Every time I asked friends and Johor Kaki readers to recommend ayam penyet stalls in JB, Banafee café is always among the favourites mentioned. So, I made a trip there to check it out today.
Restaurant name: Banafee Café (not Banafee Village nearby which is run by the same owner) Address: Jalan Datuk Abdullah Tahir (directly opposite New York Hotel) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/1skzW GPS: 1.478586,103.760929 Hours: 3:00pm to 3:00am Halal
When you step into Banafee Café, which is like a small food court, the ayam penyet stall is the first one facing the main road. Banafee Café is a popular place among locals for inexpensive meals.
Just after opening for the day's business at 3:00pm, the orders pile in for the ayam penyet.
At the ayam penyet stall are piles of plump pre-cooked chicken leg which will be deep fried briefly before serving. Those legs' succulence are clear to the eye.
Muzafir, one of the Indonesian staff, busy at the hot wok.
Banafee's ayam penyet set with rice and soup costs RM8.50. The little red tub at the right contains water for hand washing. The best way to enjoy ayam penyet is with our fingers.
Banafee's ayam penyet is moist and tender, and it's flesh and juices are sweet. I love the moist and soft golden brown skin. Complement this with the sharp spicy and tangy sambal chili with lime, and we have an ayam penyet that is among JB's best.
The rice is just average as are the tempeh, fried toufu and vegetables.
The savoury, peppery soup is worth highlighting.
Banafee's ayam penyet really kick butts but this place won't be winning any prizes for cleanliness or ambiance. It is ok for me but don't say I never tell you :P
If your preference is for tender ayam penyet, I recommend Banafee café.
Date visited: 26 Oct 2013
Every time I asked friends and Johor Kaki readers to recommend ayam penyet stalls in JB, Banafee café is always among the favourites mentioned. So, I made a trip there to check it out today.
Restaurant name: Banafee Café (not Banafee Village nearby which is run by the same owner) Address: Jalan Datuk Abdullah Tahir (directly opposite New York Hotel) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/1skzW GPS: 1.478586,103.760929 Hours: 3:00pm to 3:00am Halal
When you step into Banafee Café, which is like a small food court, the ayam penyet stall is the first one facing the main road. Banafee Café is a popular place among locals for inexpensive meals.
Just after opening for the day's business at 3:00pm, the orders pile in for the ayam penyet.
At the ayam penyet stall are piles of plump pre-cooked chicken leg which will be deep fried briefly before serving. Those legs' succulence are clear to the eye.
Muzafir, one of the Indonesian staff, busy at the hot wok.
Banafee's ayam penyet set with rice and soup costs RM8.50. The little red tub at the right contains water for hand washing. The best way to enjoy ayam penyet is with our fingers.
Banafee's ayam penyet is moist and tender, and it's flesh and juices are sweet. I love the moist and soft golden brown skin. Complement this with the sharp spicy and tangy sambal chili with lime, and we have an ayam penyet that is among JB's best.
The rice is just average as are the tempeh, fried toufu and vegetables.
The savoury, peppery soup is worth highlighting.
Banafee's ayam penyet really kick butts but this place won't be winning any prizes for cleanliness or ambiance. It is ok for me but don't say I never tell you :P
If your preference is for tender ayam penyet, I recommend Banafee café.
Johor Yummy member Charles Tan recommended 锦都茶室 and many other members like Candle Tay and Kumes quickly chipped in suggesting that we should all go and give the shop a try.
锦都茶室 is one of the shops at a quiet corner of Taman Century along Jalan Dato Sulaiman, just a few doors from the popular Poh Kee宝记 Teochew Kway Teow Soup.
The large yellow banner says 锦都茶室 serves Teochew kway teow soup, fish bee hoon soup, curry laksa, wanton mee, and bitter gourd soup.
The friendly boss, Mr. Tan used to work in a roast meat shop in Singapore. He moved back to Johor Bahru after his marriage and has been a kway teow soup hawker for 32 years. Today, Mr. Tan runs 锦都茶室 with his daughter and son.
We ordered a Teochew soup with mee pok and a fish soup with kway teow (dry). Don't ask me why I ordered such a combination. Perhaps, I was still jet lagged from a longish trip to Australia .... It turned out to be an excellent breakfast despite my odd orders :P
The mee pok still has a slight spring despite soaking in the soup for quite a while, while I took photos. I expect the dry version to be even better.
The dry kway teow - the soy based sauce with a little lard is gummy and gooey. I asked for chili, hence that glob of maroon in the picture. When tossed and stirred, the kway teow became like a dark starchy ball of yarn. The chili is heavy with dried shrimps (hae bee).
The fresh slice of fish is so tender that they kept breaking apart when I tried to take this picture. Mr. Tan goes to the market to buy fish in the morning of every business day, so we are assured of it's freshness. This also explains why 锦都茶室 is closed on Mondays, as the wet markets are also closed on that day.
This humble piece of unphotogenic pork liver tastes superb. It is fresh and cooked in a way that reflects Mr. Tan's over 30 years of experience. Perfect mouth feel and taste.
I was surprised to find a slice of abalone in a RM5 soup. Not of exquisite quality (it would be unfair to expect more) but it was quite a nice touch, really.
锦都's soup made with pork bones and anchovies is full bodied. Mr. Tan adds in slivers of fresh ginger to cook and dashes of white pepper before serving. So, 锦都's soup is slightly peppery. I like this variation and differentiation from the numerous Teochew kway teow soup stalls in JB.
The humble cut chili and soy sauce dip. Simple and nice.
Another customer's fish bee hoon soup which I want to come back for. This is actually 锦都茶室's signature dish.
The fish head bee hoon soup - another must try for me.
I need to come back also for their bitter gourd soup as I am a fan of this soup :)
锦都茶室 is yet another old school Teochew kway teow soup shop worth visiting.
Restaurant name: 锦都茶室 Address: 87, Jalan Dato Suleiman, Taman Century/ Abad, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf GPS: 1.480886,103.756985 Hours: 7:30am to 3:00pm (closed on Monday) Non Halal
Date visited: 3 Sep 2013
Johor Yummy member Charles Tan recommended 锦都茶室 and many other members like Candle Tay and Kumes quickly chipped in suggesting that we should all go and give the shop a try.
锦都茶室 is one of the shops at a quiet corner of Taman Century along Jalan Dato Sulaiman, just a few doors from the popular Poh Kee宝记 Teochew Kway Teow Soup.
The large yellow banner says 锦都茶室 serves Teochew kway teow soup, fish bee hoon soup, curry laksa, wanton mee, and bitter gourd soup.
The friendly boss, Mr. Tan used to work in a roast meat shop in Singapore. He moved back to Johor Bahru after his marriage and has been a kway teow soup hawker for 32 years. Today, Mr. Tan runs 锦都茶室 with his daughter and son.
We ordered a Teochew soup with mee pok and a fish soup with kway teow (dry). Don't ask me why I ordered such a combination. Perhaps, I was still jet lagged from a longish trip to Australia .... It turned out to be an excellent breakfast despite my odd orders :P
The mee pok still has a slight spring despite soaking in the soup for quite a while, while I took photos. I expect the dry version to be even better.
The dry kway teow - the soy based sauce with a little lard is gummy and gooey. I asked for chili, hence that glob of maroon in the picture. When tossed and stirred, the kway teow became like a dark starchy ball of yarn. The chili is heavy with dried shrimps (hae bee).
The fresh slice of fish is so tender that they kept breaking apart when I tried to take this picture. Mr. Tan goes to the market to buy fish in the morning of every business day, so we are assured of it's freshness. This also explains why 锦都茶室 is closed on Mondays, as the wet markets are also closed on that day.
This humble piece of unphotogenic pork liver tastes superb. It is fresh and cooked in a way that reflects Mr. Tan's over 30 years of experience. Perfect mouth feel and taste.
I was surprised to find a slice of abalone in a RM5 soup. Not of exquisite quality (it would be unfair to expect more) but it was quite a nice touch, really.
锦都's soup made with pork bones and anchovies is full bodied. Mr. Tan adds in slivers of fresh ginger to cook and dashes of white pepper before serving. So, 锦都's soup is slightly peppery. I like this variation and differentiation from the numerous Teochew kway teow soup stalls in JB.
The humble cut chili and soy sauce dip. Simple and nice.
Another customer's fish bee hoon soup which I want to come back for. This is actually 锦都茶室's signature dish.
The fish head bee hoon soup - another must try for me.
I need to come back also for their bitter gourd soup as I am a fan of this soup :)
锦都茶室 is yet another old school Teochew kway teow soup shop worth visiting.
Restaurant name: 锦都茶室 Address: 87, Jalan Dato Suleiman, Taman Century/ Abad, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf GPS: 1.480886,103.756985 Hours: 7:30am to 3:00pm (closed on Monday) Non Halal
When people ask me what is my favourite food, mee pokdoesn't come to mind. But whenever I am at a food centre, after going around a couple of times looking, more often than not, it is the mee pok stall that I settled for. When I am far from home and miss home food, it is mee pok that I think of, not char kway teow, and certainly not chili crab.
So when my friend Jeff shared on Johor Yummy group about his favourite mee pok shop in JB, I wasted no time to check it out. You can trust Jeff's word on mee pok - his brother runs the famous mee pok shop in Permas Jaya, JB.
When I saw that customers were spilling over the side walks at 11:00am at Poh Kee 宝记, I knew this has to be something special. Somehow, popular old style noodle shops in JB look similar in the way the people gather :)
I approached the lady boss hesitantly and mumbled half audibly something to the effect of "Boss, your food is very nice. May I take some photos of you at work?" The lady boss's spontaneous response immediately put me at ease :)
Soon the friendly boss, Mr. Tan, joined us at our table to chat. Mr. Tan was in the logging industry in Indonesia before retiring and returning to Johor Bahru. Since returning to JB, Mr. Tan sold wanton mee for a while in Taman Pelangi and when the opportunity arose about a year ago, he moved here to start this Teochew kway teow stall.
Mr. Tan and his wife are food lovers and have been making and enjoying old style Teochew kway teow soup all these years. So, when the time came to make it a business, it was almost second nature for the Tans. Furthermore, the Tans already had a following from their wanton mee stall and friends from their logging business. Within a year, Poh Kee Teochew noodles stall became a famous name in JB.
My friend Euginn's RM5 bowl of mee pok comes with 3 pork balls, a fish ball, a few slices of fish cake, some small prawns and a small handful of minced pork. There was also a small bowl of prawn and pork soup.
My RM7.00 bowl had the same ingredients except for a larger mound of mee pok noodles.
The broad mee pok noodles were gently crunchy, pleasingly al dente. The sauce was subtly spicy from the home made chili sauce and had savoury hints from lard and soy sauce.
This prawn is not big but it is a wild sea prawn. Mr. Tan said that only this species of wild sea prawn can produce that distinctive prawny umami (savoury) flavour in the soup.
To me, Poh Kee's handmade fish ball set it apart from the rest. Poh Kee's fish balls are 100% fish meat with no starch added. They are bouncy but in a nicer way than starch/fish balls.
Mr. Tan gets up at 5:00am each business day to make these fish balls using Ikan Parang. Only a small quantity is made each day - just enough for the day's business. So, everything is fresh.
The thin slice of fish cake. Same flavour as the fish ball but a different mouth feel.
Each bowl comes with three pork balls. Bought from supplier so they were average, though good enough.
The pork bone and prawn soup was savoury and the prawny umami flavour was distinct.
The pot of lard at Poh Kee 宝记. For some people, just a dollop of this potent liquid makes all the difference :)
Another customer's RM5 mee kia. I like Poh Kee's style of minced pork - Lau Tee another famous mee pok stall in JB has the same style of minced pork. Finely ground pork with little fat, blanched in the savoury prawn broth. At average stalls, the minced pork is coarser and has more fat.
Poh Kee is another excellent Teochew noodle stall in JB worth trying.
Restaurant name: Poh Kee 宝记 Teochew Noodle Soup Address: 75, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad/ Century, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf GPS: 1.480886,103.756985 Hours: 7:30am to 2:30pm (alternate Thursdays closed) Non Halal
Date visited: 12 Aug 2013
When people ask me what is my favourite food, mee pokdoesn't come to mind. But whenever I am at a food centre, after going around a couple of times looking, more often than not, it is the mee pok stall that I settled for. When I am far from home and miss home food, it is mee pok that I think of, not char kway teow, and certainly not chili crab.
So when my friend Jeff shared on Johor Yummy group about his favourite mee pok shop in JB, I wasted no time to check it out. You can trust Jeff's word on mee pok - his brother runs the famous mee pok shop in Permas Jaya, JB.
When I saw that customers were spilling over the side walks at 11:00am at Poh Kee 宝记, I knew this has to be something special. Somehow, popular old style noodle shops in JB look similar in the way the people gather :)
I approached the lady boss hesitantly and mumbled half audibly something to the effect of "Boss, your food is very nice. May I take some photos of you at work?" The lady boss's spontaneous response immediately put me at ease :)
Soon the friendly boss, Mr. Tan, joined us at our table to chat. Mr. Tan was in the logging industry in Indonesia before retiring and returning to Johor Bahru. Since returning to JB, Mr. Tan sold wanton mee for a while in Taman Pelangi and when the opportunity arose about a year ago, he moved here to start this Teochew kway teow stall.
Mr. Tan and his wife are food lovers and have been making and enjoying old style Teochew kway teow soup all these years. So, when the time came to make it a business, it was almost second nature for the Tans. Furthermore, the Tans already had a following from their wanton mee stall and friends from their logging business. Within a year, Poh Kee Teochew noodles stall became a famous name in JB.
My friend Euginn's RM5 bowl of mee pok comes with 3 pork balls, a fish ball, a few slices of fish cake, some small prawns and a small handful of minced pork. There was also a small bowl of prawn and pork soup.
My RM7.00 bowl had the same ingredients except for a larger mound of mee pok noodles.
The broad mee pok noodles were gently crunchy, pleasingly al dente. The sauce was subtly spicy from the home made chili sauce and had savoury hints from lard and soy sauce.
This prawn is not big but it is a wild sea prawn. Mr. Tan said that only this species of wild sea prawn can produce that distinctive prawny umami (savoury) flavour in the soup.
To me, Poh Kee's handmade fish ball set it apart from the rest. Poh Kee's fish balls are 100% fish meat with no starch added. They are bouncy but in a nicer way than starch/fish balls.
Mr. Tan gets up at 5:00am each business day to make these fish balls using Ikan Parang. Only a small quantity is made each day - just enough for the day's business. So, everything is fresh.
The thin slice of fish cake. Same flavour as the fish ball but a different mouth feel.
Each bowl comes with three pork balls. Bought from supplier so they were average, though good enough.
The pork bone and prawn soup was savoury and the prawny umami flavour was distinct.
The pot of lard at Poh Kee 宝记. For some people, just a dollop of this potent liquid makes all the difference :)
Another customer's RM5 mee kia. I like Poh Kee's style of minced pork - Lau Tee another famous mee pok stall in JB has the same style of minced pork. Finely ground pork with little fat, blanched in the savoury prawn broth. At average stalls, the minced pork is coarser and has more fat.
Poh Kee is another excellent Teochew noodle stall in JB worth trying.
Restaurant name: Poh Kee 宝记 Teochew Noodle Soup Address: 75, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad/ Century, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Uz9Qf GPS: 1.480886,103.756985 Hours: 7:30am to 2:30pm (alternate Thursdays closed) Non Halal
Shahrzad Restaurant opened for business just a month ago along Jalan Dato Sulaiman in Taman Abad, Johor Bahru. Mohammad, the boss invited me to try out Shahrzad's authentic Iranian and Arabian food.
The gracious lady boss, Marjan, sharing the fine points of Iranian food and culture with us. Both Mohammad and Marjan emphasised that they wanted to showcase Iranian hospitality through Shahrzad restaurant. Hence, visiting Shahrzad felt like visiting an Iranian home. In Iran, it is customary for the hosts pull out all stops to make sure that the guests feel at home and welcome. And, the best way to do so is to serve the best food.
Inside the Shahrzad, the decor is clean and simple. There is a comfortable air conditioned dining hall and a cosy, casual outdoors dining area.
But what fascinated me most was Shahrzad's private dining rooms. Shahrzad has two private rooms, that are set up like Arabian tents where hosts treat their guests with their best food. Mohammad and Marjan wanted to recreate this atmosphere in Johor Bahru. The walls and ceiling are draped with beautiful fabric personally sewn by Marjan. This is the non smoking private room.
This is the popular smoking room where guests enjoy authentic Iranian cuisine seated on comfortable cushions. Many guests enjoy shisha gatherings in this room.
In the kitchen, Chef Ahmad is the man behind all the authentic Persian cuisine at Shahrzad restaurant. Chef Ahmad hails from Iran and he has many years of experience working in 5-Star hotels in Dubai. Chef Ahmad was handpicked at the recommendation of Shiraz Restaurant, the top Persian restaurant in Singapore.
Mohammad gave me permission to visit the kitchen. I spotted these green chilies and the halved tomato. They looked so fresh, succulent and inviting, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of them :)
We started our lunch with a traditional Iranian welcome dish - freshly baked flat bread (naan) with basil leaves, cheese and olives.
Hummus RM11
Hummus and bread - the classic Arab staple that reminds me of my own travels to the Middle East. Shahrzad's hummus is a blend of chickpea paste and imported sesame paste generously doused with olive oil.
Shirazi Salad RM8
Next, we had Shirazi Salad which is a colourful mix of crunchy chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and herbs tossed in a tangy and sweet sauce. Very refreshing and seems to appeal especially to ladies :)
Mushroom soup RM9
Shahrzad's rich mushroom soup is made from fresh vegetables, herbs and butter.
The skewered chicken, lamb and tomatoes on the charcoal grill. The marinaded meats toasting over slow fire from white hot charcoal letting off puffs of aromatic greasy fumes.
Shandiz Kebab RM58
Shandiz is a small town in northeastern Iran renown for their lamb kebab. Shahrzad restaurant uses prime cut imported Australian lamb to recreate this dish in Johor Bahru, hence the premium pricing. The char grilled meat was tender, juicy and savoury. The fats were creamy and smokey. Chewing the meat and fats together releases that pleasant flavour that lamb lovers love. I also love those juicy grilled tomatoes and chilies :)
The chicken saffron kebab at RM29.
The chunks of chicken leg were fragrant, tender and savoury. The chunks of meat were juicy as they were made with chicken leg and skilfully grilled by Chef Ahmad.
All of Shahrzad's kebabs are served with a generous portion of top quality Basmati rice. The rice is fluffy and not starchy. The rice is flavoured with aromatic saffron and special ingredients that give it satisfying body.
Shahrzad restaurant is conveniently located near major hotels like New York Hotel, KSL Resort and Hotel Grand Paragon. Shahrzad is just 15 minutes drive from downtown Johor Bahru or JB CIQ.
If you want to experience authentic Persian cuisine in Johor Bahru, Shahrzad restaurant is the place.
Restaurant name: Shahrzad Restaurant Address: 94, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/igU6S GPS: 1.481487,103.757157 Hours: 11:45am to 3:00pm and 5:30pm to 11:45pm (Closed on Monday) Halal
Date visited: 22 May 2013
Shahrzad Restaurant opened for business just a month ago along Jalan Dato Sulaiman in Taman Abad, Johor Bahru. Mohammad, the boss invited me to try out Shahrzad's authentic Iranian and Arabian food.
The gracious lady boss, Marjan, sharing the fine points of Iranian food and culture with us. Both Mohammad and Marjan emphasised that they wanted to showcase Iranian hospitality through Shahrzad restaurant. Hence, visiting Shahrzad felt like visiting an Iranian home. In Iran, it is customary for the hosts pull out all stops to make sure that the guests feel at home and welcome. And, the best way to do so is to serve the best food.
Inside the Shahrzad, the decor is clean and simple. There is a comfortable air conditioned dining hall and a cosy, casual outdoors dining area.
But what fascinated me most was Shahrzad's private dining rooms. Shahrzad has two private rooms, that are set up like Arabian tents where hosts treat their guests with their best food. Mohammad and Marjan wanted to recreate this atmosphere in Johor Bahru. The walls and ceiling are draped with beautiful fabric personally sewn by Marjan. This is the non smoking private room.
This is the popular smoking room where guests enjoy authentic Iranian cuisine seated on comfortable cushions. Many guests enjoy shisha gatherings in this room.
In the kitchen, Chef Ahmad is the man behind all the authentic Persian cuisine at Shahrzad restaurant. Chef Ahmad hails from Iran and he has many years of experience working in 5-Star hotels in Dubai. Chef Ahmad was handpicked at the recommendation of Shiraz Restaurant, the top Persian restaurant in Singapore.
Mohammad gave me permission to visit the kitchen. I spotted these green chilies and the halved tomato. They looked so fresh, succulent and inviting, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of them :)
We started our lunch with a traditional Iranian welcome dish - freshly baked flat bread (naan) with basil leaves, cheese and olives.
Hummus RM11
Hummus and bread - the classic Arab staple that reminds me of my own travels to the Middle East. Shahrzad's hummus is a blend of chickpea paste and imported sesame paste generously doused with olive oil.
Shirazi Salad RM8
Next, we had Shirazi Salad which is a colourful mix of crunchy chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and herbs tossed in a tangy and sweet sauce. Very refreshing and seems to appeal especially to ladies :)
Mushroom soup RM9
Shahrzad's rich mushroom soup is made from fresh vegetables, herbs and butter.
The skewered chicken, lamb and tomatoes on the charcoal grill. The marinaded meats toasting over slow fire from white hot charcoal letting off puffs of aromatic greasy fumes.
Shandiz Kebab RM58
Shandiz is a small town in northeastern Iran renown for their lamb kebab. Shahrzad restaurant uses prime cut imported Australian lamb to recreate this dish in Johor Bahru, hence the premium pricing. The char grilled meat was tender, juicy and savoury. The fats were creamy and smokey. Chewing the meat and fats together releases that pleasant flavour that lamb lovers love. I also love those juicy grilled tomatoes and chilies :)
The chicken saffron kebab at RM29.
The chunks of chicken leg were fragrant, tender and savoury. The chunks of meat were juicy as they were made with chicken leg and skilfully grilled by Chef Ahmad.
All of Shahrzad's kebabs are served with a generous portion of top quality Basmati rice. The rice is fluffy and not starchy. The rice is flavoured with aromatic saffron and special ingredients that give it satisfying body.
Shahrzad restaurant is conveniently located near major hotels like New York Hotel, KSL Resort and Hotel Grand Paragon. Shahrzad is just 15 minutes drive from downtown Johor Bahru or JB CIQ.
If you want to experience authentic Persian cuisine in Johor Bahru, Shahrzad restaurant is the place.
Restaurant name: Shahrzad Restaurant Address: 94, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/igU6S GPS: 1.481487,103.757157 Hours: 11:45am to 3:00pm and 5:30pm to 11:45pm (Closed on Monday) Halal
