Ah Chuan in JB is One of my Favourite Fish Soup Stalls 阿全鱼湯⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you have been following my blog, you will know that I am a big fan of simple fish soups. I find a good bowl of fish soup with a bowl of plain white rice very satisfying and comforting. One of my favourites is Ah Chuan in Johor Bahru - it is just a small stall in Starfood coffee shop in Taman Pelangi where the (Monday and Thursday) morning market is located (so parking can be challenging on those days).



I first met Ah Chuan (and his younger brother) back in 2013 (5 years ago), when he first started out with his own stall at Shang Ji coffee shop at Jalan Lumba Kuda in JB.



In 2015, Ah Chuan moved to Starfood Corner coffee shop at Jalan Seri Pelangi, where he is now.



Starfood Corner is on Jalan Sri Pelangi where the (Monday & Thursday) Pelangi pasar pagi is located.



I like it that Ah Chuan uses fresh fish which he fillets every day.



Ah Chuan makes a simple stock of chicken bones and fish bones. It has a mild savoury sweet taste that complements the delicate natural sweet flavour of fresh fish.



Just before serving the bowl of fish soup, Ah Chuan sprinkles a spoonful of ti poh powder 材魚粉 into it. It is dried sole fish, toasted and powdered. It adds a mild umami savoury salty flavour to the soup which enhances its taste.



Ah Chuan garnishes his fish soup with julienned fresh ginger, strips of salt pickled Chinese mustard, fresh tomatoes, scallion, lettuce and cilantro before serving.



All these, together with the fresh fish are finished in high heat before serving in heat retaining clay pots.



Ah Chuan's stock has layers of mild savoury sweetness from the fish bones, chicken bones, ti poh powder and fresh fish slices inside. The garnishes like julienned ginger etc added accents to the stock's gentle flavours.



Ah Chuan has red snapper, black snapper, grouper, sea bass etc. As they are fresh, they are always nice.



Nowadays, I seldom ask for fish tail or head, but go for fish belly instead. It has a layer of fat so it is the smoothest and tenderest part of a fish. Fish belly sometimes has very subtle underlying flavours which makes it more interesting.

A post shared by Tony Johor Kaki (@johorkaki) on Jan 10, 2018 at 10:53pm PST

Ah Chuan also has fresh fish maw 鱼漂 鱼鳔 which are fish swim bladders. Ah Chuan harvests these from the fish he fillets everyday. The swim bladders are dried and then fried for use in fish maw soup.



I will ask for fresh fish maw soup whenever it is available 😄



Fresh fish swim bladder is soft and tender like a firmer kway teow, and has a subtle sweetness.

(Ah Chuan also has fish roe. I want to try that next time.)

Please recommend more fish soup places for me in Singapore and Malaysia to taste and share. Thank you.



Restaurant name: Ah Chuan Fish Soup 阿全鱼湯



Address: Restoran Starfood Corner. 124-126, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor 
GPS: 1°28'42.8"N 103°46'32.9"E | 1.478543, 103.775805 
Tel: 017-7780087 
Hours: 8:00am to 1:00pm  

Non Halal 



Date visited: 25 Dec 2017, 11 Jan 2018

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