Roslin Beriani House in Johor Bahru, Kebun Teh

Beriani Daging (beef)

Today, my friend Boon Lin brought me to his favourite nasi beriani shop in Johor Bahru. Boon Lin has been eating at Roslin Beriani House in Kebun Teh since he was a child. 

Fat Mom 肥妈 Restaurant in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru

Colbie invited me to visit her mum Karry's restaurant, Fat Mom 肥妈 in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru.



Fat Mom 肥妈 is a simple eating place. Very clean, bright and well kept.



Originally from Penang, Karry serves the familiar Penang dishes using her mom and mom-in-law's recipes. I forgot to ask Karry, "Fat Mom" refers to which mom :P


Thai Laksa RM5.50

The first dish I want to share about is a Thai not Penang dish.

This Thai laksa left the deepest impression, I guess partly because I have never tasted Thai laksa before but mostly because I found it delightfully delicious.

Karry said that this Thai laksa is the recipe of her mom-in-law who is from Thailand.



I like this Thai laksa gravy a lot.

The laksa gravy was heavy with soft, mashed fresh sardines which Karry bought from the wet market and ground herself every day. The curry spices and fish were held together with just the right among of coconut milk, allowing us to appreciate the curry spices and fresh sardine fish flavours.

The laksa gravy was mildly spicy but we can spike up the spiciness anytime with the cut chili paddies sprinkled on it.

The juicy and crunchy cut cucumber, onions and long beans gave the Thai laksa additional interesting flavours and texture.



I am not sure if this is authentic Thai laksa but I am sure I like this very much.


Dry Curry Chicken Noodles RM5.50

This "Dry Curry Chicken Noodles" is Karry's own creation, so you won't find this dish anywhere else.

It is yellow noodles tossed in a soy and shallot oil sauce, and then topped with chicken and curry. The whole plate of noodles and thick curry gravy are then tossed and mixed. 

A unique blend of savoury and mildly spicy. Try, and see if you like it.


Penang Prawn Mee RM5.50

Fat Mom also serves a good Penang prawn mee.



Pork bone and prawn broth with good body, two good sized shrimps, slices of pork, fish cake, eggs, handful of taugeh (bean sprouts) and stalks of leafy greens topped with shallot crackles.


Penang Lor Mee RM5.50

You may also try Fat Mom's Penang lor mee.



Penang lor mee is enjoyed by tossing the sambal chili, ground garlic and vinegar with the lor (sauce) and noodles. 

Fat Mom 肥妈 is a good place for nice simple meals at reasonable prices. Especially recommend their delicious Thai laksa - I have not seen this anywhere else in JB.



Restaurant name: Fat Mom 肥妈
Address: 55, Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/ensjI
GPS: 1.482862,103.775423
Hours: 8:30am to 5:00pm (closed on alternate Tues)
Non Halal

Date visited: 17 Mar 2014

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Paldo Seafood Noodle Soup

Paldo Seafood Noodle Soup is from Korea.



Inside the packet are a noodle block, and two sachets of seasoning powder and freeze dried garnish.



The noodles were the steamed and oil fried type, so there was a slight film of grease on the strands.



The reddish coloured seasoning powder was a mix of synthetic flavourings and preservatives, and organic extracts and powders like cuttlefish, crab and shrimp.



The garnish were flakes of freeze dried cuttlefish, cabbage, onion, carrot and seaweed.



My bowl of steaming hot noodle soup was ready within 5 minutes. There was no aroma from the soup.



The noodles were typical of those from Korea, which were generally likable. The noodles were relatively thick, tender, yet firm enough to have some bounce. The noodles were clean tasting and had that generic wheat flavour. I like these noodles.

The little bits of garnish added some interesting texture but they were tasteless. There were also very little of them, so their impact was limited. 



The broth was medium bodied, slightly salty and mildly spicy but didn't taste like seafood. The broth is drinkable, though I did not finish it. 






Paldo Seafood Noodles did well in the dip stick test. There wasn't much oil stuck to the dip stick.

Paldo Seafood Noodle Soup is not certified Halal.

Rating: 5/10 based on Johor Kaki standardised instant noodle rating system.

Join the Instant Noodle Facebook group for more fun with instant noodle fans.

JB Food on Foot - Old School Teochew Noodles in Downtown Johor Bahru

As many of Johor Bahru's Chinese residents are Teochews, the Malaysian city is often referred to as "Little Swatow 小汕头". Swatow in China is the hometown of many of Johor Bahru's early Teochew settlers.

Teochew noodle soup is a favourite everyday comfort meal among Teochews. Today, in Johor Bahru there are many Teochew noodle stalls sprinkled throughout the city.

In old downtown Johor Bahru, there are still shops that serve old school Teochew noodle soup dishes, the way it is prepared in the days of our grandfathers.

Jalan Siu Nam, Johor Bahru Town

A short walk from the modern City Square Mall in the direction of Singapore is Lau Tee Teochew Kway Teow Soup 老弟潮州粿条汤 at old Jalan Siu Nam, just next to the Esso petrol station. Lau Tee is a stall inside Hock Chiang Hin Kopitiam 福振兴餐室.

Lau Tee 老弟 who founded the stall back in 1942 is the father of the current owner, Mr Er.



Lau Tee's Teochew noodles is served in an old well used plastic bowl with sauce, our choice of noodles (mee pok, mee kia, bee hoon or kway teow), topped with minced pork, lean pork slices, fish cake, fish ball, small shrimps, fried shallot and lard crackles. We can have chili sauce, if we like our noodles spicy.



My bowl of mee kia after a good toss in the sauce.

The sauce is a fragrant blend of lard, shallot oil and light soy sauce. Mr Er cooks the crunchy noodles just right and the ingredients are all fresh. Teochews are particular about the freshness of their food and like to taste the natural flavours inherent in the ingredients.



The noodles come with a small bowl of cloudy broth which has good body, smooth mouth feel and a robust savoury prawny flavour.

7 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Bahru Town

A short walk across Jalan Wong Ah Fook, is Mr Er's uncle Ah Seng's shop Sang Heng 甡兴茶餐室 at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. Locals refer to it as the "noodle shop beside OCBC" as it is located next to the bank in downtown JB.



Ah Seng (who is Lau Tee's brother) is probably Johor's most senior hawker today.



Sang Heng's Teochew noodle soup is similar to Lau Tee's.

Both Lau Tee and Sang Heng have their loyal following of fans for their delicious old style Teochew noodles.

30 Jalan Segget, Johor Baru Town

The third old school noodle shop is Ah Hua 亚华粿条 in Sekee kopitiam 司機餐室 at Jalan Segget. Ah Hua kway teow soup started as a push cart stall along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in 1957.

Ah Hua's noodles served with pork broth differs from that of Lau Tee and Sang Heng which use prawns to make their broth.

Ah Hua 亚华 is the only kway teow soup shop that I have seen in Malaysia that still uses charcoal fire to boil the broth.

The key to Ah Hua's Teochew kway teow soup is, of course, the broth which is made by boiling big pork bones.



The other key is fresh ingredients, be it the pork, shell fish or kway teow noodles. All must be of the highest quality as the clear broth will show up any inferior ingredients.

At Ah Hua, you can have the basic kway teow soup which comes with slices of pork and liver, or the luxury versions where we can add kidney, fish maw, oysters and even abalone.

Most of these old noodle shop's customers are regulars who like this old style taste and flavours. They also have a growing clientele who are discovering the charms of old style noodle soup.

Through these three old noodle shops, we can still taste the old flavours and heritage of Johor Bahru.

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Faculty of Caffeine - Specialty Coffee in Johor Bahru

Today, I met up with my friend William Yap at the Faculty of Caffeine - Johor Bahru's newest café on JB's oldest street, Jalan Trus.

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

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