Sang Heng Teochew Noodles at Permas Jaya • Formerly at OCBC Tan Hiok Nee 甡兴茶餐室

✍️ 5 Aug 2024. The legendary Sang Heng in the fourth generation now is today located in Permas Jaya.

I've been a fan of Sang Heng Teochew mee since their days at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee at the dingy gritty old shop next to the downtown OCBC office. 

I like the rustic atmospherics at the hot and humid shop with folding tables and flimsy plastic chairs spilling over along the sun beaten five foot way. 

All that is gone now at this spanking clean, new air con shop. 

Truth be told, we hesitated a while whether to spend our limited daily calorie budget here.

Anyway, came all the way here already, I just ordered a medium serving for three of us to share. 

We requested for extra sharing bowls and they were given willingly without question. (It's a graciousness I don't take for granted 🙏 ) 

The serving looked like the old days but the test of the Teochew mee is in the eating. 

Glad that it's good like the old days 👍

The noodles were soft crunchy. Heavily laced with lard, blended with savoury soy sauce, vinegar and a bit of optional chili sauce (we requested). 

The same tiny firm tender sweet shrimps.

The firm tender housemade fish balls were denser than I remember but still just as sweet. 

Praise the lard. Fresh lardy flavours and fragrance burst from the firm crackly, grease filled "popcorn". 

The thin fish cake slices, floppy soft, with nice savoury sweet flavour. 

The soup had the same old flavour packed, robust crustacean umami in a medium body.

A lot has changed since the Jalan Tan Hiok Nee days but at least the legacy in the bowl lives on, and I can't ask for more than that. 

Restaurant name: Kedai Makanan Sang Heng 甡興茶餐室

Address: 16, Jalan Permas 9/2, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor

Tel: +6016 723 2989

Hours: 7:30am - 4pm (Mon off)

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New generation of Sang Heng when they were still at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee 👈 click

My first time at Sang Heng in 2012 (one of my first blog posts) 👈 click

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Written by Tony Boey on 5 Aug 2024

✍ 10 Mar 2016. (Update: Uncle Seng passed away on 17 Dec 2016.) I missed Uncle Ah Seng's old style Teochew noodles at his little stall at Sang Heng kopitiam at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in old downtown JB.

Most Anak Johor knows Uncle Ah Seng's Teochew noodle stall. Uncle Ah Seng has been selling Teochew noodles for 50 years, and the last 30 years at this same spot in old downtown JB.



From this same spot, Uncle Ah Seng watched the ebb and flow of time and fortunes in this buzzing corner of Johor Bahru. A lot of things have changed in this past 50 years. Fortunately, Uncle Ah Seng's old style noodles have remained much the same.



Some of Uncle Ah Seng's fans had been with him since he started 50 years ago. Uncle Ah Seng's stall also enjoys a constant renewal of young customers.



The things that go into each bowl of Sang Heng's traditional Teochew noodles. Hand made fish balls, fish cake slices, boiled minced lean pork, pork lard, blended sauce, chopped scallion, little shrimps, and chili for those who want a bit more spicy kick.



Uncle Ah Seng's fish balls are hand made every day with fresh Yellowtail fish.



My bowl of mee pok tah, JB style.  The broad flat noodles were tossed in a blended sauce with a generous splash of lard. The yellow mound was simply garnished with chopped scallion, pork mince, fish balls, fish cake slices and lard crackles.



Uncle Ah Seng cooks the noodles soft al dente.

Whereas the Singapore version of lo mien 干撈麵 is tossed with a blended sauce of robust savoury spicy and often sourish flavours, the JB version opts for the opposite direction - tending towards a gentle sweetness with lard and crustacean savouriness, and a bit of spiciness for those who must have it. I liken the Singapore style as "black" and the JB version as "white".



The small marble sized fish balls have a soft bounce to the bite and releases a gentle fresh fish flavour when the tiny fish ball breaks.



These little shrimps have a nice tender bounce to the bite and a gentle crustacean sweetness.



Ah... those little fresh lard crackles. They are like oily peanuts which burst aromatic flavoursome perfume when you crush them between your teeth.



Sang Heng's soup is da power. Made with pork socket bones, shrimps, anchovies, dried sole fish and others. The broth has a medium body and layers of savouriness and sweetness. The broth is aromatic and I can smell the prawns used in the broth. It is also not overly greasy. This is addictive.



I know I shouldn't but I couldn't ........ resist another bowl of Uncle Ah Seng's noodles.... this time, a mee kia (slender noodles). It's exactly the same except for the type of noodles - so it's all down to personal preference. So, I can't really be faulted for having the best of both worlds :-D

Next round, I shall go for Uncle Ah Seng's kway teow soup which I know is also wonderful.



->> If you are a noodle lover, you got to check out Uncle Ah Seng's delicious old school Teochew mee. Not many places in JB or Singapore does noodles this good any more.

Restaurant name: Kedai Makanan Sang Heng 甡兴茶餐室
Address: 7 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Bahru Town (beside OCBC JB branch)
GPS: 1.456829,103.764747 / 1°27'24.6"N 103°45'53.1"E
Hours: Daily 7:00am to 1:00pm (closed on Saturdays)

Non Halal



Dates visited: 12 Jan 2012, 19 Jan 2012, 21 Aug 2012, 10 Mar 2016

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