Hin Hock Bak Kut Teh 兴福 is a humble shop in Tampoi (near Plaza Angsana) which is famous for their signature poached fresh fish 烫鱼 heaped with fried garlic and savoury blended sauce.
When I wrote this post, Hin Hock was about to move into this new premise a few doors away on the same street. Today, Hin Hock is well established here.
Restaurant name: Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock 兴福肉骨茶
Address: Jalan Dato Mohammed Seth, Tampoi, Johor Baharu (near Plaza Angsana)
Tel: +6019 779 3434
GPS: 1.496813,103.702429
Hours: 08:30am to 3:30pm (Mondays off)
This was my second visit to Hin Hock, the first was with my friend Foong. (I have since visited Hin Hock many, many times.) I popped in impromptu but this time the boss, Ah Hock and his wife recognised me and refused to accept payment for the food I ate. I also had more freedom to snap pictures at the shop 😄
Where is the fish? It's hidden under that mound of golden brown fried garlic and green blanket of chopped spring onion.
The elaborate dip of garlic, shallot, onion, chili padi and soy sauce. I didn't really used this as I found their signature fish flavourful enough 😄
Our plate of poached spinach drenched in a savoury minced pork and soy sauce sauce. Juicy, crunchy and flavourful. Goes well with the fish and rice.
Nice tofu in minced pork and soy sauce.
Let's take a look at the preparation of Hin Hock's signature poached fish.
Ah Hock cutting a Tilapia. There are other fish such as Garupa and Ikan Merah.
The fish is weighed and prepared individually on order. So, you can imagine the frenzy during peak hours. But, service is pretty quick.
Ah Hock dipping the fresh fish into the hot water.
Scooping out the poached fish after a few minutes.
Ah Hock's elder son scooping out the cooked fish.
Each fish gets a heap of crispy fried garlic, scoopfuls of soy based blended sauce, and a sprinkling of chopped spring unions.
Hin Hock's signature poached fish ready to serve. Sweet tender flesh, free of fishy odour, complemented by lots of savoury, crunchy fried garlic bits. This dish has been packing in customers at Hin Hock for over 30 years.
I've been to Hin Hock many times and my personal favourite is the humble tilapia even though they have other fishes like groupers and snappers. The tilapia meat is soft-tender, moist and don't have any earthly or fishy taste. It seemed best suited for Hin Hock's special poaching technique and blend of sauces and toppings.
The fried garlic finishes fast as Hin Hock heaps generous amounts over their poached fish. So, the signature fried garlic is made every day. Lots of it.
Ah Hock is quite proud of his herbal bak kut teh though it isn't as popular as his poached fish. It's a bit too herbal for me and has a rather pronounced sweet liquorice taste.
👉 To me, Hin Hock 兴福 is one of the old names that defines the good food scene in Johor.
Hin Hock Bak Kut Teh started as a bak kut teh shop, hence the name. It became famous for its signature boiled fish but the shop name never changed. It took a while and many tastings before I took to Hin Hock's version bak kut teh 👈 click
My first visit to Hin Hock Bak Kut Teh and first taste of their signature fish. Thanks to my JB buddy Foong who brought me here 👈 click
The fried garlic finishes fast as Hin Hock heaps generous amounts over their poached fish. So, the signature fried garlic is made every day. Lots of it.
Ah Hock is quite proud of his herbal bak kut teh though it isn't as popular as his poached fish. It's a bit too herbal for me and has a rather pronounced sweet liquorice taste.
👉 To me, Hin Hock 兴福 is one of the old names that defines the good food scene in Johor.
Hin Hock Bak Kut Teh started as a bak kut teh shop, hence the name. It became famous for its signature boiled fish but the shop name never changed. It took a while and many tastings before I took to Hin Hock's version bak kut teh 👈 click
My first visit to Hin Hock Bak Kut Teh and first taste of their signature fish. Thanks to my JB buddy Foong who brought me here 👈 click
Dates visited: 19 Apr 2013, 23 Jul 2013. Written by Tony Boey on 23 Jul 2013 | Reviewed on 9 Aug 2022
The only place where I ate fish when I was a young boy. I was searching for them over google map and did not realized that they moved. Can see that I have not gone into JB for too long. I use to eat as many bowls of rice as there were dishes ordered. 1 bowl of rice for 1 dish, I would always drown my rice with the gravy. Thanks for letting me know that they are still around the same area.
ReplyDeleteWas there recently. Thanks for the address, it helped alot. The food was just as I remembered. And the boss surprisingly remembered me after I reminded him about my late father. It brought back much feels and I could only wished my family was there as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you genm79. Glad you found your childhood fav :-D
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