Cha Lao Pushcart Dim Sum in Holiday Villa Hotel near KSL 新山茶楼推车点心 ☏ +607 290 3394

Johor Bahru now has a pretty dim sum hangout, if you like to indulge in the Cantonese pastime of yum cha (drinking tea) with your kakis (buddies) in a cha lao (tea house). It's simply called 茶楼 Cha Lao Dim Sum which is located at Holiday Villa Hotel.

What to Eat @ KSL JB - Penang Food - Taste of Georgetown

OK back in JB to look for good food. Decided on Taste of Georgetown in KSL City Mall as I tried their original outlet near Sutera Mall before and there were several dishes I enjoyed there.

Tasty Hotpot. Spicy Sichuan Mala Xiang Guo in JB 有点香麻辣香锅

The two month old 有点香 Tasty Hotpot restaurant, spiced and heated up the JB food scene with it's authentic Sichuan style stir fried mala xiang guo 麻辣香锅. The restaurant located just beside KSL mall at Jalan Kijang is the hottest thing in JB F & B since Mar 2018.

Japanese BBQ in Johor JB. Tanba Yakiniku 炭馬日式烧肉

We had lunch today at the Tanba Yakiniku 炭馬烧肉 outlet at Twin Galaxy, a newly opened residential-commercial complex at Jalan Dato' Abdullah Tahir (10 minutes drive from JB CIQ without traffic).

Best Food near KSL Mall. Din Kee Hainanese Beef Noodles 鼎记牛腩粉

Din Kee 鼎记牛腩粉 is one of my favourite beef noodle stalls in Johor and Singapore. The stall has been moving around in JB since I first tasted them 2 years ago. They are now in Restoran 118 coffee shop near KSL mall. I can't wait to share the good news with folks who like to hang around KSL mall, especially friends from Singapore.

Turtle Soup at Labi-Labi Herbal Soup near KSL City Mall in JB

I know some of you will not be happy when I say that I do enjoy turtle soup 😝 It's a taste I acquired in the 1980s from lunching regularly at the turtle soup restaurant at MacPherson Road in Singapore. But, till now I haven't come across a turtle soup specialist in Johor Bahru after blogging JB food for 5 years.

Chicken Rice and Roasts @ Marmolada 大家胜美食中心 near KSL Johor JB

Came to Marmolada food centre 大家胜美食中心 near KSL mall to try the chicken rice and roast stall after seeing Victor's FB post. Alexis also mentioned this stall to me.

Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh near KSL City Mall in JB 顺顺兴肉骨茶

Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh 顺顺兴肉骨茶 | 43, Jalan Serigala, Taman Abad, Johor Bahru, Johor ⏰ 9am to 8pm (no fixed off day)

Passed by Soon Soon Heng bak kut teh 顺顺兴肉骨茶 (opposite KSL City Mall) many times and the shop is always packed.

My instinct is to look for underdogs (so-called "hidden gems") rather than already very popular places.

Chicken Up Johor Bahru Holiday Villa JB JK1558

Visited Chicken Up Johor Bahru, the hugely popular Korean themed food joint from Singapore (where it has 7 outlets). The first Chicken Up outlet in JB was very well received, where it saw long queues since it opened a couple of months ago. 

Review of Ikan Bakar Tampin Grilled Fish in Taman Abad Johor Bahru 淡边铁板烧鱼 ☏ +6016 743 1286

Tampin Ikan Bakar 淡边铁板烧鱼 | 94, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad (Century), Johor Bahru ⏰ 5pm to 12:30am (Tues & Weds off) ☏ +6016 743 1286

Ikan Bakar Tampin is an old name in traditional spicy grilled fish and seafood or ikan bakar in Johor Bahru.

Mee Hoon Kueh 面粉果 stall in Johor Bahru at Restoran Poh Kee 宝记

Mee hoon kueh 面粉果 or "hand torn noodles" is a humble Hokkien comfort food which mothers make at home.



I popped over back to Restoran Poh Kee 宝记 in Taman Century on a reader's recommendation to try the mee hoon kueh stall opposite the famous Teochew mee stall.



This humble stall is run by the Tans who are originally from Pontian. The Tans set up this stall over a year ago after all their four children graduated from university and polytechnic, and started working.



Madam Tan (Hua 華) simply took what she had always been cooking at home for her family and serves it at this neighbourhood kopitiam stall.



The simple "menu" is taped to the blue tiled wall.



The Tans have no big ambitions for the stall. So everything is made in small amounts, just like at home. This little plastic container was all the dough made for business from 7:30am to 2:00pm on business days.

There were also a pot of porridge, and two small pots of green bean soup and sweet potato soup. This is as close to home cooked as one can get in a hawker stall.


Mee hoon kueh RM5

We ordered mee hoon kueh since this was recommended by Johor Kaki reader.



Hua 華 only rolls the mee hoon kueh when there is an order. So, the kueh is always freshly pressed.



The star of this simple dish is, of course, the kueh. The freshly rolled kueh was very smooth - I had a lot of trouble picking up the piece to take this picture - it just kept slipping off. The kueh is not much thicker than wanton skin :D  The thin, slurpy kueh had good "QQ" bite (el dente in spaghetti speak), and tasted clean and fresh.



The slightly murky savoury broth made with chicken and pork bones with soy beans had good light body. Hua 華 said that no MSG is used as this was never used in her home.



The other ingredients were all good. The fish balls were bouncy fresh, fish cake slices were tender, and toufu skin was soft yet crunchy. The leafy greens were market fresh as Hua 華 just buys a small clutch of vegetables everyday - just like mother does.



The pieces of fresh mostly lean pork mince was tender and naturally sweet.


Pork and century egg porridge RM6

Once we became acquainted, the gracious Tans insisted that we also try their pork and century egg porridge 皮蛋瘦肉粥.



I liked those tiny fried white bait fish which were crackly and savoury. Tiny fish with big flavours - we always had this at home but it's seldom seen at hawker stalls nowadays.



The texture of the soft rice grains were right between cottony (Cantonese style 棉棉) and soft grainy (Teochew style). The rice grains were cooked until they break but not before they become a gruel.

The porridge was so flavourful that I did not use any additional soy sauce or sprinkle any white pepper on it for taste - something which I usually had to do at other places.

The Tans also let us try their sweet desserts.


Green bean soup RM2.50

The green bean soup was delicious. Soft green beans broken by boiling in a just nice, sweet soup flavoured with aromatic, slightly spicy ginger.


Sweet potato soup RM2.50

The sweet potatoes were boiled till soft with still a little bit of pleasant bite remaining. The not-too-sweet soup was also spiced up with ginger.

Try this humble stall at the laid back, street side neighbourhood Poh Kee 宝记 kopitiam for home cooked food at very reasonable prices and friendly service.



Restaurant name: Mee hoon kueh stall at Poh Kee 宝记
Address: 75, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad/ Century, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf
GPS: 1.480886,103.756985
Hours: 7:30am to 2:30pm (alternate Thursdays closed)
Non Halal

Date visited: 10 Feb 2014

Return to Johor Kaki home page.

Poh Kee 宝记 Teochew Noodle Soup in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru

When people ask me what is my favourite food, mee pok doesn't come to mind. But whenever I am at a food centre, after going around a couple of times looking, more often than not, it is the mee pok stall that I settled for. When I am far from home and miss home food, it is mee pok that I think of, not char kway teow, and certainly not chili crab.

So when my friend Jeff shared on Johor Yummy group about his favourite mee pok shop in JB, I wasted no time to check it out. You can trust Jeff's word on mee pok - his brother runs the famous mee pok shop in Permas Jaya, JB.



When I saw that customers were spilling over the side walks at 11:00am at Poh Kee 宝记, I knew this has to be something special. Somehow, popular old style noodle shops in JB look similar in the way the people gather :) 



I approached the lady boss hesitantly and mumbled half audibly something to the effect of "老板娘 (lady boss), your food is very nice. May I take some photos of you at work?" The lady boss's spontaneous response immediately put me at ease :)



Soon the friendly boss, Mr. Tan, joined us at our table to chat. Mr. Tan was in the logging industry in Indonesia before retiring and returning to Johor Bahru. Since returning to JB, Mr. Tan sold wanton mee for a while in Taman Pelangi and when the opportunity arose about a year ago, he moved here to start this Teochew kway teow stall.

Mr. Tan and his wife are food lovers and have been making and enjoying old style Teochew kway teow soup all these years. So, when the time came to make it a business, it was almost second nature for the Tans. Furthermore, the Tans already had a following from their wanton mee stall and friends from their logging business. Within a year, Poh Kee Teochew noodles stall became a famous name in JB.



My friend Euginn's RM5 bowl of mee pok comes with 3 pork balls, a fish ball, a few slices of fish cake, some small prawns and a small handful of minced lean pork. There was also a small bowl of prawn and pork soup.





My RM7.00 bowl had the same ingredients except for a larger mound of mee pok noodles.



The broad mee pok noodles were gently crunchy, pleasingly al dente. The sauce was subtly spicy from the home made chili sauce and had savoury hints from lard and soy sauce.



This prawn is not big but it is a wild sea prawn. Mr. Tan said that only this species of wild sea prawn can produce that distinctive prawny umami (savoury) flavour in the soup.



To me, Poh Kee's handmade fish ball set it apart from the rest. Poh Kee's fish balls are 100% fish meat with no starch added. They are bouncy but in a nicer way than those perfectly round "ping pong" starch/fish balls.



Mr. Tan gets up at 5:00am each business day to make these fish balls using Ikan Parang. Only a small quantity is made each day - just enough for the day's business. So, everything is fresh.



The thin slice of fish cake. Same flavour as the fish ball but a different mouth feel.



Each bowl comes with three pork balls. Bought from supplier so they were average, though good enough.



The pork bone and prawn soup was savoury and the prawny umami flavour was distinct. 



The pot of lard at Poh Kee 宝记. For some people, just a dollop of this potent liquid makes all the difference it devine :)



Another customer's RM5 mee kia. I like Poh Kee's style of minced pork - Lau Tee another famous mee pok stall in JB has the same style of minced lean pork. Finely ground pork with little fat, blanched in the savoury prawn broth. At average stalls, the minced pork is coarser and has more fat.



Poh Kee is another excellent Teochew noodle stall in JB worth trying.

Restaurant name: Poh Kee 宝记 Teochew Noodle Soup
Address: 75, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad/ Century, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf
GPS: 1.480886,103.756985
Hours: 7:30am to 2:30pm (alternate Thursdays closed)

Address: Junction of Jalan Biru and Jalan Merah, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru (stall inside San Low seafood restaurant) 
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/5Qb11 
GPS: 1.472161,103.774784 
Hours: 7:30am to 3:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 12 Aug 2013

Return to Johor Kaki home page.

Restaurant is Closed. Shahrzad Restaurant in Taman Abad, Johor Bahru

This is my second visit to Shahrzad at the invitation of Mohd the owner. Again, I was very impressed with the Persian and Arabian cuisine prepared by Chef Ahmad whom I met during my first visit to Shahrzad.

Restaurant is Closed. Arab and Iranian Food at Shahrzad Restaurant in Taman Abad, Johor Bahru

 

Shahrzad Restaurant opened for business just a month ago along Jalan Dato Sulaiman in Taman Abad, Johor Bahru. Mohammad, the boss invited me to try out Shahrzad's authentic Iranian and Arabian food.

51 Soya Bean 豆花 Custard @ KSL City Mall in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

I like 51 Soya Bean 豆花 custard J It is firmer than the traditional soya bean curd but is still soft and silky smooth. The spoonful of pudding just glided over my tongue and slipped down my throat, almost like a thick slippery syrup.

The sugar is pre-added and we cannot ask for more or less. Fortunately, the sweetness was just right for me i.e. not too sweet. 51 Soya Bean 豆花 custard comes at RM3.20 a tub.

Their best known outlet is this kiosk in the spanking new KSL City Mall in Taman Abad in Johor Bahru. The boss, MR Lau, told me that they are relatives of the famous 51 Soya Bean 豆花 in Old Airport Road, Singapore.

Like their Singaporean cousin, 51 Soya Bean is made on site at the KSL City Mall kiosk. They also have another outlet in the nearby Cedar Point Food Centre (just next to Grand Paragon hotel).

Over here in Cedar Point, the premises are much larger than the kiosk in KSL City Mall. This allows for much larger production capacity to meet the popular demand for the 51 Soya Bean custard.

You will not see that familiar wooden tub used in making soya bean curd, the traditional way. Instead, over here soya bean powder is boiled in large steel pots. A worker constantly stirs the boiling soya bean gruel to get the consistency and texture just right.

The soya bean gruel is then poured into little plastic tubs, allowed to cool, and then chilled before ready for serving. 

This is an excellent, tasty and healthy dessert; be sure to try it when you are in KSL City Mall.


Restaurant name: 51 Soya Bean 豆花
Address: LG-S7, Level Lower Ground, KSL City, 33, Jalan Seladang, Taman Abad
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/BD4q
GPS: 1.485455,103.762462
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm
Halal

Restaurant name: 51 Soya Bean 豆花 @ Cedar Point Food Centre
Address: Jalan Musang Bulan, Taman Century, 80250 Johor Bahru
Map: http://g.co/maps/jtm7g
GPS: 1.481492,103.762167
Hours: Daily 10:00am to 10:00pm
Halal

Date visited: 29 May 2012, 15 Nov 2012