Johor Zhi Char - Ah Meng Restaurant in JB 阿明家乡小炒 for Nice, Simple Teochew Homecooked Dishes Update 2019

We dropped by at Restoran Ah Meng at Jalan Sultanah Aminah at Taman Iskandar for a late lunch before buddies returned to Singapore. Restoran Ah Meng is less than 10 minutes drive from the JB CIQ and it can always be relied upon for a tasty meal at a reasonable price.



We were here close to the closing time for lunch (3pm). The simple, no frills eatery was still busy with mostly locals.



This was the last stop of our mini food trail since the morning, so we just picked a few basic dishes - San Lou bee hoon, deep fried sotong (squid), curry pork and a leafy green 菜胆. It turned out to be the highlight of the day - Ah Meng always delivers.



When at Ah Meng, a serving of their signature San Lou bee hoon is a must. Ah Meng is the son-in-law of Ah Kaw, the creator of Johor Bahru's iconic San Lou bee hoon dish.

Not many places serve this dish in JB today, and even fewer do it well. Restoran Ah Meng is one place to reliably get a good rendition of San Lou bee hoon.



Ah Meng's San Lou bee hoon was dry and had a bit of caramelised char and sear outside. But the strands were not wiry - they were well infused with a mild savoury sweetness from seafood stock.

San Lou bee hoon is a humble, seemingly simple dish yet the flavours were quite exquisite, if you pause and take time savour it.



Deep fried sotong (baby squid).



Nicely executed - the golden brown batter outside was crisp with a mild savoury taste. The squid encased inside remained moist and retained a subtle briny sweetness. A child pleaser and popular with adults too.



The curry pork ribs doesn't look very pretty. Just scooped into a deep bowl in a heap just like at home. I can smell the aroma of curry spices when I leaned over to take this picture.



It's actually quite tasty - the pork ribs were tender and juicy, and the sweetish spicy curry flavours were quite mild. (Yeah... but I still pine over Qiu Bo's legendary curry pork but that's just a memory now 😥 )



Well executed stir fried Choy Tam 菜胆, giving the natural green sweet vegetable taste an overlay of light savoury flavour. Nice.



Prices were reasonable. We paid RM92, including drinks.



Recommended for you 👍 Reaffirming that Restoran Ah Meng is a reliable zhi char shop in Johor Bahru. Everything was nice and this is one of the last places to get a good rendition of San Lou bee hoon.

Read about Ah Kaw - Ah Meng's father-in-law and creator of San Lou bee hoon 👈 click



Restaurant name: Restoran Ah Meng 阿明家乡小炒
Address: 38, Jalan Sultanah Aminah, Taman Iskandar, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1.491354,103.786178
Waze: Restoran Ah Meng (note: there are a few Ah Meng restaurants - make sure you pick the one at Jalan Sultanah Aminah)
Tel: +607 334 8634
Hours: 12:00 noon - 3:00pm | 5:00pm - 12:00 midnight (closed on Tuesday)

Non Halal



Date visited: 28 Mar 2019

This was my second visit at Restoran Ah Meng which I passed by several times before. Ah Meng is clearly popular with locals as the restaurant tucked away in a corner of Taman Iskandar is always crowded during lunch and dinner.

Restaurant name: Ah Meng restaurant 阿明家乡小炒

Address: 38, Jalan Sultanah Aminah, Taman Iskandar, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/mZSMa
GPS: 1.491354,103.786178
Hours: 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight (closed on Tuesday)
Non Halal



Ah Meng's decor is very basic and clean. Both of my visits were for very simple, light meals as Ah Meng remains open during the off peak hours. So, it is a good place to catch some good food between 2pm and 5pm. In Johor, finding good food between 2pm to 5pm can be difficult as most restaurants take a break after lunch and open again later for dinner.


San Lou bee hoon RM10 for two persons

During our second visit, we again ordered Ah Meng's San Lou bee hoon 三楼炒米粉 which is one of their most popular dishes. Ah Meng is the son-in-law of Ah Kaw, the reputed inventor of San Lou bee hoon. Ah Meng is one place where the cooking is still personally done by the owner-chef.

The San Lou bee hoon was nicely dry and slightly crisp on the outside while inside, it is slightly softer and moist with the stock. There were some charred portions on the outside, evidence of good wok hei 镬气. San Lou bee hoon has to be eaten while it is still hot as it is oily and the oil becomes greasy when it cools down.



San Lou bee hoon is eaten with sambal chili. Not too spicy and slightly savoury from a little dried shrimps.


Petai fried in sambal RM12 for two persons

Petai is one of my favourite vegetables and is reputed to be good for detoxification. I would order a petai dish whenever it is available. Ah Meng executed this simple dish excellently. The still crunchy and fleshy petai beans were tossed in sambal with onions and fried anchovy. The flavours were a blend of savoury, mildly spicy yet the bitter and unique taste of petai beans that earned it's name "stinky beans" were still evident. I love this dish.


Stir fried pea shoots RM8

As we were detoxing, we ordered this pea shoots (dou miao 豆苗) stir fried in garlic. Nicely crunchy and juicy in a savoury sauce.



I am pleased with what we had during our two visits. Am looking for a chance to come to Ah Meng to try out a wider selection of his menu including the traditional Teochew dessert or nee 芋泥 (sweet yam paste).

Dates visited: 19 Jul 2012, 11 Sep 2013

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