Botak Curry Mee Kluang 摩达咖喱面 Daughter's Stall @ Mengkibol River Hawker Centre

One of my favourite places in Kluang is the sleepy row of old shops and eateries at Jalan Panggung along the narrow winding Mengkibol River. There are a few old stalwarts of the Kluang food scene here - one of them is Botak curry mee 摩达咖喱面. Everyday, locals still saunter in casually as they had done since decades past. It's very cosy and relaxing here - time, blood pressure and heart rate all slow down like the lazy, almost still water in the snaking Mengkibol River 😌

Friendly Ms Loh, third generation owner of Kluang's most famous curry mee. The curry mee stall was started by her paternal grandmother carrying the pots of curry across her petite shoulders. Ms Loh's dad, in his 80s, still runs another shop with her younger brother.

A post shared by Tony Johor Kaki (@johorkaki) on Jun 19, 2017 at 8:43pm PDT

Gerai Makan Botak is now run by Ms Loh. The original Botak curry mee was founded by Ms Loh's paternal grandmother who sold curry mee from pots slung across her shoulders at least 60-70 years ago. Ms Loh's dad who is Botak, now in his 80s, then sold curry mee at this Mengkibol riverside stall. Now, Ms Loh's dad and younger brother run the Botak Curry Mee shop at Jalan Kampung Paya, Kluang.




I just had a small serving of Botak's curry mee today as I wanted to save stomach space for the day's food hunt. It's a simple looking curry mee but I can smell the aromatic spices when it arrived at the table.



The soul of any curry mee is, of course, the curry. Botak's curry is a nice balance of mild savoury-spicy-sweet. The coconut milk which held the spices and chili together was neither too thick nor overly greasy. Botak's curry tastes different from curry in other places like JB or Singapore. I enjoyed it. You may or may not like it but do try it to know what Kluang style curry mee tastes like.



The ingredients like house made char siew, taukwa, taupok etc are pretty nice too. I had mee kia (幼面) instead of the usual bee hoon and yellow noodles. It's a nice change 😄



I like Botak's mildly savoury spicy sambal chili sauce. I ate the sambal chili together with each mouthful of noodles as it enhances its taste. But, I did not mix it into the curry as I like the finely tuned curry as it is.

There is free parking adjacent to the row of food shops but park at your own risk lah 😄 Coupon street side parking is plentiful here.

Read more about Ms Loh's father's shop 👈 click

More good food to eat in Kluang 👈 click



Restaurant name: Gerai Makan Botak  摩达咖喱面
Address: Jalan Panggung, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang (Mengkibol River Hawker Centre)  
Map: http://g.co/maps/a7nc7 
GPS: 2.029777,103.320971  
Tel: +60 16-951 4916 (Botak & son's Jalan Kampung Paya shop)
Hours: 7:30am to 2:00pm

Non Halal




Date visited: 20 Jun 2017


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