My friend Bryan has been raving about his favourite soto ayam place (near the famous Rahmat Ikan Siakap) for some time. I couldn't wait to visit Hj Abu Soto Power in Kampung Pasir and we finally did on Monday.
Haji Abu's warung is actually an extension of his house which is a stone's throw from the sea (yes, if you throw a stone, it will actually drop into the Straits of Johor :P ). With the airy structure letting in the sea breeze and shade from the leafy trees ringing the warung, it feels cool and comfortable inside even though it was another blisteringly hot day in tropical Johor.
Inside, the simple and well kept stall front at Hj Abu Soto Power.
Hj Abu and his wife have been running this popular warung for over 30 years. The recipe came from Hj Abu's mother-in-law who was from Surabaya, Indonesia.
This bee hoon soto ayam costs RM4 for a "regular" one and RM5 for a large one. Byran fixed his soto craving with "one big, one small".
The heart of soto ayam is in it's slivers of pulled chicken meat. At Hj Abu's, the pulled chicken slivers are very fine. The fine chicken slivers sponge up the savoury soto chicken broth very well.
If the pulled chicken slivers are the heart of soto, then this savoury chicken broth is it's soul. Hj Abu's soto has a savoury, deep, rich chicken flavour.
The fragrant, spicy chicken broth is made by boiling whole chickens with many different spices in the pot for at least 4 hours.
Bee hoon (vermicelli) soto is eaten with kicap added to taste. Bryan likes his soto with plenty of kicap.
Sambal made with chili padi is also added to taste. I like my soto to have plenty of fresh sambal chili.
I also tried the rice cake (lontong) version - same spicy chicken broth eaten with traditional rice cakes. The rice cakes were tender with refreshing rice flavour. This nasi version is a good option for people who like to have rice for lunch.
If you like, you can have chicken parts cut up and added to your soto.
This bowl with chicken feet added looked so enticing, I asked the customer for permission to take a photo of it before he began to eat it :P
I have been looking for a good soto ayam in Johor to share. I am happy to recommend Hj Abu Soto Power :)
Hj Abu's son, Rujhan, has just opened a Soto Power branch at Jalan Helang 2, in Taman Scientex. I look forward to paying Rujhan's shop a visit soon :)
Restaurant name: Hj Abu Soto Power
Address: 26, Jalan Pantai, Kampung Pasir Putih, Pasir Gudang, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/i3W2X
GPS: 1.434510,103.931860
Hours: 12:00 noon to 9:00pm (closed on Friday)
Halal
Date visited: 10 Jun 2013
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