Naturally, the Teochews brought their food culture with them when they came to British Malaya. One Teochew staple at the core of Teochew food culture is the humble Teochew kway teow soup.
Hence, there are many Teochew kway teow soup hawkers in Johor Bahru. One that stood out is Ah Hua Kway Teow 亚华粿条 which was founded in 1957. 陈悦华 started Ah Hua Kway Teow as a push cart stall plying Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and its five-foot-ways in old downtown Johor Bahru.
Seventy years on, Ah Hua's legacy still carries on in five Teochew kway teow shops bearing his name 亚华.
One at Jalan Segget near where Ah Hua himself used to operate, another at Jalan Serigala near KSL Resort, another in Plentong, one more at Bukit Indah, and the fifth in Ponderosa near Taman Molek.
Traditionally, the soul of the Teochew kway teow soup is in the soup - it is made by boiling and simmering pork socket bones for hours (at least 7), extracting flavour and nourishment from the marrow, tendon, bits of meat and any soft tissue attached to the shank.
It is as much a tonic as it is a staple meal.
In its basic form, kway teow or rice noodles are blanched and served in a bowl, submerged in soup topped with blanched fresh lean pork slices, pork liver, kidney and some ground pork. A dribble of lard oil and shallot oil add more flavours to the clean, mild tasting dish. Dressed with aromatic parsley as a final touch.
Today's vendors offer options for fried fish maw, shell fish slices, abalone, fresh oysters, etc to soup up the dish.
It's a very democratic dish that can cost from RM5 to RM50 - it all depends on the customers' preferences.
Nowadays, many people opt for the "dry" version. Other carbs like yellow noodles and rat tail noodles (mee tai mak) are also available. The noodles are sauced with a blend of soy sauce, black vinegar, chili sauce, fish sauce, lard oil, shallot oil, etc.
Every vendor have their own variation of the flavourful sauce concoction to give them the competitive edge.
The soup with pork liver, kidney, fish maw, shell fish slices, abalone, oyster, etc is served separately as a side dish or accompaniment to the carb (kway teow or yellow noodles, etc).
Thanks to Ah Hua's family, we are still able to enjoy his old JB 老新山 style of Teochew kway teow soup.
Ah Hua's son Steven run Ah Hua Kueh Teow 亚华粿条 at Jalan Serigala in Taman Century just outside KSL Resort.
Restoran Sekee 司机餐食 at Jalan Segget is run by Lily, Ah Hua's former daughter-in-law (Steven's ex-wife).
Like Steven, Lily is committed to preserve Ah Hua's legacy and even still simmers her pork bone soup using charcoal, keeping the flame burning all these years.
Another of Ah Hua's sons 陈少峰 run Ah Wha Eating House Teochew Kway Teow Thng in Plentong, Masai, Johor Bahru.
Ah Wha now has two branch outlets run by the third generation:
•Ah Wha Eating House branch at 26 Jalan Indah 13/2.
•Ah Wha Eating House branch at Ponderosa.
Written by Tony Boey on 30 Mar 2026
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