Kue Teow Meng is one of the most famous Teochew kway teow soup stalls in JB.
Nearly 30 years in the business, Kue Teow Meng is always busy and crowded. During lunch time, the waiting time is at least 30 minutes.
Besides the crowd at the kopitiam, there is always an endless of stream of takeaway orders.
At Kue Teow Meng, only Ah Meng the master does the cooking.
Even turning out bowls of kway teow at the rate of one per minute, customers still have to wait, especially during lunch. But, everyone waits patiently as they all love Ah Meng's special touch with the kway teow.
I ordered the basic RM5 set which consists of a bowl of kway teow noodles with sauce, and thin slices of pork plus a bowl of soup with liver slices.
The kway teow and sauce were good but didn't really awed me as there are other kway teow stalls in JB that serve a similar standard of kway teow.
To me, Ah Meng's artistry is in how well he cooked the ingredients like this pork liver. The liver was expertly cooked so that it has bouncy mouth feel, and inside, it is smooth with a fine powdery texture. Ah Meng's humble pork liver tasted like some of the foie gras I have tried.
The tiny and thin pork slices were sweet and soaked up some of the sauce when I tossed the kway teow in the bowl. This turned the tender pork slices sweet, savoury and slightly spicy - I like this.
I look for stalls that make their soup in huge drums with all the bone stock goodness simmering inside. Kue Teow Meng's pork broth is light yet well bodied, infused with savouriness, clean tasting and have very little oil.
At additional cost, customers can have fresh oysters, pork kidney, fish and other choice ingredients.
This is another customer's well endowed bowl with abalone and fish slices.
Restaurant name: Kue Teow Meng 果条明 Address: 112, Jalan Meranti, Taman Melodies, Johor bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/wVx6j GPS: 1.495344,103.765429 Hours: 7:30am to 3:30pm (closed on Monday) Non Halal
Kue Teow Meng is one of the most famous Teochew kway teow soup stalls in JB.
Nearly 30 years in the business, Kue Teow Meng is always busy and crowded. During lunch time, the waiting time is at least 30 minutes.
Besides the crowd at the kopitiam, there is always an endless of stream of takeaway orders.
At Kue Teow Meng, only Ah Meng the master does the cooking.
Even turning out bowls of kway teow at the rate of one per minute, customers still have to wait, especially during lunch. But, everyone waits patiently as they all love Ah Meng's special touch with the kway teow.
I ordered the basic RM5 set which consists of a bowl of kway teow noodles with sauce, and thin slices of pork plus a bowl of soup with liver slices.
The kway teow and sauce were good but didn't really awed me as there are other kway teow stalls in JB that serve a similar standard of kway teow.
To me, Ah Meng's artistry is in how well he cooked the ingredients like this pork liver. The liver was expertly cooked so that it has bouncy mouth feel, and inside, it is smooth with a fine powdery texture. Ah Meng's humble pork liver tasted like some of the foie gras I have tried.
The tiny and thin pork slices were sweet and soaked up some of the sauce when I tossed the kway teow in the bowl. This turned the tender pork slices sweet, savoury and slightly spicy - I like this.
I look for stalls that make their soup in huge drums with all the bone stock goodness simmering inside. Kue Teow Meng's pork broth is light yet well bodied, infused with savouriness, clean tasting and have very little oil.
At additional cost, customers can have fresh oysters, pork kidney, fish and other choice ingredients.
This is another customer's well endowed bowl with abalone and fish slices.
Restaurant name: Kue Teow Meng 果条明 Address: 112, Jalan Meranti, Taman Melodies, Johor bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/wVx6j GPS: 1.495344,103.765429 Hours: 7:30am to 3:30pm (closed on Monday) Non Halal
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
