"Where to find wild boar meat in Johor Bahru?" I've been ask this question many times, especially by Singaporeans.
Earlier on, I found one restaurant (Sun Swee) serving wild boar in Kulai and now, finally found another three stalls, thanks to Steve, whose parents run these stalls.
The newly remodelled City Square Mall in Johor Bahru has many new and trendy food outlets. One of the new hip outlets is Cremoso Gelato and Coffee.
Today, I dropped by Cremoso Gelato at the invitation of Jeff, the owner, and tasted their gelato or Italian ice cream.
Jeff, who used to work in the financial sector, had studied with the gelato masters of Singapore for a few years before opening Cremoso in City Square last month. Cremoso offers 16 flavours of gelato like pistachio, strawberry, chocolate, hazelnut, coffee, vanilla, and so on.
Jeff and his staff turning and folding the gelato on the minus 20 degree cold stone.
I tried this Chocoton made with chocolate gelato together with Oreo biscuits, peanut butter and almonds served on a crispy waffle bowl. Made with fresh milk, the gelato was dense, creamy yet soft unlike regular ice cream (made with milk powder) which is airy yet hard. The Chocoton had crushed Oreo and almond toppings giving the gelato interesting variations in taste and textures. The peanut butter added a savoury, peanutty note to the sweet gelato.
This Chocoton, a regular size Cremoso Signature Creation cost RM9.90.
This one regular scoop of pistachio flavour gelato cost RM7.90.
Cremoso on the fourth floor of City Square Mall was located on an overhanging ledge offering a nice view of the centre court below. The comfortable seats make Cremoso a nice place to chill with friends or people watch.
If you are in City Square Mall and crave a sweet, cold dessert, Cremoso gelato may be just what you need.
Restaurant name: Cremoso Gelato/ Coffee
Address: Level 4, City Square Mall, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Ex0Mz
GPS: 1.461570,103.763519
Hours: 11:00am to 10:00pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Date visited: 26 Feb 2013
Rossman, Manager at Awana Asian Kitchen invited Johor Kaki to visit Awana Asian Kitchen in Taman Desa Cemerlang in Ulu Tiram.
Awana Asian Kitchen occupies two shoplots with an air conditioned section and an open section with total seating capacity of over 100 people.
After trying the siakap dishes at Sutera Village and Bangkok Village, I have become a siakap fan, and so I requested for Awana Asian Kitchen's Ikan Siakap Special.
This is a good sized, foot long siakap for RM32.80, deep fried and then drenched in Awana Asian Kitchen's own special gravy. The gravy was savoury from the belacan, fragrant from the lemongrass and other spicies, and a little tangy and sweet from the tomatoes and unions. There were also hints of spiciness from cut chillies.
The siakap was fried till crispy outside and still retained a bit of moistness inside. I liked this ikan siakap though my favourite style is still tiga rasa (three flavours) gravy, while others were won over by Awana Asian Kitchen's Special gravy.
Awana Asian Kitchen's tom yam soup was a blend of mainly sweet and mildly spicy.
Beneath that tasty soup was a mix of cut broccoli, capsicum, carrots, onions, mushrooms, parsley, chicken, squid and a couple of prawns, all which added sweetness to the soup. Personally, Awana Asian Kitchen's tom yam was value for money at RM11.80.
Awana Asian Kitchen serves good quality rice with their dishes.
To round up our lunch, we had an ice kacang. Basically, it was sweet from the ice cream, evaporated milk, grass jelly, boiled red beans and sweet corn with interesting crunchy, nutty bits from the crushed roasted nuts. The red beans were boiled in the kitchen and the peanuts were also roasted in-house. At RM3.30 in a comfortable, clean environment, I feel Awana Asian Kitchen's ice kacang was value for money.
Awana Asian Kitchen has a extensive menu as they also provide catering services. I will be back to try out the many other local favourites in their menu.
Restaurant name: Awana Asian Kitchen Masakan Selera Kampung
Address: 42-44, Jalan Rawa 2, Taman Desa Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/R2BsF
GPS: 1.561517,103.806874
Hours: 11:0am to 10:00pm
Halal
Date visited: 25 Feb 2013
Zona Ayam Penyet was often mentioned in Johor Sedap Facebook Group discussions, so we decided to drop by and give it a try, yesterday.
Restoran Zona is located on a second floor unit, along Jalan Maju just opposite the MacDonald's outlet in Plaza Pelangi.
There were three of us, so we had a chicken drumstick, a chicken breast and an ikan kerisi. I wanted pecel lele (catfish) but it was sold out. Total bill with soft drinks was just over RM25.
Ayam Penyet fans would object that this isn't ayam penyet as it was not smashed. Also missing were the crispy batter crumb toppings, to the annoyance of ayam penyet purists. But, even ayam purists would agree that this fried chicken was well executed and tasty.
Wrapped in very thin batter, it was crispy on the outside, and still tender and moist inside. I like this really, as average ayam penyet is often too dry for my liking (I can hear the howls of protests from the ayam penyet purists.)
The anaemic looking sambal chili also failed in the eyes of ayam penyet fans as it was supposed to be red, stinging spicy, and mixed with savoury anchovies. At Zona, the sambal was made with green chilies and various pulpy ingredients like unions. Again, I liked this mildly spicy sambal chili while my companions felt it was a let down with no kick.
But, we all agreed that this well executed fried ikan kerisi was the best of the three dishes we tried at Zona.
Crispy outside, tender and moist inside. Fresh and no fishiness at all.
This photogenic tempeh was rather tasteless by itself but it was delicious when dipped in the mild sambal chili. The same comments went for the small piece of fried tofu.
The fried dishes were served with simple, boiled white rice and a small bowl of soup. There was, well, nothing in the clear soup, just a slight salty taste.
There is also this interesting section of kumpang style seating i.e. low tables and no chairs. Customers sit crossed legged on the raised wooden flooring. Customers are also required to leave their shoes at the door.
I have not qualms recommending Restoran Zona to anyone, except ayam penyet purists :)
Restaurant name: Restoran Zona Ayam Penyet
Address: 1A-1, Jalan Maju, Taman Maju Jaya, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/qt7ME
GPS: 1.480682,103.764989
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm
Halal
Date visited: 20 Feb 2013
Return to Johor Kaki home page.
My JB foodie friend, Joe, has been telling me about this Vietnamese coffee in Danga City Mall for some time. Yesterday, three of us finally managed to meet here at Tehko Cafe at the ground floor of Danga City Mall for this Vietnamese coffee.
I really have to thank Joe for recommending this Vietnamese coffee, as I told Joe and Kumes, there is just no way I could have spotted this coffee on my own without a recommendation.
Tehko Cafe is your usual small shop selling a variety of Western and local cafe dishes like fried chicken, fries and nasi lemak, and there was no sign or banner indicating that it is serving Vietnamese coffee.
When we arrived at Tehko Cafe, I was initially a little skeptical whether we had come to the right place.
Sure enough, when we asked the staff whether they served Vietnamese coffee, they replied in the affirmative.
Then when the coffee arrived in these signature Vietnamese drip filter contraptions, we knew we were at the right place.
As the water still needed to drip through the ground coffee in the upper canister, I had some time to take a few pictures.
When the water finally all dripped through after a few minutes, we lifted the canister and a whiff of fragrant hot steam greeted our noses. The pleasing aroma primed our senses for the satisfying cuppa we were about to savour.
As we ordered "kopi", the coffee came with condensed milk at the bottom inside the cup. As we stirred the coffee and milk with a small disposable plastic teaspoon, more alluring fragrance and aroma ascended from the cup of coffee.
The coffee had a not-too-thick, smooth body, having been mixed with condensed milk. It still had a robust flavour that gave me a caffeine kick, especially at the first few sips. I liked it. In fact, we liked it so much that we had a second round of coffee as soon as we finished the first.
At RM2.50 a cup, it was at a sizable premium over the usual kopitiam kopi. Still, personally, I feel it was well worth the extra for its unique, captivating flavour.
I am curious about the story behind this Vietnamese coffee but did not have the opportunity to ask anyone, yesterday. The filter canister was engraved with the Dagan Rengit logo but when I went to Dagan Rengit coffee's website, Tehko Cafe is not listed among the Rengit coffee outlets. I need to go back to find out more :) and also for that strong coffee black which I wanted to try.
Kopi fans, if you are in Danga City mall or passing nearby, and needed a coffee break, stop by at Tehko Cafe for a Vietnamese coffee. Drivers will be happy to note that Danga City Mall provides ample, free covered and open parking.
Restaurant name: Tehko Cafe
Address: G38-40, Ground Floor, Danga City Mall, off Jalan Tun Razak
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Ru8Ni
GPS: 1.473861,103.755354
Hours: 10:00am to 7:00pm
Halal
Date visited: 20 Feb 2013
I often ask hawkers and shop owners, where do they get their fresh supplies like fish, chicken, meat, fruits and vegetables? For hawkers and shops (especially those selling Halal food), Kip Mart in Tampoi is often mentioned.
I often shop in Kip Mart myself as I found the range of food sold there is wide, fresh, and prices competitive. The environment is bright and clean, and the aisles wide and dry, even at the fish and seafood section. There is no unpleasant smells in the wet market. Parking is free and ample, though it is congested on weekends.
Besides the wet market, there are also sections selling household goods, clothes, electrical appliances and so on.
Here are some views of Kip Mart wet market in Tampoi.
Kip Mart Hypermart Tampoi
Address: Jalan Titiwangsa 2, off Jalan Skudai, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/tS49m
GPS: 1.508225,103.688165
Hours: 07:30am to 10:30pm
Halal
I am a big fan of catfish and had wanted to come back for Tam Zabb Lao and Thai Restaurant's Thai styled BBQ catfish. I am so very glad that I did, today. We had BBQ catfish and lots more. After today's sumptuous lunch, I like the food at Tam Zabb even more now than before.
After settling down at the clean and comfortable, contemporary styled restaurant we went through the extensive menu and made our orders. While waiting for our food, I heard the rhythmic music of wooden pestle and mortar, and dashed to where the sweet sound was coming from.
That's when I caught this picture of Aphinya, the lady boss and Executive Chef, making the Som Tum fruit salad.
This traditional Thai appetiser is a complex blend of tangy, sweet, bitter, spicy and savoury flavours from the jumble of diced fruits such as guava, green apple, chili, strawberry, lime, pineapple, peanuts, dried shrimps and fish sauce. A serving of Som Tum for 2-3 people costs RM15.
Next came the BBQ catfish, the main reason why I am back at Tam Zabb. It was certainly well worth the trip.
This may just be an ordinary catfish, anyone can buy from the market but it was so skilfully grilled, the transformation was amazing.
The thin skin of the catfish was crisp almost like dry, wrinkled parchment while the white, slightly oily flesh was still soft and juicy.
The tender catfish was eaten by dipping it in this tangy, spicy and savoury sauce. At RM10, I thought this nicely done BBQ catfish was value for money.
We then had Tam Zabb's popular Fried Fish with Chili (at RM22).
The large Tilapia fish was deep fried and then pan fried again in chili based gravy.
Again, the fish was very well executed. The outside was crispy while the thick white meat was still soft and moist. The fiery looking chili gravy was actually only mildly spicy.
Benny, the boss suggested we try the popular Thai dish Kho Moo Yang or pork neck salad at RM16 per serving.
The pork from the neck area was grilled over very slow fire, thinly sliced, and then tossed in a tangy and spicy sauce. The resulting meat was tender, naturally sweet, spicy and had a bouncy, delightful "QQ" mouth feel. That thick attached layer of fat did not make me feel congested or bloated at all. The grilled pork neck was simply excellent.
Aphinya, the lady boss, told us that they have another of version of grilled pork neck served without the spicy sauce. I want to come back and try that :)
Of course, we had the obligatory, iconic Thai pineapple rice (RM15). At Tam Zabb, the rice was served in a standing hollowed out pineapple instead of the usual style of it laying on its side. I thought this style kept the moisture in better than the usual style in Johor and Singapore.
Tam Zabb's pineapple rice (RM15) was the northeastern version without the turmeric which we often see here in Johor and Singapore. The flavours were also milder. The fried rice served with diced capsicum, pineapple, carrots, raisins, cashew nuts, chicken and shrimps was fluffy and not greasy.
We wrapped up our lunch with grilled banana dessert served with a sweet sauce made with Thai sea coconut palm sugar.
At Tam Zabb, they used a mix of local and Thai bananas for this dessert. The local bananas were sweeter, soft and mushy while the Thai ones were firmer, less sweet and slightly fibrous. Using both bananas gave this dessert an interesting mix of flavours and textures.
We enjoyed our lunch at Tam Zabb very much and expect to be back regularly. We like the clean and neat environment, easy accessibility and parking, attentive service, reasonable pricing, and the authentic, MSG free, traditional Lao and Thai food was excellent.
Read about our first visit to Tam Zabb by clicking on the picture below.
Restaurant name: Restoran Tam Zabb Lao
and Thai
Address: 48G, Jalan Bestari 3/2, Taman
Nusa Bestari, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/QBa4W (rough)
GPS 1.481964,103.666407
(rough)
Hours: 11:00am to 11:00pm (Closed in
Tuesday)
Non
Halal
