We walked past Arashi Shabu Shabu countless times while out window shopping in Johor Bahru malls but never stepped in before because we are street food people, first and foremost. But, this month we were trapped in the annual Singapore / Malaysia haze and had no choice but to eat mall food. So, for the first time, we had our lunch at Arashi Shabu Shabu.
Steamboat restaurants are everywhere in Johor Bahru and more are sprouting up regularly. So, it is quite hard for any steamboat place to stand out from the crowd. After dinner at Kofuku-Tei 幸福窝, this relatively young steamboat restaurant is among our favourites in Johor Bahru now.
Today, we visited Chi-Gui Mala Hot Pot at the ground floor of Twin Galaxy in JB. Chi-Gui Mala Hot Pot shares the same premises as Tanba Yakiniku 炭馬烧肉 which I had blogged about twice before (because my friends and I enjoyed eating here a lot 😋 ).
After running our errand at Mount Austin, we checked around with locals on what is good to eat around here. A few people pointed us to Guoma Steamboat 锅妈台式火鍋 which is very popular with locals.
Uncle Martin has been raving about Da Zhong Hwa Seafood Saunaboat restaurant near Sutera Mall in Johor Bahru. I was eager to try out DZH, especially the "omega fish" which Uncle Martin kept telling us about.
At Good Family Steamboat, it's simple, no frills, no gimmicks, no pretense, just good, top quality, wholesome fresh food for the whole family in a clean, informal, comfortable environment. (Formerly Ho Ho Steamboat 好好火锅.)
There is something about Chinese steamboat or hotpot for get togethers. Steamboat is often the choice when friends meet up. There are hotpot restaurants of all shapes and sizes - small ones, and giant chains like Hai Di Lao from China which throw in all kinds of add on entertainment such as performances and karaoke. Still, the no frills small steamboat shops in the neighbourhood have their own appeal.
I was invited to visit the newly opened ONE Shabu Shabu Hong Kong Steamboat 壹号锅 in Taman Sentosa by one of it's partners, Ferrence Soon.
Ck Pang, the boss of Sedapnya Steamboat 好食火涡 in Taman Impian Emas invited me to visit his restaurant.
I've known Ck as a fellow foodie who is active in Johor foodie social media circles. Ck and his wife, Joyce, are in the clothing retail business and they like to combine their food hunt with their overseas business trips.
Last year, Ck started to help his father-in-law run Sedapnya Steamboat 好食火涡.
Hong Kong style steamboat restaurants that emphasise MSG-free soup base and premium ingredients are sprouting up in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.
Andy, the boss of Harbour 3 Hong Kong Steamboat 海港火锅 in Batu Pahat invited me to visit his restaurant.
Tracy, one of the partners at Da.Men Hotpot 大门火锅 invited me to visit their restaurant in Taman Sutera Utama.
The 3 partners, Bryan, Tracy and Ivan are all Cantonese. Cantonese grow up having soup with almost every meal, so they are rather particular about their soups. The 3 partners also travel to Hong Kong often and wanted to introduce the HK style of premium steamboat to Johor.
We were circling Taman Universiti for a light lunch and remembered we had wanted to try the old style steamboat at Dragon Village 龍鄉. It was already nearly 2:00pm when we arrived and there were still a few tables with customers.
