1°29'42.7"N 103°45'55.0"E 🌐 1.495199, 103.765279
Waze: Restoran Tapai Tang Sdn. Bhd.
Tel+607 333 3662
Hours: 10:00am to 2:00am daily  

Non Halal


 
Date visited: 11 Jan 2019

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Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru

The signature dish in Tapai Tang restaurant is their salt baked kampung chicken 鹽焗雞.

Tapai Tang uses kampung (free range) chicken, so it is lean and has little, if any body fat.

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru

The complex blend of flavours of this exquisite salt baked chicken is all very subtle, delicate and mild. When the neatly arranged chicken arrived at the table, there was a gentle herbal aroma of Chinese herbs. Don't let the name "salt baked chicken" worry you - when we bite into the tender, juicy chicken flesh, it was only suggestively salty. Chewing into the moist flesh, our taste buds were treated to the chicken’s natural sweetness.

Dipping the bite sized chicken pieces into the tangy hot chili sauce enhances the taste for those who like more spiciness in their meal.

Personally, I prefer to savour the natural sweetness of the chicken and the mild hints of saltiness from the traditional baking process.

This unique taste can be achieved only when the salt baked chicken is cooked using the old, tedious method i.e. the chicken marinated in herbs and spices is wrapped in layers of parchment paper and buried in a heap of coarse rock salt, and then baked. The alternative (short cut) method is to simply marinate the chicken in brine (salty water) and then bake it. I don't know what the alternative tastes like as I have never tried it before and I won’t be wasting any calories to find out ;P

Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru

I will definitely be back for Tapai Tang’s salt baked kampung chicken as well as their other famous dishes such as its fried tofu and fried spinach.


Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 @ Tapai Tang Restaurant in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru

Restaurant name: Restoran Tapai Tang 鹽焗雞
Address: 128, Jalan Chengai, Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru
Map: http://g.co/maps/vc6rc
GPS: 1.495199,103.765279
Hours: 10:00am to 4:00am daily
Non Halal

Date visited: 29 Mar 2012

14 comments:

  1. in fact, the salted chicken look really good!

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  2. ;D it tastes as good as it looked. Thank you for following my blog ;D

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  3. Hi Bro JK, thanks for the recommendation. I tried it on Tues. It's just too much protein for one person. Luckily, I am a big eater so I walloped the entire chicken plus one plate of rice and a drink. All in is slightly more than RM24.

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  4. LOL Mike, you are a foodie!! ;D

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  5. Went there today at around 9.30am, place was closed . it is nothing operating on 24 hours.

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  6. Was told that they operate from 10am - 4am. They sell the salted chicken for RM22 per bird. I prefer their version compared to Q Chicken (which is also pretty good) as the taste is more robust.

    JoeP

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the info JoeP. It seems they have changed their business hours. I have adjusted accordingly.

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  7. Seetoh (Makansutra) mentioned in one of his articles about salt baked chicken produced by a Mr CK Ong in the same area as TT which is very tasty. Didn't have a chance to try it yet as he doesn't cater to walk-in customers. Wonder whether they get their supply from him?

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    Replies
    1. Good question. I hope to try Mr Ong's soon :)

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  8. The contact info that was given in Seetoh's article:

    Salt Baked Chicken
    61, Jalan Chengai, Melodies Garden
    Call Mr CK Ong (one day advance take out order required - safer to call 2 days in advance)
    Tel: +6012 7095566

    Mr Ong's website:
    http://ckroastchicken.blogspot.sg/

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  9. This place is a rip off. Salted egg crabs (2 crabs) cost us RM 160 and the coconut drink was RM 9 each. Ridiculous!

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  10. Food fine. Service need a lot improvement. That day we got 6 persons dinning. we order 4 dishes, vege, 2 big crab, vinegar pork leg, tofu.
    the story begin... before our crab is coming the remaining 3 dishes we had finish out I plan to order some dishes while waiting for the crab to come, wave hand and one of the female worker (Chinese) attend us. I asked her we need to add one more dishes and few plain rice, she reply us "why don't you just now order, you know now you order need to wait very long" repeat 3 times to us. Oh may be she thought we just order cheap dishes look down on us. bcos that time tofu,vege,vinegar pig leg just finish out she thought we 6 persons eat only this. ask her to add one more dishes she keep repeat why don't u order early :( then finally the crab just came I told her now no need to add dishes just give up a plain rice will do. Realistic Restaurant

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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