Over in East Malaysia, Sarawak is famous for their kolo mee while Sabah is well known for their Tuaran mee 斗亚兰面. But, while kolo mee stalls are rather common in Johor, there is none serving Tuaran mee - well, until now.
If you are from Sabah or miss Tuaran mee, we have good news for you. Now, you can get Tuaran mee at 林家美食館 in Taman Daya (at the same row of shop lots as Gim Cheng, the famous dim sum shop).
When you are at 林家美食館, you may notice that the dishes here remind you of the legendary 秋波 Qiu Bo Curry House's dishes. 林家美食館 owner, 林海發's father used to work at Qiu Bo Curry House.
林海發 is partnering Liew Ping Chong (left) to serve Tuaran mee at 林家美食館 - introducing the signature Sabah dish to JB.
Liew Ping Chong's in-laws in Sabah are third generation pioneer Tuaran mee makers and distributors in Tuaran town (since 1968). Created in Tuaran town by Hakka folks, Tuaran mee is now popular all over Sabah. Liew has set up a Tuaran mee factory in JB to make and distribute the famous Sabah noodles in Johor.
Tuaran mee is similar to wanton mee in that they are both made with just flour and eggs (with no water added).
But, Tuaran mee differs from wanton mee as it uses only egg yolk (not the whole egg). Tuaran mee does not use kansui 枧水 (potassium carbonate solution). Tuaran mee is thicker than wanton mee.
When you hold uncooked Tuaran mee to your nose, you will notice the pronounced fragrance of chicken eggs.
At the moment, 林家美食館 serves two Tuaran mee dishes. (More will be added later.)
招牌斗亚兰面 This is fried Tuaran mee topped with egg and pork slices fried with rice wine and soy sauce. (Price RM8.80.)
The Tuaran mee felt soft and spongy. The main flavour is savouriness from the soya sauce used to fry the noodles and the soya sauce used to fry the pork. The fried egg gives a bit of eggy taste to the dish.
Wat Tan style Tuaran Mee 滑蛋斗亚兰面 (price RM8.80).
The Tuaran mee is deep fried in hot oil to a crisp. It is then smothered in a drippy sauce made with eggs, pork slices, greens and soya sauce. (Similar to Cantonese wat tan hor except that fried Tuaran mee is used instead of kway teow rice noodles.)
The deep fried Tuaran mee are crisp and softened slightly by bathing in the drippy sauce. The main flavour is savouriness from the fried noodles, and sauce. There is an underlying sweetness also from the noodles, eggs and pork.
I asked Liew what is the most basic way of eating Tuaran mee. 林海發 boiled the Tuaran mee and just tossed it with soy sauce and aromatic oil.
The thick heavy noodles have an al dente type of firm tenderness. The soy sauce and aromatic oil are savoury but I could taste the rich egginess in the noodles.
I like this way of eating Tuaran mee best (but this is not on the menu as Tuaran mee is never sold this way in Tuaran town 😄).
👉 Now you can get a taste of Sabah's famous Tuaran mee 斗亚兰面 in JB at 林家美食館 in Taman Daya.
If you miss Tuaran mee or just want to know what this famous Sabah noodle is, now you know where to get it in JB.
🍜 You can buy uncooked Tuaran mee at RM0.70 to RM0.90 per piece (depending on numbers).
Note: I also tasted some of 林家美食館's numerous zhi char dishes like curry pork, stir fried fish head, fish head soup etc and will cover them in a separate post.
Disclosure: Thank you 林海發 and Liew for your hospitality.
Restaurant name: 林家美食館
Address: 24, Jalan Sagu 36, Taman Daya, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°32'59.6"N 103°45'52.2"E | 1.549886, 103.764499
Tel: 011 1079 1162
Hours: 11:00am to 10:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 30 Oct 2017
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Went and tried the fried tuaran mee. Very small portion. But noodles have a rich eggy flavour.
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