Head Chef Amr from Egypt
Fazaiwati, the owner of Wadi Hana Elarabi Restaurant invited me to try the Egyptian specialities at her restaurant. As I have never eaten Egyptian food nor been to Egypt before, I was excited to try the food at Wadi Hana Elarabi. It was an eye opener and I am grateful for Fazaiwati and her staff's patience and hospitality in showing me Egyptian cuisine. They are true ambassadors of Egyptian food.
Wadi Hana Elarabi is a corner unit shop lot, 3 minutes drive from Angsana Plaza along Jalan Pembangunan (off Jalan Tampoi).
Inside, there are seats and cushions on the floor which many customers find very comfortable and homely. There are also the usual tables and chairs.
Wadi Hana Elarabi also has a small private room set up like a tent which can seat up to 10 people comfortably.
Fazaiwati was an accountant with one of the Big Four before her love of Egyptian cuisine led her to open Wadi Hana Elarabi with her all-Egyptian crew.
Chef Amr from Egypt leads the kitchen at Wadi Hana Elarabi. Amr worked 7 years at Intercontinental Hotel in Cairo before coming to Johor Bahru.
I got this snap of Wadi Hana Elarabi's Sous-Chef Mahmmoud from Egypt in action frying egg plant when Faizawati let me loose in the kitchen hehe.
Karkade Egyptian hibiscus drink RM4
Once we were seated, we were served this Karkade which is a popular Egyptian drink made with hibiscus petals. It resembles a rose tea in looks and flavour. At the moment, Wadi Hana Elarabi serves this as their complimentary welcome drink.
Fattoush Salad RM6.00
We started with Fattoush Salad which is fresh vegetables and greens with lime juice and olive oil served with fried pita bread. I like the crunchy chunky cut fresh ingredients and tangy taste. Fattoush salad is refreshing and appetising.
Eating bread with hummus dip is a way of life in the Middle East. Hummus is made mainly with chickpeas, lime juice and olive oil. The hummus at Wadi Hana Elarabi has a tangy flavour from the lime juice, which is the Egyptian style.
I had this dulang (large serving tray) style serving as Faizawati wanted me to sample a few of Wadi Hana Elarabi's rice dishes in one sitting :P
Chicken Mandy Rice RM15.00
The popular Chicken Mandy Rice which is Basmati rice boiled in chicken broth and served with grilled chicken. The Egyptian version of Mandy rice differs from the other Arab versions that cook the rice using oil and juice drippings instead of chicken broth.
Orz Bel Khalta with Chicken RM12.00
Orz Bel Khalta is a traditional Egyptian staple of chicken or lamb and rice cooked with toasted nuts and soaked raisins.
Lamb Maklobah Rice RM18.00
Lamb Maklobah Rice served with slices of fried egg plant.
Fatta Rice with Lamb RM18.00
Fatta Rice with lamb and fried bread topped with a pulpy, tangy, savoury gravy (similar to spaghetti gravy).
The soup of the day was chicken and vegetable soup with lessan, which are those "seeds" in the picture. They are actually a form of pasta. Slippery and soft, lessan is quite interesting, if you had not tried it before.
The rice dishes are eaten with this pulpy spicy dip. The spicy sting is sharp but fades quickly. I like it.
Vegetable Soup RM8.00
This simple looking vegetable soup took me by surprise by it savouriness. I enjoyed it a lot.
I noticed savoury and tangy notes in most of the dishes I sampled at Wadi Hana Elarabi, and I asked Faizawati what is the source of these flavours. That was when I was shown this red-purplish sumac spice, a grounded preserved shrub used to season and flavour many Egyptian dishes.
After the hefty and rich rice dishes, it was time for dessert and coffee :D
Umm Ali RM9.00
We had Umm Ali sweet dessert, a national dish of Egypt made with bread pudding and milk topped with crushed peanuts and raisins.
Our refreshing lemon mint drink.
This is the Wadi Hana Energy Drink with is a sweet creamy concoction of milk, honey, dates, and cream sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Love it along with its million calories, more or less :P I think it's a perfect natural energy drink to start the day :D
Arabic Coffee RM4.00
As a coffee lover, I couldn't resist trying this Arabic Coffee before getting on the road. I like this Arabic coffee which has good body, robust, slightly sweet and fragrant from the spices added.
Wadi Hana Elarabi is definitely the place to go in Johor Bahru for Egyptian cuisine prepared by Egyptian chefs and served at very reasonable prices.
Restaurant name: Wadi Hana Elarabi Restaurant
Address: 1, Jalan Pembangunan (off Jalan Tampoi), Taman Desa Rahmat, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/VHbF0
GPS: 1.499522,103.707177
Hours: 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight (Closed Tuesday)
Halal
Date visited: 6 Jan 2014
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Dave, a partner at Brussels Beer Café invited Johor Kaki to visit his newly opened restaurant at Puteri Habour, Johor Bahru. There are 8 Brussels Beer Café outlets in KL and Penang, and this is the first one in Johor Bahru.
Brussels Beer Café is really easy to locate at Puteri Harbour; it's just beside the multi-storey basement car park and right next to the escalator leading up to the Little Red Cube (where the Hello Kitty theme park is).
The layout and décor at Brussels Beer Café is quite simple and casual. There is inside seating with air conditioning and outside al fresco seating.
I like the al fresco seats because of the Marina view and the sea breeze.
To kick things off in the right spirit, we started with beers :D
Brussels Beer Café serves a wide range of beers from around the world. Hoegaarden is probably one of the best known Belgian beers in this part of the world. We tried the Roseé version of Hoegaarden which Dave said was very popular with ladies. The pinkish hue beer was sweet and had 3% alcohol. I still prefer my beer to be golden yellow, bitter and with at least 5% alcohol :D
Next time, Stella Artois - the other famous Belgian brand.
To go with the beer, we had Moules Mariniere which is live Dutch mussels simply steamed with white wine, celery, garlic and onion.
The soft like marshmallow and savoury (broad bean size) mussels were perfect beer food.
The milky robust savoury mussel juices at the bottom of the pot was so delicious, we asked for this German rye bread to mop it all up :D
Actually, I would love to just come regularly to Brussels Beef Café to have beer with Moules Mariniere, relax with friends and enjoy the sea breeze while viewing the Marina.
We also had Belgium Frites or Belgium style fries. The thumb sized fries were made from Idaho (USA) potatoes and eaten with regular mayonnaise or curry mayonnaise dip.
Brussels Style Pork Knuckle RM70.80++
Next up was the Brussels style pork knuckle with sautéed potatoes, mushrooms and brown sauce. The pork knuckle came with the meat and skin stripped from the shank bone. Everything was cut to convenient bite size. The meat was firm, savoury and just the right saltiness for me.
The crispy skin was quite dry, stiff and chewy. I ate it by dipping it in the savoury brown sauce to soften it a little.
Brussels Pork Burger RM20.80++
The Brussels Pork Burger is one of the best burgers that I've had in a while. Bouncy, pillowy sesame bun, caramelised sweet onions, flavourful crisp bacon on a thick and tender pork patty, smooth creamy mayonnaise and cheese with fresh lettuce. Excellent.
After the beers, I had an espresso (at RM6 for single shot). It was a perky bitter sweet full bodied syrupy hot tonic. Good!
Brussels Beer Café is one more place in JB to relax over good food, good drinks and a nice view.
Restaurant name: Brussels Beer Café
Address: Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/eYA8w
GPS: 1.416984,103.658484
Hours: 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight
Non Halal
Date visited: 2 Jan 2014
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This was my second invitation to Soul Thai restaurant in Taman Nusa Bestari. We made a date to come back to Soul Thai after our first visit as we had not enough stomach room for some of our favourite Thai dishes.
As crab and glass noodle is one of my favourite crab dishes, we ordered Soul Thai's Claypot Crab with Glass Noodle. Price is seasonal and this was at RM80.
The live crab from Sarawak was meaty, juicy and tender. It tasted savoury and had the sweetness of the sea.
We were really impressed with the glass noodles. The glass noodles sponged up most of savoury gravy and crab juices. Yet, the strands were still springy and stayed in shape with good bite. Definitely a must for crab lovers.
Thai style steamed squid (sotong) is another of my favourite Thai dishes. Soul Thai's sotong come soaking in a soupy tangy gravy and buried under a blanket of sliced lime, shredded cabbage, chili and parsley.
Steamed Sotong Thai Style RM22.90
Sweep aside the shroud of cabbage, chili and lime and the beautiful steamed sotong (squid) emerges.
The sotong was steamed just right. In the mouth, the fresh sotong flesh felt bouncy soft yet slightly chewy. The eggs felt milky and a little like jelly. The flavours were savoury complemented with tanginess, spiciness and sweetness from the gravy. I always liked steamed sotong and Soul Thai's version was very good.
We also had Soul Thai's Green Curry Chicken in Coconut Milk (RM14.90). This was a bit too sweet and too mild for me. If you like thick, creamy, sweet and very mild spiciness in your green curry, then this is for you.
Steamed Tapioca with Sugar Syrup RM3.90
For dessert, we ordered steamed tapioca. It was really great. The tapioca was steamed just right - it was soft and felt like mashed potato. The tapioca had a slight refreshing taste and the soft fibres were loaded with sweet warm syrup made with sugar and coconut milk.
Restaurant name: Soul Thai Restaurant & Bistro 泰美味美食餐厅
Address: 3G, Jalan Bestari 3/5, Taman Nusa Bestari, Skudai
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/J8HgL
GPS: 1.492009,103.659587
Hours: 11:00am to 11:30pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Date visited: 22 Nov 2013, 2 Jan 2014
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Readers Wilson Lee and Jie Kuan wrote to me and suggested that I try Ko Fook 口福 wanton mee shop in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA) for their home made wanton noodles.
Johor Kaki with the founder of Shui Kee herbal soups 水记炖品 in Batu Pahat
Johor Kaki's first post of 2014 is not a food review, but a review of Johor Kaki itself.
I decided to do this top 10 moments list on impulse, late in the afternoon of 1 Jan 2014.
The previous year had passed breathtakingly fast. Johor Kaki has many things to be thankful for but I felt that I don't have the time for the self indulgence of savouring the year's top moments. There are still so many more food and hawkers stories waiting to be written.
But, when I wanted to set my bearings on where Johor Kaki is going in 2014, I realised that I need to think deeper about where I had been so far.
It is timely to pause and take stock of what Johor Kaki is about.
The events that stuck in my mind are those that have the most impact towards achieving my vision for Johor hawkers and Johor food.
Here are my 10 top moments, if you will bear with my self indulgence.
1. Foodie Blogger TV Series
Click on the photo to view the Johor episode of "Foodie Blogger" series 1
In February 2013, the premiere episode of the NTV7 series "Foodie Blogger" featuring Johor was televised across the country. It was an honour to be on the programme with award winning artiste, Coby Chong 庄可比. I found Coby a talented, lovely and genuine person. The series was a success and work on the second series is now underway. I am honoured to be involved again in the Johor episode of the second series of "Foodie Blogger".
2. Best Malaysia Food Blog Award
In Mar 2013, Johor Kaki was named the Best Food Blog at the Malaysia International Travel Bloggers Conference and Awards (MITBCA) organised by the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism. I am happy because this award helped raised the profile of Johor food in Malaysia. I was heartened that during the voting, Johor foodies rallied behind Johor Kaki in social media. I feel the greater consciousness of our foodie community in Johor was an important benefit of this event.
3. Best Singapore Food Blog Award
In July 2013, Johor Kaki was named the Best Food Blog in the Singapore Blog Awards competition organised by Singapore Press Holdings supported by Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information. I am glad that with this award, greater awareness of Johor food and hawkers reached it's nearest neighbour, just across the Causeway.
4. Malaysian Street Food Seminar
Sharing about Johor street food at seminar in Kuala Lumpur.
In September 2013, Johor Kaki was invited to be a panellist at the seminar on Malaysian Street Food organised by Management and Science University. It's great to be able to share about Johor food with a Kuala Lumpur audience together with TV personality/ celebrity Chef Sufiz, TV personality/ AFC host of food show "Best in the World" Razif Hashim and Mansor Omar, Senior Director of Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority.
5. Discovering Johor Small Towns through Food
Johor Kaki has taken me to the quaint, small towns of Johor, in search of good food and our food heritage. This is the small town of Paloh, 30 km off the North-South Highway exit at Yong Peng. We were treated to robust old school Nanyang kopi and regaled with stories by the kopitiam boss, and that alone made the 45 minutes drive through the winding, undulating road one way, worth it. I am looking forward to many more such less travelled roads to explore.
6. Friendships with Chefs, Business Owners and Hawkers
With Gary, the passionate and flamboyant Chef and owner of Grill Bar Steakhouse
To me, writing about a restaurant or stall is never just about the food - a blog post is not a souped up menu card. I feel the story of the food, business and especially the story of the people involved is an important part of food writing. Through Johor Kaki, I enjoyed many special moments getting to know many chefs, business owners and hawkers.
7. Making New Foodie and Food Bloggie Friends
I've made many new friends among foodies from Johor, Singapore and also further afield. We come from all communities, all walks of life but bonded by the shared love of food. Not just food at the level of taste and flavour but also it's deeper meanings. Foodie bloggers, in particular, share a special bond.
8. Showing Overseas Visitors the Best of Johor Food
Johor Kaki with the team from V Publications (Hong Kong) at Restoran ZZ Sup Tulang
The privilege to show unique Johor food to like minded overseas foodies and media is a highlight of my year. Sometimes, I customise a food trail for the visitors based on their preferences or background. Other times, we just jump into the car and let our instincts and impulses take us on a trail of random discoveries and gastronomic adventure :D
9. Top Low Moment
Not every Johor Kaki moment was delicious and rosy. The lowest point was when my trusty old car was struck by a large container truck when I was at it's blind spot. The workshop in Singapore quoted me SGD3,000 to get me a new door. Fortunately, through the help of my friend Alex, he found me a workshop that got it fixed in JB for RM400 including a polish for the affected part :D
10. Every New Fan is a Bright Moment
Johor Kaki Facebook page has over 31,300+ fans as at 1 January 2014
A Johor Kaki fan is never just a number. Every fan is an individual that has put his or her trust in what Johor Kaki has set out to achieve. I am mindful of the heavy responsibility that that entails and am committed to honour the trust of Johor Kaki fans in the integrity of my food writings.
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