Kolo mee 干捞面 is comfort food to a Sarawakian, just like mee pok tah 面薄干 is to a Singaporean, or kway teow thng 粿条汤 to a Johorean.
Adventurous Foodie Geographer's Diary with 70 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com
Kolo Mee - Famous Sarawak Food in Kuching 干捞面
Kolo mee 干捞面 is comfort food to a Sarawakian, just like mee pok tah 面薄干 is to a Singaporean, or kway teow thng 粿条汤 to a Johorean.
Vivo Day at Sutera Mall in Johor Bahru
To thank customers for their support, Vivo holds a Vivo Day once a year, offering customers 50% off their entire menu for a day.
This year's Vivo Day was held at Sutera Mall in Johor Bahru on 24 Apr 2014.
The long snaking but orderly queue at Vivo @ Sutera Mall started from before opening time till the end of the day.
The wait was bearable and actually quite pleasant as customers had fun browsing Vivo's extensive menu, choosing what to eat with friends.
It was a hectic day, but Vivo staff cheerfully obliged me with photos :D
Vivo time is family bonding time.
Best Friends Forever at Vivo.
With so many customers on Vivo Day, a customer spilled a large drink but the friendly staff quickly handled it professionally and cheerfully :D Bravo!
What do customers think of Vivo?
Thumbs up all round!
I bumped into my friend, New Straits Times journalist, Peggy Loh (left) among the happy customers.
It was an extremely busy day at Vivo, but the crew worked together as one happy family.
If Vivo were to hold a competition on Vivo's most instagrammed dish, my guess would be it would be won by their popular Volcanic Chocolate Lava Cake.
We leave the last word to Vivo's young customer.
Live with Passion. Vivo is number 1 :D
See you at Vivo Day next year.
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International Bornean Frog Race Festival 2014 in Kubah National Park, Kuching, Sarawak
Johor Kaki was at the International Bornean Frog Race 2014.
At first, I thought I was asked to cover an event about racing frogs just like racing horses or hounds. I was quietly wondering to myself, "How is it possible to train frogs to hop in a straight line"?
CLOSED "W" Espresso Sporting Club by Monsta Cafe at Country Garden, Johor Bahru
"W" Espresso Sporting Club by Monsta Cafe opens in Country Garden, JB's newest exciting F and B hotspot. Johor Kaki was invited to a tasting on "W" Espresso Sporting Club's first day of business.
CLOSED Matterhon @ Danga in Johor Bahru, Country Garden CLOSED
Johor Kaki was invited for lunch at the newly opened Matterhon @ Danga in the sprawling Country Garden (off Jalan Skudai) which is fast emerging as another F and B hotspot in Johor Bahru.
Vivo Pizza & Panini at Setia Tropika, Johor Bahru
Johor Kaki was invited to lunch at the newly opened Vivo Pizza & Panini outlet at Setia Tropika Welcome Centre.
Inside, Vivo at Setia Tropika is spacious, neatly laid out, clean, bright and very comfortable with air con and soft plush sofa seats.
We started off with the Vivo salad (RM8.90). Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and crispy oven baked croutons dressed in Thousand Island sauce. Very simple, very fresh and very clean.
Excellent.
I ordered the Norwegian Salmon Steak (RM22.90) because I wanted a tasty yet healthful choice :D
The large slab of salmon steak was nicely done. Tender and moist, the signature salmon flavour was complemented by savouriness from the large chunk of garlic herb butter.
The French fries were not greasy and went well with the warm tomato salsa sauce.
I tried the Beef Lasagna (RM17.90). Layers of pasta sandwiching layers of minced beef and tomato stew, and then topped with melted Mozzarella cheese.
Creamy, tangy, savoury and beefy. Layers of different types of softness from the melted cheese, minced beef and pasta.
We had the classic Hawaiian Pizza (RM13.90). It's topped with chicken bologna slices, chicken chunks, pineapple chunks and onion rings held together by melted Mozzarella cheese,
At Vivo, the crispy pizza crust is made at the shop using flour, water and yeast - something not done even at some well appointed restaurants who buy their crusts "OEM" i.e. generic, factory made and frozen.
Every time I am in Vivo, I will order their Volcano Chocolate Lava Cake with Ice Cream (RM15.90). One of the best lava cakes in town, I must say.
Always enjoyed it.
My cup of cappuccino. Nowadays, with so many trendy specialty coffee bars sprouting up all over JB, coffee must not only have good body, taste great and smells nice, it must also look pretty with nice latte art.
Vivo's cappuccino has good body, tastes good, has nice aroma and latte art that looked better than those at some of the specialty coffee bars that I have been to.
Vivo restaurants are comfortable, family friendly places to chill with good food and drinks at reasonable prices.
Restaurant name: Vivo Pizza & Panini at Setia Tropika (Vivo has 13 branches in Johor, Malacca and KL)
Address: GF2, Tropika Welcome Centre, Setia Tropika, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/cWFQ3
GPS: 1.548800,103.718061
Hours: 11:30am to 10:00pm (extends to 10:30pm on weekends)
Certified Halal
Date visited: 21 Mar 2014
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Royale Food Durian Dessert Video - Behind the Scene with Johor Kaki
Click on photo to view video
We had a lot of fun in the scorching sun making this video for Royale Food Durian Dessert :D
The video was made by Infinete Loop Media in the public park at Taman Merdeka.
Meisan Szechuan Restaurant at Mutiara Johor Bahru Hotel 眉山菜馆 CLOSED on 23 May 2021
Meisan Szechuan at Mutiara Johor Bahru Hotel 眉山菜馆 is an long established restaurant with a very good reputation among Johoreans.
Lily from Mutiara Johor Bahru Hotel invited me to lunch at Meisan.
I must say, Meisan 眉山 really lived up to its impeccable reputation.
Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice Trail with SG Food on Foot and Silver Chef
Today, I was on a Singapore food trail with well known Singapore food bloggers Derrick and Ian. As Johor Kaki, I gladly tagged along with the local experts to try out the famous chicken rice stalls at the Bukit Merah area in Singapore.
Zhi Jing Cheng 紫金城, Blk 120, Bukit Merah Lane 1
Our first stop was Zhi Jing Cheng 紫金城 Hainanese boneless chicken rice at the popular Alexandra Village Food Centre.
At Zhi Jing Cheng, we ordered half a chicken (SGD10.50) for 3 of us to share.
Zhi Jing Cheng's chicken meat was tender and smooth, and half submerged in a sweetish savoury sauce. The watery drippy sauce was quite likable but it overwhelmed most of the natural flavours of the chicken meat.
Zhi Jing Cheng's rice was slightly stiffer and drier than average. Not overly greasy. The chicken aroma was also very slight.
The ginger and chili sauces were watery and mildly flavoured.
Uncle Chicken, Blk 120, Bukit Merah Lane 1
Our second stop was Uncle Chicken, also in Alexandra Village Food Centre.
Uncle Chicken rice is run by Niven, whose late father ran the famous Sin Kee chicken rice stall at Margaret Drive.
Sin Kee was one of our favourite dinner places when we were living in officers in the Tanglin Officers' Mess (now demolished) 30 years ago.
Uncle Chicken's meat was tender and smooth, and the light soy based sauce was sparingly drizzled on the chicken. The meat was flavourful and still had that natural sweetness of chicken, which I like.
For those who prefer a little more heavy handed flavouring, you can dab the chicken in the slightly salty soy based sauce.
Chicken breast may be considered the litmus test for a chicken rice stall as it is relatively harder to make this white fibrous meat tender and tasty.
Uncle Chicken did a good job of it, cooking his chicken just right. Eating this tender chicken breast without any sauce or dip, I could taste the natural sweetness and flavour of the slightly moist meat.
Niven was clearly passionate about his chicken rice. Though a busy hawker stall, Niven took care to cut and plate the chicken nicely.
Personally, I like my food plated well as I feel that it enhances my enjoyment of the dish. For example, I enjoy a nicely sliced and well plated serving of sashimi better than a jumbled heap of fish slices or strips.
Uncle Chicken's rice was tender, had relatively little oil, yet it tasted rich and carried a nice chicken aroma.
Uncle Chicken's fresh ginger and spring onion dip was mildly pungent and slightly savoury. The ginger dip comes without the watery and oily base found at most other chicken rice stalls.
The chili sauce spiked with lime was tangy, quite spicy and sharp.
I like both Uncle Chicken dips.
After so much goodies, we gladly climbed the over 100 steps to our next chicken rice stop, Fook Seng Goldenhill chicken rice.
Fook Seng Goldenhill, 37 Jalan Rumah Tinggi, Bukit Merah.
Our third and final chicken rice stop for the day was Fook Seng Goldenhill chicken rice at Jalan Rumah Tinggi, Bukit Merah.
By the time we reached Fook Seng, it was already well passed lunch time and business had settled to off peak calmness.
Fook Seng's half chicken (SGD16.00) was served in a twisted heap of small ribbons of chicken, some of which were chopped across the grain. The chicken was doused with a heavy dose of viscous sesame oil based sauce.
Fook Seng's chicken was done just right with great texture. The meat was cooked very slightly less than fully done - this is exactly the way I like my chicken doneness, and the way I cook it at home. (I picked this up from my Hong Kong schoolmates when I was in Canada in the 1980s.)
Fook Seng's chicken was tender and smooth. However, the aroma and taste of sesame oil was dominant and masked the chicken's natural's flavours.
Fook Seng's rice had just the right amount of greasiness and was slightly dry. Flavour and aroma was very slight.
The fresh chili and ginger dip laced with chicken oil were mildly flavoured.
My summary of the day's chicken rice trail - I liked all three chicken rice stalls.
If you like chicken bathed and half submerged in a sweet and savoury watery sauce, you may like Zhi Jing Cheng's chicken rice.
If you like slightly under cooked chicken (I do!) covered and almost glazed with a sesame oil based sloshy sauce, you may like Fook Seng Goldenhill chicken rice.
If you like your chicken au naturel with a relatively sparse soy based sauce, you may like Uncle Chicken. Uncle Chicken also serves their chicken without sauce, on request.
Personally, of these three stalls, I like Uncle Chicken most as I like to savour the natural flavours of chicken meat.
Date visited: 17 Apr 2014
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Zhi Jing Cheng 紫金城, Blk 120, Bukit Merah Lane 1
Our first stop was Zhi Jing Cheng 紫金城 Hainanese boneless chicken rice at the popular Alexandra Village Food Centre.
At Zhi Jing Cheng, we ordered half a chicken (SGD10.50) for 3 of us to share.
Zhi Jing Cheng's chicken meat was tender and smooth, and half submerged in a sweetish savoury sauce. The watery drippy sauce was quite likable but it overwhelmed most of the natural flavours of the chicken meat.
Zhi Jing Cheng's rice was slightly stiffer and drier than average. Not overly greasy. The chicken aroma was also very slight.
The ginger and chili sauces were watery and mildly flavoured.
Uncle Chicken, Blk 120, Bukit Merah Lane 1
Our second stop was Uncle Chicken, also in Alexandra Village Food Centre.
Uncle Chicken rice is run by Niven, whose late father ran the famous Sin Kee chicken rice stall at Margaret Drive.
Sin Kee was one of our favourite dinner places when we were living in officers in the Tanglin Officers' Mess (now demolished) 30 years ago.
Uncle Chicken's meat was tender and smooth, and the light soy based sauce was sparingly drizzled on the chicken. The meat was flavourful and still had that natural sweetness of chicken, which I like.
For those who prefer a little more heavy handed flavouring, you can dab the chicken in the slightly salty soy based sauce.
Chicken breast may be considered the litmus test for a chicken rice stall as it is relatively harder to make this white fibrous meat tender and tasty.
Uncle Chicken did a good job of it, cooking his chicken just right. Eating this tender chicken breast without any sauce or dip, I could taste the natural sweetness and flavour of the slightly moist meat.
Niven was clearly passionate about his chicken rice. Though a busy hawker stall, Niven took care to cut and plate the chicken nicely.
Personally, I like my food plated well as I feel that it enhances my enjoyment of the dish. For example, I enjoy a nicely sliced and well plated serving of sashimi better than a jumbled heap of fish slices or strips.
Uncle Chicken's rice was tender, had relatively little oil, yet it tasted rich and carried a nice chicken aroma.
Uncle Chicken's fresh ginger and spring onion dip was mildly pungent and slightly savoury. The ginger dip comes without the watery and oily base found at most other chicken rice stalls.
The chili sauce spiked with lime was tangy, quite spicy and sharp.
I like both Uncle Chicken dips.
After so much goodies, we gladly climbed the over 100 steps to our next chicken rice stop, Fook Seng Goldenhill chicken rice.
Fook Seng Goldenhill, 37 Jalan Rumah Tinggi, Bukit Merah.
Our third and final chicken rice stop for the day was Fook Seng Goldenhill chicken rice at Jalan Rumah Tinggi, Bukit Merah.
By the time we reached Fook Seng, it was already well passed lunch time and business had settled to off peak calmness.
Fook Seng's half chicken (SGD16.00) was served in a twisted heap of small ribbons of chicken, some of which were chopped across the grain. The chicken was doused with a heavy dose of viscous sesame oil based sauce.
Fook Seng's chicken was done just right with great texture. The meat was cooked very slightly less than fully done - this is exactly the way I like my chicken doneness, and the way I cook it at home. (I picked this up from my Hong Kong schoolmates when I was in Canada in the 1980s.)
Fook Seng's chicken was tender and smooth. However, the aroma and taste of sesame oil was dominant and masked the chicken's natural's flavours.
Fook Seng's rice had just the right amount of greasiness and was slightly dry. Flavour and aroma was very slight.
The fresh chili and ginger dip laced with chicken oil were mildly flavoured.
My summary of the day's chicken rice trail - I liked all three chicken rice stalls.
If you like chicken bathed and half submerged in a sweet and savoury watery sauce, you may like Zhi Jing Cheng's chicken rice.
If you like your chicken au naturel with a relatively sparse soy based sauce, you may like Uncle Chicken. Uncle Chicken also serves their chicken without sauce, on request.
Personally, of these three stalls, I like Uncle Chicken most as I like to savour the natural flavours of chicken meat.
Date visited: 17 Apr 2014
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.