Old JB Town Heritage Food Trail at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee 陈旭年街 in Johor Bahru

In this post, I am taking you on a walking heritage tour of the old hawkers of old town Johor Bahru, mainly along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and also the surrounding streets as well. For this heritage trail on foot we start at 10:00am and end at about 2:00pm.



Our first stop is Sang Heng 甡兴 just next to the OCBC branch at the east end of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. The Teochew kway teow soup uncle has been here since the 1950s.


Ah Seng also sells braised duck and pork at the stall.

Uncle Ah Seng is the oldest hawker on this street and one of the oldest in the whole of Malaysia. Ah Seng's loyal followers say his kway teow soup hasn't changed at all, all these years. "Old school" they say. Let's try Ah Seng's popular kway teow and mee pok but we'll save the coffee for our next stop.



After Sang Heng, we walk along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and at the junction with Jalan Trus turn to our right towards restoran Hua Mui along Jalan Trus. Like Sang Heng, Hua Mui opened for business in the 1950s.

We shall stop here for Hainanese coffee, soft boiled eggs and French toast. Unlike Sang Heng, Hua Mui has been considerably updated to the chagrin to some of its old timer fans. But, at least, this cup and saucer are still originals :)



After coffee, walk up slope along Jalan Trus. At the next junction (with Jalan Pasar), you will be at Kok Yow Yong herbal stall. Kok Yow Yong has been here for a hundred years, making it the oldest here in old JB town. The stall front has just been modernised. Lost most of it's old quaintness and original charm but thankfully, the herbal drink is still the same.



After herbal tea at Kok Yow Yong, we walk back down towards Hua Mui. Back at Hua Mui turn right along Jalan Dhoby and keep walking along the shops until you come to Salahuddin Bakery. No much changed at Salahuddin's since the bakery started business here in 1937. That old wood fired oven is still in use. We can still get those lamb filled Bengali curry puffs with flaky crusts - the same as those from my childhood.



After Salahuddin, we cross Jalan Dhoby to the restaurant diagonally across - Restoran IT Roo. IT Roo started business in 1961, and during its heydays was even named the Best Chicken Chop in Malaysia in 2003. Much has changed at IT Roo with only the old photographs in the shop to remind us of it's legacy. IT Roo's chunky chicken chops are still a crowd puller.



After IT Roo, walk down along Jalan Pahang. At the junction of Jalan Pahang and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, you will see the most photographed building in old town Johor Bahru - called the Red House for obvious reasons. Originally the home of a wealthy Indian family, the Red House is now the venue of cultural and art events.

At the Red House, walk along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee towards Jalan Trus. At the junction of Jalan Trus and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, you will see the popular Kin Wah kopitiam. Right across Kin Wah along Jalan Tan  Hiok Nee is Hiap Joo bakery - the final stop of our Heritage Walk.



Like Salahuddin bakery, Hiap Joo also uses a wood fire oven from 1919. The traditional hot favourites are Hiap Joo's coconut buns and banana cakes.



We will take away some straight out of the oven before making our way home. The new generation of owners are coming up with more contemporary pastries but I just stick to old time favourites :)

There you are - heritage walk and heritage food trail of old town Johor Bahru's Jalan Tan Hiok Nee "Culture Street" 文化街.

Plenty of food tasting and photo opportunities for foodies and photography buffs.

Summary of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee heritage food trail:

10:00am Teochew kway teow soup at Sang Heng
10:45am Coffee at Hua Mui
11:15am Herbal tea at Kok Yow Yong (drink and go)
11:45am Pastry shopping at Salahuddin bakery
12:15pm Chicken chop at IT Roo
  1:30pm Pastry shopping at Hiap Joo bakery. End of heritage tour.

In this post, I am taking you on a walking heritage tour of the old hawkers of old town Johor Bahru, mainly along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and also the surrounding streets as well. For this heritage trail on foot we start at 10:00am and end at about 2:00pm.



Our first stop is Sang Heng 甡兴 just next to the OCBC branch at the east end of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. The Teochew kway teow soup uncle has been here since the 1950s.


Ah Seng also sells braised duck and pork at the stall.

Uncle Ah Seng is the oldest hawker on this street and one of the oldest in the whole of Malaysia. Ah Seng's loyal followers say his kway teow soup hasn't changed at all, all these years. "Old school" they say. Let's try Ah Seng's popular kway teow and mee pok but we'll save the coffee for our next stop.



After Sang Heng, we walk along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and at the junction with Jalan Trus turn to our right towards restoran Hua Mui along Jalan Trus. Like Sang Heng, Hua Mui opened for business in the 1950s.

We shall stop here for Hainanese coffee, soft boiled eggs and French toast. Unlike Sang Heng, Hua Mui has been considerably updated to the chagrin to some of its old timer fans. But, at least, this cup and saucer are still originals :)



After coffee, walk up slope along Jalan Trus. At the next junction (with Jalan Pasar), you will be at Kok Yow Yong herbal stall. Kok Yow Yong has been here for a hundred years, making it the oldest here in old JB town. The stall front has just been modernised. Lost most of it's old quaintness and original charm but thankfully, the herbal drink is still the same.



After herbal tea at Kok Yow Yong, we walk back down towards Hua Mui. Back at Hua Mui turn right along Jalan Dhoby and keep walking along the shops until you come to Salahuddin Bakery. No much changed at Salahuddin's since the bakery started business here in 1937. That old wood fired oven is still in use. We can still get those lamb filled Bengali curry puffs with flaky crusts - the same as those from my childhood.



After Salahuddin, we cross Jalan Dhoby to the restaurant diagonally across - Restoran IT Roo. IT Roo started business in 1961, and during its heydays was even named the Best Chicken Chop in Malaysia in 2003. Much has changed at IT Roo with only the old photographs in the shop to remind us of it's legacy. IT Roo's chunky chicken chops are still a crowd puller.



After IT Roo, walk down along Jalan Pahang. At the junction of Jalan Pahang and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, you will see the most photographed building in old town Johor Bahru - called the Red House for obvious reasons. Originally the home of a wealthy Indian family, the Red House is now the venue of cultural and art events.

At the Red House, walk along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee towards Jalan Trus. At the junction of Jalan Trus and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, you will see the popular Kin Wah kopitiam. Right across Kin Wah along Jalan Tan  Hiok Nee is Hiap Joo bakery - the final stop of our Heritage Walk.



Like Salahuddin bakery, Hiap Joo also uses a wood fire oven from 1919. The traditional hot favourites are Hiap Joo's coconut buns and banana cakes.



We will take away some straight out of the oven before making our way home. The new generation of owners are coming up with more contemporary pastries but I just stick to old time favourites :)

There you are - heritage walk and heritage food trail of old town Johor Bahru's Jalan Tan Hiok Nee "Culture Street" 文化街.

Plenty of food tasting and photo opportunities for foodies and photography buffs.

Summary of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee heritage food trail:

10:00am Teochew kway teow soup at Sang Heng
10:45am Coffee at Hua Mui
11:15am Herbal tea at Kok Yow Yong (drink and go)
11:45am Pastry shopping at Salahuddin bakery
12:15pm Chicken chop at IT Roo
  1:30pm Pastry shopping at Hiap Joo bakery. End of heritage tour.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Johor Bahru Food Trail with K F Seetoh of Makansutra

This post should have been written about a year ago. At that time, Johor Kaki blog was still relatively young. Johor Kaki Blog Facebook Page wasn't up yet. Neither were the Johor Sedap and Johor Yummy Facebook groups.



I got an unexpected email and telephone call from Makansutra office asking if I would like to show Makan Guru K F Seetoh around Johor Bahru. K F Seetoh was preparing the 2013 edition of Makansutra Guide to Malaysian Food. I agreed readily because this supports my goal to promote Johor hawkers and hawker food. I was also eager to spend a day with K F Seetoh as I have long admired how he passionately promoted street food around the world, especially in Singapore.

I am writing this long overdue post now as it just dawned on me that this was actually Johor Kaki's very first food trail and that it should not go unrecorded.

Seetoh drove his MPV, and with us were the photographer (I forgot his name, so sorry :P) and staff writer, Lorraine.



As Seetoh wanted to cover some Halal food, our first stop was the food centre at the beautiful Hutan Bandar park. I introduced Seetoh to two lontong kering stalls as this dish is quite hard to find in Singapore.



We first tasted D'Rimba Corner's lontong kering. Lontong kering is traditional Malay rice cakes served with peanut gravy, spicy sambal, fried coconut shreds, tempeh and nasi padang style side dishes such as beef rendang, fried vegetables and so on. 



Next, we tasted Puan Fatimah's lontong kering which is just a few stalls away, also at Hutan Bandar. Seetoh was impressed by how the stalls were able to turn common and inexpensive ingredients into affordable and delicious dishes. This affordable delicious food sumptuously enjoyed by everyone, Seetoh shared, is the essence of good street food.



After Hutan Bandar food centre, we shot up to Taman Ungku Tun Aminah where I showed Seetoh the Terrengganu Curry Mee. This unique style of curry mee eaten with fresh fish and sambal is one of my personal favourites and I wanted to let Seetoh try it.



We next proceeded to You Kee XO to taste their roast meats and signature soups. You Kee XO is one of the well established roast meats shops in Johor Bahru but there are a few other shops that also do great roast meats in JB. What I liked about You Kee XO is the nice ambiance, clean and neat environment, good service and their great soups. Pricing wise, they do not charge a premium for the nice extras, which is... nice.



Next stop was Restoran Azinur for their popular nasi padang. I wanted to show Seetoh one of the local favourites where many people have their everyday, work day meals. Queues form up outside Restoran Azinur 20 minutes before opening time at noon. Azinur closes when everything is sold out, normally about two hours later at 2:00pm.



We then stopped over at Onn Kee Jaya in Tampoi for their popular steamed fresh fish.



That done, we proceeded to nearby Angsana Plaza to burn calories, shop a little bit, and also to taste Haji Wahid's mee rebus there. Haji Wahid's mee rebus is an old name in traditional mee rebus in Johor Bahru, now with several branches around JB. The Angsana Plaza branch is one of the most popular. 



After a good shopping break and a stretch, we swung eastwards towards Taman Mount Austin to check out Matang seafood porridge. Here, the Teochew style porridge is served in savoury seafood broth and we can add additional seafood ingredients according to our fancy. Shark meat is a popular add on here.

After the seafood porridge, we found a cool coffee and dessert shop in Mount Austin to cool our heels, freshen up and to get online to clear our backlog of the day's emails and messages.



Re-energised by the short break, we proceeded to the back alley stalls at Taman Century but we were slightly early and most of the stalls were not yet opened. Known as Siak Hong to the locals, the collection of alley stalls here is a popular supper haunt.



We then swung around to a 5 decades old restaurant with the quaint name "Come and Eat" serving Teochew porridge. Famous for their steamed fresh fish which Orang Asli fishermen bring in by just the handful in what is literary the "Catch of the Day". We had a bit of a heartache. The famous "Come and Eat" asam fish was available only on Thursdays, so Seetoh got to miss this one, and come and eat another day :P



We next headed down early to Meldrum Walk to indulge in JB style back alley dining. Despite the rather pretentious sounding name, Meldrum Walk is no swanky dinning street. But, it is charming, authentic back lane hawker fare - raw and unabashed. Unglam, crowded, messy, dingy, cooking fumes stick to your clothes and hair, but Meldrum Walk has one of the largest collection of hawker stalls in Johor Bahru. Some of the stalls are decades old heritage stalls. Meldrum "Walk" is a mini foodies' paradise - a place I like to explore more.

Meldrum Walk was the last stop of our one day food trail.

On hindsight, the trail could have been better, for example, I could have just kept to one area such as Skudai or Johor Jaya, instead of crisscrossing through Johor Bahru.

Still, for those intrepid foodies who want to follow our food steps (pun intended) - let the food decide where we go rather than convenience - here is the summary of our Johor Bahru one day food trail.

1. Hutan Bandar Map: http://g.co/maps/g6ssk GPS: 1.480152, 103.742974
2. Terengganu curry Map: http://g.co/maps/fyu6e GPS: 1.51037,103.648335
3. You Kee XO Map: http://g.co/maps/5dsth  GPS: 1.516666,103.653613 
4. Restoran Azinur Map: http://g.co/maps/znpf4 GPS: 1.522628,103.660587
5. Onn Kee Jaya Map: http://g.co/maps/9w3he GPS: 1.497854,103.701839
6. Haji Wahid's Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dYkl GPS: 1.495183,103.705229
7. Matang porridge Map: http://g.co/maps/j6z6r GPS: 1.561904, 103.779184
8. Siak Hong alley Map: http://g.co/maps/6p2ch  GPS: 1.479637,103.763718
9. Come and Eat Map: http://g.co/maps/aut82 GPS: 1.47285, 103.77829
10. Meldrum Walk Map: http://g.co/maps/9m437  GPS: 1.460045,103.764673

This post should have been written about a year ago. At that time, Johor Kaki blog was still relatively young. Johor Kaki Blog Facebook Page wasn't up yet. Neither were the Johor Sedap and Johor Yummy Facebook groups.



I got an unexpected email and telephone call from Makansutra office asking if I would like to show Makan Guru K F Seetoh around Johor Bahru. K F Seetoh was preparing the 2013 edition of Makansutra Guide to Malaysian Food. I agreed readily because this supports my goal to promote Johor hawkers and hawker food. I was also eager to spend a day with K F Seetoh as I have long admired how he passionately promoted street food around the world, especially in Singapore.

I am writing this long overdue post now as it just dawned on me that this was actually Johor Kaki's very first food trail and that it should not go unrecorded.

Seetoh drove his MPV, and with us were the photographer (I forgot his name, so sorry :P) and staff writer, Lorraine.



As Seetoh wanted to cover some Halal food, our first stop was the food centre at the beautiful Hutan Bandar park. I introduced Seetoh to two lontong kering stalls as this dish is quite hard to find in Singapore.



We first tasted D'Rimba Corner's lontong kering. Lontong kering is traditional Malay rice cakes served with peanut gravy, spicy sambal, fried coconut shreds, tempeh and nasi padang style side dishes such as beef rendang, fried vegetables and so on. 



Next, we tasted Puan Fatimah's lontong kering which is just a few stalls away, also at Hutan Bandar. Seetoh was impressed by how the stalls were able to turn common and inexpensive ingredients into affordable and delicious dishes. This affordable delicious food sumptuously enjoyed by everyone, Seetoh shared, is the essence of good street food.



After Hutan Bandar food centre, we shot up to Taman Ungku Tun Aminah where I showed Seetoh the Terrengganu Curry Mee. This unique style of curry mee eaten with fresh fish and sambal is one of my personal favourites and I wanted to let Seetoh try it.



We next proceeded to You Kee XO to taste their roast meats and signature soups. You Kee XO is one of the well established roast meats shops in Johor Bahru but there are a few other shops that also do great roast meats in JB. What I liked about You Kee XO is the nice ambiance, clean and neat environment, good service and their great soups. Pricing wise, they do not charge a premium for the nice extras, which is... nice.



Next stop was Restoran Azinur for their popular nasi padang. I wanted to show Seetoh one of the local favourites where many people have their everyday, work day meals. Queues form up outside Restoran Azinur 20 minutes before opening time at noon. Azinur closes when everything is sold out, normally about two hours later at 2:00pm.



We then stopped over at Onn Kee Jaya in Tampoi for their popular steamed fresh fish.



That done, we proceeded to nearby Angsana Plaza to burn calories, shop a little bit, and also to taste Haji Wahid's mee rebus there. Haji Wahid's mee rebus is an old name in traditional mee rebus in Johor Bahru, now with several branches around JB. The Angsana Plaza branch is one of the most popular. 



After a good shopping break and a stretch, we swung eastwards towards Taman Mount Austin to check out Matang seafood porridge. Here, the Teochew style porridge is served in savoury seafood broth and we can add additional seafood ingredients according to our fancy. Shark meat is a popular add on here.

After the seafood porridge, we found a cool coffee and dessert shop in Mount Austin to cool our heels, freshen up and to get online to clear our backlog of the day's emails and messages.



Re-energised by the short break, we proceeded to the back alley stalls at Taman Century but we were slightly early and most of the stalls were not yet opened. Known as Siak Hong to the locals, the collection of alley stalls here is a popular supper haunt.



We then swung around to a 5 decades old restaurant with the quaint name "Come and Eat" serving Teochew porridge. Famous for their steamed fresh fish which Orang Asli fishermen bring in by just the handful in what is literary the "Catch of the Day". We had a bit of a heartache. The famous "Come and Eat" asam fish was available only on Thursdays, so Seetoh got to miss this one, and come and eat another day :P



We next headed down early to Meldrum Walk to indulge in JB style back alley dining. Despite the rather pretentious sounding name, Meldrum Walk is no swanky dinning street. But, it is charming, authentic back lane hawker fare - raw and unabashed. Unglam, crowded, messy, dingy, cooking fumes stick to your clothes and hair, but Meldrum Walk has one of the largest collection of hawker stalls in Johor Bahru. Some of the stalls are decades old heritage stalls. Meldrum "Walk" is a mini foodies' paradise - a place I like to explore more.

Meldrum Walk was the last stop of our one day food trail.

On hindsight, the trail could have been better, for example, I could have just kept to one area such as Skudai or Johor Jaya, instead of crisscrossing through Johor Bahru.

Still, for those intrepid foodies who want to follow our food steps (pun intended) - let the food decide where we go rather than convenience - here is the summary of our Johor Bahru one day food trail.

1. Hutan Bandar Map: http://g.co/maps/g6ssk GPS: 1.480152, 103.742974
2. Terengganu curry Map: http://g.co/maps/fyu6e GPS: 1.51037,103.648335
3. You Kee XO Map: http://g.co/maps/5dsth  GPS: 1.516666,103.653613 
4. Restoran Azinur Map: http://g.co/maps/znpf4 GPS: 1.522628,103.660587
5. Onn Kee Jaya Map: http://g.co/maps/9w3he GPS: 1.497854,103.701839
6. Haji Wahid's Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dYkl GPS: 1.495183,103.705229
7. Matang porridge Map: http://g.co/maps/j6z6r GPS: 1.561904, 103.779184
8. Siak Hong alley Map: http://g.co/maps/6p2ch  GPS: 1.479637,103.763718
9. Come and Eat Map: http://g.co/maps/aut82 GPS: 1.47285, 103.77829
10. Meldrum Walk Map: http://g.co/maps/9m437  GPS: 1.460045,103.764673

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

NTV7 Foodie Blogger 爱食客 Series Hosted by Coby Chong 庄可比 Premiere Episode Featuring Johor Food

NTV7 Foodie Blogger 爱食客 series hosted by Coby Chong premiere episode featuring Johor food was broadcast on 17 Mar 2013.

 

The Johor hawkers featured are Ah Kiang mee pok at Permas Jaya, Taman Tasek kway teow kia, Wah Cai durian puff at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, and Hiap Joo Bakery at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in downtown Johor bahru

 

Click on above picture for more details about the hawkers featured on Foodie Blogger.

Click on the above picture to view the Youtube video on the Foodie Blogger premiere episode (in Mandarin).

We hope that there will be more programmes like Foodie Blogger to promote Johor food as there are many more good hawkers in Johor.

NTV7 Foodie Blogger 爱食客 series hosted by Coby Chong premiere episode featuring Johor food was broadcast on 17 Mar 2013.

 

The Johor hawkers featured are Ah Kiang mee pok at Permas Jaya, Taman Tasek kway teow kia, Wah Cai durian puff at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, and Hiap Joo Bakery at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in downtown Johor bahru

 

Click on above picture for more details about the hawkers featured on Foodie Blogger.

Click on the above picture to view the Youtube video on the Foodie Blogger premiere episode (in Mandarin).

We hope that there will be more programmes like Foodie Blogger to promote Johor food as there are many more good hawkers in Johor.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Miss Tam Chiak and SG Food on Foot on One Day Johor Bahru Food Trail

Miss Tam Chiak by Maureen and SG Food on Foot by Derrick are two of my favourite Singapore foodie blogs. Maureen and Derrick wanted to try Johor Bahru's hawker food. We have been discussing a Johor Bahru food trail and finally embarked on it yesterday. Maureen's friend Kai joined us. We had a great day :)



Our first stop was the Bukit Chagar roti canai as it was near the CIQ and I wanted my guests to try one of my favourite roti canai stalls.



Our second stop was Tua Thow kway teow soup. Tua Thow is one of my top favourite Teochew kway teow soup stalls in Johor.



We proceeded next to Lai Kee to try his famous handmade fish balls. I wanted my Singapore friends to experience Lai Kee's heavy lard sauce.



Maureen zeroing in on the fish balls.



Maureen taking aim at the boss, Ah Lai in action :)



Since Wah Cai is just next to Lai Kee, we also popped by to try his fried durian.



Wah Cai's mum brought out all the different snacks like fried bananas, cempadak, nian kau and their signature "3-in-1" nian kau with yam and sweet potatoes.



We next dropped by Restoran Lima Ratus for Mr. Low's red rice wine mee suah.



The friendly Mr. Low preparing the red rice wine mee suah according to the recipe he learnt from his mum years ago.



Mr. Low's wanton noodles made with duck eggs, something not easy found in Johor or Singapore. We all liked the crunchy noodles though not all were accustomed to the relatively dry, sparse sauce which is the common style in JB.



Our stomachs full, we next stopped by at the AEON (JUSCO) Tebrau City Mall for a stretch, some shopping and foot reflexology.

After we had our fill of shopping and foot massage, we headed back downtown for dessert. In the car, Derrick mentioned that he was crazy about herbal chicken. I made a quick check if we would like to share a paper baked herbal chicken together at the famous Teck Sing restaurant. Before I could complete my sentence, the party gave my proposal a big YAY!! Not a hard decision at all.



This was Teck Sing's herbal chicken. We all were impressed by its savouriness and the "just right" no overpowering herbal taste. The flesh was also tender (though I felt it was firmer than what I tasted during my last visit to Teck Sing). 



We next stopped at Joo Yee (Tan Kee) at Taman Serene food centre for their famous ABC or ais kacang.



I asked for extra chocolate syrup topping :P



Derrick liked Tan Kee's BBQ you char kway with rojak sauce. 



Since a Johor food trail would be incomplete without staples like kway teow kia (KTK), we dropped by Woon Kiang at Jalan Stulang Laut. This was a Monday (with the pork markets shut), almost all other KTK shops were closed.



Woon Kiang KTK was pretty good, it being one of the popular KTK shops that originated from the old Jalan Wong Ah Fook street hawker stalls. Woon Kiang is run by the second generation now. Next time, I shall also take my guests to KTK shops where the first generation is still running the shop.



Woon Kiang's braised duck was excellent.



After kway teow kia, we went to the pasar malam at Taman Century to burn calories. The pasar malam which opens every Monday stretches from Hotel Grand Paragon to KSL City Mall.



At the pasar malam, we found my favourite Penang rojak man. The cut fruits were fresh and crunchy while the sauce was savoury and sweet.



This is the real reason why foodie bloggies always super welcome non bloggers to join us on our blogging trips :P

From this trip, I found that Maureen is actually quite tam chiak (Hokkien for people who live-to-eat, politely put). We passed this carrot cake stall and was captivated by the cai por aroma from the cooking fumes. Our curiosity was piqued by the never ending long queue. But all of us had no difficulty resisting the carrot cake, helped by our over eating since the morning. But, not Miss Tam Chiak. Never underestimate her small frame :P Nothing can stop her from trying out any potential good food find. To Miss Tam Chiak, no food that attracted so much attention should be passed over without a proper taste test :P



Can you spot our intrepid foodie bloggie in this picture?



This was the loot from the unflappable Miss Tam Chiak. The kway was quite ordinary but I liked the savoury and slightly sweet sauce.

After the pasar malam, it was time for supper! I brought my friends to the popular Cedar Point food centre to try Sin Kee's BBQ seafood.



Kai chose to try Sin Kee's BBQ "chicken fish" as we had not tried it before. "Chicken fish" has rather bland white meat. Overall, this "chicken fish" was still a tasty option as the meat was still moist and Sin Kee's sambal was in good form today. The sambal was savoury and not overly spicy.



Kai have to have his vegetables and I have to have my petai, and so we ordered this pretentious sounding BBQ "Four Heavenly Kings". The long beans, petai, lady's fingers and kacang botol were all fresh and crunchy and Sin Kee's sambal was as good as ever. I love this.

It was a long and tiring day, but we were very happy.

Here is a summary of where we went during our one day Johor Bahru food trail.

Timings are ridiculously rough estimates and actually varies to the point of making the schedule pointless :P Timings vary widely to allow time for food pornography fetishes, different eating speeds of the eat-to-live and live-to-eat tribes, varying dosages required for retail therapy depending on the degree of affliction. As I learnt before, "The best plans are ruined by the first action". But, here is the rough guide anyway because most of us can't do anything without one. Click on the respective links to read more about the food stalls.

08:30am Bukit Chagar roti canai (prata)
09:30am Tua Thow kway teow soup
10:30am Lai Kee fish ball noodles
11:30am Durian puffs at Wah Cai
12:30pm Red rice wine mee suah at Restoran Lima Ratus
1.30pm Retail therapy and burn calories at (AEON) JUSCO Tebrau City Mall
3:00pm Paper baked herbal chicken at Teck Sing
4:00pm Ais kacang at Joo Yee (Tan Kee)
5:00pm Woon Kiang kway teow kia
6:30pm Pasar malam at Taman Century (Mondays only) Penang rojak.
7:30pm  Retail therapy and burn calories at KSL City Mall
9:00pm Supper at Cedar Point food centre. We had BBQ fish at Sin Kee.

Miss Tam Chiak by Maureen and SG Food on Foot by Derrick are two of my favourite Singapore foodie blogs. Maureen and Derrick wanted to try Johor Bahru's hawker food. We have been discussing a Johor Bahru food trail and finally embarked on it yesterday. Maureen's friend Kai joined us. We had a great day :)



Our first stop was the Bukit Chagar roti canai as it was near the CIQ and I wanted my guests to try one of my favourite roti canai stalls.



Our second stop was Tua Thow kway teow soup. Tua Thow is one of my top favourite Teochew kway teow soup stalls in Johor.



We proceeded next to Lai Kee to try his famous handmade fish balls. I wanted my Singapore friends to experience Lai Kee's heavy lard sauce.



Maureen zeroing in on the fish balls.



Maureen taking aim at the boss, Ah Lai in action :)



Since Wah Cai is just next to Lai Kee, we also popped by to try his fried durian.



Wah Cai's mum brought out all the different snacks like fried bananas, cempadak, nian kau and their signature "3-in-1" nian kau with yam and sweet potatoes.



We next dropped by Restoran Lima Ratus for Mr. Low's red rice wine mee suah.



The friendly Mr. Low preparing the red rice wine mee suah according to the recipe he learnt from his mum years ago.



Mr. Low's wanton noodles made with duck eggs, something not easy found in Johor or Singapore. We all liked the crunchy noodles though not all were accustomed to the relatively dry, sparse sauce which is the common style in JB.



Our stomachs full, we next stopped by at the AEON (JUSCO) Tebrau City Mall for a stretch, some shopping and foot reflexology.

After we had our fill of shopping and foot massage, we headed back downtown for dessert. In the car, Derrick mentioned that he was crazy about herbal chicken. I made a quick check if we would like to share a paper baked herbal chicken together at the famous Teck Sing restaurant. Before I could complete my sentence, the party gave my proposal a big YAY!! Not a hard decision at all.



This was Teck Sing's herbal chicken. We all were impressed by its savouriness and the "just right" no overpowering herbal taste. The flesh was also tender (though I felt it was firmer than what I tasted during my last visit to Teck Sing). 



We next stopped at Joo Yee (Tan Kee) at Taman Serene food centre for their famous ABC or ais kacang.



I asked for extra chocolate syrup topping :P



Derrick liked Tan Kee's BBQ you char kway with rojak sauce. 



Since a Johor food trail would be incomplete without staples like kway teow kia (KTK), we dropped by Woon Kiang at Jalan Stulang Laut. This was a Monday (with the pork markets shut), almost all other KTK shops were closed.



Woon Kiang KTK was pretty good, it being one of the popular KTK shops that originated from the old Jalan Wong Ah Fook street hawker stalls. Woon Kiang is run by the second generation now. Next time, I shall also take my guests to KTK shops where the first generation is still running the shop.



Woon Kiang's braised duck was excellent.



After kway teow kia, we went to the pasar malam at Taman Century to burn calories. The pasar malam which opens every Monday stretches from Hotel Grand Paragon to KSL City Mall.



At the pasar malam, we found my favourite Penang rojak man. The cut fruits were fresh and crunchy while the sauce was savoury and sweet.



This is the real reason why foodie bloggies always super welcome non bloggers to join us on our blogging trips :P

From this trip, I found that Maureen is actually quite tam chiak (Hokkien for people who live-to-eat, politely put). We passed this carrot cake stall and was captivated by the cai por aroma from the cooking fumes. Our curiosity was piqued by the never ending long queue. But all of us had no difficulty resisting the carrot cake, helped by our over eating since the morning. But, not Miss Tam Chiak. Never underestimate her small frame :P Nothing can stop her from trying out any potential good food find. To Miss Tam Chiak, no food that attracted so much attention should be passed over without a proper taste test :P



Can you spot our intrepid foodie bloggie in this picture?



This was the loot from the unflappable Miss Tam Chiak. The kway was quite ordinary but I liked the savoury and slightly sweet sauce.

After the pasar malam, it was time for supper! I brought my friends to the popular Cedar Point food centre to try Sin Kee's BBQ seafood.



Kai chose to try Sin Kee's BBQ "chicken fish" as we had not tried it before. "Chicken fish" has rather bland white meat. Overall, this "chicken fish" was still a tasty option as the meat was still moist and Sin Kee's sambal was in good form today. The sambal was savoury and not overly spicy.



Kai have to have his vegetables and I have to have my petai, and so we ordered this pretentious sounding BBQ "Four Heavenly Kings". The long beans, petai, lady's fingers and kacang botol were all fresh and crunchy and Sin Kee's sambal was as good as ever. I love this.

It was a long and tiring day, but we were very happy.

Here is a summary of where we went during our one day Johor Bahru food trail.

Timings are ridiculously rough estimates and actually varies to the point of making the schedule pointless :P Timings vary widely to allow time for food pornography fetishes, different eating speeds of the eat-to-live and live-to-eat tribes, varying dosages required for retail therapy depending on the degree of affliction. As I learnt before, "The best plans are ruined by the first action". But, here is the rough guide anyway because most of us can't do anything without one. Click on the respective links to read more about the food stalls.

08:30am Bukit Chagar roti canai (prata)
09:30am Tua Thow kway teow soup
10:30am Lai Kee fish ball noodles
11:30am Durian puffs at Wah Cai
12:30pm Red rice wine mee suah at Restoran Lima Ratus
1.30pm Retail therapy and burn calories at (AEON) JUSCO Tebrau City Mall
3:00pm Paper baked herbal chicken at Teck Sing
4:00pm Ais kacang at Joo Yee (Tan Kee)
5:00pm Woon Kiang kway teow kia
6:30pm Pasar malam at Taman Century (Mondays only) Penang rojak.
7:30pm  Retail therapy and burn calories at KSL City Mall
9:00pm Supper at Cedar Point food centre. We had BBQ fish at Sin Kee.

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