Tam Zabb Lao and Thai in Taman Nusa Bestari, Johor Bahru (Restaurant is Closed)

Since I stumbled upon Tam Zabb Lao and Thai restaurant a few months ago, I have become a regular here. I like Tam Zabb because their food is delicious and also for their uncompromising authenticity.

Inside the shop lot at Taman Nusa Bestari, Tam Zabb is neat, simply laid out, comfortable and unmistakeably Thai with a contemporary touch.



Aphinya, the lady boss, is from Thailand, as are the Chef and crew in the kitchen. Aphinya herself had been a Chief Chef in a Thai restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden for many years. Speaking with Aphinya, I realised that she took great pride and go to great lengths to get the right and freshest ingredients to ensure the authenticity of her Lao and Thai dishes.



Whenever I am at Tam Zabb, I saw Aphinya personally involved in the food preparation and cooking.

Here are some of my personal favourites at Tam Zabb.


Pandan chicken RM12

Pandan chicken is standard fare at Thai food restaurants but at Tam Zabb, there is a basic yet important difference.



Tam Zabb is the only restaurant that I know, so far, that uses fresh chilled chicken instead of frozen chicken to make their pandan chicken.



Tam Zabb's pandan chicken has tender, natural sweetness of fresh chicken - something not possible with frozen chicken. The pandan flavoured chicken is further enhanced by dipping it in the savoury sweet sauce made with palm sugar imported from Thailand.



I like this Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts. The chicken slices are smacked sharply with the flat of a chopper, coated with a thin batter and then deep fried to a crisp, before stir frying. The end result is a savoury biscuit-like chicken koropok or crackle. Excellent with white rice and even better with cold beer :P 


Num Tok Phla (tilapia fish) RM25

Num Tok Phla is a large tilapia fish, its thick flesh diced into chunky cubes, marinaded with hot spices, deep fried and served with union, mint, dried chili peppers and chili powder garnishing.


Fried fish with chili RM22

This fried tilapia with chili is another of my favourites. The thick tilapia fish is fried till the outside is crisp while the insides are still slightly moist. The chili sauce looks fiery but it is actually just mildly spicy.


Grilled catfish RM10

Catfish is common in markets and stalls in Johor but here at Tam Zabb it is BBQed with such finesse that the skin is reduced to a dry savoury parchment while the sweet flesh remains moist with its natural juices and oils. 


Classic Larb RM15

Classic Larb is an everyday kind of home cooked meal in Northeast Thailand and Laos. Comfort food made with finely chopped pork and stir fried with spicy, tangy sauces, herbs and spices.



For many people, no Thai meal is complete without a spicy tom yam soup. For Thai food newbies, have no fear, Tam Zabb's tom yam soup is just mildly spicy (as long as you don't bite into the chili peppers :P ) and the ingredients are all market fresh.


Kho Moo Yang or pork neck salad RM16

In JB, this Thai pork dish is available only in Tam Zabb as far as I know. The pork from the chin area is grilled over very slow fire, when cooked, it is thinly sliced and then tossed in a tangy and spicy salad sauce. The resulting meat is tender, naturally sweet and spicy with a bouncy, delightful "QQ" mouth feel. That fearsome looking thick layer of fat did not make me feel congested or bloated at all (making it all the more dangerous :P ). This grilled pork neck is simply marvellous.


Som Tam Thai RM10


Som Tom RM15

Delicious tangy, sweet and savoury Thai appetisers that can really whet one's appetite.

To top off our meals, Tam Zabb serves some marvellous Thai desserts that I've not seen anywhere else in Johor Bahru.


Pumpkin Custard served with Ice Cream RM15

Delightful pumpkin custard served with ice cream. Soft, natural sweetness of the pumpkin is complemented by the saccharin sweetness of ice cream. The contrast of warm custard with cold ice cream makes this treat an interesting experience. 


Sticky Rice Mango dessert RM12

Sticky Rice Mango is a common dessert in Thai restaurants. The sweet and slightly tangy mango complemented the sweet sticky rice. At Tam Zabb, the mango is bathed with a milky syrup made with palm sugar extracted from "sea coconut" palms. Delightful on the taste buds and not overly sweet, I found it rather addictive. Unable to find it in Johor markets, Aphinya buys the palm sugar directly from Thailand. This treat is so delicious that somehow, my stomach always found space for this substantial dessert.



Tam Zabb's grilled banana dessert served with a sweet sauce made with Thai sea coconut palm sugar. Aphinya used a mix of local and Thai bananas for this dessert. The local bananas are sweeter, soft and mushy while the Thai ones were firmer, less sweet and slightly fibrous. Using both bananas gave this dessert an interesting mix of flavours and textures.

Tam Zabb has many other delicious authentic Lao and Thai favourites. Here are more popular dishes that I have enjoyed.


Steamed sea bass with garlic, chili and lemon sauce RM30


Steamed glass noodles with shrimps RM15


Pad Thai RM12


Pineapple Rice RM15

Tam Zabb's pineapple rice is the Northeastern variety without the yellow cumin which we have here in Johor and Singapore. The flavours are milder and it is less greasy. The fluffy fried rice is served with diced capsicum, pineapple, carrots, raisins, cashew nuts, chicken and shrimps.

At Tam Zabb, I also like the opportunity to try out traditional Thai beverages.


Wood apple RM5


Lemon grass infusion RM3


Cha-Yen iced tea RM5

We always enjoyed our visits to Tam Zabb very much and will be back regularly. We like the clean and neat environment, easy accessibility and parking, attentive service, reasonable pricing, and the authentic traditional Lao and Thai food was excellent.



Restaurant name: Restoran Tam Zabb Lao and Thai
Address: 48G, Jalan Bestari 3/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/QBa4W (rough)
GPS 1.481964,103.666407 (rough)
Hours: 11:00am to 11:00pm (Closed in Tuesday)
Non Halal

Dates visited: 8 Apr 2013, 18 Feb 2013, 21 Jan 2013,

Closed. Curry Pork Ribs at Fourstorey 四楼小吃 in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah in Johor Bahru

I am a fan of curry pork and also of pork ribs, especially that part with the cartilage. So when Mdm Chan, the lady boss of Fourstorey 四楼小吃 told me that their signature curry pork ribs is made with that part with the cartilage on, I didn't wait long to return to the stall. Actually, I was back the next day.


Old Bukit Indah stall.

Fourstorey 四楼小吃 used to be the very popular curry rice stall in Taman Bukit Indah. At the Bukit Indah stall, they used to sell the whole range of curry meat and vegetable dishes to go with their fragrant rice.


Old Bukit Indah stall.

Recently, the stall moved to the 4 storey flats at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah. The lady boss told me that they decided to move because their previous stall was a mobile road side stall. Though business was good, whenever it rains, it would wash out the day's business. So, they decided to move indoors into this stall in a kopitiam.



It's been nearly four months since they started business here and Fourstorey is gradually getting their old clientele back and building their new customer support.



The two pieces of chunky pork ribs came smothered by a layer of smooth, almost creamy curry. The "cream" came from santan and potatoes, so the curry had a pleasant natural sweetness blended with both hot and fragrant spices. The curry was a blend of sweet, mild spiciness, savouriness from the pork and aromas from the ground spices such as star anise. The spiciness of the curry was just right - it did not overpower but instead complement the subtle, natural flavour of the pork.  



Ah.. that tender and delicious curry pork rib. That piece of cartilage between the flesh gave the tender, perfumed meat an interesting crunchiness.



I plopped a couple of dollops of the curry onto the rice. The rice was cooked with pandan leaves, lemon grass and fried shallot oil. The rice had a nice fragrance and subtle oiliness that made it an additive pleasure. 



The curry pork rib rice is served with this tangy, sweet and savoury archar (crunchy vegetable pickles). I found that the archar went very well together with the fragrant rice at Fourstorey 四楼小吃 .

This curry pork ribs is definitely a Must Try (curry pork ribs is available only during the weekends).



Restaurant name: Fourstorey Kway Teow Kia 四楼小吃
Address: No 0118, Blok 20, Jalan Pendekar 1, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/SDfka
GPS: 1.513217,103.651789
Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm (Mon & Tues off)
Non Halal

Date visited: 10 Apr 2013, 12 Apr 2013

Business Closed - Fourstorey Kway Teow Kia 四楼小吃 in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah in Johor Bahru

Kway teow kia stalls are in every corner of Johor Bahru. Most are the mildly herbal Teochew style and there are a few stalls selling the more robustly flavoured Hokkien style. This was the first time I tried what the stall owner Mr. Chan called the Cantonese style.



Fourstorey Kway Teow Kia 四楼小吃 is family run, by Mr. Chan, his wife, and Mun, the son. The Chans previously ran the famous curry pork ribs and chicken/pork chop stall in Taman Bukit Indah before reopening here in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah about two months ago. The Chans still sell their famous chicken/pork chops here but the popular curry pork ribs are available only on weekends. 



The very friendly Mr. Chan.





Mun slices the kway teow kia and fries Fourstorey's famous chicken chop.



We had a couple of mixed plates of kway teow kia with a bit of everything from braised pork, innards, skin, to chicken feet.



The pig skin, like everything at Fourstorey was very well trimmed and cleaned. There was neither excess fat nor unwanted odours, just the lovely savoury flavour of bouncy braised pork skin.



Lovely slice of braised pork with skin, fat and meat in one tender, savoury piece. 



This tender braised pork tongue was crunchy and nicely, lightly flavoured. This is one of the best pork tongues I have tried.



The braised chicken were tender, delicious and smooth as they were not fried before braising.



The braised eggs and braised fried tofu. The tofu has a nice crisp outer layer while the inside was soft and smooth.



I noticed that the different innards here have slightly different tastes - a subtle difference in flavour and not only in texture. Usually the KTK parts taste identical in average KTK stalls. I asked the lady boss about this and she told me that she braised the different parts separately in different pots. This retained the unique flavour of each part, which would be lost in those stalls that throw everything together and braise it all in one big pot. Attention to details like this set Fourstorey Kway Teow Kia apart from the average KTK stall.



The cabbage stir fried with chopped shallots and dried shrimps was crunchy, fragrant and savoury.  



I strongly recommend this fried sayur manis which is seldom seen in kway teow kia stalls. Indeed, I have not seen this anywhere else. The fresh sweet sayur manis blends well with the savoury sauce with hints of spicy hot from the chilis.



The kway teow kia in the savoury, subtly herbal brew.



Unlike the Teochew style, in the Cantonese style, the kway teow is not served with the same braising sauce used in cooking the innards.



Instead, it is served in a tasty broth made specially for the kway teow. The broth is made with stock bones and flavoured with pork lard crackles and fried shallot crackles.



The perky, stinging spicy and fragrant chili sauce for the kway teow kia.



Besides the kway teow kia we also had Fourstorey's famous fried chicken chop. The crispy batter encased the tender juicy chicken meat inside its crackly crust.

The chicken chop is served with not one, not two but three(!) types of sauces (as they say in those afternoon tacky Hollywood Sellavision commercials).



This is the tangy, sweet and spicy hot chili sauce.



The savoury sweet sauce is made with honey and apple jam.



The creamy mayonnaise dip.



The chicken chop is a hot seller for take away customers.



Fourstorey kway teow kia is at the right hand corner of this four storey flat at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah.

Fourstorey stall and its surroundings might look humble but the quality of their kway teow kia and fried chicken chop which I tried today are among the best in Johor Bahru.

If you want to impress your friends that you know the unlikely nooks and crannies where the good food of Johor are, Fourstorey should be on your food trail.

Restaurant name: Fourstorey Kway Teow Kia 四楼小吃
Address: No 0118, Blok 20, Jalan Pendekar 1, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/SDfka
GPS: 1.513217,103.651789
Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm (Mon & Tues off)
Non Halal

Date visited: 10 Apr 2013