Restoran Pekin Sutera Johor Bahru 五福北京城 • Long Term Review

You know, I get requests to recommend restaurants for parties all the time. I can tell you, it is a lot of pressure and a heavy responsibility. 

I mean, what if the restaurant didn't turn out as well as expected? You know... taste is subjective, people have different ideas of what is good value, and sometimes, even the best restaurants can have a bad day. So many things can go wrong 😅

For this year's kaki kaki Chinese New Year gathering, I suggested Restoran Pekin. We picked the Sutera branch because it was the most accessible for most of us.

Restoran Pekin is not a budget venue. So expectations were high. I was betting on it from past experience - Restoran Pekin food quality had been consistent, the environment was well kept, service was above average, and all in, I rated it as good value for what we are getting 物有所值.

But, I haven't been here since before COVID-19, I so was keeping my fingers crossed🤞

Sutera Mall had been majorly overhauled. Much brighter now and there are many more F & B outlets.

Restoran Pekin Sutera's facade looked much the same as I remembered it. That's comforting actually 🤭

The interior and ambiance felt familiar, much the same as far as I can recall.

It was nearly full house on this 10th day of Chinese New Year.

The adjacent dining hall was also well patronised. Restoran Pekin Sutera has a few banquet halls and private rooms as well as common dining rooms.

Nice crunchy fried peanut. Fried to just the right crispness, almost no oil on the shells, fresh with no rancid taste.

I heard some people say that the quality of humble tidbits on the table is telling on the quality of a restaurant. If the kitchen bothers to serve good quality tidbits, it means that they take pride even in little things. That will show in their main dishes.

First test passed OK 👍

一口鲍发财鱼生

A good rendition of customary Yee Sang.

Traditional, fresh, good quality ingredients. Crunchy shredded vegetables. Spin dried, so no wet vegetables. Sauce was well blended with savoury, sweet and tangy flavours.

Nothing fancy nor extravagant. A good start.

深海鱼飘花胶汤

Stacks of super umami savoury flavours in the thick creamy soup. There must be plenty of dried seafood inside. Three kinds of fish maw and a mushroom.

Three strikes, Pekin was on a roll.

日式酱烤鲤雪鱼 Grilled cod fish with teriyaki sauce.

Nicely done.

The outside was seared to crisp golden brown while inside, the thick white meat was flaky, soft tender moist and sweet. No hint of fishy taste at all.

The teriyaki sauce was gently savoury with traces of sweet.

We were reminded of the nice cod fish dish we had together at STAR Coffee House in Kluang.

红烧墨西哥鲍鱼伴海参

Braised Mexican Abalone with Sea Cucumber.

Meaty tender chewy, firm spongy bite size pieces of deep umami and savoury flavours.

Nicely done stewed sea cucumber. They still had a bit of subtle bite, not completely limp or soft. The savoury sauce had nice layers of umami and savouriness at just the right intensity for me.

香菇辣酱大明虾

Braised prawns with spicy mushroom sauce.

Good size prawns. Meat slightly shrivelled from frying. I like the flavour of the savoury, spicy, sweet sauce which I enjoyed neat as it was not overly intense. Lots of sweet caramelised onion in the sauce which I was enjoying neat.

港式有米乳猪 Roasted Suckling Piglet with Rice Base.

It's a roasted piglet over a flatten mound of fried rice.

The fried rice was nice - had a bit of wok hey, felt a bit greasy though the grains still separated easily. Flavour was mainly umami savoury from various preserved meats like diced waxed sausage and Chinese ham.

The menu said "roasted" but there might be some oil basting or frying involved (I didn't verify with the staff).

Cut into small flat pieces like little red brown tiles with a shiny sheen 亮皮. The skin felt light, crisp, softly crunchy, and released a bit of oil with each bite (hence the possibility of oil basting or frying - I need to verify).

Nice savoury toasty flavours from the skin with subtle milky sweet taste from the white meat. Not much fat.

We all love this, and made up our minds there and then, that we have betted on the right place 😀

雪媚娘 Cream filled "snow mochi". Nice soft gummy glutinous rice balls filled with mango cream. 

桃胶交炖豆浆(才遗) Soy milk with soft jelly-like peach gum.

No one complained 😀 Everyone agreed that we made the right choice (even though we had to make the effort to come in from Singapore).

Restoran Pekin met expectations again. Have been consistently good since I first tasted their food in 2012.

Mission accomplished for me 😅 🙏

It was a very busy lunch time on the tenth day of Chinese New Year. There was sufficient wait staff though they were young. They did their best. Responded promptly to requests and filled our tea cups constantly. With a little more time on the job, they will add even more to the Pekin experience.

Restaurant name: Restoran Pekin Sutera

Address: Sutera Mall, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

Public Bus: Bus J34 shuttles between JB Sentral and Sutera Mall. Travel time is about 30 minutes. Scheduled interval is 20 minutes

Tel: +607 558 1818

Hours: 11:30am - 10pm

Written by Tony Boey on 27 Feb 2026

Who is Tony Johor Kaki?

✍ 1 Dec 2017. Pekin restaurants in Johor Bahru JB really don't need any introduction. Pekin is known for quality and consistency though its pricing is a little premium. JB families rely on Pekin to deliver on special occasions like weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and other major celebrations.

Other than banquets, Pekin restaurant is also popular for regular lunch and dinners. We go to Pekin restaurants occasionally for their signature dishes, one at a time.

Live seafood. We will try them all, in time, one dish at a time 😃

Today, we were at the Pekin outlet at Sutera Mall for their suckling pig which is a staple at Chinese banquets. Pekin have roast suckling pig on the regular menu, so walk in customers can have this without pre-ordering. 

A post shared by Tony Johor Kaki (@johorkaki) on Nov 28, 2017 at 10:50pm PST

We had half a Hong Kong style roasted suckling pig 港式光面猪 to share (RM108++ at 2017 price). The piglet was spread out flat and charcoal grilled to golden brown outside with a bit of char.

The golden brown skin is crispy and shatters to the bite like a toasted biscuit. The thin layer of baby fat is soft and the flesh is firmer, though still tender and moist.

There is a mild savouriness from the marinate brushed on the skin and meat. The fat has a subtle sweetness. There was also a discernible (but, not overwhelming) porky gaminess from the fat.

The hor fan 河粉 (RM10++ at 2017 price) was aromatic and the kway teow noodles had a slight toasty flavour from good wok hei. The thick smooth sauce was mildly savoury sweet. The dish was let down a little by averagely fresh prawns.

Foie Gras De Fried Rice 鵝肝帶子炒飯 (price RM20 per standard rice bowl in 2017). The savouriness from goose liver and cubed scallops was well balanced with sweetness from the tender nutty rice. It's a nice occasional indulgence.

Fried Organic 青龍菜 (RM28++ at 2017 price), soft limp crunchy greens in a savoury sweet garlicky sauce.

Our meals at Restoran Pekin's flagship outlet at Taman Sentosa 👈 click

Restaurant name: Restoran Pekin (Sutera outlet) 五福北京城

Address: 1, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4, Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai, Johor
GPS: 1°31'01.3"N 103°40'12.4"E | 1.517028, 103.670123
Tel: 07 558 1818
Hours: 11:00am - 2:30pm | 5:30pm - 10:30pm (no dinner on Sat & Sun)

Non Halal

Written by Tony Boey on 29 Nov 2017

🎗 Opinions in this blog are all my own as no restaurant or stall paid money to be featured