Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was first published on the Malay Mail Online. Click HERE to read it.

Try their weekends-only curry chicken with rice; the scary shade of red may seem intimidating but the spiciness is well tolerated even by non-spicy food lovers. Deep fried squid rings is a delightful snack that goes well with the Lingham’s bottled chilli sauce

Despite spending close to a year on the island across the Causeway, I have yet to jump on the bandwagon of partaking in the infrequent (sometimes monthly) pilgrimage across the straits of Johor to indulge in some retail therapy, makan sessions or catching a movie marathon in Johor Baru. On a side note, I did the reverse some time ago; staying in Johor Baru and visiting Singapore for a day trip on foot (technically, although we used public transport!).

But it becomes more challenging (and interesting) to embark on a food hunt on foot to JB (Johor Baru for short); crossing the border and coming back with a bucketful of pleasurable memories. One useful hint is to go on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, as you could be stuck at the Customs or the Causeway with the homecoming crowd on Sunday evenings (and it is not a pretty sight). Even then, do make it a point to wake up earlier and travel to the checkpoint at Woodlands before noon; preferably even before 10am if you can afford to sacrifice the luxury of sleeping in. Well, the recent trip was a mixed bag of emotions; this was my first pilgrimage (if you will) from Singapore since I relocated to the Lion City 11 months ago, and this will also be my last before I leave Singapore in a month’s time for my next career move. But boy oh boy, was it a fabulous eating adventure crammed into a span of eight hours! We started off with an early lunch at Restoran Hua Mui near to City Square Mall; just after the checkpoint. Read the rest of this entry »

This past week has been a case of real life turmoil with our new office in a state of havoc; the year end break looming like a dangling carrot tempting for one to spend and eat in a dangerously care free manner and Motormouth started his reflections much earlier. However, here’s a rundown of my short 3 days, 2 nights food trip down south to Johor. You know we all love travel stories … 

1. Tangkak Beef Noodles @ Restoran Do Do Do, Tangkak, Johor

The journey down south was a relatively smooth one; thanks to the forgiving traffic on a working Thursday. The same can’t be said of course, if it’s a Saturday as we bore witness to a snaking line of deadlock southbound when we were on our way back to KL on Saturday. Anyway, we stopped over for a taste of Tangkak famous beef noodles at Do Do Do Restaurant. Unlike the conventional single bowl pile up of all things beefy and a noodle base in a robust, peppery broth, Tangkak style of beef includes various beef dishes such as claypot spicy beef that includes beef tripes, brisket and scallions in a ginger-laden sauce, claypot beef soup with melt-in-mouth cuts of beef brisket and soggy bean curd sheets, and even their special steamed beef (minimal portion for two at RM55/USD18 per serving), served with the thick, slithering cuts of rice noodles/kuey teow.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Johor Famous Three-Storey (San Low) Fragrant Fried Beehoon @ San Low Seafood

Seriously, tell me that Johor Bahru (JB, for short … and no, this post’s nothing to do with Bieber) is famous for a dish this simple; a plate of fried beehoon (thin strands of rice vermicelli noodles), and I would have definitely chuckled and took your words with a pinch of salt.

But then again …. when this Malaccan colleague of mine took me to not one, but TWO places back to back (for dinner on consecutive nights) serving the SAME dish, my skepticism ran low. And curiosity piqued to the extent of actually …. taking his words for it.

Yes, folks. Another Travel Blitz chapter. This time we move from the East to the Southern region of Johor; the state that shares border with our neighbour; Singapore.

Read the rest of this entry »

The ZON Regency Hotel … (Geez, the management seriously owe me some promo wages !!!)

KAFE ENAMPULUHAN – Opens from evening onwards (not sure the actual operating hours)

Mee Rebus Stulang Laut (RM3.50?)

One of Johor’s specialty is the Mee Rebus at Stulang Laut. Yup, it’s famous enough to warrant Jeff Ooi’s attention. (Click HERE for his take). Mee Rebus is basically yellow alkaline noodles in sweet-curry gravy with lots of potatoes for a thickened consistency. (Still in doubt, click HERE). One familiar sibling of this is Mee Jawa.

So, what makes the Mee Rebus in Johor Bahru stand out from the rest? The loads of fritters sprinkled liberately on top, for one. Delivering crunch and fragrance to the otherwise lacklustre noodles, this simple, unpretentious, supporting character is the STAR of this dish. The gravy is not spicy at all, but rather a tad sweetish. But on a bearable scale, no worries. Squeeze some lime, mix them up well, and slurp away. Good stuff. No wonder people throng this restaurant til no end ….

Otak-otak Kempas (50 cents each)

Still remember my April excursion to JB? Where me and my colleagues had seemingly unlimited supply of Otak-Otak (click for explanation). Yup, this delicacy has various transformation in various states/countries (M’sia, Indonesia and S’pore serve them). Even Johor has TWO, a version from Muar, and another named Kempas. The ones served here is the latter, bloody red in colour, but very addictive in nature. Before you know it, you would’ve popped a few.

Shop away at the duty-free zone at erm, The ZON. (no pun intended)

The hotel is located within the duty-free zone, therefore a duty-free shopping complex is directly situated inside the hotel itself. Chocolates and liquor are good bargain, (especially the latter, as cans of beer go for less than RM4). Needless to say, KYT made a deal with the devil, the lure of alcohol somehow got him ending up with a few. =P

Sigh ….. that’s all this fatigued mind, and restless fingers could manage for the night. Further updates on JB (and of course, the July KL Mini-Food Tour) in upcoming posts. Now, I can get back to my UNpacking and REpacking activity. Oh, what fun …

A cool, breezy morning on the highway …

No need to strain your necks/eyes for the movies, secondary screens available!

Plain old nasi lemak (RM3.50)

Those familiar to travelling down south to Singapore/Johor by bus would’ve recognized a place called Yong Peng in Johor, the assigned rest stop for express buses. With so many unsuspecting tourists forcibly alighting for a quick fix, we felt like slabs of meat on chopper boards, waiting to be chopped ….

All the food served is HALAL (supposedly) or rather pork-free, but the prices are inflated. Paying RM6 per plate of chicken rice, sizzling noodles, or fried rice may sound absurd, for these are NOT restaurant-quality servings. But who’s to complain? Our Singapore counterparts may find them reasonable, and they made up quite a number of the passengers.

Anyhow, the nasi lemak with sambal, anchovies and peanuts, and a fried egg was pretty good (or I could be really hungry), at RM3.50 per plate, at least did not dent my wallet so severely.

Sensing familiarity here?

Arriving in JB in the evening, we were glad to be transported from to the hotel instantly by taxi (RM8 from town to our hotel at Stulang Laut). Checking in was a breeze (albeit some teething problems) as our Johor counterparts booked the rooms for us in advance. Wanna know where we stayed? Let’s see some hints ;

All 16 floors of the hotel, overlooking the middle lounge on 5th floor

A handy gadget, controlling practically all the switches and electronic gadgets in the room

Plush, comfy beds – ensuring a good slumber …

Yup, the SAME hotel I stayed in April. Not to condemn though, far from it. Situated at Stulang Laut, overlooking the Tebrau straits, Singapore’s basically a “swim” away. But of course, none of us pushed our luck … =)

One noteworthy gadget in the room is the almighty remote controller by our bedside, whereby everything’s a click away, from the TV channels to the lights in the room, and setting alarm as well as requesting for a room makeover, or a ‘privacy please’ note. Talk about inventions.

Nasi Lemak with condiments and Rendang Chicken

Cured beef slices, like an old friend now

Golden balls of indulgence

Yummy, unlimited pancakes

Unlike previous experience, this time around, only breakfasts are complimentary to our rooms. Shucks … and we thought all meals are provided. Salt & Pepper Cafe on Level 5 is a trusted name, reassuring of a hearty breakfast, although the variety may get slightly repetitive. But, who’s complaining? (certainly not the gluttons in us!)

The fun ZON – Coming alive at night …

Singapore’s on the other end …

More delicious posts in subsequent episodes. Gee, my posts lately are continuous, huh? Sorry, but quite hard to squeeze everything in one single post.

P/S : Will be down to KL for the weekend, therefore blogging would take a back seat. Care to bump into the Motormouth in KL? =P

The ‘floating’ restaurant : Malam Indah Selalu

The seating area, realize all the customers chose to sit by the river/strait/sea?

After a journey of roughly 10-15 minutes, we arrived at some secluded area, right by the straits of Johor, where we can view our beloved neighbour, Singapore, from our seats. This restaurant is situated alongside some seafood restaurants, so no worries if they’re closed.

Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken (RM5)

The Johor guys led the orders, suggesting nasi lemak with either the fried chicken or the rendang version. One glance at the menu on the wall revealed that they DO serve other dishes to go with their nasi lemak, namely rendang daging, and various fish dishes.

Otak-Otak Kempas : A Johor Bahru speciality

As usual, no meal (Malay ones, at least) is complete without the ever-popular appetizer of Otak-Otak, right here in JB.

The amazing sambal, fried egg and ayam rendang

On to the main characters of this food venture, the nasi lemak. Hot, fragrant, right consistencies, not too sticky nor tough-like-nails, albeit a little too sweet for some. Yes, SWEET. The santan (coconut milk) used to cook the rice is different from the ones we usually have in northern states. Some of us could not bear the sweetness, while for me, the rice is cooked just right, and paired with their killer sambal (a little sweet also, btw) the dish is good in its own right, rendering the chicken completely unnecessary for extra brownie scores.

Not to say the chicken was bad, mind you. The fried version was crispy and delicious (according to them anyway, as I had the rendang one). But be warned their rendang is NOT the run-of-the-mill type. It was a tad erm, sweet (hehe), and not spicy at all.

Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa (RM4/100g)

BK (the pure Johorean) ordered an extra dish of siakap tiga rasa (rough translation : 3 flavours sea bass) for us to try. Sweet, sour and erm either spicy/salty, the dish was alright, savoury, but the overwhelming ‘mud smell’ of the flesh kind of put me off.

Remember to turn at this sign, if you manage to find this anyway … 🙂

Location : Haha, asking the wrong person here. Let me see, it is at an area called Permas Jaya, there is a slightly more outstanding seafood restaurant called Senibong Village Seafood restaurant right before the sign board above. Word of advice : Ask a Johor guide to prevent unnecessary & extra miles. =)