Johor Satay at Al Mizan Satay House

There has been a lot of buzz among Johor Sedap members about Al Mizan Satay House recently - one of JB's finest and oldest founded in 1973. So, foodie buddy Kumes and I decided to pop by Al Mizan for a visit.

Restaurant name: Al Mizan Satay House
Address: 1 Jalan Kenangan, Kg. Malayu Majidee, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dpE40
GPS: 1.504536,103.749733
Hours: 11:00am to 12:00midnight
Halal

We found a simple but spacious and airy corner warung. It was a Monday evening. The neat and well kept place was peaceful with families, couples and groups of friends strolling in. Everything was relaxed and calm with cars passing by occasionally along Jalan Kenangan outside.



This is the simple counter. Al Mizan serves a few other dishes besides satay such as mee bandung Muar, ais kacang, their pretty good nasi goreng ayam sambal which we also tried, and others.



At one corner, Suhaimi was busy grilling satay.




The satay is grilled over red hot charcoal in a small BBQ - the simple kind that looks like a long trough.



Just a couple of dozen sticks at a time so they have Suhaimi's full attention - turning the satay over regularly.



Grilled to perfection. I was delighted with Al Mizan's beef satay.

The level of fragrance of Al Mizan's succulent beef satay reminds me of beef rendang. Each bite of the tender beef releases a cloud of sensual perfume - no kidding. It's aroma is delicate yet has a presence that lingers in your mouth and nose like a spray of perfume. But, I like this beef satay better than beef rendang because I prefer satay's springier texture and it's smoky flavoured, subtly gritty charred bits. 



We also had a handful of chicken satay. I am never a big fan of chicken satay. Chicken meat used to make satay tends to be dry, cooked stiff and does not take in flavours very well, in my opinion.



At Al Mizan, the chicken meat is the same but the marinate is better than those I have tried elsewhere. Satay ayam (chicken) is nicer at Al Mizan but not enough to change my mind about chicken satay :P Chicken lovers, however, I am sure will appreciate this well marinated satay.



Another winning factor at Al Mizan is their peanut sauce - a vital element in good satay. The texture of the sauce was well balanced with the peanuts neither too fine like peanut butter nor too coarse like gravel. It's a warm savoury nutty gruel.



The slightly sweet, mildly savoury and gently spicy peanut sauce complemented the satay perfectly and was so good, I scooped up and ate Kumes' share when mine was finished. 

Date visited: 20 Oct 2013

There has been a lot of buzz among Johor Sedap members about Al Mizan Satay House recently - one of JB's finest and oldest founded in 1973. So, foodie buddy Kumes and I decided to pop by Al Mizan for a visit.

Restaurant name: Al Mizan Satay House
Address: 1 Jalan Kenangan, Kg. Malayu Majidee, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dpE40
GPS: 1.504536,103.749733
Hours: 11:00am to 12:00midnight
Halal

We found a simple but spacious and airy corner warung. It was a Monday evening. The neat and well kept place was peaceful with families, couples and groups of friends strolling in. Everything was relaxed and calm with cars passing by occasionally along Jalan Kenangan outside.



This is the simple counter. Al Mizan serves a few other dishes besides satay such as mee bandung Muar, ais kacang, their pretty good nasi goreng ayam sambal which we also tried, and others.



At one corner, Suhaimi was busy grilling satay.




The satay is grilled over red hot charcoal in a small BBQ - the simple kind that looks like a long trough.



Just a couple of dozen sticks at a time so they have Suhaimi's full attention - turning the satay over regularly.



Grilled to perfection. I was delighted with Al Mizan's beef satay.

The level of fragrance of Al Mizan's succulent beef satay reminds me of beef rendang. Each bite of the tender beef releases a cloud of sensual perfume - no kidding. It's aroma is delicate yet has a presence that lingers in your mouth and nose like a spray of perfume. But, I like this beef satay better than beef rendang because I prefer satay's springier texture and it's smoky flavoured, subtly gritty charred bits. 



We also had a handful of chicken satay. I am never a big fan of chicken satay. Chicken meat used to make satay tends to be dry, cooked stiff and does not take in flavours very well, in my opinion.



At Al Mizan, the chicken meat is the same but the marinate is better than those I have tried elsewhere. Satay ayam (chicken) is nicer at Al Mizan but not enough to change my mind about chicken satay :P Chicken lovers, however, I am sure will appreciate this well marinated satay.



Another winning factor at Al Mizan is their peanut sauce - a vital element in good satay. The texture of the sauce was well balanced with the peanuts neither too fine like peanut butter nor too coarse like gravel. It's a warm savoury nutty gruel.



The slightly sweet, mildly savoury and gently spicy peanut sauce complemented the satay perfectly and was so good, I scooped up and ate Kumes' share when mine was finished. 

Date visited: 20 Oct 2013

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Cendol House in Kampung Malayu, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

I first came to Cendol House in Kampung Malayu with my foodie friend Joe who knows a lot about Johor food. Joe who used to live in nearby Taman Suria, wanted to show me Cendol House's cendol and nasi ambang. Cendol House left a favourable impression and I had been back a few more times.

At lunchtime, Cendol House is usually packed with office workers and local residents.

The dining area in Cendol House felt rustic, breezy and cool as it is shielded from the hot afternoon sun by being slightly below street level and under an attap roof. Cendol House's owner Enche Mafiz also kept his eatery, which is attached to his own house (at the back), very clean and cosy.

We've tried Cendol House's cendol, nasi ambang and mee siam, and liked them all.

 

We can taste the delightful difference of Cendol House's cendol with that first smooth (coconut) milky scoop. It had just the right balance of sweetness and savouriness.

 

 

Everything in Cendol House's cendol was made from fresh ingredients from the pandan "worms" to the sweet corn and read beans. No wonder Cendol House's cendol tasted different from average stalls that often use work saving canned sweetened corn and beans.

 

When we unwrapped Cendol House's nasi ambang from its brown paper cone, the colours and aroma were enough to make us drool.

 

Taste wise, the interesting combination of plain steamed rice with spicy fried noodles was a very clever innovation by whoever invented nasi ambang (in Indonesia). The steamed rice and spicy noodles brought their own textures and tastes.

 

Packed with a generous assortment of accompanying sides such chicken, beef, salted fish and vegetables, and we have nasi ambang, a tasty wholesome staple. If this nasi ambang was a little less greasy, it would have been just perfect for me :)

We also tried Cendol House's mee siam which was good too.

Cendol House is definitely worth a visit for the above and its wide range of local snacks including tapai and pisang goreng.

Restaurant name: Cendol House
Address: Along Jalan Rahmat near the junction of Jalan Merdeka and Jalan Berlian
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/cKPPp
GPS: 1.510579,103.753273
Hours: 11:00am to 7:00pm (Closed on Monday)
Halal

Dates visited: 2 Oct 2012, 19 Nov 2012

I first came to Cendol House in Kampung Malayu with my foodie friend Joe who knows a lot about Johor food. Joe who used to live in nearby Taman Suria, wanted to show me Cendol House's cendol and nasi ambang. Cendol House left a favourable impression and I had been back a few more times.

At lunchtime, Cendol House is usually packed with office workers and local residents.

The dining area in Cendol House felt rustic, breezy and cool as it is shielded from the hot afternoon sun by being slightly below street level and under an attap roof. Cendol House's owner Enche Mafiz also kept his eatery, which is attached to his own house (at the back), very clean and cosy.

We've tried Cendol House's cendol, nasi ambang and mee siam, and liked them all.

 

We can taste the delightful difference of Cendol House's cendol with that first smooth (coconut) milky scoop. It had just the right balance of sweetness and savouriness.

 

 

Everything in Cendol House's cendol was made from fresh ingredients from the pandan "worms" to the sweet corn and read beans. No wonder Cendol House's cendol tasted different from average stalls that often use work saving canned sweetened corn and beans.

 

When we unwrapped Cendol House's nasi ambang from its brown paper cone, the colours and aroma were enough to make us drool.

 

Taste wise, the interesting combination of plain steamed rice with spicy fried noodles was a very clever innovation by whoever invented nasi ambang (in Indonesia). The steamed rice and spicy noodles brought their own textures and tastes.

 

Packed with a generous assortment of accompanying sides such chicken, beef, salted fish and vegetables, and we have nasi ambang, a tasty wholesome staple. If this nasi ambang was a little less greasy, it would have been just perfect for me :)

We also tried Cendol House's mee siam which was good too.

Cendol House is definitely worth a visit for the above and its wide range of local snacks including tapai and pisang goreng.

Restaurant name: Cendol House
Address: Along Jalan Rahmat near the junction of Jalan Merdeka and Jalan Berlian
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/cKPPp
GPS: 1.510579,103.753273
Hours: 11:00am to 7:00pm (Closed on Monday)
Halal

Dates visited: 2 Oct 2012, 19 Nov 2012

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Ice Kacang (Air Batu Campur) at Azmie Wawa in Kampung Malayu Food Court, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Azmie Wawa ABC Special RM3

 

Recently, my friends have been raving about the ice kacang or air batu campur or ABC for short, in Kampung Malayu. The funny thing is that none of my friends knew the name of the stall - just go to the food court in Kampung Malayu and find the ABC stall with the longest queue, they say.

 

One hot afternoon, I headed to the food court in Kampung Malayu opposite the clinic and ESSO gas station, and true enough, found this stall easily. My friends were right, this stall has the longest queue I've ever seen for an ABC joint. For the record, this popular ABC stall is known as Azmie Wawa. It's such a nice and easy name to recall, I wonder why people aren't bothered to remember it :)

The three young partners were constantly busy, making their famous ABC to satisfy the queue of waiting customers. Some were taking away six to a dozen tubs.We didn't have to wait long though because Azmie Wawa has a very systematic and efficient way of making the ABC.

 

It's like a well oiled conveyor belt, assembly line system. The ingredients like attap seeds, grass jelly, boiled red beans, and others were scooped in at one end.

 

At the other end, the overworked ice shaving machine was whirling crazily and churning out the tubs of shaved ice non stop.

In the middle station, another partner drizzled red and yellow coloured syrup, and chocolate sauce from large squeeze bottles. I saw that this partner had to frequently recharge his squeeze bottles because they were quickly emptied :)  

 

The ABC was as delicious as it was pretty. Fluffy syrup sweetened ice, scoop of cool ice cream, interesting bits of treasures at the bottom, and crunchy roasted nuts on top. ABC is man's greatest creation to beat the heat, besides air conditioning :)

 

And, Azime Wawa's ABC is one of Johor's coolest hot favourites :)

Restaurant name: Azmie Wawa ABC
Address: At the food court off Jalan Tebrau Lama, opposite the clinic and ESSO gas station
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/F7jJn
GPS: 1.514515,103.757286
Hours: 12:00 noon to 11:00pm daily
Halal

Date visited: 9 Oct 2012

Azmie Wawa ABC Special RM3

 

Recently, my friends have been raving about the ice kacang or air batu campur or ABC for short, in Kampung Malayu. The funny thing is that none of my friends knew the name of the stall - just go to the food court in Kampung Malayu and find the ABC stall with the longest queue, they say.

 

One hot afternoon, I headed to the food court in Kampung Malayu opposite the clinic and ESSO gas station, and true enough, found this stall easily. My friends were right, this stall has the longest queue I've ever seen for an ABC joint. For the record, this popular ABC stall is known as Azmie Wawa. It's such a nice and easy name to recall, I wonder why people aren't bothered to remember it :)

The three young partners were constantly busy, making their famous ABC to satisfy the queue of waiting customers. Some were taking away six to a dozen tubs.We didn't have to wait long though because Azmie Wawa has a very systematic and efficient way of making the ABC.

 

It's like a well oiled conveyor belt, assembly line system. The ingredients like attap seeds, grass jelly, boiled red beans, and others were scooped in at one end.

 

At the other end, the overworked ice shaving machine was whirling crazily and churning out the tubs of shaved ice non stop.

In the middle station, another partner drizzled red and yellow coloured syrup, and chocolate sauce from large squeeze bottles. I saw that this partner had to frequently recharge his squeeze bottles because they were quickly emptied :)  

 

The ABC was as delicious as it was pretty. Fluffy syrup sweetened ice, scoop of cool ice cream, interesting bits of treasures at the bottom, and crunchy roasted nuts on top. ABC is man's greatest creation to beat the heat, besides air conditioning :)

 

And, Azime Wawa's ABC is one of Johor's coolest hot favourites :)

Restaurant name: Azmie Wawa ABC
Address: At the food court off Jalan Tebrau Lama, opposite the clinic and ESSO gas station
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/F7jJn
GPS: 1.514515,103.757286
Hours: 12:00 noon to 11:00pm daily
Halal

Date visited: 9 Oct 2012

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Pau Roslan in Kampung Malayu Majidee, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

 

I went tracking down Pau Roslan in Kampung Malayu Majidee on the suggestion of reader Sarahsafri. Pau Roslan's paus were tasty - thank you, Sarahsafri for the introduction :)

We had a nice experience looking for Pau Roslan :) Not wanting to use my GPS as I don't want a flat handphone battery, I usually drive around and use my instincts to locate the eatery.

Finding Pau Roslan turned out to be a little more tricky, as I still could not spot the shop after a couple of turns around Kampung Malayu Majidee. So I stopped at a gerai and asked the friendly people there for directions.

At this point, a nice, little old makcik overheard our conversation and asked in Malay whether we were looking for Pau Roslan. When we replied, yes, she offered to come in our car as her home was not far from Pau Roslan.

We immediately agreed and helped the nice, little old lady and her bags of groceries which she bought at the nearby GIANT supermarket into our car. We had a nice conversation with the every little bit of Malay that I could muster :P

The little old makcik lived across the road from Pau Roslan.

This was only the retail shop as Roslan's paus are made in a factory in Bandar Uda.

The paus in various flavours were sold frozen. They have pau kacang, kaya, ayam, lembu, sate, and kelapa. There were steamed paus too at the shop but we wanted to try the frozen ones to see if this could be another item or convenience food good enough to tapau (bungkus or take away) back to Singapore or Malacca/ KL.

We bought the sate and the lembu (beef) flavours. Considering that these were frozen paus, Roslan's paus were surprising good.

Two things stood out, namely, the skin and the fragrance of the fillings.

 

The skin was thick but nicely soft, fluffy and just slightly sweet. Very good skin for a steamed, frozen pau.

The fillings, both the sate and beef, were made of ground ingredients. It was not possible to see exactly what they were made of - there bits of mashed meat, potatoes and onions. But, in terms of flavour and aroma, they were excellent :)

The spices in the fillings were like perfume that ran up our nose. Roslan's paus were spicy with a slight hot sting on the lips and tongue that fades away very quickly - nice!

I found myself reminding family and friends to pick up some frozen paus from Pau Roslan whenever they are in the Kampung Malayu Majidee/ Larkin area.

Restaurant name: Pau Roslan
Address: 43, Jalan Kenangan, Kampung Malayu Majidee, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/IJ69G
GPS: 1.504288,103.750231
Hours: 8:00am to 5:00pm
Halal

Date visited: 6 Sep 2012

 

I went tracking down Pau Roslan in Kampung Malayu Majidee on the suggestion of reader Sarahsafri. Pau Roslan's paus were tasty - thank you, Sarahsafri for the introduction :)

We had a nice experience looking for Pau Roslan :) Not wanting to use my GPS as I don't want a flat handphone battery, I usually drive around and use my instincts to locate the eatery.

Finding Pau Roslan turned out to be a little more tricky, as I still could not spot the shop after a couple of turns around Kampung Malayu Majidee. So I stopped at a gerai and asked the friendly people there for directions.

At this point, a nice, little old makcik overheard our conversation and asked in Malay whether we were looking for Pau Roslan. When we replied, yes, she offered to come in our car as her home was not far from Pau Roslan.

We immediately agreed and helped the nice, little old lady and her bags of groceries which she bought at the nearby GIANT supermarket into our car. We had a nice conversation with the every little bit of Malay that I could muster :P

The little old makcik lived across the road from Pau Roslan.

This was only the retail shop as Roslan's paus are made in a factory in Bandar Uda.

The paus in various flavours were sold frozen. They have pau kacang, kaya, ayam, lembu, sate, and kelapa. There were steamed paus too at the shop but we wanted to try the frozen ones to see if this could be another item or convenience food good enough to tapau (bungkus or take away) back to Singapore or Malacca/ KL.

We bought the sate and the lembu (beef) flavours. Considering that these were frozen paus, Roslan's paus were surprising good.

Two things stood out, namely, the skin and the fragrance of the fillings.

 

The skin was thick but nicely soft, fluffy and just slightly sweet. Very good skin for a steamed, frozen pau.

The fillings, both the sate and beef, were made of ground ingredients. It was not possible to see exactly what they were made of - there bits of mashed meat, potatoes and onions. But, in terms of flavour and aroma, they were excellent :)

The spices in the fillings were like perfume that ran up our nose. Roslan's paus were spicy with a slight hot sting on the lips and tongue that fades away very quickly - nice!

I found myself reminding family and friends to pick up some frozen paus from Pau Roslan whenever they are in the Kampung Malayu Majidee/ Larkin area.

Restaurant name: Pau Roslan
Address: 43, Jalan Kenangan, Kampung Malayu Majidee, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/IJ69G
GPS: 1.504288,103.750231
Hours: 8:00am to 5:00pm
Halal

Date visited: 6 Sep 2012

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