Hin Hock 兴福 is a humble shop in Tampoi (near Plaza Angsana) which is famous for their signature poached fresh fish 烫鱼 with fried garlic and savoury blended sauce. Hin Hock was about to move to this new premise a few doors away on the same street when I visited. Restaurant name: Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock 兴福肉骨茶 Address: Jalan Dato Mohammed Seth, Tampoi, Johor Baharu (near Plaza Angsana) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/E29uq GPS: 1.496813,103.702429 Hours: 08:30am to 3:30pm (Mondays off) Non Halal
This is my second visit to Hin Hock, the first was with my friend Foong. I popped in impromptu but this time the boss, Ah Hock and his wife recognised me and refused to accept payment for the food I ate. I also had more freedom to snap pictures at the shop :)
Where is the fish? It's hidden under that mound of golden brown fried garlic and green blanket of spring onions.
The elaborate dip of garlic, shallot, onion, chili padi and soy sauce. I didn't really used this as I found the fish flavourful enough :)
Our plate of poached spinach drenched in a savoury minced pork and soy sauce gravy. Juicy, crunchy and flavourful. Goes well with the fish and rice.
Nice tofu in minced pork and soy sauce gravy.
Let's take a look at the preparation of Hin Hock's signature poached fish.
Ah Hock cutting a Tilapia. There are other fish such as Garupa and Ikan Merah.
The fish is weighed and prepared individually on order. So, you can imagine the frenzy during peak hours. But, service is pretty quick.
Ah Hock dipping the fresh fish into the hot water.
Scooping out the poached fish after a few minutes.
Ah Hock's elder son scooping out the cooked fish.
Each fish gets a heap of crispy fried garlic, scoopfuls of soy based blended gravy, and a sprinkling of chopped spring unions.
Hin Hock's signature poached fish ready to serve. Sweet tender flesh, free of fishy odour, complemented by savoury, crunchy fried garlic bits. This dish has been packing in customers at Hin Hock for over 30 years.
The fried garlic finishes fast as Hin Hock heaps generous amounts on their poached fish. So, the signature fried garlic is made every day. Lots of it.
Ah Hock is quite proud of his bak kut teh though it isn't as popular as his poached fish.
To me, Hin Hock 兴福 is one of the old names that defines the good food scene in Johor.
Dates visited: 19 Apr 2013, 23 Jul 2013
Hin Hock 兴福 is a humble shop in Tampoi (near Plaza Angsana) which is famous for their signature poached fresh fish 烫鱼 with fried garlic and savoury blended sauce. Hin Hock was about to move to this new premise a few doors away on the same street when I visited. Restaurant name: Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock 兴福肉骨茶 Address: Jalan Dato Mohammed Seth, Tampoi, Johor Baharu (near Plaza Angsana) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/E29uq GPS: 1.496813,103.702429 Hours: 08:30am to 3:30pm (Mondays off) Non Halal
This is my second visit to Hin Hock, the first was with my friend Foong. I popped in impromptu but this time the boss, Ah Hock and his wife recognised me and refused to accept payment for the food I ate. I also had more freedom to snap pictures at the shop :)
Where is the fish? It's hidden under that mound of golden brown fried garlic and green blanket of spring onions.
The elaborate dip of garlic, shallot, onion, chili padi and soy sauce. I didn't really used this as I found the fish flavourful enough :)
Our plate of poached spinach drenched in a savoury minced pork and soy sauce gravy. Juicy, crunchy and flavourful. Goes well with the fish and rice.
Nice tofu in minced pork and soy sauce gravy.
Let's take a look at the preparation of Hin Hock's signature poached fish.
Ah Hock cutting a Tilapia. There are other fish such as Garupa and Ikan Merah.
The fish is weighed and prepared individually on order. So, you can imagine the frenzy during peak hours. But, service is pretty quick.
Ah Hock dipping the fresh fish into the hot water.
Scooping out the poached fish after a few minutes.
Ah Hock's elder son scooping out the cooked fish.
Each fish gets a heap of crispy fried garlic, scoopfuls of soy based blended gravy, and a sprinkling of chopped spring unions.
Hin Hock's signature poached fish ready to serve. Sweet tender flesh, free of fishy odour, complemented by savoury, crunchy fried garlic bits. This dish has been packing in customers at Hin Hock for over 30 years.
The fried garlic finishes fast as Hin Hock heaps generous amounts on their poached fish. So, the signature fried garlic is made every day. Lots of it.
Ah Hock is quite proud of his bak kut teh though it isn't as popular as his poached fish.
To me, Hin Hock 兴福 is one of the old names that defines the good food scene in Johor.
Johor Yummy member Charles Tan recommended 锦都茶室 and many other members like Candle Tay and Kumes quickly chipped in suggesting that we should all go and give the shop a try.
锦都茶室 is one of the shops at a quiet corner of Taman Century along Jalan Dato Sulaiman, just a few doors from the popular Poh Kee宝记 Teochew Kway Teow Soup.
The large yellow banner says 锦都茶室 serves Teochew kway teow soup, fish bee hoon soup, curry laksa, wanton mee, and bitter gourd soup.
The friendly boss, Mr. Tan used to work in a roast meat shop in Singapore. He moved back to Johor Bahru after his marriage and has been a kway teow soup hawker for 32 years. Today, Mr. Tan runs 锦都茶室 with his daughter and son.
We ordered a Teochew soup with mee pok and a fish soup with kway teow (dry). Don't ask me why I ordered such a combination. Perhaps, I was still jet lagged from a longish trip to Australia .... It turned out to be an excellent breakfast despite my odd orders :P
The mee pok still has a slight spring despite soaking in the soup for quite a while, while I took photos. I expect the dry version to be even better.
The dry kway teow - the soy based sauce with a little lard is gummy and gooey. I asked for chili, hence that glob of maroon in the picture. When tossed and stirred, the kway teow became like a dark starchy ball of yarn. The chili is heavy with dried shrimps (hae bee).
The fresh slice of fish is so tender that they kept breaking apart when I tried to take this picture. Mr. Tan goes to the market to buy fish in the morning of every business day, so we are assured of it's freshness. This also explains why 锦都茶室 is closed on Mondays, as the wet markets are also closed on that day.
This humble piece of unphotogenic pork liver tastes superb. It is fresh and cooked in a way that reflects Mr. Tan's over 30 years of experience. Perfect mouth feel and taste.
I was surprised to find a slice of abalone in a RM5 soup. Not of exquisite quality (it would be unfair to expect more) but it was quite a nice touch, really.
锦都's soup made with pork bones and anchovies is full bodied. Mr. Tan adds in slivers of fresh ginger to cook and dashes of white pepper before serving. So, 锦都's soup is slightly peppery. I like this variation and differentiation from the numerous Teochew kway teow soup stalls in JB.
The humble cut chili and soy sauce dip. Simple and nice.
Another customer's fish bee hoon soup which I want to come back for. This is actually 锦都茶室's signature dish.
The fish head bee hoon soup - another must try for me.
I need to come back also for their bitter gourd soup as I am a fan of this soup :)
锦都茶室 is yet another old school Teochew kway teow soup shop worth visiting.
Restaurant name: 锦都茶室 Address: 87, Jalan Dato Suleiman, Taman Century/ Abad, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf GPS: 1.480886,103.756985 Hours: 7:30am to 3:00pm (closed on Monday) Non Halal
Date visited: 3 Sep 2013
Johor Yummy member Charles Tan recommended 锦都茶室 and many other members like Candle Tay and Kumes quickly chipped in suggesting that we should all go and give the shop a try.
锦都茶室 is one of the shops at a quiet corner of Taman Century along Jalan Dato Sulaiman, just a few doors from the popular Poh Kee宝记 Teochew Kway Teow Soup.
The large yellow banner says 锦都茶室 serves Teochew kway teow soup, fish bee hoon soup, curry laksa, wanton mee, and bitter gourd soup.
The friendly boss, Mr. Tan used to work in a roast meat shop in Singapore. He moved back to Johor Bahru after his marriage and has been a kway teow soup hawker for 32 years. Today, Mr. Tan runs 锦都茶室 with his daughter and son.
We ordered a Teochew soup with mee pok and a fish soup with kway teow (dry). Don't ask me why I ordered such a combination. Perhaps, I was still jet lagged from a longish trip to Australia .... It turned out to be an excellent breakfast despite my odd orders :P
The mee pok still has a slight spring despite soaking in the soup for quite a while, while I took photos. I expect the dry version to be even better.
The dry kway teow - the soy based sauce with a little lard is gummy and gooey. I asked for chili, hence that glob of maroon in the picture. When tossed and stirred, the kway teow became like a dark starchy ball of yarn. The chili is heavy with dried shrimps (hae bee).
The fresh slice of fish is so tender that they kept breaking apart when I tried to take this picture. Mr. Tan goes to the market to buy fish in the morning of every business day, so we are assured of it's freshness. This also explains why 锦都茶室 is closed on Mondays, as the wet markets are also closed on that day.
This humble piece of unphotogenic pork liver tastes superb. It is fresh and cooked in a way that reflects Mr. Tan's over 30 years of experience. Perfect mouth feel and taste.
I was surprised to find a slice of abalone in a RM5 soup. Not of exquisite quality (it would be unfair to expect more) but it was quite a nice touch, really.
锦都's soup made with pork bones and anchovies is full bodied. Mr. Tan adds in slivers of fresh ginger to cook and dashes of white pepper before serving. So, 锦都's soup is slightly peppery. I like this variation and differentiation from the numerous Teochew kway teow soup stalls in JB.
The humble cut chili and soy sauce dip. Simple and nice.
Another customer's fish bee hoon soup which I want to come back for. This is actually 锦都茶室's signature dish.
The fish head bee hoon soup - another must try for me.
I need to come back also for their bitter gourd soup as I am a fan of this soup :)
锦都茶室 is yet another old school Teochew kway teow soup shop worth visiting.
Restaurant name: 锦都茶室 Address: 87, Jalan Dato Suleiman, Taman Century/ Abad, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf GPS: 1.480886,103.756985 Hours: 7:30am to 3:00pm (closed on Monday) Non Halal
I've heard a lot about the famous Asam Pedas Mak Pon in Muar and was delighted when Tourism Malaysia Johor brought us there as part of the Johor Food Trail 2013 edition.
The stall is run by Mak Pon (who else? :P) and her daughter.
Asam Pedas Mak Pon is always packed, especially during weekends and public holidays.
The sight of those large Ikan Merah (Red Snapper fish) heads and aroma of asam pedas sent my salivary glands into overdrive straightaway.
Local sea catfish or Ikan Mayong - something which I want to come back for. Missed this, this time round as Tourism Malaysia was doing the ordering and they didn't pick this :P
The hot selling Ikan Kembung.
The fish were large, thick and super fresh. The heads were huge with generous amounts of meat.
The traditional soupy asam pedas gravy was a blend of tangy, savoury and spicy - in that order. Personally, I prefer asam pedas that is spicy, tangy, savoury (the way they do it in Batu Pahat).
To me the main attraction of Asam Pedas Mak Pon and the other asam pedas stalls in this food centre in Parit Jawa is their fresh fish.
Why is the fish so fresh? Well, Asam Pedas Mak Pon is definitely less than 100 foot steps from these fishing boats. So, you can imagine, the fish is literary straight from the sea to the table :)
I will be back at Parit Jawa because I like the chunky ocean fresh fish, charming fishing village ambiance and it's an easy 45 minutes drive from Muar city. I also want to try the Chinese style asam pedas warung under the trees just steps away from Medan Asam Pedas.
Restaurant name: Asam Pedas Mak Pon Address: Stall no. 6, Medan Asam Pedas (off Jalan Jabbar) Parit Jawa, Muar, Johor (south of Muar city) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Jmg4D GPS: 1.950661,102.635049 Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm (Fridays off) Halal
Date visited: 25 Jun 2013
I've heard a lot about the famous Asam Pedas Mak Pon in Muar and was delighted when Tourism Malaysia Johor brought us there as part of the Johor Food Trail 2013 edition.
The stall is run by Mak Pon (who else? :P) and her daughter.
Asam Pedas Mak Pon is always packed, especially during weekends and public holidays.
The sight of those large Ikan Merah (Red Snapper fish) heads and aroma of asam pedas sent my salivary glands into overdrive straightaway.
Local sea catfish or Ikan Mayong - something which I want to come back for. Missed this, this time round as Tourism Malaysia was doing the ordering and they didn't pick this :P
The hot selling Ikan Kembung.
The fish were large, thick and super fresh. The heads were huge with generous amounts of meat.
The traditional soupy asam pedas gravy was a blend of tangy, savoury and spicy - in that order. Personally, I prefer asam pedas that is spicy, tangy, savoury (the way they do it in Batu Pahat).
To me the main attraction of Asam Pedas Mak Pon and the other asam pedas stalls in this food centre in Parit Jawa is their fresh fish.
Why is the fish so fresh? Well, Asam Pedas Mak Pon is definitely less than 100 foot steps from these fishing boats. So, you can imagine, the fish is literary straight from the sea to the table :)
I will be back at Parit Jawa because I like the chunky ocean fresh fish, charming fishing village ambiance and it's an easy 45 minutes drive from Muar city. I also want to try the Chinese style asam pedas warung under the trees just steps away from Medan Asam Pedas.
Restaurant name: Asam Pedas Mak Pon Address: Stall no. 6, Medan Asam Pedas (off Jalan Jabbar) Parit Jawa, Muar, Johor (south of Muar city) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Jmg4D GPS: 1.950661,102.635049 Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm (Fridays off) Halal
My friends know how I can have fish soup for weeks without feeling bored. I will even endure hour long queues standing in line for the best fish soup. Actually, I used to do that almost every week at my favourite fish soup stall in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore.
Ah Chuan's fish soup at Jalan Lumba Kuda was not love at the first mouthful of soup as its flavour tasted rather slight, especially when my benchmarks were pretty robust in flavour.
But strangely, I appreciate it more as the meal progresses. Enough for me to want to blog about it.
The boss Ah Chuan worked several years at another fish soup stall before saving enough money to strike out on his own about two years ago.
Ah Chuan Fish Soup is the small corner stall run by Ah Chuan and his younger brother at Shang Ji kopitiam. This is Ah Hoe the younger brother. Ah Chuan's stall is just beside Cathay (Tan Kee) laksa stall.
Ah Hoe making our pot of fish soup.
Our RM10 fish bee hoon soup served in a claypot.
A piece of black snapper meat. It's a lower grade fish than the more familiar red snapper. Still it is more tasty than sea bass and doesn't have that muddy taste that sea bass sometimes have. The meat was fresh, tender and tasted of natural sweetness. I counted about 7 or 8 pieces of similar sized fish meat in our claypot. (We can order higher grade fish like grouper which costs more.)
The springy handmade fish balls had a nice bite though they were not very bouncy. The skin is thin and firm while the inside is soft. Ah Chuan said his fish balls are 100% fish meat with nothing added. This probably accounts for the lack of ping pong bounciness as there is no starch added to Ah Chuan's fish balls. (I am always sceptical about ping pong style fish balls :P )
Ah Chuan's bee hoon was done just right - it still had a little bite and subtle stiffness which I like. I don't enjoy limp and soggy bee hoon :P
The soup was quite clear, the flavour was slight yet pleasant and it was not oily at all.
Ah Chuan uses only fish bones, chicken bones and anchovies to make his soup. Ah Chuan assured me that he uses no MSG and I believe him because I could taste the difference.
Ah Chuan adds a dash of ti poh made from grounded dried sole fish to give his fish soup a bit of essential savoury oomph.
Ah Chuan goes to the market everyday to buy his fish. Ah Chuan deals in only sea fish such as black and red snappers, and groupers. If there is no good fish for the day, Ah Chuan simply closes the stall for the day. So, you only get good fish, personally selected by Ah Chuan. Now, that is quality assurance. Furthermore, Ah Chuan does not buy his fish in bulk. The small orange ice chest of fresh fish is all Ah Chuan buys and sells every business day.
Give Ah Chuan a try, if you are a fish soup lover.
Restaurant name: Ah Chuan Fish Soup (in Shang Ji kopitiam) Address: 141, Jalan Lumba Kuda, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Ugdyz GPS 1.461130,103.767365 Hours: 7:15am to 2:30pm (closed on Monday) No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
My friends know how I can have fish soup for weeks without feeling bored. I will even endure hour long queues standing in line for the best fish soup. Actually, I used to do that almost every week at my favourite fish soup stall in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore.
Ah Chuan's fish soup at Jalan Lumba Kuda was not love at the first mouthful of soup as its flavour tasted rather slight, especially when my benchmarks were pretty robust in flavour.
But strangely, I appreciate it more as the meal progresses. Enough for me to want to blog about it.
The boss Ah Chuan worked several years at another fish soup stall before saving enough money to strike out on his own about two years ago.
Ah Chuan Fish Soup is the small corner stall run by Ah Chuan and his younger brother at Shang Ji kopitiam. This is Ah Hoe the younger brother. Ah Chuan's stall is just beside Cathay (Tan Kee) laksa stall.
Ah Hoe making our pot of fish soup.
Our RM10 fish bee hoon soup served in a claypot.
A piece of black snapper meat. It's a lower grade fish than the more familiar red snapper. Still it is more tasty than sea bass and doesn't have that muddy taste that sea bass sometimes have. The meat was fresh, tender and tasted of natural sweetness. I counted about 7 or 8 pieces of similar sized fish meat in our claypot. (We can order higher grade fish like grouper which costs more.)
The springy handmade fish balls had a nice bite though they were not very bouncy. The skin is thin and firm while the inside is soft. Ah Chuan said his fish balls are 100% fish meat with nothing added. This probably accounts for the lack of ping pong bounciness as there is no starch added to Ah Chuan's fish balls. (I am always sceptical about ping pong style fish balls :P )
Ah Chuan's bee hoon was done just right - it still had a little bite and subtle stiffness which I like. I don't enjoy limp and soggy bee hoon :P
The soup was quite clear, the flavour was slight yet pleasant and it was not oily at all.
Ah Chuan uses only fish bones, chicken bones and anchovies to make his soup. Ah Chuan assured me that he uses no MSG and I believe him because I could taste the difference.
Ah Chuan adds a dash of ti poh made from grounded dried sole fish to give his fish soup a bit of essential savoury oomph.
Ah Chuan goes to the market everyday to buy his fish. Ah Chuan deals in only sea fish such as black and red snappers, and groupers. If there is no good fish for the day, Ah Chuan simply closes the stall for the day. So, you only get good fish, personally selected by Ah Chuan. Now, that is quality assurance. Furthermore, Ah Chuan does not buy his fish in bulk. The small orange ice chest of fresh fish is all Ah Chuan buys and sells every business day.
Give Ah Chuan a try, if you are a fish soup lover.
Restaurant name: Ah Chuan Fish Soup (in Shang Ji kopitiam) Address: 141, Jalan Lumba Kuda, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Ugdyz GPS 1.461130,103.767365 Hours: 7:15am to 2:30pm (closed on Monday) No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
jk.jpg "Ah Chuan Fish Soup at Jalan Lumba Kuda in Johor Bahru")
jk.jpg "Ah Chuan Fish Soup at Jalan Lumba Kuda in Johor Bahru")
jk.jpg "Ah Chuan Fish Soup at Jalan Lumba Kuda in Johor Bahru")
