Wah Yew 华友 Restaurant in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

I was introduced to Wah Yew 华友 restaurant in Taman Pelangi by a friend who grew up in Johor Bahru and is now residing in Kuala Lumpur.

Every time my friend comes back to JB, he would gather family and friends to have dinner at Wah Yew, his favourite restaurant.

Wah Yew 华友 is along Jalan Perang in Taman Pelangi, along the same street as other illustrious local favourites like Ah Kaw, CM, Nam Moon, and many more. This part of Taman Pelangi is simply chock-a-block with excellent restaurants and hawker stalls. So, any restaurant that can last here must has a certain quality and stature.

Wah Yew is a typical Teochew restaurant serving all the Teochew favourites. Typical of Teochew restaurants, the chef has a certain quiet dignified pride about being a custodian of the proud Teochew culinary heritage. We can feel the heart and soul of this attitude in the dishes that come out of the hectic kitchen.

Here are some of the dishes we liked from recent dinners. We love them all :)

We have this huge delicious steamed pomfret every time :) The thick fresh is ocean fresh, heavenly sweet and juicy.

Savoury, tender and chewy braised goose feet.

Many people love this soft oh luak in slightly spicy, tangy gravy though personally I prefer the crusty, crispy style oh chien.

Fresh shrimps well executed, always pleases.

Wah Yew's ngoh hiang 五香 is solidly stuffed with yam and made with fragrant 5-spice powder 五香粉.

Wah Yew does an excellent braised duck. The subtle braising sauce acts only to bring out the natural sweetness and flavours of the duck.

Yummy braised fish maw.

One of us needed a vegetarian dish and so we got this loh han chai 罗汉斋 braised vegetables, and it was good :)

Wah Yew is air conditioned and BYO (bring your own wine) friendly.

Restaurant name: Wah Yew Restaurant 华友
Address: 41, Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/s6LT3
GPS: 1.482055,103.774157
Hours: 11:00am to 9:00pm
Non Halal

Dates visited: 9 August 2012, 20 August 2012

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A Blogger Confession

Since I started blogging, my goal was to reach people. While I love to write and take pictures and create pretty things, I really wanted all of it to be shared.

I wanted parents to know the insanity isn't so bad. There can be joy in the screaming. We're all in the same "what did you do to your sister?!" boat.

These past few months, I have seen a HUGE increase in traffic to my blog. Much of this traffic has been generated from Pinterest, an online pinboard. And most of these new readers are turning to my blog for one thing - my Disney semi-expertise.

Disney planning parents have flocked to my Disney Tips N' Tricks page in search of any method possible to make Disney World planning easier on the brain. I know from experience that Disney planning takes a lot out of a person. And if you haven't been before? Que the confusion mayhem.

Along with the fabulous new readers, and the "pageviews" they have brought my small "Mommy Blog, " I have seen a small increase in revenue. I've had new opportunities and the possibility of hanging up my waitressing apron and being home to put my kids to bed is almost an actual possibility.

It's enough to bring tears to my eyes.

For anyone who doesn't know, my oldest daughter is a competitive gymnast. When Hubby and I discussed her competing almost three years ago, I decided to take on the responsibility of paying the fees. I have been working ever since. I've cleaned dressing rooms at Kohl's, spent hours teaching myself HTML for my blog and currently wipe down tables of smushed french fries.

Along with gymnastics bills, the money I make buys groceries, school clothes and Frappuccinos.

Hey, a mom has to live too.

I wanted this Friday's post to be a "shout out" to all my incredible readers who have shared in my life by reading my blog for the past two years. And the readers who just found me through Pinterest. And anyone else who clicks over to this strange place called "It's ALL Good in Mommyhood."

I love you all.

And if you like something I post, please share it. "Pin" it. Read it twice. It makes a difference over here on my end, and I appreciate you all very very much.

You make my blogging heart sing.

Cheers for a fabulous weekend!

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Lai Kee 来记西刀鱼丸 Fish Ball Noodles in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

This is my second post on Lai Kee fishball noodles 来记西刀鱼丸. I first posted about Lai Kee 来记 in Jan 2012 and it was one of my first posts since I created Johor Kaki blog.

I passed by Lai Kee a few more times since that first post but had to save my tummy space to try out other eateries in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah.

Today, I decided to stop by at the spur of the moment for no particular reason other than I can't control my craving for Lai Kee's fish ball noodles any longer and I wanted to say hello to the boss, Ah Lai 亚来.

It was already minutes to closing time and Lai Kee was still packed with customers. Ah Lai was personally doing the cooking. I said my hello to Ah Lai, he still remembered me from the first visit and I ordered my bowl of his famous fish ball soup and noodles.

Lai Kee hasn't changed much since I last ate there in Jan 2012.

In fact, Ah Lai told me much have been the same since 1987 when he first started Lai Kee. Same back street, same people. Same old school 古早味 fish ball noodles.

But of course much has also changed in the last 25 years. The once quiet back street is now a thriving food street with many popular food outlets. The same customers are now parents and even grandparents, and their children and grand children are Lai Kee's new customers.

Ah Lai's ikan parang fish balls were dense, firm yet springy. Basically solid authentic 真材实料 ikan parang fish meat with nothing else but salt added.

Ah Lai has always insisted on using only ikan parang. If there was no fresh ikan parang supply for the day such as because of bad weather, Ah Lai would close his shop for the day rather than compromise and use another type of fish or add starch into the meat. 

Making the combi pork and fish balls

Ah Lai's fish balls are freshly hand made every day at the shop. No MSG, no preservatives, so the fish balls just have that appealing delicate sweetness and ocean freshness.

These are Ah Lai's popular fried combi fish and pork balls.

Ah Lai shared with me his famous ikan parang fish cake. They were also made with 100% ikan parang meat.

Ah Lai's fish cakes are a popular takeaway item with out-of-town customers and Singaporeans.

Lai Kee's savoury noodles sauce had that distinct old style lard flavour 古早味 and a slight spiciness from the chili paste. 

Ah Lai's partner fries the pork lard everyday

Lai Kee makes these pork lard and lard crackles everyday.

Hundreds of these fried ikan parang bones were used as stock bones for the soup - so you can imagine the tastiness of the resulting soup.

The standards at Lai Kee are maintained consistently high all these 25 years (since 1987) as Ah Lai and his long time partner had been in charge of the operations and are personally at the shop all the time.

If you want old style 古早味 fish ball noodles, Lai Kee 来记西刀鱼丸 is the right place.

Restaurant name: Restoran Lai Kee 来记西刀鱼丸
Address: 90, Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA), Skudai, 81300 Johor Baru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/fKKW
GPS: 1.522671,103.664653
Hours: Daily 7:00am to 4:30pm
Non Halal

Date visited: 10 Jan 2012, 29 Aug 2012

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Thursday Thoughts (is it Thursday?)

Five years ago, I had just moved into my new house and my oldest son was starting 1st grade. I was petrified for him. I was worried about him riding the bus, who he would sit with at lunch and who would play with him at recess. Here I had a new mortgage, boxes everywhere that needed unpacking, and all I could think about was how my baby would do at his new school.

Isn't being a parent grand? It truly puts everything into perspective. I spent the entire six hours he was gone wondering about his day. It took all my might not to sneak to school and peek through windows.

I'm sure the school would have frowned on my face pressed up against the glass. And if the school didn't, the authorities would have had something to say about it.

Time has really escaped me these past five years, because next week my son gets on the bus to go to middle school. I'm sure I'll be fighting the urge to peek through windows once more.

Maybe I should warn the authorities in advance.

Today, my two middle children are currently entertaining themselves in our backyard, playing games like "squirt the dogs with the hose" and "where is the empty garbage can?"

Don't ask. As long as they are busy, playing nicely and not watching television I'm happy to allow them to squirt the dogs and play in clean garbage cans.

Isn't imagination awesome? Amazing what kids will do when they spend time outside. The world becomes their playground.

That's all for now. Mama has laundry to tend to (isn't that always the case).

Much love to all of you - enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

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BBQ Fishman 烧鱼堂 @ Restoran 777 Food Centre, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

BBQ Fishman 烧鱼堂 ikan bakar stingray at Restoran 777 food centre in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA) is one of my favourites in Johor Bahru. The slab of fresh stingray cooked and served on a banana leaf was slightly charred on the outside and still juicy and tender inside. Yummy!

The bakar stingray come with a thick spread of sambal chili. Fortunately, the sambal chili was not stinging spicy - it was just a blend of moderate spicy, and slightly tangy and sweet with the fragrance of lemon grass and spices. The stingray was also garnished with generous toppings of lady's fingers and petai, my favourite stink beans :).

We also had squid baked in Portuguese style. The squid cut into rings were baked and served in aluminium foil that looked like a pillow case.

The squid rings were submerged in a little sloshy pool of sambal chili gravy. If you like your seafood/ fish/ stingray to be soft inside and out, ask for it to be cooked in the Portuguese style. The sambal chili gravy was spicy, sweet, and distinctly tangy.

We also indulged in a plate of seafood fried rice. It was good!

The savoury rice grains were discrete and was not oily at all. Complements the BBQ seafood very well and a good alternative to plain steamed white rice.

I requested for a bit of sambal chili to go with the fried rice and unexpectedly got this hot sambal chili served on a banana leaf :) WOW! delightful service :)

Ah Hua 亚华 is the boss of BBQ Fishman 烧鱼堂 which has been in business here in Restoran 777 Food Centre for eight years.

There are plenty of fresh seafood to choose from and the most popular are stingray, chincharu fish and squids.

Ah Hua layering the slab of stingray with a thick spread of self made sambal chili.

Garnishing the stingray with plenty of lady's fingers and petai beans.

Cover the seafood and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Steaming hot spicy ikan bakar ready for serving :)

Cooking BBQ seafood the Portuguese way - baked in a sealed aluminium foil pocket. 

Ah Hua 亚华 frying his popular seafood rice, sealing in the flavours with a tongue of fire. 

Ah Hua 亚华 makes a huge wok of sambal chili everyday.

Restoran 777 Food Centre offers typical Malaysian style open air al fresco dining under the moon and stars.

Dozens of food stalls ring a large airy centre court which is the dining area. Casual, cheerful and enjoyable on a cool night, and really inexpensive too. There's even free movies and wifi!

I've been thinking.... moon, stars, cool breeze, free movie, free wifi, delicious food at affordable prices, family, good friends - what more can a man/ lady ask for? :)

I will be spending a few more nights exploring the sights, sounds, aroma and tastes of Restoran 777 Food Centre.

Restaurant name: BBQ Fishman 烧鱼堂
Adddress: Stall inside Restoran 777 Food Centre, Jalan Perkasa 4, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/6BfgX
GPS: 1.509549,103.650153
Hours: 6:00pm to 1:00pm
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 29 August 2012

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