When buddy Jeffery suggested meeting for lunch at Guan Heng restaurant 源兴餐室 for fish head bee hoon, I wasn't expecting such a wide ranging menu.
源兴餐室 is a simple little eatery in Johor Jaya Bakawali serving a range of Hainanese homestyle dishes.
Michael Mok has been running Guan Heng for seven years after taking over the restaurant founded by his dad 30 years ago in 1987.
When I asked Michael what stock he uses for his dishes, he took out a large tin of powdered ti poh (dried flat fish). He doesn't use stock bones (nor MSG, needless to say).
We started with Guan Heng's signature fish bee hoon soup. We also had the mee suah version.
Customers have the option to spike up their fish bee hoon/ mee suah with Martell VSOP.
The broth is light, gently savoury sweet as it is just based on ti poh powder and fresh fish, pork for flavour. The little dose of Martell VSOP added a bit of whisky kick to the soup. The soup is highly drinkable - I drank up all the soup in everybody's bowl 😄
The grouper fish, lean pork and (well cleaned) kidney were fresh and I can taste their natural sweetness.
Between bee hoon and mee suah, I prefer the latter as I like its softer texture and sweeter taste.
We had a serving of Wen Chang style fried fish head 文昌干魚頭.
The grouper fish head is cut into large chunks and fried in premium bean paste 海天黄豆酱 and Chinese cooking wine 绍兴花雕酒.
The tender juicy grouper fish meat is fully wrapped with a wet coat of savoury bean paste. The salty taste of the bean paste is mild, so we can taste the grouper fish's natural sweetness.
Hainanese style fried pork.
Fresh lean pork is cut into strips, marinated in nam yue (fermented bean paste) and deep fried to a golden brown crisp outside.
Mildly savoury on the crispy outside. Inside, it is tender and juicy with a bit of natural sweetness.
Simple fluffy fried rice with diced lup cheong, char siew, eggs and dark soya sauce.
👉 Guan Heng 源兴餐室 is a simple eatery for Hainanese homestyle dishes. Mild tasting flavours based on natural and fresh ingredients. Good place for a tasty, healthful, light meal.
Restaurant name: Restoran Guan Heng 源兴餐室
Address: 106, Jalan Bakawali 49, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°32'31.9"N 103°47'38.5"E | 1.542189, 103.794035
Tel: 07-355 6740
Hours: 7:00am to 3:00pm (Sunday off)
Non Halal
Date visited: 26 Sep 2017
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文昌干魚頭....Wonder is there such a dish in Hainan China?
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