We stumbled upon San Ming 三民 Penang Prawn Mee in Hengs Hengs kopitiam in Taman Pelangi while searching for the best Penang prawn mee stall in JB.
At first, San Ming 三民 seemed like any other Penang prawn mee stall. Sitting and observing the goings on at San Ming stall, we noticed a constant stream of customers.
The boss MR Loh, a Penangite who had been selling Penang prawn mee for thirty years, was busy cooking and dishing out his Penang prawn mee, non stop.
It was about 1:00pm - seeing MR Loh digging deep into the pot and hearing the clanging of the ladle against the near empty pot, we made a quick decision to order a bowl to try out.
And, we were glad that we did.
San Ming's prawn soup had that delicate balance of savoury prawny sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness. Where San Ming's soup had the edge over the other Penang prawn mee stalls was in the soup's robust body.
While others' Penang prawn mee soup tended to be relatively clear and light, San Ming's soup was murky and had body. The soup was savoury on the taste buds and was slightly grainy yet smooth on the tongue. I liked this "umami" feel in San Ming's prawn mee soup.
San Ming's generously sized shrimps and slices of lean pork were fresh and juicy sweet.
Before the soup ran out, we quickly ordered another bowl, now a "dry" kway teow version to sample.
The sauce of the dry kway teow was good and well balanced but it was still the accompanying soup, the star of the show, that captured all our attention.
The accompanying savoury spicy chili paste on a tiny disposable plastic dish was good enough. With such an excellent soup, the chili too was neglected by us :P
San Ming 三民 Penang Prawn Mee is one of my favourites in JB.
Restaurant name: San Ming 三民 Penang Prawn Mee (stall inside Hengs Hengs kopitiam)
Address: Near the junction of Jalan Perang and Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/vZnpc
GPS: 1.481739,103.775044
Hours: 7:00am to 2:00pm daily (no off day)
Non Halal
Date visited: 4 Sep 2012
Try the penang prawn mee at stall 168, in a coffeeshop at junction of jln badik and jlnm badik 1, opposite teck hin tyre, near wisma tiong hwa.
ReplyDeleteThe broth is sweet, fresh and rich, and the ingredients plentiful.
OK shall check it out :) Thanks for suggesting.
DeleteHi bro JK, I tried the prawn mee for today's lunch. I think this one can beat the Serene Food Centre's one hands down..good recommendation..the boss was not in attendance, only 2 malay helpers but they did a good job in preparing and serving. The boss must have trained them well.
ReplyDeleteMike, glad you like this. Wow the one at Serene food centre is very hard to beat! :)
DeleteMy favourite stalls during my school time. Now still miss the gravy n giant prawns.
ReplyDeletethis kopitiam has changed hands. san ming is no longer there, but i discovered they moved to star food kopitiam, not too far away. same row as moonlight bakery, except almost right at the opposite end of the row
ReplyDeleteSan Ming Penang Prawn Mee is now at Restoran Starfood Corner
ReplyDelete124-126, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.
When I visited on 20 April 2016 morning, Mr Loh was not there. The stall was manned by one young man and a lady.