Hainanese Mutton Soup & Chicken Rice in Restoran Kg Baru Pandan, Johor Bahru

Celine Chong's post in 吃的平台 Facebook group brought us to this cheap and good Hainanese mutton soup shop in Kampung Baru Pandan in JB. Two weeks later, we came back for their Hainanese chicken rice. It was good too 😋



Restoran Kg Baru Pandan is a bare bones kind of eatery, common in small town or rural Malaysia. It's not very inviting unless you are very adventurous or very hungry, or you were tipped off that there are culinary gems hidden inside.




I like those shops where the boss does the cooking personally. 



We had mutton kway teow soup, mutton soup with kway teow dry as well as mutton rib and tendon soup. Everything (plus a drink) altogether for RM26.



The medium body mutton soup was brownish in colour. It tasted savoury herbal with a bit of lamb gaminess and subtle sweetness.



This Hainanese mutton soup is nothing like those clear soup type in Singapore which tend to be more robustly herbal (sometimes even pungent) and has strong presence of ginger and coriander "to drive off the mutton taste and smell").

This Hainanese mutton soup in Restoran Kg Baru Pandan is just mildly savoury herbal and smooth on the palate with nothing jarring nor overly assertive. if anything, it reminds me of those savoury herbal bak kut teh but with mutton instead (of pork).



The mutton were cut into small pieces (unless you have the rib). They were tender and juicy, savoury and just mildly gamey. If gaminess has been putting you off mutton, there is very little to worry about here.



As we enjoyed the Hainanese mutton soup at Restoran Kg Baru Pandan, we returned 2 weeks later for their Hainanese chicken rice as well.



Everything here for RM25. Gone 🤭 😂



We got half a bird. It's kampung chicken with a bit of sweetened light soy sauce, curly slivers of julienned spring onion and token cucumber slices.



The first thing that stuck us was the nice distinctive natural taste of kampung chicken. We were very pleased but the chicken flesh was relatively chewy and not that juicy.




The sweetened savoury light soy sauce was a little flat tasting. I wish the chicken meat was a bit more tender and more juicy. Perhaps, a little aromatic oil would make the sauce more interesting too.



The grains were average to poor quality but they were tender, not overly greasy and well infused with rich savoury sweet flavours plus there's that distinctive pandan leaf aroma.



We love the chili sauce and ginger. Fresh, zesty, true natural flavours. Good as they were, I didn't let them mess with the delicate natural taste of the kampung chicken - used them on the rice instead 😋



Information for you 👌 I love the savoury herbal gamey mutton soup here. I will order the ribs so that I get bigger pieces of meat. If I get the kampung chicken, I will just order the thigh as it is more tender and juicy. Reminder to self: whack the shiokado chili and ginger 😋



Restaurant name: Restoran Kg Baru Pandan
Address: From the Tebrau Highway, turn into Kampung Baru Pandan via Jalan Loo Hong Joo. Restoran Kg Baru Pandan is about 100 metres inside along Jalan Loo Hong Joo and on your right hand side. Plentiful free parking on your left.
GPS: 1°31'30.4"N 103°46'06.7"E 🌐 1.525112, 103.768537
Hours: 7:00am to 2:00pm (Off day is on Weds and Thurs of the last week of the month. It's complicated 😂 )




Date visited: 25 Dec 2019, 9 Jan 2020