Food We Love - Pisang Goreng (Fried Bananas)

 

Pisang Goreng (fried banana) is a well loved, common street hawker snack in Johor.

 

Molten hot, banana flesh almost like sweet melted cheese wrapped in crispy, crunchy fried batter is a favourite tea time treat for many of us.

 

Chilling with friends at a pisang goreng stall, enjoying fried snacks with a cuppa of teh terik is a special kind of uniquely Malaysian bonding ritual.

Here are three pisang goreng stalls I love and I am sure that there are more, that I have yet to discover.

 

Pisang Mawar is arguably the most famous pisang goreng stall in Johor Bahru. Pisang Mawar is a cheerful place with constant streams of customers enjoying their tea here or bagging loads of goodies to take home.

 

 

Pisang Mawar has many Singaporean customers as it is located on a route convenient for Singaporean drivers to pick up bags of goodies on their way home.

 

Another famous Pisang Goreng stall, Sweet Banana has been selling their popular fried goodies from their push cart stall along Jalan Stulang Darat for many years before they recently relocated to their new premises at Stulang Walk.

 

 

Now customers can relax and enjoy the same Sweet Banana tasty fried goodies with comfortable seating and easy, ample free parking.

 

This pisang goreng stall in Taman Sri Skudai that does not really have a name, is a favourite place with residents who like to come here to take a break from the afternoon heat and catch up on the day's happenings in the neighbourhood.

 

 

It is not unusual for famous hawker stalls to have no name and yet everyone in the neighbourhood knows about them as it is the local landmark.

Share with us about your favourite pisang goreng stall by leaving a comment :)

Name: Pisang Mawar

Address: Off Jalan Sungai Chat in the direction of Woodlands/ Pusat Bandaraya. Next to Galeri Mawar and opposite the clock tower at Dataran Bandaraya.
Operating Hours: 1:00pm to 6:00pm

Nearest Parking Area: Ample free parking at location

Name: Sweet Banana

Address: Stulang Walk ( at the junction of Jalan Stulang Darat and Jalan Stulang Laut)
Operating Hours: 1:00pm to 6:00pm (closed on Sunday)
Nearest Parking Area: Ample free parking at location

Name: No name (faded bamboo curtain bears the sign “GORENG2 ”)

Address: At the junction of Jalan Emas 7 and Jalan Emas 2, Taman Sri Skudai
Operating hours: 2:00pm to 5:00pm (closed on Sunday)
Nearest Parking Area: Ample free parking at location

Sweet Banana Pisang Goreng @ Stulang Walk in Johor Bahru. Best Fried Banana Fritters in JB Series

The famous Sweet Banana pisang goreng stall has moved to a new location further up along Jalan Stulang Laut (in 2012).

Banana Fritters @ Sweet Banana along Jalan Stulang Darat, Johor Bahru



What is going on?

Cars parked by the road side buying bagfuls of fried goodies. This is rather dangerous. The best is to park along Jalan Kunning just slightly further up and take a short 3 minutes walk to Sweet Banana.

This is a road side stall along Jalan Stulang Darat near the JB CIQ well known among Johor Bahru locals who often stop by to pick up bagfuls of deep fried bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans and tapioca.

As its name Sweet Banana boldly states, its top draw is fried banana fritters or goreng pisang in Malay.

Johor Bahru has many such stalls selling deep fried snacks. One of the things that sets Sweet Banana apart from most others is the use of fresh oil for frying. You can see the newly opened tin cans of cooking oil at the stall. The oil in the large woks look yellowish rather than the dark brownish colour we often see at other stalls.

When we eat goreng pisang from the usual stalls, there is often an unpleasant aftertaste felt on our tongue due to the overused oil. At the usual stalls, the oil is usually used for many cycles of frying to keep the cost down. At Sweet Banana, I taste only the natural sweetness from the fresh banana.

The batter used at Sweet Banana is also neutral in taste and flavour. Not too thick, or too sweet and fried to a crispy golden brown crust. The batter at Sweet Banana does not compete with the banana’s natural sweetness but does a perfect job of sealing in its natural flavour and tenderness. Their crust is so good that some customers asked for bits of crust to eat as a crispy snack!

Try also their fried green bean patties. The thin, crispy crust wraps a sweet and crunchy patty made from boiled green beans. In fact, don't just try their bananas and green beans - try everything they have at the stall J You will be delighted.

I will make side trips to the famous Sweet Banana to pick up the delicious goodies for my family and friends.

(Sweet Banana has moved to a new location nearby. Please see my new post on Sweet Banana. Thank you.)

Restaurant name: Sweet Banana (roadside stall)

Address: Near power substation just before junction of Jalan Stulang Darat and Jalan Biru
Map: http://g.co/maps/496kv

GPS: 1.470681,103.775176
Hours: Daily 1:00pm to 6:00pm (usually sold out by 5:00pm) (Closed on Fridays)

Halal

Date visited: 3 Jan 2012, 9 Jan 2012