Curry Fish Head at Restoran Jay Bee Garden J.B. 園咖哩鱼头小食馆 in Taman Skudai Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Restoran Jay Bee Garden in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah is a cosy popular neighbourhood restaurant where local families go for tasty dishes at reasonable prices.

Jay Bee Garden had been in business for over twenty years and started as a small stall in a kopitiam.

 

 

Mdm Kung, the lady boss commands the kitchen with a team of capable Indonesian helpers while her son and younger brother took care of the customers.

We tried Jay Bee Garden's curry fish head which is Jay Bee Garden's best seller and claim to fame.

This curry fish head for two at RM30
 

The first thing I note of any curry fish head is the freshness of the fish. Jay Bee Garden got top marks for freshness. At Jay Bee Garden, they took pains to ensure that only the freshest fish is served.


Mdm Kung's son goes to the fish market every business day at 3:00am to select the freshest Red Snappers. Jay Bee garden will close for the day's business when the day's fish are sold out, usually by 8:30pm on weekdays, earlier on weekends. So at Jay Bee Garden, all fish are served within the same day from being caught.

Jay Bee Garden's curry is spicy yet not overly hot. The curry had robust flavours and had body yet it was not overly lemak. The heavy bodied curry felt grainy from the ground spices in it. I like this curry that relied on ground spices for its flavours and body.

Jay Bee Garden's signature tofu and fish crackle topping. Crackly like a biscuit with a nice savoury taste but I am not really a fan of such distracting frills (in my opinion).

Mdm Kung graciously let me watched her in the kitchen. Oh Mdm Kung who is so visibly passionate about cooking was such a maestro in the kitchen. It was such a joy to watch her at work, putting her heart and soul into every dish that she turned out in the kitchen.

Here's how Jay Bee Garden turn out their famous curry fish head.

 

The fresh snapper fish head was first briefly boiled in hot water.

 

Mdm Kung adding the boiled fish head into the claypot of creamy curry. 

 

The fish head cooking in the claypot of spicy curry.

 

 

When the fish head was almost done, Mdm Kung added in the freshly cut Lady's Fingers, cabbages, tau pok and so on.

 

 

When everything is cooked, throw in a few pieces of Jay Bee Garden's signature fried tofu and fish crackles, and the curry fish head is ready to serve.

 

Besides their signature curry fish head, Jay Bee Garden is also well known for their steamed fish, either Hong Kong or Teochew style.

 

 

Another customer's order. Jay Bee Garden's fried Red Snapper in light soy sauce.

 

Jay Bee Garden also serves a variety of other side dishes.

 

Mdm Kung frying her popular fried egg. Watching Mdm Kung, she turned the seemingly simple task of frying an egg into an art. A must order, if only to try :))

 

This fried sweet potato leaves seemed to be the the favourite side dish for customers who ordered the curry fish head.

Another popular vegetable side dish, "kaw kee cai" in Hokkien, not sure what it is called in English.

If you like curry fish head, give Jay Bee Garden a try. It is one of the best in Johor. I shall be back to try Mdm Kung's other dishes.

Restaurant name: Restoran Jay Bee Garden J.B. 園咖哩鱼头小食馆
Address: 165, Jalan Pendekar 2, Taman Skudai Bahru (near Taman Ungku Tun Aminah), Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/57grh
GPS: 1.518446,103.651875
Hours: 10:30am to 3:00pm and 5:30 to 8:30pm (closed on Monday)
Non Halal

Date visited: 6 Dec 2012

Restoran Jay Bee Garden in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah is a cosy popular neighbourhood restaurant where local families go for tasty dishes at reasonable prices.

Jay Bee Garden had been in business for over twenty years and started as a small stall in a kopitiam.

 

 

Mdm Kung, the lady boss commands the kitchen with a team of capable Indonesian helpers while her son and younger brother took care of the customers.

We tried Jay Bee Garden's curry fish head which is Jay Bee Garden's best seller and claim to fame.

This curry fish head for two at RM30
 

The first thing I note of any curry fish head is the freshness of the fish. Jay Bee Garden got top marks for freshness. At Jay Bee Garden, they took pains to ensure that only the freshest fish is served.


Mdm Kung's son goes to the fish market every business day at 3:00am to select the freshest Red Snappers. Jay Bee garden will close for the day's business when the day's fish are sold out, usually by 8:30pm on weekdays, earlier on weekends. So at Jay Bee Garden, all fish are served within the same day from being caught.

Jay Bee Garden's curry is spicy yet not overly hot. The curry had robust flavours and had body yet it was not overly lemak. The heavy bodied curry felt grainy from the ground spices in it. I like this curry that relied on ground spices for its flavours and body.

Jay Bee Garden's signature tofu and fish crackle topping. Crackly like a biscuit with a nice savoury taste but I am not really a fan of such distracting frills (in my opinion).

Mdm Kung graciously let me watched her in the kitchen. Oh Mdm Kung who is so visibly passionate about cooking was such a maestro in the kitchen. It was such a joy to watch her at work, putting her heart and soul into every dish that she turned out in the kitchen.

Here's how Jay Bee Garden turn out their famous curry fish head.

 

The fresh snapper fish head was first briefly boiled in hot water.

 

Mdm Kung adding the boiled fish head into the claypot of creamy curry. 

 

The fish head cooking in the claypot of spicy curry.

 

 

When the fish head was almost done, Mdm Kung added in the freshly cut Lady's Fingers, cabbages, tau pok and so on.

 

 

When everything is cooked, throw in a few pieces of Jay Bee Garden's signature fried tofu and fish crackles, and the curry fish head is ready to serve.

 

Besides their signature curry fish head, Jay Bee Garden is also well known for their steamed fish, either Hong Kong or Teochew style.

 

 

Another customer's order. Jay Bee Garden's fried Red Snapper in light soy sauce.

 

Jay Bee Garden also serves a variety of other side dishes.

 

Mdm Kung frying her popular fried egg. Watching Mdm Kung, she turned the seemingly simple task of frying an egg into an art. A must order, if only to try :))

 

This fried sweet potato leaves seemed to be the the favourite side dish for customers who ordered the curry fish head.

Another popular vegetable side dish, "kaw kee cai" in Hokkien, not sure what it is called in English.

If you like curry fish head, give Jay Bee Garden a try. It is one of the best in Johor. I shall be back to try Mdm Kung's other dishes.

Restaurant name: Restoran Jay Bee Garden J.B. 園咖哩鱼头小食馆
Address: 165, Jalan Pendekar 2, Taman Skudai Bahru (near Taman Ungku Tun Aminah), Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/57grh
GPS: 1.518446,103.651875
Hours: 10:30am to 3:00pm and 5:30 to 8:30pm (closed on Monday)
Non Halal

Date visited: 6 Dec 2012

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Coco Garden Asam Pedas in Muar, Johor

Muar is well known for its otak otak and also its asam pedas fish.

Coco Garden Asam Fish is one of the stalls popular with Muar locals. This stall located in Coco Garden Hawker Centre is run by the friendly Ong couple. They were operating a cze char (literally means “cook and fried” stall in Hokkien dialect) for 20 years until they decided to specialise in asam pedas fish about 10 years ago.

The Ongs make their own sambal chilli which sits prominently in a large aluminium pot at the front of the stall.

In terms of taste, Coco Garden’s asam fish reminded me of that of the other popular asam fish outlet in Muar, at the famous Merlin Restaurant. The fish head we ordered was very fresh, and was cooked and served in a light asam gravy that was sour and spicy hot. Like Merlin, Coco Garden’s asam pedas is more asam than pedas, giving it a taste that is more sour than spicy hot.

The taste of the asam pedas was not overpowering – it merely complements and enhances the natural flavours of the fresh juicy fish.

The other popular dish at Coco Garden is their fried “dragon tongue” fish. Fried “dragon fish” has become another “must try” food when visiting Muar. Again the dish relies on the freshness of the fish for its flavour.

The towkay recommended that we eat the fish with some dark sauce soy.

Personally, my taste buds prefer eating the succulent white flesh without any condiments so that I can taste its natural freshness and flavours.

I enjoyed Coco Garden's asam pedas fish and fried dragon tongue fish.

Restaurant name: Coco Garden Asam Fish

Address: Coco Garden Hawker Centre, Jalan Hj Hassan, Muar, Johor

Map: http://g.co/maps/59dqy

GPS: 2.046519,102.574946

Hours:  10:00am to 9:00pm (closed on Weds and Thurs)
Non Halal

Date visited: 7 May 2012

Muar is well known for its otak otak and also its asam pedas fish.

Coco Garden Asam Fish is one of the stalls popular with Muar locals. This stall located in Coco Garden Hawker Centre is run by the friendly Ong couple. They were operating a cze char (literally means “cook and fried” stall in Hokkien dialect) for 20 years until they decided to specialise in asam pedas fish about 10 years ago.

The Ongs make their own sambal chilli which sits prominently in a large aluminium pot at the front of the stall.

In terms of taste, Coco Garden’s asam fish reminded me of that of the other popular asam fish outlet in Muar, at the famous Merlin Restaurant. The fish head we ordered was very fresh, and was cooked and served in a light asam gravy that was sour and spicy hot. Like Merlin, Coco Garden’s asam pedas is more asam than pedas, giving it a taste that is more sour than spicy hot.

The taste of the asam pedas was not overpowering – it merely complements and enhances the natural flavours of the fresh juicy fish.

The other popular dish at Coco Garden is their fried “dragon tongue” fish. Fried “dragon fish” has become another “must try” food when visiting Muar. Again the dish relies on the freshness of the fish for its flavour.

The towkay recommended that we eat the fish with some dark sauce soy.

Personally, my taste buds prefer eating the succulent white flesh without any condiments so that I can taste its natural freshness and flavours.

I enjoyed Coco Garden's asam pedas fish and fried dragon tongue fish.

Restaurant name: Coco Garden Asam Fish

Address: Coco Garden Hawker Centre, Jalan Hj Hassan, Muar, Johor

Map: http://g.co/maps/59dqy

GPS: 2.046519,102.574946

Hours:  10:00am to 9:00pm (closed on Weds and Thurs)
Non Halal

Date visited: 7 May 2012

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Fish Head Curry @ Chua Kee in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru

Reader Vien suggested that I try out her favourite curry fish head at Chua Kee in Taman Perling. So I made a trip to Chua Kee on Vien’s recommendation and had a fine curry fish head lunch. Thank you, Vien! Appreciate it J

Chua Kee is a typical, old established, family run corner coffee shop. It is located in a row of shop houses across the street from Perling Mall, off Jalan Persisiran Perling 1.

Actually, Chua Kee’s curry fish head reminds me of another of my favourites which is Kam Long’s curry fish head. To me, their fish head curries looked, smelled and tasted very similar J  Difference is, eating at Chua Kee felt a lot more rustic and calm while at Kam Long, it felt hectic and frantic due to the buzz from the busy, rumbling traffic along Jalan Wong Ah Fook outside.

In both restaurants, the good curry fish head all boils down to super fresh ingredients. Both Chua Kee and Kam Long use hand picked sea fish that is ocean fresh.

The curry gravy is flavoured with coconut milk but not overly reliant on coconut – with just the right amount of lemakness. The curry is fragrant from the ground spices in it and not too spicy hot – it doesn’t bite the tongue or throat. The curry gravy has a nice aroma, tasty and smooth. Fresh green vegetables like long beans are thrown into the curry and fish head together with tau pok and tau puey (fried tofu), adding interesting textures and tastes to the dish.

This curry fish head was well worth expending my calorie quota on and the RM23 I paid J

Chua Kee also serves bak kut teh which appears equally popular with the customers.

Restaurant name: Restaurant Chua Kee

Address: Across the street from Perling Mall off Jalan Persisiran Perling 1

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

GPS: 1.496952,103.682548

Hours: 11:30am to 2:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 2 Mar 2012

Reader Vien suggested that I try out her favourite curry fish head at Chua Kee in Taman Perling. So I made a trip to Chua Kee on Vien’s recommendation and had a fine curry fish head lunch. Thank you, Vien! Appreciate it J

Chua Kee is a typical, old established, family run corner coffee shop. It is located in a row of shop houses across the street from Perling Mall, off Jalan Persisiran Perling 1.

Actually, Chua Kee’s curry fish head reminds me of another of my favourites which is Kam Long’s curry fish head. To me, their fish head curries looked, smelled and tasted very similar J  Difference is, eating at Chua Kee felt a lot more rustic and calm while at Kam Long, it felt hectic and frantic due to the buzz from the busy, rumbling traffic along Jalan Wong Ah Fook outside.

In both restaurants, the good curry fish head all boils down to super fresh ingredients. Both Chua Kee and Kam Long use hand picked sea fish that is ocean fresh.

The curry gravy is flavoured with coconut milk but not overly reliant on coconut – with just the right amount of lemakness. The curry is fragrant from the ground spices in it and not too spicy hot – it doesn’t bite the tongue or throat. The curry gravy has a nice aroma, tasty and smooth. Fresh green vegetables like long beans are thrown into the curry and fish head together with tau pok and tau puey (fried tofu), adding interesting textures and tastes to the dish.

This curry fish head was well worth expending my calorie quota on and the RM23 I paid J

Chua Kee also serves bak kut teh which appears equally popular with the customers.

Restaurant name: Restaurant Chua Kee

Address: Across the street from Perling Mall off Jalan Persisiran Perling 1

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

GPS: 1.496952,103.682548

Hours: 11:30am to 2:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 2 Mar 2012

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