For quite some time already, while running errands in Taman Molek, I would pass by Wo Jia 我家 wanton mee. Every time, I was attracted by the comforting smell of dried anchovies churning in the large pot of steamy soup. I always made a mental note to come back after my errands but never did; always rushing off to get the next thing done. This morning, I finally tried Wo Jia wanton mee, and enjoyed it.
Wo Jia is a simple, low profile shop lot restaurant, a couple of doors away from the HSBC branch in Taman Molek. More or less zero social media signature but Wo Jia is well patronised by locals.
As usual in Johor Bahru, Wo Jia serves "white" and "black" wanton mee. "White" means lard with a bit of soy sauce. "Black" means that black soy sauce is the main flavouring. I opted for "white" with a bit of chili sauce.
Wanton mee of course comes with a small bowl of wantons and soup.
Where Johor wanton mee stalls differ from their Hong Kong and Singapore counterparts is they often also sell Hakka yong tau foo. Customers often eat their egg noodles with yong tau foo pieces as side dishes. I've learnt to appreciate this way of eating wanton mee too.
The first thing that struck me about Wo Jia's wanton mee was the alluring aroma of lard when I tossed the egg noodles in the sauce. There was just enough lard and sauce to coat the noodles and not any more - so it required a thorough tossing.
The egg noodles have a gentle nice springy crunch to the bite. I enjoyed the lardy sweet savoury spicy taste of the lardy sauce coated egg noodles.
The wantons were old school - smooth soft envelopes with simple tender sweet fresh minced pork seasoned with sesame oil, light soy sauce and white pepper. The char siew and fish cake slices were average.
Boss Ah Meng told me that he gets his egg noodles from a
Ah Meng said they buy slabs of fresh pork and use part of the fats to render the lard, hence their lard is fresher and cleaner tasting. My tongue can attest to that.
I love Wo Jia's Hakka yong tau foo. Fresh vegetables like brinjal, bitter gourd, lady's finger and chili pepper are generously stuffed with minced pork and then deep fried. The yong tau foo pieces were all delicious. The tenderly juicy minced pork filling was savoury sweet. Nice.
And so, Hakka yong tau foo and Cantonese wanton mee got along very well and they got married in Johor 😄
Information for you 👉 Eating wanton mee with yong tau foo is not uncommon in Johor. You can get it at many places in JB. Wo Jia is a good option when you are in Taman Molek. One of my favourite places in JB to get this is Poh Kee at Kampung Baru Pandan 👈 click. Poh Kee's egg noodles and sauce are tastier to me but I like Wo Jia's Hakka yong tau foo better.
Restaurant name: Restoran Wo Jia 我家
Address: 32, Jalan Molek 1/10, Taman Molek, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°31'45.5"N 103°47'28.2"E 🌐 1.529314, 103.791169
Hours: Breakfast | Lunch
Non Halal
Date visited: 26 Dec 2019
Surprise Hong Kongers?
ReplyDeleteFunfact:
1. Wanton noodles always served in soup or "Wet" in HKG
2. Dry style wanton noodles is an invention from the Nanyang.
Of cause HKGers will be surprise seeing "Dry" wontan noodles, that isn't available in Fragrant Harbour
Eat with yong tau foo? What wanton mee blasphemy!
DeleteSame goes with sambal chilli with chi cheong fun 豬腸粉 or ketchup with wanton noodle. These are shockers to our HKGer friends, but super-shiok to locals accustome to it.
DeleteYTF釀豆腐 with wanton noodles = Blasphemy?? Maybe a slight exaggeration.
Surprisingly, 釀豆腐 is not common in HK, although many NT villages are/were predominantly Hakka.
Case study:
Buddy went into a HKG 茶餐廳 (Cha Chan Teng).
Waiter came to take order.
Out stammer 雪茶唔要雪 (Ice Chinese tea, with no ice).
Questions: At least 2 faux pas made. Name them if you can.
🤓
ReplyDelete