We had a simple but enjoyable dinner at Ming Ji 铭记家乡小炒 at the Rosmerah section of Taman Johor Jaya.
Boss Ah Ming is the second son-in-law of Ah Kaw, the creator of San Lou mi fen (bee hoon). Elder son-in-law Ah Meng runs his restaurant in Taman Iskander. Ah Kaw's own restaurant is in Taman Pelangi.
The menu is on a light box high up on the wall, complete with name and pictures of the dish. There were only 2 of us, so we only had San Lou mi fen, har cheong gai and fried pucuk paku.
At Ah Kaw, Ah Meng or Ah Ming, a serving of San Lou mi fen 三楼干米粉 is a must. Ah Kaw (Ah Ming's father-in-law) created this fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) dish when he was working for San Low seafood restaurant in the 1970s. Ah Ming has mastered how to fry San Lou mi fen from Ah Kaw before opening his own restaurant here in 2010.
The pronounced aroma of fried eggs, caramelised sauces and starch emanated from the dry, slightly crisped browned surface of the bee hoon.
Beneath the dry crisp surface, the bee hoon was moist. In the mouth, the bee hoon was tender with a subtle bit of resistance to the bite. The bee hoon tasted savoury sweet as they had infused the flavour of the main ingredients - eggs, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce well. There were a couple of small prawns, lean pork slices, bits of squid and stalks of green. It wasn't overly greasy at all.
This was as good a rendition of the Johor Bahru food icon as I can remember.
Golden brown chunks of har cheong gai 虾酱鸡.
Beneath the mildly savoury, slightly crisp surface, the meat inside was tender, moist and naturally sweet. I personally prefer har cheong gai to have more robust fermented prawn paste flavour but this was still quite likable as the savoury sweet flavours were well balanced.
When I saw pucuk paku 巴古菜 or 过山猫 on the menu, I ordered it immediately as I like the taste and texture of the ferns. (I have not seen pucuk paku in Singapore restaurants.) The pucuk paku is stir fried with sambal chili sauce.
The savoury umami and spicy sauce complemented the sweetness of the pulpy juicy vegetable.
Information for you 👌 Tried only 3 dishes so far but we like it here. The iconic San Lou mi fen was well executed - it was as good as any. Overall, for all three dishes, the flavours were well balanced and robust enough. Ah Ming told me that he uses no MSG in his cooking. Will definitely be back to try the other dishes.
Ah Kaw, the creator of San Lou mi fen 👈 click
Ah Meng @ Taman Iskandar 👈 click
Restaurant name: Ming Ji 铭记家乡小炒
Address: 24, Jalan Ros Merah 2/12, Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°32'04.0"N 103°47'36.7"E 🌐 1.534451, 103.793513
Tel: +607-364 4711
Hours: 10:30am - 3pm | 5:30 - 10:30pm (Tues off)
Non Halal
Date visited: 5 Jan 2020
San lou meehoon was rather too oily. Har cheong chicken was insipid tasting although tender and juicy.
ReplyDeleteGood information. I love San Low char beehoon. Had the ones from Taman Pelangi when staying at Jalan Ungu Satu. Must have beehoon when back in JB. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi, have they moved to another place?
ReplyDelete