Last night, I popped by at Meldrum Walk with Pen/Hemingway Prize winning author John Krich. I wanted to show John some of the heritage hawkers who are faithfully plying their trade here.
One of the stalls we stopped at was Stall 37 - Mr. Foong's oh chien 蚵煎 (oyster omelette) stall (this dish is also known as 蠔烙 oh luak). Business was brisk at the oh chien stall on a Monday early evening.
This oh chien stall is run by Mr. Foong 冯, his son, wife and an elderly helper. Today, I didn't see the younger Mr. Foong.
Mr. Foong has been running this little mobile stall with his wife for nearly 40 years. When Mr. Foong first told me his family name 冯, I replied in an instant "Cantonese?" I was curious how a Cantonese man come to be a seller of this Teochew signature staple for his life's work. Mr. and Mrs. Foong laughed out loud, "My master is Teochew" Mr. Foong shared smilingly. The warmth in his voice and the smile on his bronzed, weathered face, reflected his gratitude towards the source of his craft and livelihood.
Since I was a child, I am always fascinated watching hawkers at work, no matter how many times I have seen this before.
Mr. Foong emptying the over dozen fresh eggs into the pan sizzling with tapioca batter and lard.
Mr. Foong tuning the gas jet like a musical instrument. After watching many oh chien hawkers at work, I realised that control of the fire is one of the keys to good oh chien - and perhaps, one of the hardest skills to master.
When the eggs and batter turned golden brown on the pan, Mr. Fong tossed in a handful of fresh oysters.
Our serving of oh chien at RM6.00 (2014 price).
Mr. Foong's oh chien has a slightly crusty brown outside layer while inside it was soft and eggy. It was greasy but not overly so for me (who is very cholesterol conscious).
We had nearly a dozen oysters in our plate, some large and some small but all were fresh, soft and juicy. This was the biggest one.
An old style brass weight (from a daching) used to hold down the polystyrene plates and plastic lined brown paper. (Missing those old school orh peh leaves :S )
I love this oh chien 蚵煎 stall.
->> This is probably the definitive oh chien stall in Johor Bahru. Fresh juicy oysters smothered with a soft egg wrap with slight crisp outside.
My first visit to this oh chien / oh luak stall back in 2012 👈 click
Restaurant name: Fried Oyster Omlette Oh Chien 蚵煎
Date visited: 13 Feb 2012, 17 Feb 2014
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Mr. Foong has been running this little mobile stall with his wife for nearly 40 years. When Mr. Foong first told me his family name 冯, I replied in an instant "Cantonese?" I was curious how a Cantonese man come to be a seller of this Teochew signature staple for his life's work. Mr. and Mrs. Foong laughed out loud, "My master is Teochew" Mr. Foong shared smilingly. The warmth in his voice and the smile on his bronzed, weathered face, reflected his gratitude towards the source of his craft and livelihood.
Mr. Foong emptying the over dozen fresh eggs into the pan sizzling with tapioca batter and lard.
Mr. Foong tuning the gas jet like a musical instrument. After watching many oh chien hawkers at work, I realised that control of the fire is one of the keys to good oh chien - and perhaps, one of the hardest skills to master.
When the eggs and batter turned golden brown on the pan, Mr. Fong tossed in a handful of fresh oysters.
Our serving of oh chien at RM6.00 (2014 price).
Mr. Foong's oh chien has a slightly crusty brown outside layer while inside it was soft and eggy. It was greasy but not overly so for me (who is very cholesterol conscious).
We had nearly a dozen oysters in our plate, some large and some small but all were fresh, soft and juicy. This was the biggest one.
An old style brass weight (from a daching) used to hold down the polystyrene plates and plastic lined brown paper. (Missing those old school orh peh leaves :S )
I love this oh chien 蚵煎 stall.
->> This is probably the definitive oh chien stall in Johor Bahru. Fresh juicy oysters smothered with a soft egg wrap with slight crisp outside.
My first visit to this oh chien / oh luak stall back in 2012 👈 click
Restaurant name: Fried Oyster Omlette Oh Chien 蚵煎
Address: Stall 37 in Meldrum Walk in downtown Johor Bahru (behind Jalan Wong Ah Fook and next to City Square Mall)
GPS: 1.460045,103.764673 / 1°27'36.2"N 103°45'52.8"E
Hours: to 9:00pm (Sat & Sun off)
Non HalalHours: to 9:00pm (Sat & Sun off)
Date visited: 13 Feb 2012, 17 Feb 2014
JK,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to compliment you on the great blog you have here. Planning to go home (Malaysia) this coming March and will be visiting Muar area. Your blog has been the most referenced source for me as part of my research for good food around Muar.
One small thing I want to point out on this post – Oh Chien is not actually a signature dish from the Hokkien people, it actually Teochew. Although the there is actually an “Oh Chien” dish in Minan(闽南)cuisine, it is actually different from the version we have in Malaysia/Singapore. The version we are familiar with in Malaysia/Singapore are the Teochew version (that’s why it is something called “蚝烙” in Singapore/Johor area. The Hokkien version is those you see in Taiwan. Below is a picture of the Hokkien version:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vKBoKKdJjOE/R0An_pC7CyI/AAAAAAAAALY/eghHuPu09z4/s1600/IMG_0099a.jpg
-老叔-
Thank you Daruma for pointing out. I have amended the post.
DeleteLove it, thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteWilson
Glad you liked it bro Wilson :D
Deletemust try out this week end
ReplyDeleteThe oysters in your post is their normal orders. They have a special order whereby they only cook for the older generation upon request.
ReplyDeleteoh.. thank you Geraldine. i shall ask for that next time.... i qualify for "older generation' ;-p. Appreciate much.
DeleteIs this stall closed? Been there on a few Saturdays and dun see this stall anymore.
ReplyDelete