Our first stop for our day trip to Labis town in Johor was Ah Tee kway teow kia. We linked up here with Mr Tien, the admin of Facebook Page Labis Ecotourism.
Ah Tee kway teow kia along Jalan Segamat in Taman Eng Peng is a local favourite brekky and brunch hangout of Labis town folk. Many townspeople grow up with Ah Tee's KTK.
Founder Mr Tey learnt his craft from his Teochew sifu in Johor Bahru. Kway teow kia is a Teochew dish.
Back in Labis, Mr Tey set up Kedai Makan Ah Tee 30 years ago. He adapted Teochew kway teow kia to the taste of locals - the main Chinese community in Labis is Hokkien. Whereas JB Teochew folk like their KTK in a herbal soup (thng 湯), Labis Hokkien folk prefer their KTK in a dark sauce (lor 滷汁) with gooey syrupy texture.
Mdm Goh bathes the "spare parts" in Ah Tee's signature dark sauce just before serving. There are plenty of choices of pork "spare parts" and also other side dishes at Ah Tee kway teow kia.
Here are the dishes we had 👉
Whenever a KTK shop serves braised pig's ears.... I must have it lah.... 😄 I like the feel of the soft crunch when I bite into the cartilage. The spongy ear skin and fat is nice too.
Ah Tee's lor is sweet savoury with subtle herbal hints. The flavours are mild and well balanced, so we can still taste the natural sweetness of the pork.
Another of my favourite "spare part" is pig's tongue. The thinly sliced braised tongue is tender and have a subtle natural porky sweetness.
Of course, braised pig intestines is another Must at KTK shops. The spongy intestines are very well cleaned, so all we taste are the pork's subtle natural sweetness underlying the herbal sweet savoury braising stock and gravy (lor).
Then, there are non pork side dishes.
Braised tau kwa.
Braised eggs.
Braised fu chuk (bean curd skin).
Braised chicken claws. Good stuff 😄
Any good Hokkien eating place will have their version of fried spring roll 炸五香.
Ah Tee's signature fried chicken pancake.
The sides are nice but hor.... cannot claim to have eaten KTK without eating these, ok..... 😂
You can choose to have your kway teow in a soup.
Or, we can have our kway teow in dark gravy or "lor", which was what I had.
The kway teow (flat rice noodles) was tender and smooth. The lor was gooey and mildly sweet savoury. I enjoyed it.
The aftermath. It's a rout.
10-0 to Johor Kakis 😄
I was too busy taking photos and taste notes.
Didn't ask my friends how they found the food here but I guess, the empty plates and bowls spoke for themselves loud and clear 😄
👉 If you are a kway teow kia fan, you would love to try Ah Tee's Hokkien interpretation of the Teochew staple. If you are planning a trip to Labis town, you could plan to have your brekky at Ah Tee KTK. It's a good place to immerse in local food culture 😄 It's a big bonus too that Ah Tee's KTK is so delicious 😋
Mr Tien paid for our meal before we had a chance to. Thank you Mr Tien for your hospitality 😄
Restaurant name: Kedai Makan Ah Tee 亚弟果条仔
Address: 138, Jalan Segamat, Taman Eng Peng, Labis, Johor
GPS: 2°23'58.7"N 103°01'05.9"E | 2.399642, 103.018304
Tel: +6014 318 3828
Hours: 7:00am to 1:00pm (Thurs off) | 6:00pm to 11:00pm (Fri to Sun evening hours)
Non Halal
Date visited: 13 May 2017
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We like the KTK very much at this shop.
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