Beggar's Chicken @ Ban Heong Seng 万香城 Restaurant near Danga Bay in Johor Bahru

Ban Heong Seng 万香城 restaurant is known for its four signature dishes. I shall call these Ban Heong Seng's “Four Heavenly Kings” dishes. Ban Heong Seng's beggar's chicken/ duck can be considered their “King of Kings”. Ban Heong Seng's signature dishes are country fish, oyster rice and melon soup.

Ban Heong Seng's beggar's chicken is made by wrapping a fresh chicken in paper and plastic, and then encasing it in clay. The encased chicken is then buried in a bed of white hot charcoal and left there to bake for 8 hours.

When ready to serve, the encased chicken is dug up with a shovel, and wheeled in a wheelbarrow to the dinning area.

The clay that had kept all the chicken’s juices and herbal flavours in during the long hours of cooking, is carefully cracked open with a hammer. The plastic and paper are then removed and the chicken is ready to be eaten.



This juicy plump chicken costs RM33.

When the plastic and paper wrapping is removed, a puff of aromatic steam bursts into the air. The pleasant herbal fragrance catches the attention of everyone around. The succulent, juicy chicken is then revealed.

After seeing the spectacle of breaking open the beggar chicken’s clay shell and seduced by the herbal fragrance, everyone will be eager to tear into the plump chicken. 

Pulling open the chicken exposes the many different types of herbs that went into preparing this beggar’s chicken.

The herbal flavoured chicken is naturally sweet. The tasty flesh falls off the bone with the lightest touch and the meat is very juicy, tender and smooth.

Ban Heong Seng's is definitely one of the best beggar’s chicken that I have tasted.

Delicious and fun to eat J


Restaurant name: Ban Heong Seng 万香城 Restaurant (call 016-757-1887 or 07-237-5194 to book 1 day in advance as the dishes need to be prepared hours ahead of serving)

Address: 34-B, Jalan Skudai, Batu 3¼, off Jalan Tahar, Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/a42p4

GPS: 1.483683,103.721548

Hours: Call 016-757-1887 or 07-237-5194 to pre-arrange lunch or dinner

Non Halal

Date visited: 9 Mar 2012