Found my way to Ah Kim rojak stall in Pontian's Taman Megah, thanks to reader TzeXuan's suggestion. The 40+ year old stall is a local favourite and we love it too 😋
To find Ah Kim's rojak stall, set your WAZE App to "168 Kopitiam 26 Jalan Megah 2 Pontian Johor". It's about 10 minutes drive from downtown Pontian, which is worth the side trip if you are a die hard, old school rojak fan.
The younger Mr. Chong runs the stall now. His dad Ah Kim has retired after nearly 50 years.
The key to Ah Kim's rojak are his sauces and peanuts. Ah Kim makes his own blend of fermented prawn sauce, dark sauce and toasted crushed peanuts. You can buy these at the stall to make your own rojak at home.
When at Ah Kim's rojak, try the spicy version - Ah Kim uses raw chili for his rojak which gives a zesty, sharper hot sting. Love it.
Mr. Chong folds fresh cucumber, pineapple, blanched bean sprout, bangkuang (Chinese turnip), you char kueh, mashed chili, etc with fermented prawn paste, blended dark soy sauce and crushed peanuts to make his delectable rojak (which literally means "to mix" in Malay).
It's a tasty ugly mess (paraphrasing Anthony Bourdain who described char kway teow as the "tastiest ugly mess"). I think rojak and char kway teow "got fight" for the title of tastiest and ugliest. Actually, I think rojak win 😜
In the ugly heap tarred with thick dark sauces was a jumble of textures - crunchy juicy cucumber, juicy Pekan Nanas pineapple, Chinese turnip, blanched bean sprouts, nutty crushed peanuts, spongy chewy you char kway etc.
You can smell the
In the mouth, it's a blend of well balanced tangy, sweet, savoury, nutty and spicy flavours from the prawn sauce, dark soy sauce, crushed nuts, and all the cut vegetables. The intensity is robust but not so strong that it overwhelms the natural flavours of the fresh vegetables - we can still enjoy the vegetables' natural sweetness, zest etc. You can taste the zesty mashed chili padi too 😋
Ah Kim has a few other dishes, all based on his blend of fermented prawn sauce, dark soy sauce and crush peanuts.
This is you char kway (Chinese deep fried crullers). All the flavours from the sauces kaw kaw (thick and strong) on the you char kway.
Tau Kwa Pau - a fried bean curd slit and stuffed with rojak. Nice 😋
This is unique, created by Ah Kim.
It's just a flimsy excuse to indulge in more of Ah Kim's rojak sauce 😄 The thick gooey sauce is folded between a thin slice of crunchy juicy bangkuang.
The savoury, sweet, spicy, nutty rojak sauce is complemented by sweetness from the bangkuang.
Not enough? You can have Ah Kim's rojak sauce drizzled over crispy Pontian fish crackers 😄
4-Star (out of 5). There are not many food stalls on tricycles left in Johor (none in Singapore). I love Ah Kim's rojak in Pontian because the homemade rojak sauce is robust but well balanced, allowing me to enjoy the fresh vegetables' natural taste and sweetness. Eating great rojak standing beside a street side tricycle stall under a shady tree, struggling helplessly with the sticky thick pungent sauce dribbling down your hand, is a priceless experience. Standby some wet ones 😂
Restaurant name: 笨珍啊金罗惹 Pontian Ah Kim Rojak stall
Address: Along Jalan Megah 11, Taman Megah, Pontian, Johor (across Jalan Megah Utama from Yilufa 168 coffee shop)
GPS: 1°30'09.7"N 103°23'13.8"E 1.502691, 103.387178
Hours: 12:00 noon to 5:00pm (Mon & Tues off)
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Date visited: 6 Dec 2017
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Rojas sauce on a slice of turnip is not new. I had 40 years ago in my primary school.
ReplyDelete