Jin Duo Duo Ice Pork in Mount Austin Johor Bahru 金多多冰镇咕咾肉

I was in the good hands of buddy KK but was a little sceptical when the staff served us a tub with ku lou yok (sweet and sour pork) buried in a mound of ice 🙄

I mean I had this famous gimmicky dish at least two times before but I still couldn't get what is the point of ku lou yok in ice. 

The staff then poured some water in a cup of dry ice triggering a bellow of white "smoke". I asked what was that for. The answer was "Look nice". Thanks 🙄

Anyway, I took an obligatory piece, with little expectation from my past experience with it lodged in my memory. 

It was a bite size deep fried nugget of lean pork. The fatless meat was tender firm, encased in fried batter. The ku lou yok was not very crisp outside but there was a subtle layer of sugar glaze 糖衣, like an ultra thin film of crackly glass. It was unabashedly cold, not neither-here-nor-there lukewarm. It was a fun novel type of texture. Once I got past the initial scepticism, it was actually alright. 

The taste was typically savoury sweet tangy ketchup ku lou yok. I have to admit that I liked it. 

We liked it enough to finish everything 🤭

Forgot to take a picture of the aftermath, but the empty tub is visible in the background (see white arrow). The tub had a drip tray so that water from melted ice goes to the bottom keeping the fried ku lou yok from becoming soggy wet. 

At RM23.90 a serving, it's a steal to check this gimmick dish off our bucket list. Don't see it going mainstream but its novelty will never cease to pique people's curiosity and there will always be folks who want to try it. 

This one at Jin Duo Duo is inexpensive and tasty enough for me to want to have it again, just for the fun of it 👍

So pleased with the ice pork, we decided to try the other ice dish in Jin Duo Duo's menu - ice kai lan greens with wasabi mayonnaise.

Hmmm.... I don't see the point of this, other than it's healthy roughage 🤔 The blanched kai lan was chilled by smothering in ice. Its green taste was complemented by the mildly spicy sweet wasabi mayo. 

茅台火焰排骨 Moutai Flambé Pork Rib RM23.90.

Tender chunks of boneless pork rib, well marinated with robust savoury sauce with Moutai flambé adding a pleasant bitterish taste and aroma to the dish. 

茅台豉油鸡 Moutai Soy Sauce Chicken RM28.90 half bird. The soy sauce chicken was flambé with Moutai when served.

That's a huge mound of meat for half a bird. 

The meat was soft, tender, succulent. Tasted savoury sweetish from the poaching stock and a bit of bitter taste and fruity fragrance from the Moutai flambé. Doesn't have the chicky sweetness which I would appreciate.

The soy sauce chicken was served with scallion, ginger and chili sauces. 

松露劳力士豆腐 Tofu with savoury sweet "truffle" flavour sauce. 

I like this sweet tonic with ginseng. Worth it at RM11.90.

Nice comfortable, small restaurant with interesting takes on familiar dishes. Many more dishes other than those we tried. Competitive pricing. 

Restaurant name: Jin Duo Duo 金多多茅台豉油鸡

Address: 1, Jalan Austin Heights 8/1, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru

Tel: +607 350 3429

Hours: 10am - 10pm

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History of ku lou yok, sweet and sour pork

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Written by Tony Boey on 12 Jul 2024

Ever since the ice sweet and sour pork dish appeared in the 1995 movie The Chinese Feast 金玉满堂 / 满汉全席, chefs have been trying to replicate the dish