Fish Ball Noodles and Char Siew Pau @ Bebola Ikan Anthony in Yong Peng, Johor

Yong Peng is well known for stalls serving dishes made from the meat of Ikan Parang (Wolf Herrings). The ikan parang meat is made into fish balls, fillings for yong tau foo, or fish cakes.

Restoran Causeway Nasi Padang Ina off Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Bahru

Restoran Causeway (popularly known as Kak Ina) runs on two shifts - one serving lunch from 11:00am to 2:00pm and another for dinner from 6:00pm to midnight.



The lady boss serving soto (spicy chicken soup)

For lunch, Restoran Causeway serves its famous Nasi Padang (Ina). Restoran Causeway, well known for its authentic nasi padang, has been in business here at Jalan Lumba Kuda (old address) for more than 20 years. This little corner of Johor Bahru has seen dramatic physical changes in the last 20 years but the authentic food and the brisk business at Restoran Causeway hasn’t changed much. I am told Restoran Causeway's clientele includes the Johor royal family and their staff.

The charismatic boss Man, who is originally from Padang (West Sumatra), is still as youthful looking as ever despite being a grandfather now :-D  Man’s two daughters now handle the restaurant business, one the lunch shift and the other the dinner shift.

As I had already eaten lunch, I only stayed awhile to observe the goings on and promised Man that I will be back at dinnertime for his famed ayam penyet and asam pedas.

Like any good nasi padang shop, Restoran Causeway serves a wide array of curry and spicy meat, fish and vegetable dishes at very reasonable prices.

Whole chickens boiling furiously in curry perfuming the air

Everything is cooked right there at the premises, so the food and entire space has that home cooked aroma and feel. 

The arrangements are very casual. The customers help themselves to portions of whatever dishes they fancy and the portions will be tallied and charged accordingly at very reasonable prices.

As promised, I was back at Restoran Causeway exactly at 6:00pm. On Man’s suggestion, I had his popular ayam penyet set and asam pedas ikan selar.

Over my ayam penyet and asam pedas dinner, Man shared with me a basic principle of culinary art – he said, to attract customers, the taste must be interesting and one way to achieve this is a mix of flavours.

He cited the example of his sambal chili. Man said, the whole ayam penyet dish is centred around the sambal chili sauce which makes or breaks the dish. The sambal chili is made with regular chili for bulk and spiciness, chili padi for a sharper spiciness, ginger for smooth mildly pungent spicy, tomatoes for tangy flavour, onions for sweetness and belacan (fermented shrimp paste) for saltiness and savouriness.

Restoran Causeway’s asam pedas is roughly balanced between asam (tamarind) sourness and pedas spicy hot. The ikan selar was very fresh and the asam pedas gravy brought out its natural flavours very well.

I definitely have to be back for lunch for Man’s authentic nasi padang which is fit for Sultan and rakyat (folks) alike.

->> Lots of delicious selections that make lunch something to look forward to for many people working around the area.

Restaurant name: Restoran Causeway Nasi Padang Ina

Address: Jalan Lumba Kuda near Johor Bahru CIQ and Hotel Bluewave

Map: http://g.co/maps/t79ws

GPS: 1.460036,103.767840

Hours: 11:00am to 2:00pm and 6:00pm to midnight

Address: At row of old shophouses off Jalan Lingkaran Dalam near the junction with Jalan Sultan Ibrahim (across the road from Jalan Ah Siang) (Stone's throw from Gran Fiesta Bistro - formerly De Bali Bistro)
Map: http://bit.ly/NasiPadangIna
GPS: 1.463291,103.773115
Hours: 11:00am to 2:00pm (nasi padang) and 6:00pm to midnight (ayam penyet and asam pedas)

Halal

Date visited: 17 Apr 2012

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Review of Kuang Fei Tangkak Beef Noodles in Tangkak Johor 东甲牛腩面

While Do Do Do is like a magnet drawing people to Tangkak for its beef noodles, Kuang Fei both brings beef lovers to Tangkak and also takes the famous Tangkak beef noodles 东甲牛腩面 to people by opening branches in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Muar and Kluang (this is a must stop for my visits to Kluang).

Restaurant name: Tangkak Beef Noodle @ Restoran Kuang Fei

Address: 20, Jalan Solok, Kampung Padang Lalang, 84900 Tangkak, Johor

Tel: +606 978 3768

Hours: 10:00am - 5:00pm (Weds off)

Review of Famous Restoran Do Do Do Beef Noodles in Tangkak, Johor (2012 Post @ Old Taman Tangkak Jaya Location) 东甲肥仔牛腩面

^ Click for updated post

Cutting beef tripe at the shop front

Freshly fried crunchy bean curd skin

Do Do Do beef 东甲肥仔牛腩面 is one of those famous must-try restaurants for foodies.

Do Do Do offers a lot more than just good beef noodles – they serve beef in a variety of other interesting ways, namely, clear beef soup, claypot beef, stir fried beef in red rice wine, and even steamed beef.

Crunchy bean curd skin floating on top of the herbal broth and beef

Gummy yummy - juicy and tender beef tendons

Succulent tender beef chunks

Their claypot beef is similar to soupy herbal bak kut teh - the difference is beef is used here instead of pork, of course. The potpourri of beef belly, brisket, tripe, tendon, and fried bean curd skin were still churning under the fiercely bubbling broth when the claypot arrived at our table. The syrupy smooth soup had a delicate herbal fragrance and none of that beefy gamey smell. The soup was not overly salty nor oily and was highly drinkable 😋  We emptied our claypot of the last drop of soup.

The delicious large chunks of beef and tendons were smooth and tender – nothing gets annoyingly caught between the teeth 😁  It has that subtle herbal taste and flavour, and was naturally sweet, subtly milky - without that characteristic beef smell.

The steamed beef was really special – I have not eaten this anywhere else. The beef was thinly sliced. The paper thin tender beef literally melts in your mouth and it has a unique smoky milky taste and feel. As this dish uses only a special cut of beef, it requires pre-ordering by phone.

Try Do Do Do if you have not before, this is a beef restaurant like no other. As for me, I have to be back for that famous red wine stir fried beef 😄, and that photo of the shop front which I forgot to take as it was raining 😄 (Update: In the end I never got a photo of the old shop as Do Do Do moved before I came back.)

^ Old address

Restaurant name: Restoran Do Do Do  东甲肥仔牛腩面

Address: 1546, Jalan Hospital, Jalan Bidara 9, Taman Tangkak Jaya, Tangkak, Johor | 90 & 91, Jalan Teknology 1, Kawasan Perindustrian Tangkak, Johor

GPS: 2.272967,102.552421 | 2.242532, 102.532186 / 2°14'33.1"N 102°31'55.9"E
Hours: 10:00am to 5:00pm (closed on Weds)

Non Halal

Written by Tony Boey on 19 Apr 2012 | Updated on 24 Mar 2023

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I didn’t plan it that way. 

Restaurant name: Fa Lai Bah Kut Teh 发涞肉骨茶

Address: 1306, Jalan Bidara 10, Taman Tangkak Jaya, 84900 Tangkak, Johor

Tel: +6016 626 6319

Hours: 8:00am - 2:00pm (Mon off)

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