OLEG by gCafe. Charcoal Burger & Waffle. City Square. AEON Tebrau. Dato' Onn

We went to visit the spanking new AEON Mall at Bandar Dato' Onn in JB, and stopped for lunch at the OLEG by gCafe outlet on the 2nd floor. It turned out that the charcoal burgers and waffles at OLEG are quite interesting and tasty. We like it 😄

CLOSED - FATBOY's Burger Bar in Johor Bahru

With the opening of the FATBOY's Burger Bar outlet in Taman Sutera Utama early this year, Johor Bahru now has a burger specialist and a joint specially for burger enthusiasts.



(Originally from Singapore where they have 4 outlets, FATBOY's Burger Bar already has 2 outlets in Kuala Lumpur.)



Jaspreet one of the partners at JB's FATBOY's Burger Bar invited me to visit the nearly opened burger joint at Taman Sutera Utama (near Sutera Mall).



Stepping inside FATBOY's, the decor is simple yet striking with bold black and red colours, and quirky motifs. FATBOY's looked and felt like a typical American diner complete with background music from rock and roll legends like Elvis Priestley.



FATBOY's clientele is a good mix of burger and beer lovers from all walks of life and age groups.



Jaspreet started me off with FATBOY's signature mean Fat Basterd (RM29).

It's a tower of two beef patties, cheddar cheese slices, crispy fried bacon, fried egg, and FATBOY's house blended BBQ sauce between two bouncy sesame buns.



The meaty patty was tender and juicy with that familiar robust traditional American burger joint flavours and aromas.

All FATBOY's patties are made at the shop from chilled meat using their own grinder. (No frozen mass produced, factory patties here.) The Fat Basterd's twin patties were made with chilled Australian tender cut beef. 

The next burger is an original Johor Kaki creation :D



One of FATBOY's signatures is to allow customers to create their own burgers in 4 easy, peasy steps.

This is the "Johor Kaki Special" - my very own spontaneous creation hehehe. 



I just picked what comes naturally to me and my burger ended up with layers of sweet flavours which I like very much... hehe... I got a sweet tooth :P

The slightly sweet honey oat bun was airy and bouncy. The thick pork patty was tender with natural pork sweetness. Gurpreet (Jaspreet's brother) told me that FATBOY's uses pork collar meat to make their patty. No wonder the patty was so tender and flavourful.



My choice of caramelised onion and grilled banana add-on added to the sweetness and soft feel of my burger. I also added Wild Arugula greens and capsicum rings to give my burger colour and a juicy crunch. I picked Wasabi Mayonnaise to get a subtle spicy note in my burger.

I love my soft, tender and sweet burger creation :D

I am sure you will also enjoy creating your own original burger like I did.



Jaspreet wanted me to try one of FATBOY's many appetizers, so I picked Spicy Hot Drumlets (RM13) as I am planning a Johor Bahru chicken wings trail :D

The golden brown fried drumlets were crispy outside while tender and moist inside. It has a pleasant slight spiciness that lingers. This will be on my JB chicken wings trail :D



I highly recommend this Chili Cheese Fries (RM12) appetizer. The US imported McCain fries were good but what really wowed me was the chili cheese sauce. It's a blend of melted cheese and curry spices giving it a nice balance of savoury and slight spicy perkiness. Love this creative sauce which I have never tried before this.



FATBOY's has a wide range of beverages to help wash down the huge burgers. I picked a vanilla flavoured Thick Malt Shake with a dash of Kahlua liquor (RM18 with Kahlua add-on). Nice and quite a filling drink by itself.

FATBOY's serves a good range of imported beers but I didn't drink any that evening as I was going for a long drive after FATBOY's. Saving it for my next visit :D  FATBOY's also serves wines.



Before taking my leave, I peeked into the well equipped kitchen to say hello to Daniel, the Head Chef at FATBOY's.



Daniel has over 10 years of kitchen experience having worked in Lido 8, Hyatt Hotel (JB) and Bierhaus. Daniel's specialty is Western fine dining which he now applies to FATBOY's fine gourmet burgers.

I love to come back to FATBOY's especially for the fun to create another burger of my own. The kick of designing your own burger can be quite addictive LOL.



Restaurant name: FATBOY's The Burger Bar
Address: 59, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai, Johor Bahru
Map: FATBOY's
GPS: 1.515692,103.669569
Hours: Mon to Thurs 5:00pm to 12:00 midnight | Fri to Sunday 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight 
Non Halal

Date visited: 12 Mar 2014

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Closed: Charcoal Burgers at Johor Bahru City Square Mall Pizza Box

Charcoal burgers fascinate me and so when I realised that my friend Alan's new restaurant, Pizza Box in Johor Bahru City Square serves charcoal burgers, I quickly make a trip there. Alan invited me to try both his pizzas and charcoal burgers.

I tried both Pizza Box's pizzas and charcoal burgers but this post is dedicated to the charcoal burgers. (Another post will be on the pizzas :) )

After trying Pizza Box's charcoal burgers which sells for RM9.90 to RM19.90 nett, I am finding it much harder for me to go back to those giant franchise burger chains :P

Take a look with me at how each one of Pizza Box's "gourmet" burger is individually made, to see why they are different. 



The process starts with grilling the patty and charcoal buns on the griddle. See how thick that minced pork patty is? There are other flavours like chicken, egg and tuna, beef, bacon and salmon.



The chunky pork patty is grilled till it is slightly charred outside. Slices of Cheddar cheese are then laid on top of the sizzling pork patty.



Slices of fresh unions on the griddle. I love those caramelised, charred rings :)



The Cheddar cheese melts on the griddle, flows down and envelopes the sizzling, chunky patty.



Look at that molten cheese lava smothering the pork patty.



The ingredients at Pizza Box are of good quality, like these fresh tomatoes.



A slice of fresh juicy tomato goes on top of the cheese blanketed pork patty.



Raining ketchup from a squeeze bottle onto the burger.



The tower drenched in ketchup.



Spooning in generous dollops of Mozzarella cheese sauce.



Capping the patty, cheese and vege tower with a charcoal sesame bun.



Adding a heap of freshly fried potato fries.



Squeeze in a dash of ketchup.



Voila!! The completed 6-inch Volcano Cheesy Pork Burger at RM19.90 nett. I thought this is really value for money.



Juicy blend of savoury, sweet, tangy flavours in a bouncy slightly sweet charcoal sesame bun. Interesting mix of textures of tender minced meat, crunchy lettuce and onion, pulpy tomato and soft pillow-like bun. Nice!



There was no charcoal taste at all. Actually, the soft and bouncy charcoal bun was so goood, I can just happily eat it on it's own.



Pizza Box's charcoal burgers are definitely worth a try :)

Restaurant name: Pizza Box
Address: City Square Mall (Level 3, Inner City), Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Ex0Mz
GPS: 1.461570,103.763519
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm (last order 9:30pm)
Non Halal

Date visited: 4 Sep 2013

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Passionfood Café and Bakery in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru

Chi Ling, the boss, invited me over to try out her new menu at Passionfood. This was my second visit to Passionfood at the invitation of Chi Ling, the owner. I was excited about this visit as I had a very good experience at Passionfood during my first visit.

Chi Ling is one of the new blood of Johor F and B entrepreneurs who are driven by passion. Chi Ling is a medical bioscience professional who couldn't resist dumping her white lab coat for her pink apron to pursue her passion for baking and cooking.

Oh, on that pink apron - pink is the theme of Passionfood, so you can see the feminine colour in their decor, furniture and even in their food.

I asked Chi Ling how the name Passionfood came about. Chi Ling said she was in Vietnam and the Vietnamese fruit passion fruit gave her the "ah ha moment". She liked the name because passion is what Passionfood Café and bakery is all about.

Creamy Ebiko Crab Meat Pasta RM18.90

First to arrive was the Creamy Ebiko Crab Meat Pasta. The thick el dente pasta was smothered in a homemade savoury white cabonara sauce with white wine and crab meat.

The tiny savoury ebiko (Japanese prawn eggs) popping in your mouth added an interesting mouth feel and flavour to the whole dish.

Cheese Chicken Burger RM17.90

Next was Passionfood's Cheese Chicken Burger. I heard my friend Bryan spoke highly of Passionfood's chicken burger before and was looking forward to try this.

The thick chicken patty was sitting of a bed of fresh tomato slices, cherry tomatoes and sauteed onions. The chicken patty is blanketed by a layer of soft melted cheese that flowed down the sides of the patty. And, everything is held together between Passionfood's own fluffy charcoal bun, made right here at the cafe from scratch.

This is no industrial mass produced patty at average hamburger joints. Passionfood's thick handmade patty is made with hand chopped chicken thigh and breast meat with some herbs and condiments mixed in. The meaty, tightly packed patty had little grease or fat. You will never find bits of bone or rubbery sinews in Passionfood's handmade patty. 

 

French fries with ketchup are always simply, special to me :P

Passionfood has many interesting drinks on their menu. This is the signature Passion Paradise (RM7.50) - passion fruit syrup with soda water and rainbow jelly.

The Mango Tango (RM7.50). Mango syrup with soda water and mango puree.

I will be coming back soon to try Passionfood's cakes and pastries from Chi Ling's passion for baking.



Restaurant name: Passionfood Café and Bakery
Address: 14, Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/SS9N3

GPS: 1.481626,103.773679
Hours: 11:00am to 10:00pm (Monday to Thursday); 11:00am to 11:00pm (Friday); 10:00am to 11:00pm (Saturday); 10:00am to 10:00pm (Sunday) Closed on Tuesday
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Date visited: 16 Nov 2012, 12 Jun 2013

Return to Johor Kaki home page.

Closed - Western Food at Jitterbug Café in Plentong, Masai near Tesco Extra in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

 

 

I received an email from Sharifah Mun, the owner of Jitterbug Café to visit her newly opened restaurant in Plentong, Johor Bahru. Checking out Jitterbug's Facebook page, I was excited to visit the hip looking restaurant and try the dishes in their interesting menu.

Jitterbug is run by Sharifah supported by her staff and Chef Chin.

Sharifah let me try a few of Jitterbug's popular dishes.



Sharifah started us off with Jitterbug's mushroom soup. Well, mushroom soups made with fresh mushroom are fairly common in good mid price restaurants but at Jitterbug, the soup had a certain body and taste that set it apart. Chef Chin added barley in the mushroom soup which gave it a refreshing, sweet twist that blended well with the fresh mushrooms. We liked it.

Sharifah was eager to let us try Jitterbug's Ugly Duckling (RM22). Jitterbug's Ugly Duckling was anything but ugly. Between the nice buns were slices of tender juicy savoury lean smoked duck. The orange juice in the sauce and the slice of fresh green apple made this burger a stand out for me. This is my favourite dish of the day :)



Pardon me as I indulge in another picture of Jitterbug's delectable, beautiful Ugly Duckling. A Must Try, definitely.

Meet Johnny Bravo, Jitterbug's version of Beef Sliders (RM25.90). The beef burger made with a thick chunky piece of fresh beef patty. Pleasant beefy flavour and not overly salty which is a common fault of average beef burgers. Jitterbug's Johnny Bravo was likable and similar to beef burgers of better mid price restaurants. Johnny Bravo is a good choice for people who like meaty beef.



I love Jitterbug's chicken chop (RM27). The chicken was crispy outside. Inside it was tender and juicy. The chicken chop was drenched with a gravy that was savoury and had a refreshing, subtly tangy twist. The pieces of chicken were drippy and redolent with generous amount of subtly perky gravy. My friends know my preference for drippy gravy. I recommend this chicken chop, if you are looking for a satisfying, tasty meal.



We had Truffle Fries (RM16) to go along with our meal. It's regular French fries drizzled with truffle oil to give it that subtle earthly aroma associated with truffles. Trendy and a minor craze in Singapore now. Personally, I am not a big fan of fries and truffles didn't change that for me :P 

After our meal, Jitterbug had a good stock of fresh fruits for freshly squeezed and blended fruit juices to wash it all down.

Jitterbug Café is a cool, well appointed place to chill with friends and family over soothing retro music and delicious food.



The walls at Jitterbug are adorned with cool pictures and art work. This picture I thought captures the spirit of Jitterbug well - hip, bold, innovative, energised yet relaxed, and welcoming. Sharifah welcome artists to showcase their work in Jitterbug by calling her at 019-906-3609.

Getting to Jitterbug Café from downtown JB or CIQ is a breeze with the EDL (Eastern Dispersal Link). Just 15 minutes driving, toll free! :)

Restaurant name: Jitterbug Café
Address: #G-33, Jalan Masai Jaya 1, Plentong, Masai, Johor Bahru (Next to Tesco Extra Plentong)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/0Jihw
GPS: 1.522122, 103.813650
Hours: 11:30am to 10:00pm (Closed on Monday)
Not certified Halal, no pork, no lard served

Date visited: 29 Nov 2012