Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture

I stumbled upon Tan Village while food spotting in Taman Desa Cemerlang. As I am a fan of paper (parchment) baked chicken, I was attracted to the big posters on the wall displaying various flavours of paper baked chicken.

We ordered a simple meal of half an "original flavour" 原味 paper baked chicken, a plate of bitter gourd fried with salted egg yolks and a mutton herbal soup.

I like the mild flavours and aroma of Tan Village's "original flavour" paper baked chicken (RM12 for half a bird).

The chicken flesh was tender yet firm, moist and sweet. Though tender, the flesh had a little spring and needed a bit of pulling and tucking to pull away the last fibres. I love it.

I also love this bitter gourd fried with salted egg yolks. Refreshing, crunchy, with savoury notes from the dried shrimps and salted egg yolks. This nice side dish cost RM6.

The soup costing RM10 was full bodied, smooth, savoury and herbal. Highly drinkable. The thick slices of radish were tasty and squishy. The mutton was firm, not hard, but it was not tender enough for my liking. The soup was neither oily nor gamey. Nice soup, especially for people who don't eat the boiled meat in herbal soups. Since I eat everything in the bowl, I prefer the mutton softer.

While chatting with the (camera shy) boss Ah Seng, he told me that the shop was originally intended as a kitchen to produce these frozen packs of paper baked chicken. Ah Seng's family runs a "kampung chicken" farm in Pekan Nanas and this shop produces paper baked chicken for pasar malam (night market) and food centre hawkers, and restaurants.

As there was excess space at the front, Ah Seng said they decided to serve walk in diners as well. They also added a few side dishes to make the menu more appealing. Ah Seng's wife just whips up the side dishes in the kitchen, when there is an order. No wonder the fried bitter gourd has that distinct home cooked feel that I like.

I liked the paper baked chicken here so much that I bought a frozen pack of Tan Village's herbal chicken to try at home. This take away bird cost RM16. Very reasonable, in my opinion.

Restaurant name: Tan Village Restaurant
Address: 7, Jalan Tanjung 1, Taman Desa Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/UPAGm
GPS: 1.561603,103.807572
Hours: 10:00am to 9:00pm (closed on Weds)
Non Halal

Date visited: 28 Feb 2013

Bryan brought Ian and I to Masai to show us Ah Loong Bak Kut Teh, his favourite BKT shop since his childhood.

Ah Loong BKT is located just at the edge of the Pasir Gudang industrial area, and had been here for over 20 years. In this part of Johor Bahru, Ah Loong is the most established and oldest BKT shop. The sun bleached signboard is testimony to Ah Loong's vintage in JB BKT genealogy.

The boss, Ah Loong, has many regular Japanese customers who work in the factories in nearby Pasir Gudang. I heard Ah Loong speaking with them in fluent Japanese!

If you are expecting BKT, the likes of downtown favourites like Ah Soon and Soon Huat, you are in for a surprise. Unlike the uptown boys, Ah Loong's BKT has only very slight herbal notes and has a distinct refreshing taste of fresh green vegetables. Uniquely, Ah Loong uses a lot of celery in his BKT broth. I would even describe Ah Loong's BKT as vegetable soup with pork ribs added. Ah Loong also added Chinese cooking wine to the soup. Though this is definitely not the usual Teochew BKT commonly found in downtown JB, I liked this.

Ah Loong took a lot of trouble to ensure his pork ribs are fresh, very well cleaned and cooked to perfection. Ah Loong personally handles all the cooking to ensure perfection in his BKT.

Fats are removed as much as possible so that you won't see much if any fat on the bone and the broth doesn't have that off putting, oily sludge.

Bryan loved this tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs so much that he ordered another serving which we gladly helped him finish without any invitation :P

The pork intestines were also very well cleaned and had all the fats painstakingly snipped off. Sweet, tender with savoury, slight bitter taste.

I loved braised dishes. I especially love Ah Loong's braised pork and radish.

The thick chunky radish slices, infused with savoury braising sauce had a squishy, melon like mouth feel. Each bite released spurts of savoury juices gushing onto the longing taste buds. I love this.

The braised meat too was no slouch in taste. The braised meat was tender, savoury, sweet and creamy when chewed with the fat and skin.

The crunchy preserved mustard was tangy, sweet and savoury.

I will plan trips to Ah Loong's BKT because of his unique vegetable soup BKT.

Restaurant name: Kedai Makanan Loong
Address: 32, Jalan Ara 2, Taman Rinting, Masai, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/pzGWe
GPS: 1.492673,103.874316
Hours: 7:30am to 2:00pm
Non Halal

Date visited: 1 Mar 2013

We were on our way to KL for the Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference and Awards or MITBCA. As always, we made it a point to stopover at a Johor town to hunt for food ;-) This time, we stopped at Muar.

I've a map in hand with a list of recommended food shops carefully marked out but somehow I fell back on my inefficient habit, but more fun way of just cruising around searching for food by instinct.

We got down from the car a couple of times to check out potential food finds but didn't stumble upon anything that really caught our fancy for more than an hour.

Then, we stopped at this chicken rice shop that looked like many others we've seen.

The lone boiled chicken hanging in the glass case looked ordinary but what caught my eye were the chicken rice balls on the customers' plates and boxes.

I've heard about an old and famous chicken rice ball shop in Muar. To be sure, I asked the lady boss a couple of quick questions about the rice balls. The friendly Mdm. Wong said her late father learnt the trade of making Hainanese chicken and the rice balls from a master more than 50 years ago. After teaching her dad, the master sold her dad all the pots, pans and equipment before returning to China. The rest is chicken rice ball history, as they say.

Bingo. So I stumbled upon the pioneer, and what could be the original chicken rice ball shop in Malaysia.

The Wong family now has two shops. This one, Jie Chun is named after their mum. Another shop named Jit Fat run by Mdm. Wong's brother in downtown Muar (opposite the Hindu temple entrance) is named after their dad.

At first look, the chicken was not all that different from those at ordinary chicken rice stalls. At first bite, the meat was a little firm and the flavour slight. The difference became apparent when we dabbed the chicken with a bit of the fragrant, savoury, sesame based sauce that was splattered here and there on the plate.

With the sauce, the chicken's taste and flavour were much enhanced. (This reminded me of the Malacca chicken rice balls where again the sesame sauce was key.)

The rice balls were soft and moist, fragrant and savoury, and not overly oily. Mdm. Wong reminded us to drizzle a dash of their sweet and savoury blended soy sauce.

Mdm. Wong let us to try their braised tofu. It was soft, creamy and savoury. A very good side dish to go with the chicken and rice balls.

We popped over to Mdm. Wong's brother's shop (Jit Fat) opposite the Hindu temple, arriving at 2:00pm. But, only a little bit of gizzard, heart, liver and two rice balls were left. A little disappointed, we took whatever was still available anyway.

This whole heap with a barley drink was for RM3.

These gizzards were the crunchiest I've ever eaten, really. The liver was creamy, smokey and soft, savoury and slightly bitter. Fantastic, if you are an innards person (like me :P ).

The rice balls at Jit Fat were really nice too; fragrant and savoury. Be sure to drizzle in a dash of sweet and savoury blended soy sauce.

I must definitely come back to Jit Fat for their chicken and "glass intestines".

Restaurant name: Jie Chun
Address: 250, Jalan Sakeh, Taman Sri Emas, Muar, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/zmPKu
GPS: 2.051204,102.583369
Hours: 7:00am to 2:00pm (Closed on Thursday)
Non Halal

Restaurant name: Jit Fat
Address: 119-4, Jalan Mariam, Muar, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/0TIXS
GPS: 2.044096,102.558338
Hours: 7:00am to 2:00pm
Non Halal

Date visited: 4 Mar 2013

At the Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference and Awards (MITBCA), we bumped into reader Ooi and her hubby Koe (owners of Serai Inn in KL). I mentioned that we will be food hunting in the smaller Johor towns on the way back to JB. Ooi immediately suggested Paloh which she had just been to recently. Ooi suggested that we try the wanton mee, curry mee, and the traditional kopitiam, Ling Nam.

So yesterday, as we headed south after MITBCA, we diverted to Paloh. It turned out to be a most interesting and fruitful trip. Thank you so much, Ooi and Koe :)

After exiting at the Yong Peng toll, it was another 30 km of windy, twisty, undulating roads passing oil palm plantations and the occasional small rubber plots.

Paloh is a small town. The whole town could be covered in 15 minutes of brisk walking. That grayish building in the middle is Capitol Theatre. It had its last screening a long time ago.

Ling Nam kopitiam is that pink shop with blue wooden windows, on the left along Jalan Abu Bakar.

This is the interesting, sun beaten bamboo curtain at the shoe shop next to Ling Nam kopitiam. The motif looked so charmingly 1960s.

We ordered Mr. Wong's famous kopi and kaya toast.

Each kopi personally made by Mr. Wong, who had been running Ling Nam for over 50 years, was robust, full bodied and smooth.

Ling Nam's kaya toast is unique. The slices of butter and kaya filled the pocket made by cutting open the thick slice of toasted white bread.

Mr. Wong squeezing his famous homemade kaya into the toasted bread pocket.

Paloh-Johor

Kumes enjoying the delicious kaya toast and kopi.

The bread which Mr. Wong got from the town's traditional bread man was very light, airy and especially crispy after Mr. Wong's skillful toasting.

We wanted to buy some old style bread to bring home but the bakery was already closed when we were leaving Paloh (around 2:00pm).

Have you tried coffee made with well water? This is Mr. Wong drawing water from the 60-foot deep well at the back of Ling Nam kopitiam.

The well water was so clean that you can drink it straight from the well, without boiling.

Mr. Wong is passionate about the heritage of kopitiams. He patiently shared with us, the story behind the early versions of fizzy drink bottles. Mr. Wong shared that early fizzy drinks were called "Holland water" 荷兰水 because they were first imported from Jakarta (then, a Dutch colony).

Mr. Wong showed us the various types of milk tin openers. He then demonstrated his skills in opening a milk tin with a old style can opener blindfolded within 3 seconds. Amazing.

These bottles of "candy" caught my eyes and I couldn't resist asking Mr. Wong what they were.

Mr. Wong poured out the colourful "candies" onto the marble top table.

It turned out that these were paper "bullets" made by rolling empty cigarette boxes. People growing up in the 60s and 70s, would fondly remember playing with these during their growing up years. Mr. Wong is a good shot with the "lastic" which he uses to shoot at lizards and cockcroahes in his kopitiam. Mr. Wong takes great pride in keeping his kopitiam spic and spank, there was not an insect nor lizard in sight.

Small town kopitiams have a rustic charm and human touch which are rarely matched by modern cafes and coffee shops. To me, the time we shared with Mr. Wong was well worth the 30 km diversion off the North-South highway.

As we said our goodbyes, Mr. Wong gave each of us a bottle of Ling Nam's fresh kaya. Thank you, Mr. Wong.

We will be back again :)

Restaurant name: Ling Nam kopitiam
Address: 26, Jalan Abu Bakar, Paloh, Kluang, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/P8P61
GPS: 2.188622,103.194000
Hours: 6:30am to 3:00pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 7 Mar 2013

My friend Littlekoh asked me if I could help show her friend Niki from Hong Kong some recommended food stalls in Johor Bahru. Niki from Hong Kong's V Publications was working on a magazine introducing Johor food to Hong Kong readers. I agreed readily as I love showing overseas friends the best of Johor food.

Niki, Benny the photographer and I met early at 7:00am this morning near City Square Mall and proceeded right away on our half day JB food trail.

Our first stop was Warung Saga. I chose Warung Saga because I liked its unique ambiance and the many traditional Malay dishes at the shop.

Warung Saga's nasi lemak had the honour of being the first meal of the day for our overseas guests, and rightly so. Simple and pleasing, good nasi lemak is probably the best way to start overseas guests on Johor food. Warung Saga's version more than did justice to this iconic dish.

Warung Saga's Laksa Johor gave me the opportunity to share with my Hong Kong guests the origins of this uniquely Johor dish. The origins of Laksa Johor reflected the innovativeness and cosmopolitan outlook that had long been the trait of Johoreans.

This is Niki interviewing the boss, Enche Ismail and his son at Warung Saga.

Our second stop was Restoran G Cheong Fun in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah. Chee cheong fun (CCF) is a Cantonese staple and CCF stalls are everywhere in Hong Kong. However, I wanted to show my Hong Kong guests the Malaysian style of chee cheong fun which is not found in Hong Kong. G Cheong Fun is one of my favourite CCF shops in Johor Bahru.

I haven't been back to Restoran G Cheong Fun for a few months and am seeing that shiny metallic contraption for the first time. It looked like a large mouse trap. That gleaming steel cuts through stacks of chee cheong fun fast and efficiently, but was no where nearly as charming as the old way of chopping the chee cheong fun by hand. I missed that "tuk, tuk, tuk" music of chopping chee cheong fun the old way, Kampar style.

Niki interviewing Restoran G Cheong Fun's boss, Mr. Wong. Mr. Wong originally from Ipoh landed in Johor Bahru over twenty years ago following his wife, who is a Johorean. The couple started a chee cheong fun stall, that became a two shoplot restaurant specialising in CCF. Restoran G Cheong Fun may well be the largest chee cheong fun shop in the whole of Malaysia.

My favourite Kampar style chee cheong fun. Cut into thin strips like kway teow and eaten with a mild curry gravy. This is uniquely Malaysia.

Kampar style is my favourite way to eat the Cantonese staple chee cheong fun because there are a lot of side dishes to choose from.

Side dishes include items in a steamer like fried tofu skin, braised chicken claws, fish balls and more.

I especially love eating this chewy steamed fried pork skin and crunchy long beans with my chee cheong fun.

My Hong Kong guests were impressed with this char siew chee cheong fun. They shared that this was better than those in many Hong Kong restaurants.

Teluk Anson style chee cheong fun is something also not found in Hong Kong.

When you are at Restoran G Cheong Fun, please remember to order this. This not very photogenic sambal is loaded with cockles (see ham) and it was so, so delicious. Mildly spicy, savoury and had that soft, slimy mouth feel and taste that make see ham lovers go crazy. Definitely a Must Try if you are a see ham person.

Niki asking one of G Cheong Fun's regular customers about what kept him coming back for this chee cheong fun.

After confirming with my guests that they were game to try durian, I brought them to Wah Cai's shop which is along the same street as G Cheong Fun. We were lucky as we arrived just in time to catch Wah Cai preparing the day's fried durian.

Wah Cai bringing the frozen durian out from the cold room. Yes, this fried snack stall actually has a large sized cold room!

Benny photographing Wah Cai's sister preparing the frozen durian for frying.

Wah Cai's famous fried durian puff made with D24 durian. Crispy on the outside, rich, creamy durian inside. My Hong Kong guests had no difficulty appreciating this.

Wah Cai's bananas are fried whole, not sliced. Personally, I prefer my fried bananas whole as the pulp literally melts and become creamy from the high heat.

My Hong Kong guests liked this fried cempedak even more than Wah Cai's claim to fame, his fried durian.

The all-important shot with the hawkers at the shop front before departing for the next food stop.

Our fourth and final food stop was Restoran ZZ. I wanted my guests to try the uniquely Johor style of mee rebus served with lamb bone shanks and also to experience the kampung ambiance.

Benny enjoyed this sup tulang while Niki wasn't used to the gamey mutton flavour. Benny especially liked the gelatinous shreds around the joints.

Today's mee rebus tulang gearbox was spot on! That rich gamey mutton flavour was strongly evident in the gravy. Lip smacking good! This is my top mee rebus in Johor now.

Restoran ZZ's Laksa Johor is one of the better renditions of this Johor classic. Fresh ingredients with plenty of minced fish in the gravy.

Niki and Benny working hard to show off the best of Johor food to Hong Kong audiences.

So, that was our whirlwind tour of Johor food in half a day. I am glad that Niki and Benny were impressed with Johor food and said that they would be coming back for more.

Niki and Benny will be on their way to KL for the next leg of their Malaysia food hunt.

Bon Voyage and happy eating my friends.

Click on these links to read more about the restaurants in this half day Johor food trail.

Warung Saga
G Cheong Fun
Wah Cai
Restoran ZZ

Miss Tam Chiak by Maureen and SG Food on Foot by Derrick are two of my favourite Singapore foodie blogs. Maureen and Derrick wanted to try Johor Bahru's hawker food. We have been discussing a Johor Bahru food trail and finally embarked on it yesterday. Maureen's friend Kai joined us. We had a great day :)

Our first stop was the Bukit Chagar roti canai as it was near the CIQ and I wanted my guests to try one of my favourite roti canai stalls.

Our second stop was Tua Thow kway teow soup. Tua Thow is one of my top favourite Teochew kway teow soup stalls in Johor.

We proceeded next to Lai Kee to try his famous handmade fish balls. I wanted my Singapore friends to experience Lai Kee's heavy lard sauce.

Maureen zeroing in on the fish balls.

Maureen taking aim at the boss, Ah Lai in action :)

Since Wah Cai is just next to Lai Kee, we also popped by to try his fried durian.

Wah Cai's mum brought out all the different snacks like fried bananas, cempadak, nian kau and their signature "3-in-1" nian kau with yam and sweet potatoes.

We next dropped by Restoran Lima Ratus for Mr. Low's red rice wine mee suah.

The friendly Mr. Low preparing the red rice wine mee suah according to the recipe he learnt from his mum years ago.

Mr. Low's wanton noodles made with duck eggs, something not easy found in Johor or Singapore. We all liked the crunchy noodles though not all were accustomed to the relatively dry, sparse sauce which is the common style in JB.

Our stomachs full, we next stopped by at the AEON (JUSCO) Tebrau City Mall for a stretch, some shopping and foot reflexology.

After we had our fill of shopping and foot massage, we headed back downtown for dessert. In the car, Derrick mentioned that he was crazy about herbal chicken. I made a quick check if we would like to share a paper baked herbal chicken together at the famous Teck Sing restaurant. Before I could complete my sentence, the party gave my proposal a big YAY!! Not a hard decision at all.

This was Teck Sing's herbal chicken. We all were impressed by its savouriness and the "just right" no overpowering herbal taste. The flesh was also tender (though I felt it was firmer than what I tasted during my last visit to Teck Sing).

We next stopped at Joo Yee (Tan Kee) at Taman Serene food centre for their famous ABC or ais kacang.

I asked for extra chocolate syrup topping :P

Derrick liked Tan Kee's BBQ you char kway with rojak sauce.

Since a Johor food trail would be incomplete without staples like kway teow kia (KTK), we dropped by Woon Kiang at Jalan Stulang Laut. This was a Monday (with the pork markets shut), almost all other KTK shops were closed.

Woon Kiang KTK was pretty good, it being one of the popular KTK shops that originated from the old Jalan Wong Ah Fook street hawker stalls. Woon Kiang is run by the second generation now. Next time, I shall also take my guests to KTK shops where the first generation is still running the shop.

Woon Kiang's braised duck was excellent.

After kway teow kia, we went to the pasar malam at Taman Century to burn calories. The pasar malam which opens every Monday stretches from Hotel Grand Paragon to KSL City Mall.

At the pasar malam, we found my favourite Penang rojak man. The cut fruits were fresh and crunchy while the sauce was savoury and sweet.

This is the real reason why foodie bloggies always super welcome non bloggers to join us on our blogging trips :P

From this trip, I found that Maureen is actually quite tam chiak (Hokkien for people who live-to-eat, politely put). We passed this carrot cake stall and was captivated by the cai por aroma from the cooking fumes. Our curiosity was piqued by the never ending long queue. But all of us had no difficulty resisting the carrot cake, helped by our over eating since the morning. But, not Miss Tam Chiak. Never underestimate her small frame :P Nothing can stop her from trying out any potential good food find. To Miss Tam Chiak, no food that attracted so much attention should be passed over without a proper taste test :P

Can you spot our intrepid foodie bloggie in this picture?

This was the loot from the unflappable Miss Tam Chiak. The kway was quite ordinary but I liked the savoury and slightly sweet sauce.

After the pasar malam, it was time for supper! I brought my friends to the popular Cedar Point food centre to try Sin Kee's BBQ seafood.

Kai chose to try Sin Kee's BBQ "chicken fish" as we had not tried it before. "Chicken fish" has rather bland white meat. Overall, this "chicken fish" was still a tasty option as the meat was still moist and Sin Kee's sambal was in good form today. The sambal was savoury and not overly spicy.

Kai have to have his vegetables and I have to have my petai, and so we ordered this pretentious sounding BBQ "Four Heavenly Kings". The long beans, petai, lady's fingers and kacang botol were all fresh and crunchy and Sin Kee's sambal was as good as ever. I love this.

It was a long and tiring day, but we were very happy.

Here is a summary of where we went during our one day Johor Bahru food trail.

Timings are ridiculously rough estimates and actually varies to the point of making the schedule pointless :P Timings vary widely to allow time for food pornography fetishes, different eating speeds of the eat-to-live and live-to-eat tribes, varying dosages required for retail therapy depending on the degree of affliction. As I learnt before, "The best plans are ruined by the first action". But, here is the rough guide anyway because most of us can't do anything without one. Click on the respective links to read more about the food stalls.

08:30am Bukit Chagar roti canai (prata)
09:30am Tua Thow kway teow soup
10:30am Lai Kee fish ball noodles
11:30am Durian puffs at Wah Cai
12:30pm Red rice wine mee suah at Restoran Lima Ratus
1.30pm Retail therapy and burn calories at (AEON) JUSCO Tebrau City Mall
3:00pm Paper baked herbal chicken at Teck Sing
4:00pm Ais kacang at Joo Yee (Tan Kee)
5:00pm Woon Kiang kway teow kia
6:30pm Pasar malam at Taman Century (Mondays only) Penang rojak.
7:30pm Retail therapy and burn calories at KSL City Mall
9:00pm Supper at Cedar Point food centre. We had BBQ fish at Sin Kee.

The just opened OchaDo 茶の道 near Sutera Mall is the only Johor franchisee of the famous bubble tea brand based in Kuala Lumpur. I am not really a bubble tea fan but was willing to give it a try when Chuky the boss of the JB OchaDo branch invited me to try his bubble tea. (Disclaimer: My only experience with bubble tea was some time ago when the young ladies at the office dragged us to try KOI during the bubble tea craze in Singapore. I enjoyed the company and was unmoved by the gimmicky drink :P )

OchaDo has ample comfortable seats for chilling out and chit chat with buddies while enjoying bubble tea and mille crepe cakes.

There are even cosy couches for people who like to curl up with a good book, magazine or surf the web on their tablets (with free wifi) while sipping bubble tea. OchaDo is also a good place to cool your heels after shopping in nearby Sutera Mall.

The friendly staff makes each cup of bubble tea.

We first tried OchaDo's Milk Tea (RM5.90 for large size). OchaDo's milk tea are brewed from tea leaves and not made with "instant tea" powders. I enjoyed the fragrance of green tea aroma.

At OchaDo we can choose the level of sugar that we want. OchaDo's Milk Tea was not overly sweet even though I chose the 50% sugar level. (The lowest sugar level is 0% i.e. no sugar.)

The gummy black jelly balls, or pearls as they are called, were fun to bite and nibble. I confess that even I enjoyed these :P

Chuky let us try OchaDo's "3Q Passionate Tea" made with passion fruit (RM6.90 for large size cup).

Sweet and sour, the ladies liked this "3Q Passionate Tea" a lot more than I do.

OchaDo's Fresh Milk Matcha (RM5.90). Again, this milk tea has a nice green tea aroma with the rich flavour and creaminess of fresh milk.

We had a slice of OchaDo Green Tea & Azuki Bean Crepe Cake (RM10.90). I love the refreshing green tea flavour and the airy and very subtly springy bite of the mille crepe cake.

OchaDo's chilled mille crepe cake was excellent.

This Hokkaido Chocolate Crepe Cake looked so enticing, I have to come back for this soon :P

I quite enjoy OchaDo's bubble teas and especially the mille crepe cake. I like it that I can choose the sugar level that I want from 100% to zero. I am glad to have bubble tea as an alternative option to the usual Western coffee chains for chilling out and for tea breaks.

Restaurant name: OchaDo
Address: Ground floor, No. 66, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/c11fK
GPS: 1.516456,103.667748
Hours: 11:00am to 11:30pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 12 Mar 2013

Thomas, a partner at Bangkok Village Thai Restaurant, invited me to visit their new branch near Sutera Mall.

I had visited Bangkok Village's Tebrau branch before and enjoyed their food as well as the charming garden ambiance there.

Bangkok Village's Sutera branch is more contemporary in style. It has both air conditioned and al fresco sections as well as private rooms.

This time, we picked Thai style steamed fish (siakap), Thai style steamed sotong (squid) and Thai sambal fried rice with petai as we had tried most of Bangkok Village's other dishes. We enjoyed our simple three dish Thai meal today.

The siakap (RM39.80) was fresh and its tender flesh quite sweet.

The fiery looking sauce was tangy, savoury and just mildly spicy.

My friends know that I will always order sotong (squids) whenever it is available. Sotong is one of my favourite foods especially when it is fresh and its flesh bouncy. Bangkok Village's Thai style steamed sotong (RM24.80) was served with a mildly spicy sauce that enhanced the fresh sotong's natural sweetness.

Bangkok Village's Thai sambal fried rice (RM8.80) with petai was well executed. The tasty fried rice complemented the fish and sotong dishes well.

We were happy with our choice of fish, sotong and fried rice. Our simple meal was delicious and not overly filling.

We also enjoyed this traditional lemon grass drink (RM4.80) which was fragrant and sweet.

When shopping in Sutera Mall, Bangkok Village is a good lunch or dinner option.

Rating: 2-Star

Restaurant name: Bangkok Village (Sutera branch)
Address: 99, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/2, Taman Sutera Utama. Skudai
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/F3MvO
GPS: 1.515040,103.667732
Hours: 11:00am to 11:00pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal Cert

Date visited: 11 Mar 2013

Time and again, during my food hunting trips, I meet the most interesting and fun people that make my day. Last Sunday was one of the most interesting days since I started Johor Kaki blog.

I was stopping over in Muar on the way to Kuala Lumpur for the NTV7 filming of the final episode of the "Foodie Blogger" 爱食客 series. After parking my car, I walked around Muar's "Glutton Street" 麻坡贪吃街 to hunt for good food.

While stepping in and out of the fascinating kopitiams along "Glutton Street", the corner shop selling Hainanese style curry rice caught my eye. I love Hainanese curry rice which I have tried a few in Singapore and this was the first time I stumbled upon one in Johor. While checking out the Hainanese curry rice shop, I noticed a familiar gentleman at a table in the shop.

I recognised the gentleman as Jacky, a well known Malaysian food commentator who writes in Chinese.

I initially hesitated to walk up and introduce myself to a perfect stranger but the desire to connect with a fellow foodie just got the better of me. So I stepped up, asked the gentleman if he was indeed Jacky. Jacky replied in the affirmative, and I then introduced myself.

I was barely a few words into my self introduction when Jacky invited me to join him for lunch. Jacky was about to have a food tasting session at Lu San 庐山!

Jacky has not visited Johor Kaki blog before but that didn't bother him at all. It seemed the vibes between foodies are so instinctive, we clicked instantly. We were quickly engrossed in foodie talk like we were old friends who had not met for a long time.

Jacky, who told me he is a Kluangite, has been a food commentator for over 20 years. Jacky is a very big hearted, warm and generous man. Without hesitation, Jacky dug into his bag and presented me a signed copy of one of his feature magazines. Jackie also shared with me a few foodie insights and photography tips. For example, Jackie shared that he sometimes deliberately take pictures of half finished food. Jackie felt that half finished food is more realistic, gives the food "a human touch" and captures its deliciousness. I agree wholeheartedly :)

Lu San 庐山 was founded in the 1960s and the famous Hainanese kopitiam is now run by the third generation owner. From the animated conversation over lunch, it was obvious that Jackie and Mr Wee, Lu San's boss, are passionate about food.

The iconic Hainanese curry chicken. At Lu San, the chicken meat was slightly firm but still tender. The thick, savoury curry was fragrant and not overly spicy.

The curry chicken was made with many spices and herbs but no santan. For curry lovers who must have rich creamy santan in their curry, Lu San provides the lemak version of curry separately. Many people like to flood (banjir) their plate of rice with this spicy curry. I like this way of eating my curry rice too :P

Lu San's signature braised belly pork was also pleasing. The meat had just the right tenderness and bouncy mouth feel. The braising sauce was mild and does not get in the way of the natural pork flavours.

Beside the staple signature curry chicken and braised belly pork, Lu San also serves a wide variety of other side dishes.

Stir fried tofu in savoury gravy.

Braised tofu and eggs.

This simple stir fried vegetable was a surprise. It was refreshing, crunchy and savoury. Jacky and I both loved this.

Ngo hiang or Chinese style meat roll.

I liked this soup loaded with fish balls, fish cakes, tau puey (fried tofu "skin") and greens. The soup was sweet and savoury from all the ingredients and stock bones.

Well, one cannot step in and out of a Hainanese kopitiam or restaurant without drinking a cup of Hainanese coffee. So, we all had a cuppa of kopi o kau after our sumptuous meal.

This dark, full bodied, smooth and fragrant coffee was made by the lady boss. Must try this, if you are at Lu San, and a coffee lover.

Jacky's customary trademark picture with the owners after the food tasting session.

Today's Muar experience was almost surreal. Walking up to a perfect stranger, striking up a conversation and settling down together to a sumptuous lunch together like we were long lost old pals, wow... This was one of my most memorable days since I started Johor Kaki blog.

Rating: 2-Star

Restaurant name: Kedai Kopi Lu San 庐山茶室
Address: 33, Jalan Haji Abu, Muar, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/zefGq
GPS: 2.047173,102.568305
Hours: 9:00am to 3:00pm
Non Halal

Date visited: 17 Mar 2013

NTV7 Foodie Blogger 爱食客 series hosted by Coby Chong premiere episode featuring Johor food was broadcast on 17 Mar 2013.

The Johor hawkers featured are Ah Kiang mee pok at Permas Jaya, Taman Tasek kway teow kia, Wah Cai durian puff at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, and Hiap Joo Bakery at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in downtown Johor bahru

Click on above picture for more details about the hawkers featured on Foodie Blogger.

Click on the above picture to view the Youtube video on the Foodie Blogger premiere episode (in Mandarin).

We hope that there will be more programmes like Foodie Blogger to promote Johor food as there are many more good hawkers in Johor.

On the way from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur to film the NTV7 Foodie Blogger TV series final episode, we took the opportunity to stop over and explore Muar food.

Walking along Jalan Maharani opposite the central bus station and wet market, we caught sight of plumes of orange flames like fiery tongues flicking skywards from a couple of satay stands set up along the busy five foot way.

Sometimes the rolling, licking tongues of flames shot up so high, it was like a fire eating performance by sidewalk buskers.

Well, these dramatic dancing fireworks were quite effective at attracting the attention of passers by, drawing them into R&H Cafe.

I stepped into R&H Cafe for a quick survey to see if this was a place for a possible good food find. The interior looked crammed and dim, and there were many people eating and milling around inside.

I made my way all the way to the back of the cafe which opened up to a bright and spacious courtyard. Seeing the place packed with happy people and how the tables were piled high with satay, mee rebus, tauhu goreng, drinks and other goodies, we decided to check out R&H Cafe.

A few copies of this picture, framed and proudly adorning the walls of the cafe, commemorate the visit by the Sultan of Johor to R&H Cafe. R&H Cafe's boss is the lady standing directly behind the Sultan.

We ordered satay, of course. This was the serving for two people but we were not expected to eat everything. Customers eat as many or as little as they like, and they are charged only for what they ate. Each stick of satay costs 60 sens.

The beef satay was firm and chewy but not hard, helped by pieces of juicy fat skewered together with the meat. Caramelised on the outside with charred edges.

The bits of spices and herbs clinging to the beef added interesting fragrant bursts when encountered and ground between our teeth.

Beef stomach satay.

The tripe satay was a little bland and chewy, but easily rescued by the savoury peanutty sauce. I like tripe because I enjoy its bouncy bite :)

R&H Cafe's chicken satay was one of the better ones that I have tasted. Caramelised on the outside and still tender and a little moist inside. The meat was a little bland but the spice and herbs managed to make the morsels tasty.

R&H Cafe provides "free flow" of ketupat which a staff will bring frequently on a tray.

Like the ketupat, the satay sauce at R&H Cafe was also "free flow". Peanutty, savoury, sweet and only very mildly spicy. The sauce was thick with bits of crushed peanut.

R&H Cafe's peanut sauce was creamy and thick. It was so good, I found myself scooping up the peanut sauce and enjoying it on its own.

Seeing that many customers ordered this Tauhu Lentok, we requested for one too.

Tauhu Lentok (RM3) is similar to tauhu goreng. Tauhu lentok has the same peanut sauce but with more soy sauce added making it more drippy and savoury. The crunchy bean sprouts were done just right.

Our asam boi drink.

We also ordered their popular Mee Jawa but it was already sold out :( This just means that we have to pop by at R&H Cafe again for unfinished business, the next time we are in Muar.

Rating: 2-Star

R&H-CAFE-Muar-Johor

Restaurant name: R&H Cafe (Sate Maharani)
Address: 130, Jalan Maharani (across the road from the central bus station and wet market)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/XfXaS
GPS: 2.050540,102.570408
Hours: 7:30am to 12:30pm (Closed on Friday)
Halal

Date visited: 17 Mar 2013

Teresa is an exchange student from Miami, USA. Teresa and her Malaysian host family have been exploring Johor food with my Johor Kaki food guide. As Teresa will be returning to the USA next month, Teresa and her host family wondered if we could meet up for a meal, which I gladly accepted.

I asked Teresa if she had tried yong tou foo during her stay in Johor so far. Since she hasn't, I decided to show her the famous yong tou foo shop at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah.

Choy Kee in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah are actually cousins with the famous yong tou foo shop in Ampang near Kuala Lumpur. I am a regular at the yong tou foo shop in Ampang, having lived in KL for a few years and returning regularly to my favourite food places there ever since. Over the years, the two shops have developed their own styles and are today rather different in the food offered and the work processes.

At Choy Kee, the yong tou foo are all laid out on the counter table and we just pick whatever catches our fancy at RM1.10 per item.

The lady boss, Mdm Sak, explaining to Teresa and Baptiste (a French exchange student) how the ordering system works at Choy Kee yong tou foo.

These were some of our random picks.

The yong tou foo pieces were floating in a savoury soup made with soy beans and stock bones. The soup was delicious, though it tasted a little salty towards the end, when it was cold. It would also have been perfect for me, if the soup had a little anchovy flavour.

All three of us enjoyed the pieces of yong tou foo. I especially like the traditional Hakka filling at Choy Kee which uses fresh minced mackerel fish, pork and salted fish. The fillings have a more substantial feel, softer, sweeter and more savoury than the "fish only" paste fillings found in many other yong tou foo shops nowadays.

I like to eat my yong tou foo "dry" with yellow noodles. The noodles were tossed in a soy and lard based sauce which I liked very much.

I like it that everything in Choy Kee is made fresh at the shop. How fresh? The yong tou foo were all made right there as we ate.

I applaud Choy Kee for keeping to the Hakka traditional by making the filling with fresh mackerel fish, pork and salted fish. More and more shops are just using "fish" paste filling for cost and labour reasons.

Good sambal is crucial for good yong tou foo and at Choy Kee, the sambal was great. The not overly spicy, savoury sambal is cooked at the shop everyday.

Even this thick savoury bean sauce is made at the shop. In the sauce department, Choy Kee pips their cousin in Ampang (near Kuala Lumpur).

Choy Kee is located deep at the far end of the row of shophouses in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah. Mdm Sak said the shop lot was initially quite isolated when they first started business here 11 years ago. Fortunately, their customers tracked and followed Choy Kee to this new location. Today, the large shop is busting at the seams with customers, especially on weekends.

The huge mango trees ringing the shop were planted by Mdm Sak 11 years ago.

Mdm Sak kept reminding me to come back for their pork trotter braised in vinegar and ginger, and their Hakka fried pork. I shall definitely come back for these.

Rating: 2-Star

Restaurant name: Choy Kee Yong Tou Foo
Address: 1, Jalan Temenggong 9, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Oxy1o
GPS: 1.510820,103.652969
Hours: 8:30am to 6:00pm (Closed last Weds and Thurs of the month)
Non Halal

Date visited: 22 Mar 2013

Chwee kueh 水粿 is a traditional Teochew comfort food commonly found in Johor, and also Singapore.

To me chwee kueh is the traditional classic working man's humble energy food from leaner, harder times. Plain carbo (steamed rice flour milled from broken rice chips) made palatable with savouriness from finely diced preserved radish (chai po) boiled in oil (sometimes lard). Nothing fanciful nor pretentious, but authentic and very charming in my opinion.

At 20 sens a piece, this delicious pile of chwee kueh costs RM2.

Today, the humble chwee kueh remains an affordable, popular breakfast choice that goes very well with an old style cuppa kopi.

Mr Lim and his wife have been selling chwee kueh in Loeng Hou kopitiam along Jalan Maharani in Muar for over 40 years. This type of traditional chwee kuih stall where the stall holders make everything themselves is getting scarce in Johor.

Mr. Lim's chwee kueh had just the right texture, it was neither too soft (meaning, not enough rice flour) nor too stiff (meaning, tapioca flour added). The chai po was crunchy and was the old school salty and savoury type.

Mr. Lim keeps the finely diced and fried preserved radish simmering in oil over a small gas stove.

The heap of steamed rice cakes in small aluminium moulds.

Every morning between 6:00am and 11:00am steady streams of customers come in to Loeng Hou for Mr. Lim's chwee kueh.

Rating: 2-Star

Restaurant name: No name chwee kueh stall inside Loeng Hou kopitiam
Address: At the junction of Jalan Maharani and Jalan Batayan (opposite the wet market along Jalan Maharani and the 7-11 shop along Jalan Batayan)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/6nLtQ
GPS: 2.050979,102.570966
Hours: 6:00am till sold out (usually by 11:00am)
Non Halal

Date visited: 17 Mar 2013

The boss of Tasconi's Pizza, Noor Hashim, who is a Johor Sedap Halal foodie group member invited me to his pizza restaurant which opened about six months ago in Bukit Indah, conveniently right next to the AEON Jusco mall. Tasconi's Pizza is a Bruneian franchise with restaurants in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

Inside, Tasconi's Pizza restaurant is inviting, simple and neat, yet comfortable. Besides dining in at the cosy restaurant, Tasconi's pizza also provides free pizza delivery (delivery hot line is 07-300-3180).

At Tasconi's Pizza, there are 17 types of pizzas on the menu.

Noor let us try Tasconi's regular 10" Spicy Beef pizza (which sells for RM26.90).

Tasconi's Spicy Beef pizza had generous toppings of minced beef, beef salami, beef pepperoni, jalapeno peppers, onions, with lots of imported Italian mozzarella cheese.

We next tried Tasconi's regular 10" Mexicana pizza (at RM26.90).

Tasconi's-Pizza-Johor-Bahru

Tasconi's Mexicana pizza had loads of toppings of ground beef, onions, red and green peppers, fresh tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and again, plenty of mozzarella cheese.

I liked both Tasconi's Spicy Beef and Mexicana pizzas. The thick crust was just the right crispness outside and inside it was moist. The ingredients were fresh and the molten cheese was rich and creamy. Though rich, Tasconi's pizzas were not overly greasy.

Tasconi's roll, the franchise's signature dish available with beef or mackerel fillings at RM16.90.

We had the beef with plenty of cheese. To me, it taste and felt like a huge pie.

Tasconi's sides are pretty good too. This cream of mushroom soup was the soup of the day (RM5.90). Made with fresh mushrooms, it was tasty.

The macaroni baked with minced beef and cheese.

Spicy baked chicken wings.

After enjoying the sumptuous meal, as usual, I made the bold request to visit the kitchen :P Noor graciously agreed to let me in :))

The centre piece in the kitchen was this large double decker oven with conveyor belt system. This oven which reminded me of those Transformer robots was imported from Italy.

I had the opportunity to watch the entire process of making a Tasconi pizza :)

Each pizza is assembled upon order. The tomato sauce and fresh toppings are added to the dough according to the order.

The Tasconi beef pepperoni pizza with all the toppings enters the oven from the right.

The pizza making its way slowly through the hot mid section of the oven.

The hot pizza peeking out of the oven on the left.

Presto! A piping hot beef pepperoni pizza straight out of the oven after 6 minutes.

Tasconi's Pizza is definitely worth a try, whether eating in at the Bukit Indah restaurant or at home by free home delivery.

Restaurant name: Tasconi's Pizza
Address: 97, Jalan Indah 15/2 (opposite AEON Jusco Bukit Indah)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/UNLEw
GPS: 1.479856,103.656982
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm
Halal

Date visited: 25 Mar 2013

This is my second visit to Cestino near AEON Jusco Tebrau Mall, invited by Ah Zai, Cestino's Asst Manager.

Cestino is just a short walk through the AEON Jusco Mall covered car park or if you drive, just a 2 minute swing around to the Tebrau City Residences apartment blocks adjacent to the Mall.

As always, I can't help but stop to marvel at this giant mural of Marilyn Monroe taking pride of place at Cestino.

Cestino is a good place to chill as it is comfortable, has a good range of coffees and other hot and cold drinks, lots of cakes and desserts as well as cafe dishes like fish and chips. There is free wifi and ample free parking right at Cestino's door step.

During our visit, had a couple of Cestino's house blended coffees and a riot of colourful cakes :P

The Double Chocolate Walnut Brownie was moist, buttery with crunchy walnuts, and not overly sweet (RM10.90).

Other cakes I didn't taste today but they certainly look enticing enough for me to come back for them soon.

Cestino's tiramisu with chocolate, espresso, cheese and liqueur is one cool cake and among Cestino's hottest sellers (RM10.90).

Cheesecakes are one of my favourite cakes.

Cestino's macaroons come in 15 flavours including their signature salted caramel (RM3.20 each). Not my type of biscuit but I acknowledge that there are lots of macaroon fans out there :P

Cestino's Vanilla Cream Brulee with a rich, sweet custard base (RM10.90)

Cestino's Cream Brulee comes with this roselle poached pear. Interesting slightly tangy, sweet taste and crunchy juicy texture. Beautiful to look at too :))

We also tried Cestino's popular fish and chips (RM17.90).

I like Cestino's homemade tartar sauce. Rich, creamy, tangy and savoury with interesting crunchy bits of pickled vegetables like cucumbers mixed in.

Cestino's full bodied house blend coffees and lattes are made with aromatic Arabica beans.

Cestino's signature mocha for the coffee drinkers who like chocolate and espresso blend.

I snapped a pic of Cestino's hot beverage menu :P

For obvious reason, this is my favourite coffee blend at Cestino ;))

The next time you are nearby or in AEON Jusco Tebrau, drop by Cestino and check out their cakes and coffees. Cestino also has set lunch and high tea deals - ask about these value combo deals when you are there.

Restaurant name: Cestino Bakery and Bistro
Address: Blok F-01-07 and 08, Jalan Harmonium 24/2, Taman Desa Tebrau, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/cMEhd
GPS: 1.550760,103.795630
Hours: 12:00 noon to 11:00pm (Closed on Mondays)
Non Halal

Moshi Moshi Dessert and Tea shop in Taman Mount Austin is the brain child of four foodie friends. The four friends made many food trips around the region and stumbled upon an old lady in Taiwan who makes sorbet and ice cream the traditional way, by hand.

Fascinated by the old Taiwanese lady's art and captivated by the taste of her traditional sorbets and ice cream, the four friends asked the old lady to teach them her art. These fabulous four managed to spend a month learning the art of hand making sorbet and ice cream at this old lady's home.

Back in Johor Bahru, they experimented with fusing this traditional hand made Taiwanese sorbet and ice cream with local Malaysian ingredients, and now offer their unique creations in their own Moshi Moshi Dessert and Tea shop.

Elaine, one of the four partners, invited me to try out Moshi Moshi's dessert and tea creations. When at Moshi Moshi, I can feel the passion that Elaine and her partners have for their dessert and tea creations. They are still experimenting with new creations and spoke excitedly about their work.

Sorbet-Ice-Cream-Dessert-Tea-Johor-Bahru

Moshi Moshi's desserts consist of a hand made sorbet bottom layer laid with toppings of hand made ice cream, grass jelly, red beans, fruits, "pearls" or other ingredients. They remind me of modern day ais (ice) kacang.

Moshi-Moshi-Dessert-Tea-Johor-Ice-Cream-Sorbet

This large mural on the wall at Moshi Moshi proudly states that everything at the Moshi Moshi Dessert and Tea shop is hand made using only natural and fresh ingredients with no preservatives added.

These were the sorbets and ice creams that we tried at Moshi Moshi.

Moshi Moshi's "Coconut Ice Cream with Sorbet" (RM8.90) which I enjoyed very much as I like all things coconut :)

I like Moshi Moshi's "Taro Sorbet" (RM8.90) served with peanut ice cream which has a peanutty flavour and interesting bits of nuts. This dessert comes with two yam balls.

Moshi Moshi's "Mango Sorbet" (RM8.90) is an interesting blend of sweet and slightly tangy which I think appeals especially to ladies.

My half eaten "Macha Sorbet" (RM8.90). I like the fragrance of macha and so enjoyed this very much. As we ate, we gradually mixed all the ingredients like sesame ice cream, grass jelly, red beans, black "pearls" and macha sorbet together and got another blended taste which I enjoyed very much.

Elaine graciously gave me permission to see the process of making Moshi Moshi's signature sorbet and ice cream desserts.

When an order is received, the hand made sorbet is scraped from the tub and transferred to the large serving cup. This is Moshi Moshi's coconut sorbet.

Scooping the hand made Moshi Moshi ice cream. This is Moshi Moshi's peanut ice cream.

Next, the "pearls" are added. These "pearls" are imported from Taiwan. I like the bite of these gummy, chewy "pearls" and hunt for them in my bowl :P

The grass jelly is carefully laid into the cup.

The "Coconut Sorbet" fully assembled and ready for serving.

Moshi Moshi also offers a wide range of teas, all of which are brewed from tea leaves (never from instant tea powders).

Elaine first let us try Moshi Moshi's "Fresh Tomato Ice Blended Tea" (RM6.90). This tea is made with fresh baby tomatoes.

Moshi Moshi's "Lemon Ai-yu 2Q" (RM6.90) a sour tea which is a favourite, especially among the ladies.

Elaine was eager to let us try Moshi Moshi's "Macha with Red Bean Ice Cream" (RM5.90). I like this drink very much as the flavour and fragrance of the macha blend very well with the taste of the red bean ice cream.

After so many dessert and tea tastings, Elaine suggested I drink Moshi Moshi's herbal tea as it would help me in digestion.

I like Moshi Moshi for their uniquely Johor creations and look forward to more flavours in the future. Moshi Moshi is a great place to chill out with friends and enjoy nice desserts and teas together.

Moshi-Moshi-Dessert-Tea-Ice-Cream-Sorbet-Johor

Restaurant name: Moshi Moshi Dessert and Tea
Address: 19, Jalan Mutiara Emas 10/19, Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/qIHvc
GPS: 1.551693,103.785181
Hours: 11:30am to 11:30pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 26 Mar 2013, 29 Mar 2013

This post should have been written about a year ago. At that time, Johor Kaki blog was still relatively young. Johor Kaki Blog Facebook Page wasn't up yet. Neither were the Johor Sedap and Johor Yummy Facebook groups.

I got an unexpected email and telephone call from Makansutra office asking if I would like to show Makan Guru K F Seetoh around Johor Bahru. K F Seetoh was preparing the 2013 edition of Makansutra Guide to Malaysian Food. I agreed readily because this supports my goal to promote Johor hawkers and hawker food. I was also eager to spend a day with K F Seetoh as I have long admired how he passionately promoted street food around the world, especially in Singapore.

I am writing this long overdue post now as it just dawned on me that this was actually Johor Kaki's very first food trail and that it should not go unrecorded.

Seetoh drove his MPV, and with us were the photographer (I forgot his name, so sorry :P) and staff writer, Lorraine.

As Seetoh wanted to cover some Halal food, our first stop was the food centre at the beautiful Hutan Bandar park. I introduced Seetoh to two lontong kering stalls as this dish is quite hard to find in Singapore.

We first tasted D'Rimba Corner's lontong kering. Lontong kering is traditional Malay rice cakes served with peanut gravy, spicy sambal, fried coconut shreds, tempeh and nasi padang style side dishes such as beef rendang, fried vegetables and so on.

Next, we tasted Puan Fatimah's lontong kering which is just a few stalls away, also at Hutan Bandar. Seetoh was impressed by how the stalls were able to turn common and inexpensive ingredients into affordable and delicious dishes. This affordable delicious food sumptuously enjoyed by everyone, Seetoh shared, is the essence of good street food.

After Hutan Bandar food centre, we shot up to Taman Ungku Tun Aminah where I showed Seetoh the Terrengganu Curry Mee. This unique style of curry mee eaten with fresh fish and sambal is one of my personal favourites and I wanted to let Seetoh try it.

We next proceeded to You Kee XO to taste their roast meats and signature soups. You Kee XO is one of the well established roast meats shops in Johor Bahru but there are a few other shops that also do great roast meats in JB. What I liked about You Kee XO is the nice ambiance, clean and neat environment, good service and their great soups. Pricing wise, they do not charge a premium for the nice extras, which is... nice.

Next stop was Restoran Azinur for their popular nasi padang. I wanted to show Seetoh one of the local favourites where many people have their everyday, work day meals. Queues form up outside Restoran Azinur 20 minutes before opening time at noon. Azinur closes when everything is sold out, normally about two hours later at 2:00pm.

We then stopped over at Onn Kee Jaya in Tampoi for their popular steamed fresh fish.

That done, we proceeded to nearby Angsana Plaza to burn calories, shop a little bit, and also to taste Haji Wahid's mee rebus there. Haji Wahid's mee rebus is an old name in traditional mee rebus in Johor Bahru, now with several branches around JB. The Angsana Plaza branch is one of the most popular.

After a good shopping break and a stretch, we swung eastwards towards Taman Mount Austin to check out Matang seafood porridge. Here, the Teochew style porridge is served in savoury seafood broth and we can add additional seafood ingredients according to our fancy. Shark meat is a popular add on here.

After the seafood porridge, we found a cool coffee and dessert shop in Mount Austin to cool our heels, freshen up and to get online to clear our backlog of the day's emails and messages.

Century-Alley-Stalls-Siak-Hong-Johor-Bahru

Re-energised by the short break, we proceeded to the back alley stalls at Taman Century but we were slightly early and most of the stalls were not yet opened. Known as Siak Hong to the locals, the collection of alley stalls here is a popular supper haunt.

Come-and-Eat-Teochew-Porridge-Johor-Bahru

We then swung around to a 5 decades old restaurant with the quaint name "Come and Eat" serving Teochew porridge. Famous for their steamed fresh fish which Orang Asli fishermen bring in by just the handful in what is literary the "Catch of the Day". We had a bit of a heartache. The famous "Come and Eat" asam fish was available only on Thursdays, so Seetoh got to miss this one, and come and eat another day :P

We next headed down early to Meldrum Walk to indulge in JB style back alley dining. Despite the rather pretentious sounding name, Meldrum Walk is no swanky dinning street. But, it is charming, authentic back lane hawker fare - raw and unabashed. Unglam, crowded, messy, dingy, cooking fumes stick to your clothes and hair, but Meldrum Walk has one of the largest collection of hawker stalls in Johor Bahru. Some of the stalls are decades old heritage stalls. Meldrum "Walk" is a mini foodies' paradise - a place I like to explore more.

Meldrum Walk was the last stop of our one day food trail.

On hindsight, the trail could have been better, for example, I could have just kept to one area such as Skudai or Johor Jaya, instead of crisscrossing through Johor Bahru.

Still, for those intrepid foodies who want to follow our food steps (pun intended) - let the food decide where we go rather than convenience - here is the summary of our Johor Bahru one day food trail.

Hutan Bandar Map: http://g.co/maps/g6sskGPS: 1.480152, 103.742974

Terengganu curry Map: http://g.co/maps/fyu6eGPS: 1.51037,103.648335
You Kee XO Map: http://g.co/maps/5dsth GPS: 1.516666,103.653613
Restoran Azinur Map: http://g.co/maps/znpf4GPS: 1.522628,103.660587
Onn Kee Jaya Map: http://g.co/maps/9w3heGPS: 1.497854,103.701839
Haji Wahid's Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dYkl GPS: 1.495183,103.705229
Matang porridge Map: http://g.co/maps/j6z6rGPS: 1.561904, 103.779184
Siak Hong alley Map: http://g.co/maps/6p2ch GPS: 1.479637,103.763718
Come and Eat Map: http://g.co/maps/aut82 GPS: 1.47285, 103.77829

Meldrum Walk Map: http://g.co/maps/9m437 GPS: 1.460045,103.764673

I have been to Din BBQ Station twice, once last year soon after the restaurant opened, and again a few days ago.

Din BBQ Station is unique in that it is probably the only Halal BBQ concept restaurant in Johor Bahru.

Din, the boss, shared that he has been constantly refining his cooking technique and the operations at Din BBQ Station. I observed that the constant improvements have helped Din BBQ Station retain many customers who initially only tried out the new restaurant out of curiosity. Now, several families have become regulars.

Din personally does the BBQ-ing and he has mastered the art of managing the heat and fire. Din even notes the preferences of customers as some like their meat dry and thoroughly cooked through, while others prefer theirs just seared on the outside while inside, the hot juices remain intact.

Din knew I like my meat cooked but moist, so these prawns and the squid were just done, and Din managed to preserve most of their natural juices and sweetness.

My friends know that I am crazy about sotong (squids), so I was eagerly waiting for this BBQ sotong :P

Oh, this sotong was lovely. Tender, bouncy, smokey, creamy, savoury and sweet. They just feed my sotong craving which cannot be satisfied.

Bear with me while I ogle at my own sotong photos :P

The BBQ prawns were also succulent and sweet, just the way I liked them.

Din was keen for me to try his BBQ chicken wings marinaded with his signature sauce and eaten with his own dip.

I enjoyed Din's BBQ chicken wings which were savoury and nicely mildly spicy. Din's dip added a little sweetness and interesting flavours from the chopped onions and other ingredients.

Din is quite skillful in BBQ-ing. No trace of blood at all, but the chicken wings were still sweet and juicy.

The simple nasi lemak at Din BBQ Station is quite good. The rice is fragrant and nicely cooked. The sambal was well balanced between savoury and spicy.

Other customers' BBQ fish which Din shared are his popular items.

This was another customer's lamb chop.

A sketch map to help you locate Din BBQ Station easily.

Restaurant name: Din BBQ Station
Address: 32, Jalan Bestari 6/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/RBDOK
GPS: 1.481755,103.665769
Hours: 11:00am to 11:30pm
Halal

Dates visited: 5 Dec 2012, 21 Mar 2013

Yakitori-Japanese-Restaurant-Johor-Bahru

Johor Kaki was invited by Christian, manager at Vino Vino Bistro to try their Japanese grill or yakitori dishes.

Vino Vino Bistro in Taman Molek is a very well appointed restaurant with an impressive range of beers, whiskies, fine wines, and premium spirits.

Vino-Vino-Japanese-Restaurant-Johor-Bahru

Vino Vino has a private room for those special occasions.

Vino Vino has plenty of choices of fine sake and shochu, needless to say.

Yakitori-Restaurant-Japanese-Johor-Bahru

And, this is the charcoal fired yakitori station that churns out all the delicious Japanese grilled dishes to go with the fine spirits in Vino Vino. Heading Vino Vino's kitchen is Japanese Executive Chef Inose Kazuhiro who has many years of working experience in Japan and Singapore, and over 10 years in Malaysia.

Before we get down to the yakitori, Christian started us off with a couple of Japanese appetisers. This was the Ockura Mentaiko Ae (RM16), lady's fingers with cod roe.

I liked this Ockura Mentaiko Ae a lot. The tender, crunchy, slightly sweet lady fingers with slimy sap were mixed with savoury cod roe. Excellent, delicious combination that really whetted my appetite.

The Gobo salad (RM16) made with very thin slices of fried fibrous root is a very popular appetiser among Japanese.

Our appetites nicely whetted, it's time for the main course. Yakitori literary means "grilled chicken". So central to any good yakitori menu are its grilled chicken parts.

Nankotsu (RM3), chicken cartilage from the breast bone. My family and friends know that I will always "reserve" this part of the chicken whenever we eat together. I like nankotsu for its crunchy bite.

Torikawa (RM4) or grilled chicken skin and ginan (RM3) or grilled ginko nuts. Crispy and savoury.

Japanese-Yakitori-Restaurant-Johor-Bahru

When I saw bishop's noses (bonjiri RM6) on the menu, I couldn't resist asking for it. Hey, the best blend of skin, fat, meat, and collagen in a chicken is right here, not anywhere else. They are always good when grilled till the skin is crisp.

Aburi Mentaiko (RM38), cod roe marinaded in red capsicum juices and then grilled.

Salty and savoury with very subtle tender, poppy mouth feel from the bursting eggs, Aburi Mentaiko goes well with drinks, in my opinion.

Tokusei Tsukune (RM6) or "Special Meat Ball" made with minced beef and chicken.

The "meat ball" is dipped in soft boiled eggs and sauce before eating.

Eringi, King Trumpet Mushroom (RM3).

The manager's recommendation, Ocatsuki (RM6) or "Rice Ball in Green Tea Soup".

The steamed rice is compacted into a ball and then grilled till a slightly burnt crust forms. The bits of burnt, crunchy crust matched well with the clear, lightly flavoured broth to create an interesting dish that goes well with yakitori.

We had a couple of wines to help us wash all that yakitori down.

Getting to Vino Vino Bistro is really easy. Just 15 minutes' drive from downtown Johor Bahru via the EDL (Eastern Dispersal Link). If you don't want to drive, Vino Vino even has a limo service (actually a SUV clearly painted Vino Vino) in which they will pick up diners from anywhere in town and bring you to the restaurant. After your dinner, Vino Vino's limo will send you to anywhere you want to go in Johor Bahru town. Just call Vino Vino at 607-357-6699. I think this is a really thoughtful and helpful service. I will use this service the next time I am going to Vino Vino, and perhaps, indulge myself a little bit more in the drinks :)

I would definitely like to come back to Vino Vino Bistro for the food, drinks and the ambiance.

Restaurant name: Vino Vino Bistro
Address: 12, Jalan Molek 1/13, Taman Molek, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/BCkwD
GPS: 1.527851,103.789719
Hours: Monday to Saturday 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight / Sunday 4:00pm to 12:00 midnight
Non Halal

Date visited: 1 Apr 2013

Jayson, the boss of newly opened Menu Please Bistro which offers casual Western dining in Taman Maju Jaya (near Plaza Pelangi), invited me to try his Western dishes and pizzas.

The interior of Menu Please Bistro is simple and neat. Customers dine in air con comfort and with soft, easy listening tunes in the background.

Jayson is a SHATEC (Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre) graduate. Jayson had worked for 7 years in Singapore's Four Seasons Hotel and Marina Bay Sands before returning to Johor Bahru to open his own restaurant last year.

Braised Beef Cheek RM26.80.

When Jayson told me that Menu Please serves braised beef cheeks, I immediately jumped at it as this is one of my favourite beef dishes. Jayson shared that Menu Please's beef cheeks are braised in beef stock with ingredients such as carrots, potatoes and onions for hours until all the vegetables are dissolved.

The hours of braising in slow fire turned the huge chunk of lean meat with layers of gelatin in between into a smooth, soft and gummy treat. The lean meat became like a savoury soft meat loaf while the gelatin turned to gummy jelly.

All those hours of slow heat dissolved the sinews, gelatin, carrots, potatoes, and onions that blended into a marvellous savoury gravy. It was so beefy good, I felt really guilty about wasting any of it. Happily, Menu Please's beef cheeks come with a large stick of focaccia bread which was handy in wiping the plate squeaky clean of the savoury gravy.

Jayson told me that Menu Please's beef cheeks are loved by some customers while others are less excited about it. As for me, I am very pleased with Menu Please's braised beef cheeks and highly recommend it to beef lovers.

Sesame Duck Salad RM9.80.

Jayson let me try Menu Please's Sesame Duck Salad which he shared is popular among customers.

The salad is made with thin slices of smoked duck on a bed of fresh lettuce, onions, carrots, tomatoes and tangerines showered with sesame sauce.

The slices of smoked duck are eaten with Menu Please's house blended dip which was inspired by traditional "char siew" sauce.

Personally, as I like the smokey, creamy flavour of smoked duck, I prefer to eat it on its own with a squeeze of tangerine, without any dip.

Otiental Potato Cakes with Tamarind Dip RM8.80.

I had Menu Please's Potato Cake with Tamarind Dip.

The cake was made with mashed potatoes and minced crab stick. The cakes were nicely fried with the skin outside crispy while the steaming hot inside was soft.

The potato cakes are eaten with the special dip that tasted salty and tangy as it was made with plum juice and tamarind.

Tomato Soup RM7.80.

I tried Menu Please's tomato soup. It was full bodied and had that nice sweet and slightly tangy tomato flavour.

As usual, I asked for permission to visit the kitchen :P

Chef Anthony stirring the pot of braised lamb shanks, another of Menu Please's signature dishes which I must come back for.

Jayson was also eager for me to try Menu Please's handmade pizzas but there was simply no more room in my tummy.

So, my next trip to Menu Please Bistro is already planned. I can't wait to try their lamb shank and handmade pizzas next time.

One last word, beef lovers! Menu Please's beef cheek is a Must Try!

Menu-Please-Bistro-Western-Pizza-Johor-Bahru

Menu-Please-Bistro-Map-Address-Johor-Bahru

Restaurant name: Menu Please Bistro
Address: 23, Jalan Maju, Taman Maju Jaya, Johor Bahru (near Plaza Pelangi)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/1vLa8
GPS: 1.480859,103.766314
Hours: 11:00am to 10:00pm (Closed on Mondays)
Non Halal

Date visited: 3 Apr 2013

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Menu Please Bistro (Western Food and Pizzas) near Plaza Pelangi in Taman Maju Jaya, Johor Bahru