Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh

Address: Jalan Jemaluang, Kampung Haji Mohd Jambi, 81900, Kota Tinggi, Johor.
Opening Hours: 7.30 a.m. to 2.00p.m. (Closed on Monday and Tuesday)

Bak Kut Teh, or pork rib soup is a traditional Chinese dish in Singapore and Malaysia. This dish consists of pork ribs stewed with a mixture of herbs and spices. It is typically eaten with steamed white rice and dough fritters. The dipping sauce would be the dark soy sauce added with minced garlic and sliced chili. We normally prefer Chinese tea as our beverage as it helps us to eliminate the oil and fat from our body.

Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh is the famous Bak Kut Teh shop that is located at Kota Tinggi, Johor. We went there early in the morning as the Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh would be sold out before noon. It has a leaf structure rooftop and gives customers a homely ambience. When we passed by the open kitchen, we can often see many pots of Bak Kut Teh being cooked on the charcoal fire.

When the Bak Kut Teh arrived at the table, we can smell the herbal aroma from the steaming hot bubbling pot. The pork ribs were tender and slightly firm. The soup is thicker compared to other Bak Kut Teh shops. We also ordered a pot of tofu puffs served with the Bak Kut Teh soup. We all were satisfied with the meal as it is difficult to taste the soup with that has this consistency.

Four Eyes Fuzhou Light Cake’s Stall @ Restaurant Hong Chun

Address: 129, Jalan Pendekar 2, Taman Skudai Bahru, 81300 Johor Bahru 

Opening hour: 8.00a.m. to 2.00p.m. (Closed every Monday)

We found the only one of Sitiawan’s traditional Fuzhou light cake in Skudai, Johor. This stall is beside Restaurant Hong Chun which sells the Fuzhou light cake for more than 30 years.

Fuzhou light cake is a famous snack in Sitiawan, Malaysia which originates from the city of Fuzhou. Fuzhou light cake is handmade every day by the stall . They still keep the traditional way in making this pastry. The pastries are stuck on the inside walls of the oven in their raw form and only removed when they turn a golden brown.

Lastly, the use of charcoal to bake Fuzhou light cake creates a smoky fragrant on this pastries. The taste is crispy, soft inside and the fillings are full. They only sell two favors which is scallion and pork.

Fried Dough Stick Stall @ Kedai Kopi Mei Sin Cafe

Address: Jalan Bunga Pantai, Melaka 75100, Malaysia.

Opening hours: 5.30a.m. until sold out

Fried dough stick is considered to be ancient Chinese bread.  A friend introduced the delicious friend dough stick in while we were in Malacca. The stall is in front the Mei Sin Cafe which is located on Jalan Bunga Pantai, Melaka. They show the process of making the dough stick which is interesting and shows the Chinese culture . We saw there was a big bowl of dough and we observed how they knead the dough, cut it into rectangular shapes and fry it into big pot full of hot cooking oil.  

They sell fried dough sticks, fried dough sticks with sesame seeds, fried doughs with red bean filling and fried dough with glutinous rice fillings. The taste of signature fried dough stick is very crispy. Trust me you will come back for seconds real soon after you try it! After you take a bite the taste of dough becomes a bit salty and chewy. The taste is just so delicious. We can never feel that it is too oily, tight or have a stale taste.

Seremban Kee Mei Siew Pow’s Stall @ Bestmart 007 Food Court

Address: Lot 1, 007 food court, 13/1 Jalan NB 2, 81300 Johor Bahru, Johor.

Opening hour: 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Today, we recommend this siew pau stall which operate in Bestmart for more than 15 years. This siew pau stall is located in Bestmart’s food court and is the best siew pau that we have ever tried before. The siew pau sold in this stall is fresh from the oven every day. The owner of this stall mention that they don’t sell overnight food. That is why their customers  are willing to queue a long time just to buy their pastries. To be honest, this is first time we noticed that to buy a siew  pau and there is a need to queue up.

They have three types of signature siew pau which is the pork flavour, chicken flavour and vegetarian mushroom flavour. They sell some sweet pastries such as polo buns as well. Other than that other less famous but equally delicious they also sell curry puff, kaya puff, pineapple tart, salt green bean biscuit and so on.

We bought five siew paus, two egg tarts, and two chicken bun. The siew pau came warm, crispy, fresh, and so appetizing. We finished it immediately !The filings inside the siew pau is juicy and delicious too as well. 

The egg tart and chicken bun we bought also has the same consistency in taste and texture. It did not disappointment us. We realize that they gave a huge generous portion of filings and comparing to other shops selling this same pastry. Everybody should give this shop a try.

Bangkok Village @ Taman Gaya

Address: 1, Jalan Gaya 1, Taman Gaya, 81800 Ulu Tiram
Opening Hours: 11.00 a.m to 12.00 a.m.

Bangkok Village we found which is a thai restaurant located in Taman Gaya is a newly renovated building with a building garden surrounding the restaurant. The restaurant has a mix of modern and traditional designs in the overall architecture.

We ordered dishes such as seafood tom yum, som tam papaya salad and pineapple fried rice. The tom yum and pineapple fried rice tasted authentic while the som tam papaya salad was not so delicious.

We could taste the fresh ingredients in the dishes and the strong smell emitted from the hot pot. On the other hand, prices were not cheap and for these 3 dishes we paid around RM 68.

Restaurant G Cheong Fun

Address: 176, Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, 81300 Skudai, Johor Bahru.

Opening hours: 7.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. (closed every Tuesday)

Restaurant G Cheong Fun is an old and famous shop located in Skudai, Johor. This shop specialty is they sell rice roll noodles, we usually call it as Chee Cheong Fun which a pronunciation from Cantonese people in China. Food sold in this shop has their own unique characteristic. The foods is prepared daily. 

Three type of rice roll noodles here can be bought which is the signature traditional rice roll noodle with sauce, Hong Kong rice roll noodles and ‘Anshun’ rice roll noodles. The sauces of the rice roll noodles available in this shop would be curry sauce, black sweet sauce and a red sweet sauce. They also sell more than 30 types of different ‘Yong Dou Fu’ which is a Hakka chinese cuisine that can be eaten in numerous ways where customers can pick their own ingredients.

Subsequently, we felt the taste of rice roll noodles is very soft and easy to swallow. The sauce is neither too heavy nor too light and is good match with rice roll noodle. The ‘Yong Dou Fu’ sold here would be a good combination to eat with the rice roll noodles too.

Restaurant Wah Cai 3 in 1 Chinese Cake

Address: 86, Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Tun Aminah, Skudai, 81300 Johor Bahru
Opening hours: 10.00 a.m. to 5.00p.m. (Thursday to Tuesday)
                                 7.00 a.m. to 5.00p.m. (Sunday)

Chinese New Year cake is known as glutinous rice cake. Normally, the glutinous rice cake is a food prepared for Chinese New Year. This food is quite rare to be found. It is difficult to satisfy our craving to eat glutinous rice cake in an ordinary day. We found a shop that sells fried Chinese glutinous rice cakes every day.

The most famous foods in this shop is the 3 in 1 fried glutinous rice cake.  3 in 1 fried glutinous cake means there is a layer of sweet potato, glutinous rice cake, taro and a thin layer of frying batter. People dont think this is a good match but it is. It tastes pretty crispy and blends perfectly together. It is a perfect match of sweet potato, glutinous rice cake and taro. We highly recommend this 3 in 1 fried glutinous rice cake. Besides that, they also sell durian fritters, curry puffs, green bean fritters, banana fritters, and jack fruit fritters. 

Otak-otak @ Muar

Address for Hang Kee Otak-otak: Kim San Public Market, Jalan Haji Abu, Pekan Muar 84000 Muar, Johor
Address for Nice Food Trading: Along Jalan Haji Abu (Muar Glutton Street)
Address for Otak-otak Cheng Boi: No 28, Jalan Bentayan 84000 Muar, Johor

Muar is one of the states in Johor that famous with otak-otak. Otak-otak is made with mackerel fish, prawn, squid and complete with spices and coconut milk. 

Hang Kee Otak-otak is the first seller in Muar. We bought a few otak-otak that wrapped in banana leaves from Hang Kee and Nice Food Trading. We compared both  shops and found the otak-otak from Nice Food Trading is more tender and flavourful.

We also bought some otak-otak in plastic packets for take away purposes from Otak Otak Cheng Boi. We steam the otak-otak at home and our family enjoyed it very much.

As a conclusion, the otak-otak from Muar is traditional and tastes better.

Restaurant Furong

Address: Jalan Seroja 49, Taman Johor Jaya, 81100 Johor Bahru
Opening Hours: 6.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

There are two highlights at Restaurant Furong which is located at Johor Jaya.
The first highlight would be the Roti Canai, which is sold by a Chinese women. It is rare to see Chinese people selling Roti Canai in Malaysia as it is an Indian dish. The Roti Canai here is thin and crispy. Less oil is added to the dish making it slightly more healthy. When we had our meal here it is accompanied with their specially made curry paste, it’s finger licking good!

Another highlight would be the Char Kuey Teow in this location. This is a famous noodle dish in Malaysia. It is made from flat rice noodles and is normally stir fried with egg, prawn, fish cakes, bean sprouts, chives with slices of Chinese sausage. 

Lastly, the Char Kuey Teow there is special because the origin of the dish is from Ipoh, Perak which is a state located in the northern part of Peninsula Malaysia. Moreover, it is quite difficult to find this dish with many chopped chives as most other cooks do not include it in their variant of this dish. However, the taste changes and is different when chives are added to the dish. It tastes so good with their signature chili sauce.

Dessert - Lo Han Kuo

Address: Jalan Kee Ann (Bunga Raya), 75000 Melaka
Opening Hours: 10.30 a.m. to 5.30p.m. (Closed every Tuesday)

The ‘Lo Han Kuo’ fruit, also known as monk fruit, is popular in traditional Chinese medicine. Malaysian usually use ‘Lo Han Kuo’ to make desserts or cook it whole as herbal tea and served with ice and longan. It is so refreshing and chilling for people like us who live in this extremely hot and humid weather of Malaysia.

There are many places that sell this ‘Lo Han Kuo’ herbal tea in Melaka but we found there is a stall that serves a thicker, richer, and reasonably priced herbal tea compare to other stalls.  That is a roadside stall that sells ‘Lo Han Kuo’ at Jalan Kee Ann. We can easily spot the stall as the it is has a red colour signboard and decorated with some photos of the monk fruit.

Moreover, it provides many health benefits too. It is good for soothing the throat, people who are experiencing a cough, providing anti-inflammatory properties and improving heart health. In conclusion, it is a must to have a bowl or a cup of iced ‘Lo Han Kuo’ herbal tea in Melaka.

Hing Loong Taiwanese Noodle

Address: 11-J, Jalan Bachang, Kampung Enam, 75300 Melaka
Opening Hours: 8.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. (Closed on Thursday)

Hing Loong Taiwanese Noodle has a tradition of 40 years in Malacca. It is located at the center of the town. The restaurant is always crowded with people as they sell one of the most famous traditional restaurants in Malacca. One of our friends staying in this city recommended this restaurant to us. We noticed there are many elderly people enjoying the food.

The signature of the restaurant is beef noodles and pork chop noodles. We tried their signature pork chop noodles which is the highlight of the noodles. We can see the method they fry the marinated pork chop.

In addition, noodles that they use is bean strip noodles which gives a chewy and soft taste. The sauce they use for the noodles has some added herbal ingredients. 

Their soup is cooked with pork ribs and we can taste the soup is full of pork essence. Accompanied along the dish is their specially made chili sauce and it is the perfect match with the noodles. The price of the noodles is affordable however the portion is quite small. The noodles gave us an endless aftertaste and we will definitely go back to there.

Restaurant Tong Sheng

Address: No 377 & 378, Jalan Taman Melaka Raya 6, Taman Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka

Opening Hours: 5.30p.m. to 11.00p.m. (Closed on alternate Monday)

Restaurant Tong Sheng was established in 2009 and it is run by a father and his son. We need to queue up for the restaurant as there were too many people. Their signature dish was the Cheese Prawn Rice Vermicelli. There were celebrities come to queue for the restaurant just to try their signature dish. The dish was inspired by Hong Kong’s Lobster Cheese Noodles but the chef used prawns instead of lobsters to create this dish.

The cheese prawn rice vermicelli comes with small, medium and big portion and we ordered a small portion. The tiger prawns were huge and fresh and the soup for the dish is cheesy and creamy. The cheese melts in the soup and makes it tastes creamy but it is not too thick also. The rice vermicelli is submerged with the soup and it was very delicious and addictive.

Moreover, there were other famous dishes which we did not order such as fresh milk crabs. This was also one of the chef recommended dish. The price of the cheese prawn vermicelli is RM33 per small portion. We would absolutely come and try this on the next visit.

Restaurant Tong Sheng also being featured in Ho Chak which have collaboration with Malaysia's channel 8. The link is http://www.ho-chak.com.my/site/restaurant.php?s=%E4%B8%9C%E5%8D%87%E5%9B%AD%E6%B5%B7%E9%B2%9C%E5%AE%B6-restoran-tong-seng&id=435

Big Bowl Ice Kota Laksamana

Address:11, Jalan Kota Laksamana 1/2, Taman Kota Laksamana, 75200 Melaka
Opening Hours: 12.00 p.m. to 12.00 a.m.

Big Bowl Ice Kota Laksamana dessert shop located in Malacca on Jalan Kota Laksamana. The shop was crowded with tourist and locals when arrived.

They have many different asian desserts on their menu. There were fruit flavours, tea flavours, cake flavours and grain flavours. We ordered 1 of each category of dessert.

The desserts were sweet and had a consistent flavour throughout the iced mixture. Some of the dessert had drizzles of sweet condensed milk to enhance the flavour. Lastly, we appreciated our luck as there was a lot of available parking spaces when we visited this restaurant because usually the whole area has congested traffic as many cars pass this area.

Klebang Original Coconut Shake

Address: 5, Jalan Klebang Besar, 75200 Melaka.

Opening Hours: 11.00a.m. to 6.30p.m.

The coconut shake is the combination of coconut juice, coconut flesh and Wall’s vanilla ice cream. It tastes creamy and not too sweet. The price is affordable and the taste is definitely worth the price. We can see how they process the entire fruit . Firstly, they open the coconut from the top, then they collect the coconut juice. Next, they blend the coconut juice, coconut flesh and vanilla ice cream together. Subsequently, they dispense the coconut shake into cups and lastly, they top up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the entire mug of the blended concoction making it a coconut shake.

There are also some Malay food sold nearby. Which are dishes such as Nasi Lemak (A malay rice dish cooked in coconut milk and the pandanus leaf with a side of spicy chili sauce), Malay cakes and fried vermicelli.

Klebang Original Coconut Milkshake also featured in a Malay newspaper in Malaysia.  The link is http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/wilayah/melaka/coconut-shake-klebang-disukai-ramai-1.375938