Our early morning food hunt took us to this corner chicken rice shop in the rustic back streets of Kulai (off Jalan Besar, the main street).
These fried chicken hanging enticingly in the window caught my attention as I passed. On checking with the boss, my suspicion that these chicken were charcoal roasted before they were deep fried were confirmed. Yipee! I love roast-then-fry chicken because of their superior flavour and texture, so we decided to stop and check this out.
Inside Heng Heng, it is bright, airy and clean. The bare bones décor and laid back atmosphere inside made me feel like I am back in the good old 1970s. The friendly staff was attentive and service was very efficient.
This old style hand carved wooden plaque hanging high and prominently in the shop stated that Heng Heng Hainanese chicken rice was founded in 1977.
Heng Heng has 4 outlets scattered across Kulai town and the second generation boss, Ah Kang 亚康 is here helming the founder's shop. Ah Kang's family is related to the family that runs Tian Tian chicken rice in Singapore.
The roast-then-fry chicken was juicy, sweet and tender inside. The fried skin outside was so tasty, I just ate it together with the meat, throwing cholesterol wariness to the wind :D
The fragrant rice is tender yet firm, and the grains separate easily. The grains are coated with chicken broth, yet they are not greasy.
Drizzle a dribble of dark soy sauce - an old habit of mine when I was addicted to strong flavouring - a habit I need to kick.
Heng Heng's freshly ground ginger sauce is a winner. Only mildly spicy, creamy and full bodied, it's so good, I ate a few spoonfuls on its own.
Heng Heng's founder (Ah Kang's dad) said we must come back to try their siew yok (roast belly pork) and char siew (roast pork) as Heng Heng's claim to fame includes their Hong Kong roasts. I shall definitely be back.
Restaurant: Heng Heng 兴兴 Hainanese Chicken Rice Address: Junction of Jalan Ibrahim and Jalan Ismail, Kulai, Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/HYhlp GPS: 1.660393,103.603354 Hours: 6:30am to 3:30pm (closed on alternate Thursdays) Non Halal
Date visited: 22 Nov 2013
Our early morning food hunt took us to this corner chicken rice shop in the rustic back streets of Kulai (off Jalan Besar, the main street).
These fried chicken hanging enticingly in the window caught my attention as I passed. On checking with the boss, my suspicion that these chicken were charcoal roasted before they were deep fried were confirmed. Yipee! I love roast-then-fry chicken because of their superior flavour and texture, so we decided to stop and check this out.
Inside Heng Heng, it is bright, airy and clean. The bare bones décor and laid back atmosphere inside made me feel like I am back in the good old 1970s. The friendly staff was attentive and service was very efficient.
This old style hand carved wooden plaque hanging high and prominently in the shop stated that Heng Heng Hainanese chicken rice was founded in 1977.
Heng Heng has 4 outlets scattered across Kulai town and the second generation boss, Ah Kang 亚康 is here helming the founder's shop. Ah Kang's family is related to the family that runs Tian Tian chicken rice in Singapore.
The roast-then-fry chicken was juicy, sweet and tender inside. The fried skin outside was so tasty, I just ate it together with the meat, throwing cholesterol wariness to the wind :D
The fragrant rice is tender yet firm, and the grains separate easily. The grains are coated with chicken broth, yet they are not greasy.
Drizzle a dribble of dark soy sauce - an old habit of mine when I was addicted to strong flavouring - a habit I need to kick.
Heng Heng's freshly ground ginger sauce is a winner. Only mildly spicy, creamy and full bodied, it's so good, I ate a few spoonfuls on its own.
Heng Heng's founder (Ah Kang's dad) said we must come back to try their siew yok (roast belly pork) and char siew (roast pork) as Heng Heng's claim to fame includes their Hong Kong roasts. I shall definitely be back.
Restaurant: Heng Heng 兴兴 Hainanese Chicken Rice Address: Junction of Jalan Ibrahim and Jalan Ismail, Kulai, Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/HYhlp GPS: 1.660393,103.603354 Hours: 6:30am to 3:30pm (closed on alternate Thursdays) Non Halal
This no name fish ball and tofu stall beside Kulai Centre Point is a classic stumble upon good food find.
Yesterday, we drove all the way from JB to Kulai with the plan to try out the famous Yeen Lai 云来 tim sum at their home base in Kulai. When we walked towards Yeen Lai, not surprisingly there was already a big crowd of customers at the famous street side kopitiam. When we got closer and looked at the tables, we realised that besides the tim sum, most of the customers were having fish balls and tofu soup.
Seeing how the customers were enjoying their fish ball noodles, I asked the nearest uncle about it. "Been eating this for 40 years", the friendly uncle replied with a satisfied grin.
So, I walked up to the busy boss, put on my best smile, and asked "Good morning boss, do you make these fish balls and tofu yourself?" "Yes, early in the morning everyday" the friendly boss replied through a wall of steam from the boiling pot of broth. "What is the name of your stall?" The boss paused a moment, and gave me a puzzled look as nobody ever asked him this question before. "We haven't thought of a name for 50 years", he finally replied.
We had a quick discussion and decided to adjust our plans and give this fish balls a try first. So we sat down and ordered the normal RM4 set which comes with noodles and a bowl of fish balls and tofu. For the noodles, we opted for "mouse tails".
Our idea was to taste test this fish ball noodles and then carry on with our original plan to try out the famous Yeen Lai tim sum.
The fish balls were not perfectly round as they were handmade. They were tender and only slightly springy as they were made with 100% fish meat. They don't have the ping pong bounce of factory fish+starch balls. The flavours were gently sweet from the fresh fish and very slightly salty from the salt added. I love these fish balls.
I love this slice of tofu. It has that lovely soya bean aroma when I bite into the tender, smooth yet slightly grainy pearly tofu. The tofu skin has a nice texture and the savoury minced pork adds to the flavour of this simple, humble staple.
The regular tofu with minced pork fillings, cut to bite size pieces.
The noodles and sauce were adequate but not particularly memorable.
But, we loved the fish balls and tofu so much that we decided to ditch our plans to taste test Yeen Lai, and instead ordered another bowl - this time the RM6 fish ball and tofu soup without noodles.
They were just wonderful to me!
We will surely be back for this no name fish ball and tofu, and also to claim our rain check for the famous Yeen Lai tim sum.
Restaurant name: No name fish ball and tofu noodle stall (inside Yeen Lai 云来 tim sum shop) Address: Jalan Besar (beside Kulai Centre Point), Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/vcGsk GPS: 1.661937,103.60168 Hours: 6:30am till sold out (usually by 1:00pm) Non Halal
Date visited: 22 Nov 2013
This no name fish ball and tofu stall beside Kulai Centre Point is a classic stumble upon good food find.
Yesterday, we drove all the way from JB to Kulai with the plan to try out the famous Yeen Lai 云来 tim sum at their home base in Kulai. When we walked towards Yeen Lai, not surprisingly there was already a big crowd of customers at the famous street side kopitiam. When we got closer and looked at the tables, we realised that besides the tim sum, most of the customers were having fish balls and tofu soup.
Seeing how the customers were enjoying their fish ball noodles, I asked the nearest uncle about it. "Been eating this for 40 years", the friendly uncle replied with a satisfied grin.
So, I walked up to the busy boss, put on my best smile, and asked "Good morning boss, do you make these fish balls and tofu yourself?" "Yes, early in the morning everyday" the friendly boss replied through a wall of steam from the boiling pot of broth. "What is the name of your stall?" The boss paused a moment, and gave me a puzzled look as nobody ever asked him this question before. "We haven't thought of a name for 50 years", he finally replied.
We had a quick discussion and decided to adjust our plans and give this fish balls a try first. So we sat down and ordered the normal RM4 set which comes with noodles and a bowl of fish balls and tofu. For the noodles, we opted for "mouse tails".
Our idea was to taste test this fish ball noodles and then carry on with our original plan to try out the famous Yeen Lai tim sum.
The fish balls were not perfectly round as they were handmade. They were tender and only slightly springy as they were made with 100% fish meat. They don't have the ping pong bounce of factory fish+starch balls. The flavours were gently sweet from the fresh fish and very slightly salty from the salt added. I love these fish balls.
I love this slice of tofu. It has that lovely soya bean aroma when I bite into the tender, smooth yet slightly grainy pearly tofu. The tofu skin has a nice texture and the savoury minced pork adds to the flavour of this simple, humble staple.
The regular tofu with minced pork fillings, cut to bite size pieces.
The noodles and sauce were adequate but not particularly memorable.
But, we loved the fish balls and tofu so much that we decided to ditch our plans to taste test Yeen Lai, and instead ordered another bowl - this time the RM6 fish ball and tofu soup without noodles.
They were just wonderful to me!
We will surely be back for this no name fish ball and tofu, and also to claim our rain check for the famous Yeen Lai tim sum.
Restaurant name: No name fish ball and tofu noodle stall (inside Yeen Lai 云来 tim sum shop) Address: Jalan Besar (beside Kulai Centre Point), Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/vcGsk GPS: 1.661937,103.60168 Hours: 6:30am till sold out (usually by 1:00pm) Non Halal
My friend Mandy invited me to visit her relative Adrian's newly opened La Prosperidad De restaurant in Kulai. Besides it's rather unique tongue twister of a name, LPD's unique selling point is that it serves all you can eat Western food buffet at RM28.90 nett. Yes, you heard it right - RM28.90 nett all you can eat Western buffet. Wait! There is more. Children pay only RM13.90. (Sounding like TV commercial :P )
Restaurant name: La Prosperidad De Restaurant 兴旺发西式自助餐 Address: 49, Jalan Gangsa 1, Taman Gemilang, Kulaijaya, Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/DqCi7 GPS: 1.654114,103.588822 Hours: 5:00pm to 11:00pm Tel: Adrian +6017-785-2660 No pork, not lard, no Halal cert
La Prosperidad De is a simple, small shop lot restaurant. The tacky décor and basic layout of the buffet line reminded me of those cafés at dinghy small budget hotels.
The young kitchen crew is led by Amos (right) who is also a partner at La Prosperidad De. Amos had trained in Kuala Lumpur, worked in Singapore and now a partner in his own start up.
Initially, I was healthily sceptical about what kind of food a customer would get for a RM28:90 nett all you can eat buffet.
There turned out to be a couple of pleasant surprises.
My favourite dish of the evening was La Prosperidad De's chicken chop. It was a well marinated thick, chunky piece of grilled chicken topped with savoury sauce. The chicken was juicy, tender and nicely sweet. I can easily and happily go for two of this chicken chop in one sitting.
La Prosperidad De's fish and chips was another winner in my opinion.
The batter was nicely browned encasing quite thick strips of dory that were still succulent and sweet. This was better than some places that slice their dory too thin and made it too dry. Inexpensive fish and chips are seldom palatable but LPD's version bucks the trend.
La Prosperidad De also serves pretty good lamb chops made with Aussie lamb. Nicely grilled, still tender and juicy with that lovely gamey flavour that lamb lovers enjoy. However, understandably for cost reasons, each customer is limited to only one lamb chop per person.
The spaghetti today was average with the pasta a little limp.
Besides the main courses there are various sides. There is even a clunky small chocolate fondue fountain - a crowd pleaser, especially for the young.
There are also soups, salads, wieners, sausages, French fries and other sides which I didn't explore. Am already stuffed, just tasting the chops.
It was near full house when we were there on a rainy evening - value seekers have already found La Prosperidad De. Not surprisingly, most were families with children.
If you are shopping with family at Johor Premium Outlets and want to explore small town Kulai, a simple dinner at La Prosperidad De may be an option.
My friend Mandy invited me to visit her relative Adrian's newly opened La Prosperidad De restaurant in Kulai. Besides it's rather unique tongue twister of a name, LPD's unique selling point is that it serves all you can eat Western food buffet at RM28.90 nett. Yes, you heard it right - RM28.90 nett all you can eat Western buffet. Wait! There is more. Children pay only RM13.90. (Sounding like TV commercial :P )
Restaurant name: La Prosperidad De Restaurant 兴旺发西式自助餐 Address: 49, Jalan Gangsa 1, Taman Gemilang, Kulaijaya, Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/DqCi7 GPS: 1.654114,103.588822 Hours: 5:00pm to 11:00pm Tel: Adrian +6017-785-2660 No pork, not lard, no Halal cert
La Prosperidad De is a simple, small shop lot restaurant. The tacky décor and basic layout of the buffet line reminded me of those cafés at dinghy small budget hotels.
The young kitchen crew is led by Amos (right) who is also a partner at La Prosperidad De. Amos had trained in Kuala Lumpur, worked in Singapore and now a partner in his own start up.
Initially, I was healthily sceptical about what kind of food a customer would get for a RM28:90 nett all you can eat buffet.
There turned out to be a couple of pleasant surprises.
My favourite dish of the evening was La Prosperidad De's chicken chop. It was a well marinated thick, chunky piece of grilled chicken topped with savoury sauce. The chicken was juicy, tender and nicely sweet. I can easily and happily go for two of this chicken chop in one sitting.
La Prosperidad De's fish and chips was another winner in my opinion.
The batter was nicely browned encasing quite thick strips of dory that were still succulent and sweet. This was better than some places that slice their dory too thin and made it too dry. Inexpensive fish and chips are seldom palatable but LPD's version bucks the trend.
La Prosperidad De also serves pretty good lamb chops made with Aussie lamb. Nicely grilled, still tender and juicy with that lovely gamey flavour that lamb lovers enjoy. However, understandably for cost reasons, each customer is limited to only one lamb chop per person.
The spaghetti today was average with the pasta a little limp.
Besides the main courses there are various sides. There is even a clunky small chocolate fondue fountain - a crowd pleaser, especially for the young.
There are also soups, salads, wieners, sausages, French fries and other sides which I didn't explore. Am already stuffed, just tasting the chops.
It was near full house when we were there on a rainy evening - value seekers have already found La Prosperidad De. Not surprisingly, most were families with children.
If you are shopping with family at Johor Premium Outlets and want to explore small town Kulai, a simple dinner at La Prosperidad De may be an option.
Just a couple of days after trying the fried chicken at Happy Land Café, I decided that I have to come back to Kulai with bloggie buddies to blog about this little nasi lemak 七里香 stall outside Happy Land Café 欢乐园饮冰室.
Restaurant name: Nasi Lemak and Fried Chicken 七里香 stall at Happy Land Café 欢乐园饮冰室 Address: 1-38 Jalan Pinang, Taman Kota Kulai, Kulai Map: http://goo.gl/maps/pNvVO GPS: 1.668227,103.578801 Hours: 11:00am to 4:30pm No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
A simple plate of nasi lemak with ordinary ingredients. No fancy add ons but everything was in place and done well, making for a basic nasi lemak which all four of us agreed was outstanding.
The rice was a mound of gentle coconut milk perfume. The rice grains were the right texture, loose yet each grain was of the right tenderness.
The fried chicken had a surprising texture, a balance of tenderness and firmness with slight moistness still in the fibres. The chicken's subtle natural flavour was still present, while complemented by the marinade's more robust savoury flavour clinging onto the golden crispy skin.
The sambal was sweet from fresh unions bits with a mild spicy sting that lingers briefly.
The nicely done fried egg was almost grease free.
We were on a day long food hunt in Kulai with an ambitious itinerary of many more food stops ahead, so we were ultra cautious about not wasting limited stomach space. But, 千里香 stall's crispy fried chicken was so good, we couldn't resist ordering this drumstick to savour it's seductive aroma and flavour one more time before setting off for the next stop on our Kulai "Eat List".
The Wong sisters run this humble corner stall, quietly plying their trade for the past 10 years. They seemed a little reserved and unaccustomed to unannounced visits and attention from pesky strangers with clunky DSLRs pointing at them clicking away. They must be wondering what the fuss was all about.
The Wong sisters at work. She would only let me take pictures of her hands :P
七里香 stall was doing a brisk business of takeaways.
The Wong sisters make their own sambal chili from scratch at the stall using red onions, chili peppers, garlic and spices.
Order a plate or two of this nasi lemak when you are at Happy Land, I am confident that you won't be wasting any calories :D
Dates visited: 30 Oct 2013
Just a couple of days after trying the fried chicken at Happy Land Café, I decided that I have to come back to Kulai with bloggie buddies to blog about this little nasi lemak 七里香 stall outside Happy Land Café 欢乐园饮冰室.
Restaurant name: Nasi Lemak and Fried Chicken 七里香 stall at Happy Land Café 欢乐园饮冰室 Address: 1-38 Jalan Pinang, Taman Kota Kulai, Kulai Map: http://goo.gl/maps/pNvVO GPS: 1.668227,103.578801 Hours: 11:00am to 4:30pm No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
A simple plate of nasi lemak with ordinary ingredients. No fancy add ons but everything was in place and done well, making for a basic nasi lemak which all four of us agreed was outstanding.
The rice was a mound of gentle coconut milk perfume. The rice grains were the right texture, loose yet each grain was of the right tenderness.
The fried chicken had a surprising texture, a balance of tenderness and firmness with slight moistness still in the fibres. The chicken's subtle natural flavour was still present, while complemented by the marinade's more robust savoury flavour clinging onto the golden crispy skin.
The sambal was sweet from fresh unions bits with a mild spicy sting that lingers briefly.
The nicely done fried egg was almost grease free.
We were on a day long food hunt in Kulai with an ambitious itinerary of many more food stops ahead, so we were ultra cautious about not wasting limited stomach space. But, 千里香 stall's crispy fried chicken was so good, we couldn't resist ordering this drumstick to savour it's seductive aroma and flavour one more time before setting off for the next stop on our Kulai "Eat List".
The Wong sisters run this humble corner stall, quietly plying their trade for the past 10 years. They seemed a little reserved and unaccustomed to unannounced visits and attention from pesky strangers with clunky DSLRs pointing at them clicking away. They must be wondering what the fuss was all about.
The Wong sisters at work. She would only let me take pictures of her hands :P
七里香 stall was doing a brisk business of takeaways.
The Wong sisters make their own sambal chili from scratch at the stall using red onions, chili peppers, garlic and spices.
Order a plate or two of this nasi lemak when you are at Happy Land, I am confident that you won't be wasting any calories :D
The night before going to Kulai for food hunt, I asked Johor Kaki Facebook readers for suggestions. I was especially interested in traditional Hakka dishes as Kulai has a large Hakka population. Some readers from Kulai suggested that I try the lei cha 擂茶 at Volcano Coffee House in Kelapa Sawit.
Restaurant name: Volcano 火山 Coffee House Address: Jalan Sri Paya, Kampung Sri Paya, Kelapa Sawit, Kulaijaya, Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Xw66q GPS: 1.673064,103.529438 Hours: 05:00am to 2:00pm (Closed on Sunday) Non Halal
By the time we got to Volcano at nearly 2:00pm, they were already getting ready to close for the day. We were their last customers for that day.
Volcano opens at 5:00am to serve the workers who do the daily commute from Kulai and Kelapa Sawit to Singapore for work. Leaving for a long commute and a hard day's work with a warm home cooked meal at Volcano is a small comfort for these hardworking workers.
Volcano is a family run business by Mdm Lew, her husband and their two daughters. Mdm Lew showing me just two of the many green vegetables and herbs that went into making the lei cha tea 茶. These are ground into a paste to make the green gruel or lei cha. Mdm Lew said that she used to make lei cha at home for the family. So now the whole family chips in to make lei cha for anyone who comes to the shop. So it is still very much home cooked food here at Volcano.
The steamed white rice is topped with a colourful blanket of diced pickled radish, long beans, sayur manis, cabbages, and fried scrambled eggs. There was also a small bowl of chopped peanuts.
Lei cha is eaten by pouring the tea into the rice and diced vegetables. While the lei cha tea is full bodied and slightly creamy, the flavours are all subtle and gentle on the taste buds. It has hints of mint and comforting sweet fragrant greens.
I love this complex blend of texture and flavours, and enjoy it even more when I appreciate the hard work that went into preparing it.
We could only have this basic set as Volcano was sold out for the day. If we were early, we could have a full range of Hakka yong tau fu sides.
Seeing how we loved the lei cha tea, Ms Lew brought us a second bowl of hot lei cha tea for us to enjoy.
While the rest of the family members were clearing up and closing the shop for the day, Mr Lew had already started getting ready for the next day's business. Everything is still done the traditional way i.e. by hand.
At the end of the meal and as we got ready to pay and leave, Mdm Lew refused to accept our payment.
Such is kampung hospitality, not uncommon but always treasured and deeply felt. We were total strangers appearing out of the blue but all left with warm happy memories. I hope we left good memories for them too.
We will definitely be back - to visit friends and to enjoy a home cooked lei cha.
Date visited: 30 Jul 2013
Lei Cha Rice Set RM4
The night before going to Kulai for food hunt, I asked Johor Kaki Facebook readers for suggestions. I was especially interested in traditional Hakka dishes as Kulai has a large Hakka population. Some readers from Kulai suggested that I try the lei cha 擂茶 at Volcano Coffee House in Kelapa Sawit.
Restaurant name: Volcano 火山 Coffee House Address: Jalan Sri Paya, Kampung Sri Paya, Kelapa Sawit, Kulaijaya, Johor Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Xw66q GPS: 1.673064,103.529438 Hours: 05:00am to 2:00pm (Closed on Sunday) Non Halal
By the time we got to Volcano at nearly 2:00pm, they were already getting ready to close for the day. We were their last customers for that day.
Volcano opens at 5:00am to serve the workers who do the daily commute from Kulai and Kelapa Sawit to Singapore for work. Leaving for a long commute and a hard day's work with a warm home cooked meal at Volcano is a small comfort for these hardworking workers.
Volcano is a family run business by Mdm Lew, her husband and their two daughters. Mdm Lew showing me just two of the many green vegetables and herbs that went into making the lei cha tea 茶. These are ground into a paste to make the green gruel or lei cha. Mdm Lew said that she used to make lei cha at home for the family. So now the whole family chips in to make lei cha for anyone who comes to the shop. So it is still very much home cooked food here at Volcano.
The steamed white rice is topped with a colourful blanket of diced pickled radish, long beans, sayur manis, cabbages, and fried scrambled eggs. There was also a small bowl of chopped peanuts.
Lei cha is eaten by pouring the tea into the rice and diced vegetables. While the lei cha tea is full bodied and slightly creamy, the flavours are all subtle and gentle on the taste buds. It has hints of mint and comforting sweet fragrant greens.
I love this complex blend of texture and flavours, and enjoy it even more when I appreciate the hard work that went into preparing it.
We could only have this basic set as Volcano was sold out for the day. If we were early, we could have a full range of Hakka yong tau fu sides.
Seeing how we loved the lei cha tea, Ms Lew brought us a second bowl of hot lei cha tea for us to enjoy.
While the rest of the family members were clearing up and closing the shop for the day, Mr Lew had already started getting ready for the next day's business. Everything is still done the traditional way i.e. by hand.
At the end of the meal and as we got ready to pay and leave, Mdm Lew refused to accept our payment.
Such is kampung hospitality, not uncommon but always treasured and deeply felt. We were total strangers appearing out of the blue but all left with warm happy memories. I hope we left good memories for them too.
We will definitely be back - to visit friends and to enjoy a home cooked lei cha.
