Laksa, Mee Hoon Kueh & Lor Mee @ Restoran Yew Swee in Johor Bahru

Restoran Yew Swee | 64, Jalan Harimau Tarum, Taman Century, 80300 Johor Bahru | ☎ +6016 760 6409 ⏰ 7:30am - 4pm (Sun off)

✍ 27 Sep 2024. Yew Swee Laksa is one of the most popular among Johoreans since the 1990s.

Yew Swee is a nondescript little shop with sun beaten signage outside. It is at Jalan Harimau Tarum which runs parallel to the north heading Tebrau Highway. 

Typical spartanly furnished shoplot eatery. The morning sun beats down fiercely into the shop. Try to sit as deep inside as possible, if you don't like sunrays in your face while you eat. 

Boss 刘育南's family hails from Penang. The laksa is lady boss 黄细妹's mum's heirloom recipe. In their seventies now, the 刘 family still starts their work day at 4am preparing their food. 

Daughter 刘美玲 runs the branch outlet in Permas Jaya. 

The name Yew Swee 友水 came from the Cantonese phase "有水 have water" which means "cash flowing like water" - always a good thing when running a business 😀

I had the chor bee hoon (rice vermicelli). Generic, done a little firm tender, just nice. There's also crunchy juicy bean sprouts. 

The curry is the soul of the dish. Savoury umami, coconut milk sweet, mildly spicy, full flavoured yet not creamy. Yew Swee uses more than a dozen different spices in their rempah and a umami dried fish stock. The flavours are rich, have depth yet well balanced. Just nice for me. 

There's a box set of sambal, cut chili and lime on every table. The moment I lifted the lid of the box, a waft of pungent savoury umami and spicy aroma bursted from the sambal. 

Yew Swee's house made sambal is a winner. Salty savoury umami sweet with sharp spicy kick that lingers briefly. 

Use this sambal in the curry if you want to ratchet up the spicy kick a couple or more notches. 

I ordered the smallest serving (RM11 at 2024 price). There's (clockwise) soy bean curd skin, fried fish ball, blood cockle, and tau kwa (fried bean curd). All generic but tasty tender and played their complementary roles well. 

But the cockles need a separate mention. 

Yew Swee uses good quality, full flavour, fresh blood cockles though they are average in size.

The blood cockles were laboriously shelled by sore hands at the stall, one cockle at a time, so every one is fresh and rich with flavour 👍

Nothing fancy, just the same good old laksa since 1990. So yeah, double checked, double confirmed, still one of the best curry laksa of Johor in my book.

Opens at 7:30am, located along the Tebrau Highway just 10 minutes drive from JB CIQ, Yew Swee is a convenient breakfast spot for the drive north (to Malacca, KL, etc). 

Besides their signature laksa, Yew Swee also serves lor mee, mee hoon kueh, kway teow noodle soup, fried fritters, etc. All of which are pretty good too.

Restaurant name: Restoran Yew Swee

Address: 64, Jalan Harimau Tarum, Taman Century, 80300 Johor Bahru

Tel: +6016 760 6409

Hours: 7:30am - 4pm (Sun off)

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Written by Tony Boey on 27 Sep 2024

✍7 Aug 2018. When I heard that Restoran Yew Swee, one of my favourite laksa places in Johor serves laksa mee hoon kueh, I chiong 冲 (rush) there as soon as I could. I love laksa, I love mee hoon kueh, so I was eager to find out how my two favourite things work together in my favourite JB laksa shop 😄

As good Singaporeans, we hedged our bets by ordering both the curry laksa and the usual clear soup versions to try 😝



Don't be fooled by this light bodied, clear soup - it packed a solid, well balanced savoury sweet punch with crustacean (prawn) umami 💪



The freshly rolled, hand torn, irregular shaped mee hoon kueh had a nice squeaky tender firm bite. It had the taste and aroma of freshly kneaded dough which I like.



To me, have or don't have sayur manis is the line I draw between good and not so good mee hoon kueh 😛 

via GIPHY

Cai sim 菜心 don't cut it.

Now, to the very reason why we rushed here this morning.

Oh... that same famous Yew Swee laksa stock - that same prawny umami stock layered thick with creamy fresh coconut milk, jammed with loads of spices - it's hard to equal, let alone beat this.



All the usual curry laksa ingredients like fresh blood cockles, tau kwa, fried tofu skin, fried fish balls, chopped laksa leaves etc were all there.



The freshly made mee hoon kueh was nice. The curry laksa stock was very nice. But, personally they don't really work well together. In my old rigid mind, mee hoon kueh with clear soup is still best. Curry laksa with bee hoon or yellow noodles is best. Don't mix them together 😬

But please, you must try the mee hoon kueh laksa for yourself 😄



Since we were here, we couldn't resist ordering Yew Swee's lor mee.

via GIPHY

I just got this feeling that it will also knock your socks off 😄

It's the same solid umami loaded stock, browned with dark soy sauce and thickened with starch. It packed a umami punch that floored me every time.



Wait. There's more. In the bowl of noodles, there were stewed (braised) minced pork that added another layer of savoury sweetness and substance to the dish.

In my mind, that is no better lor mee in JB than this at the moment.



Yew Swee sells fried yong tau foo pieces to go with their laksa and noodle soup, but what caught my attention today (2018) were those oversized freshly fried prawn crackers.



The huge prawn cracker was crispy, savoury and sweet from the chopped scallion and prawns embedded inside. It was also studded with bits of chili pepper. It's worth a try, though a bit greasy when it cooled down. Price, RM2 a piece (2018 price).



Restoran Yew Swee is a typical Malaysian style casual dining place. No frills, basic furnishings - people are here only for great food at a good price.

Pro Tip: Try to sit as far inside as possible as the blazing sun beats down rather harshly at the front of the shop.



4 Stars (out of 5). Amazing little shop in Johor Bahru that offers a surprising range of umami flavour packed staples. Restoran Yew Swee has the top band of laksa, kway teow soup, lor mee, mee hoon kueh, and their oversized prawn cracker is very good too.

As a fan of Yew Swee, I have been to the shop many times since 2012, and wrote about it a few times 👈 click

Restaurant name: Restoran Yew Swee 友水  
Address: 64, Jalan Harimau Tarom, Taman Century, Johor Bahru  
GPS: 1.485273,103.765477 / 1°29'07.0"N 103°45'55.7"E  
Waze: Restoran Yew Swee

Tel: +6016 760 6409

Hours: Daily 8:00am to 4:00pm (closed on Sundays)   

Non Halal   

Date visited: Numerous times since 17 Jan 2012

Yew Swee Laksa now has an outlet in Permas Jaya run by the founder's daughter.

Address: 8, Jalan Permas 10/5, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor

Hours: 8:30am - 8:00pm

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Written by Tony Boey on 8 July 2018 | Reviewed 31 Jul 2022 | 3 May 2023

🎗Opinions in this independent blog are all my own as no restaurant paid money to be featured. To ensure neutrality, this blog is powered by voluntary contributions (any amount) from appreciative readers to Tony Boey Johor Kaki PAYNOW 96888768 in Singapore $.