CLOSED Hawker Western Food at Taman Johor Jaya in JB 一寶西餐 JK1352

I got a tip off about a kopitiam Western food hawker stall in Taman Johor Jaya run by a well experienced restaurant chef.

Kerala Indian Restaurant in Johor Bahru

Came back to Kerala Restaurant in Johor Bahru for their popular traditional Indian rice meal served on banana leaves.

Soft Serve Ice Cream in Johor Bahru - Koone and By Grace, Trus JK1350

Henna by Koone at Jalan Dhoby. Chocolate soft serve, lava molten cake, bits of brownie, crushed nuts, coco cookies soils, passionfruit puree, royal hazelnut feulletine, red velvet donuts.

Soft serve ice cream is the latest food fad to sweep across the globe and arrive in Johor Bahru's oldest streets.

Soft serve ice cream is really exactly the same as regular ice cream, but softer. The ice cream machine is simply set to put more air in the ice cream to make it soft. (That's all really, except for new twists which we shall see later :-D )

Serkam Medan Ikan Bakar in Malacca Umbai Pantai Beach

We were in Malacca on Boxing Day and instead of having our dinner in the city centre which is jammed packed with tourists, our friend Sheik took us to the fishing village of Serkam for their popular Malay style sea food.

Nasi Ambeng in Singapore at Bedok Enak Stall

Uncle Martin has been raving about his newest discovery - the best value and tastiest Nasi Ambeng in Singapore. When a veteran foodie like Uncle Martin who has tasted a lot more salt than me gets excited about a stall, I pay attention ;-D As most of us happened to be free this Christmas morning, we assembled at Block 16 Bedok South hawker centre for an Indonesian style Christmas lunch.

It was special, indeed.

Xiang Xiang Fish Ball Noodles Chong Pang Singapore 香香鱼圆面

I was introduced to Siang Siang by a friend who grew up with this fishball noodles from the Kampong Chong Pang days. We come to Chong Pang Hawker Centre for lunch occasionally and we would often have Siang Siang fish ball noodles. We would never get tired of it.

Black Castle Bistro Bukit Indah Johor Bahru CLOSED

Chef Eddie invited me to visit Black Castle Bistro, his new restaurant in Bukit Indah (near the JUSCO mall).

Sprout Modern European Fine Dining in Johor Bahru JK1345

Last night, I was invited by Chef Mui to visit Sprout, his newly opened modern European fine dining restaurant in Johor Bahru. I've heard good things about Sprout from my JB friends and was looking forward to the visit.

Nasi Padang Qin Garden in Johor Bahru JB Old Downtown 沁园咖啡馆

The Nasi Padang stall at Qin Garden coffee shop along Jalan Trus Dhoby in old downtown Johor Bahru is one of the most popular in JB. (The Nasi Padang stall has been around for 20 years. The stall used to be at Kin Wah kopitiam, a couple of shops further south along Jalan Trus.)

Best Nasi Padang Tampoi Johor Bahru 巴东咖哩 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Updated 24 May 2019. Today's lunch is at Nasi Padang Tampoi off Jalan Tampoi in Johor Bahru, thanks to tip off by a Johor friend.

Toddy Coconut Wine Shop in Johor Bahru JB 椰花酒

Tody or toddy is fermented sap from the flower of coconut palm - an alcoholic treat which I enjoy whenever it is available. Toddy is banned in Singapore but we can get it at the tody shop here in old JB town, near the JB CIQ 😄  The tody shop is actually just across Jalan Wong Ah Fook from Komtar JB (where the Angry Bird theme park is).

Tai Chiang Coffee Shop Saleng near Kulai and Senai Johor 沙令大眾茶餐廳

You want to step back in time to 1950s/60s Johor, sip thick black bitter sweet coffee and eat kaya toasts like a local? If you are shopping at Johor Premium Outlet in Kulaijaya or trekking at Gunung Pulai, I suggest you swing by Tai Chiang Coffee Shop 大眾茶餐廳 in Saleng between Kulai and Senai.

Choy Ban Hakka Dumplings & Lei Cha @ Man Ting Fang, Kelapa Sawit Kulai Johor 满庭芳茶餐室菜粄

Man Ting Fang 满庭芳茶餐室菜粄 in Kelapa Sawit (near Kulai) is our favourite one stop shop for Hakka dumpling (choy ban) and lei cha (Hakka ground tea rice). Everything is made right there at the eatery / house, so all the food are super fresh.

CLOSED Hay Chooi Coffee Shop Johor Zhi Char - Ah Mah's Cooking 海水餐室

(CLOSED as owner chefs retired.) My Johor friend John brought us to Hay Chooi Coffee Shop 海水餐室 to try what he calls "Ah Mah's cooking".

I rely a lot on the help of locals to show me the best places to eat in Johor Bahru. I must have driven pass along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak a few hundred times, but never knew that there is such a special eatery on the inside road along Jalan Lembah.

Rockwater Oil and Gas Cafe Masai Johor near Pasar Borneo

Today, we were food spotting at the Pasar Borneo area in Masai which is the only Borneo market in Malaysia outside of Sarawak and Sabah.

Mushroom Pau in Johor Bahru Pasar Malam 養生蘑菇包

Stumbled upon these "mushrooms" while exploring the pasar malam at Taman Johor Jaya on Tuesday evening. These are actually "mushroom pau" - I've seen these at restaurants before but was glad to find these for the first time at a pasar malam (night market).

CLOSED EHHE Art Cafe - Old Johor Bahru Tan Hiok Nee Cultural Street on Foot 中間旁邊陈旭年文化街

In a few days, Johor Kaki blog will be entering it's fifth year. Not surprisingly, the first Johor Kaki posts were about the eateries around the Jalan Tan Hiok Nee cultural district as these are interesting and nearest to Singapore. Though, Johor Kaki blog is basically the same, there are many changes. The same can be said of Johor Bahru's cultural district.

Lemon Tree Kulai - Family Friendly Restaurant near Johor Premium Outlet and AEON Jusco

Met up with my friend Puan Chong and her family at the new Lemon Tree outlet in Kulai. We are all fans of Lemon Tree in Taman Melody and decided to have lunch at their new Kulai outlet. I also wanted to visit Chef Jeffrey whom I first met at Lemon Tree's parent outlet in Taman Melody.

Friday Pasar Malam Johor Bahru Puteri Wangsa JK1332

Visited the pasar malam at Taman Puteri Wangsa in Ulu Tiram, Johor this Friday evening :-D

Best Johor Beef Noodles @ Mok Gao of Kulai 古来莫九牛肉面

Made it early enough to Kulai this morning for Mok Gao's famous beef kueh teow soup. (Arrived at 8:30am but their "dry" beef kueh teow was already sold out 😅 )

Seafood Noodles Gan Heong Johor Bahru Taman Daya 颜香魚肉海鲜面

Food spotting in Taman Daya this sunny morning, and stumbled upon Gan Heong seafood noodle shop.

The Taste Restaurant Johor Bahru Sutera Skudai 新山的戏院餐厅 JK1329

Chef Stanley invited me to visit his newly opened restaurant named The Taste located walking distance from Sutera Mall (in Skudai, JB).

Singapore Chefs Association SCA Annual Dinner 2015 JK1328

Last night, the Singapore Chefs Association held it's annual dinner at Orchard Hotel Singapore. It was great family time for members and guests to mingle, catch up with old friends and make new connections to mark the end of another fruitful year for Singapore chefs.

Ipoh Kueh Teow Soup in Johor Bahru Sentosa New Star Coffee Shop 新星美食中心

Came back for a visit at one of my favourite stalls in JB, a small no name stall serving Ipoh style kueh teow soup at New Star Food Court coffee shop 新星美食中心 at Taman Sentosa.

Mana Lagi Nasi Lemak Johor Bahru Taman Perling

As usual, some customers were already waiting outside before Mana Lagi nasi lemak shop in Taman Perling was opened. That "empty" table on the right was already "choped" (reserved) by me with my haversack and water bottle.

Pasar Kia Laksa Johor Bahru Taman Daya 巴沙仔叻沙 JK1325

Stumbled upon this sharp looking curry laksa while food spotting at Taman Daya in the evening.

O Master Q Mee Hoon Kueh Johor Bahru 和合老夫子面粉果

A reader left a comment on my last post on mee hoon kueh in JB and alerted me to O Master Q mee hoon kueh shop 和合老夫子面粉果 in Taman Maju Jaya.

Yi Bao Mee Hoon Kueh near Pelangi Mall Johor Bahru 顺利面粉粿

Even though Johor Bahru is known as "Little Swatow" because its Chinese community is mainly Teochew, JB has more shops and stalls serving the Hokkien comfort food, mee hoon kueh than Singapore - which is mainly Hokkien.

Come and Eat Teochew Porridge Johor Bahru Stulang Laut 吃又来潮州粥

Finally, after missing this asam fish for three years, I got to taste it again at "Come and Eat" Teochew porridge shop at the old three storey flats in Stulang Laut, Johor Bahru.

Shi Wah Bak Kut Teh in Johor Bahru, Permas Jaya 古来世华肉骨茶

Kulai's famous brand of Sze Hwa bak kut teh has a few shops with the same name around Johor Bahru. The Shi Wah bak kut teh in Permas Jaya is probably the most popular (outside of Kulai).

Chap Chye Png Mixed Vegetable Economy Rice in Johor Bahru Desa Tebrau 旺来美食阁杂菜饭

While having breakfast at Kang Wei coffee shop in Taman Desa Tebrau this morning, we noticed that the mixed dishes or chap chye png 杂菜饭 stall here is very popular. Many people were eating in and more were taking away boxes of rice and mixed dishes.

Kip Wanton Mee Noodles Johor Bahru Bukit Indah 吉面家 JK1319

I was running errands in Bukit Indah today and so had breakfast at Restoran Kip wanton noodles 吉面家.