Ah Koong Restaurant 亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

Mee Pok (dry)

Ah Koong Restaurant 亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸 is apparently a famous eatery chain in Malaysia well-known for their fish ball noodles. Ah Koong Restaurant has five branches and a manufacturing factory in Malaysia, of which, three branches are located in Johor Bahru.

On their website, they claim that their fish balls contain no preservatives.

We visited its outlet near Taman Sentosa at Jalan Sutera.

Menu

Menu

Their menu was very well organised. They sell mainly fish ball noodles, yong tau foo, fish soup, porridge, oyster soup, abalone soup and laksa.

When we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, the Ah Koong Restaurant was packed! Fill to the brim, luckily the turnover was fast. There was also a long line of people queuing up for takeaways.

Crispy Fish (cakes)

We ordered their Crispy Fish Cakes RM4.2 per piece. This fish cake is a must try here. Springy and crispy. Delicious!

Crispy Prawn (cakes)

We also ordered the Crispy Prawn Cakes RM 5.50 per piece. This was quite good too. But if I was to choose, the fish cakes fared better.

Tea

My tea.

Mee Pok (dry)

Another must order at Ah Koong Restaurant, the Fish Ball Noodles (Mee Pok dry) RM 6.20. The bowl of mee pok was tossed in a mixture of black sauce with pork lard and topped with spring onions.

Soup

It was served with fish balls, sliced fish cakes, deep fried dumpling, ngoh hiang (five-spice meat roll), seaweed, lettuce. The fish balls were quite good before I knew it, it was all in my stomach! The fish balls were soft and yet not mushy with enough bounciness to provide a good bite.

Simple unpretentious food that is delicious! 

Ah Koong Restaurant 亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

No. 266, Jalan Sutera,Taman Sentosa

 80150 Johor Bahru

Tel: 07 331 3621

Opening Hours: Daily 630am to 1130pm

Website

View FoodieFC's Malaysia Map in a larger map

Kuala Lumpur Branch 

Ground Floor No.172, Jln Changkat Tambi Dollah

Off Jalan Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03 2143 3477 

Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 9pm

Subang Jaya Branch 

Ground Floor No.47, Jalan USJ 9/5P, Subang 

Business Center, 47620 UEP Subang Jaya

Tel: 03 8024 1554 

Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 9pm

Skudai, Johor Branch

 No.42 & 44, Jalan Jati 1, Tmn Nusa Bestari Jaya

81300 Johor Bahru

Tel: 07 511 2200 

Opening Hours: Daily 830am to 1130pm

Johor Bahru Branch 

City Square Johor Bahru, Lot J2-12, Level2

80000 Johor Bahru

Tel : 07 221 1843

Bornga Korean BBQ Restaurant 본가 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

Bornga is a leading Korean Barbecue (BBQ) restaurant chain with outlets in Korea, USA, Malaysia and Singapore. The restaurant chain is started by Korean Celebrity Chef Jong Won Paik.

We visited this restaurant on a weekday. I have not tried Bornga in Singapore. But since we were in City Square (Johor Bahru), we decided to give this a try!

The interior of the restaurant. Above each table, there was an extendable exhaust pipe mounted on the ceiling that could be pulled down to the table if BBQ meat was ordered. 

The dining table, before it was cluttered with a whole lot of Ban Chan .

A few minutes after ordering, one of the staff placed hot charcoal into the BBQ stove and pulled the exhaust pipe down. As as you may have guessed, we ordered BBQ meat! We could feel the intense heat from the hot charcoal. 

Ban Chan / Side Dish (반찬)

A selection of the Ban Chan / Side Dish (반찬). More were added subsequently! And they were refillable too! There was also a tray full of fresh and crunchy assorted raw vegetables which will be used for wrapping the BBQ meat.

Woo Samgyup RM38

The first dish was Bornga's signature Woo Samgyup RM38 which consisted of beautifully marbled thinly sliced beef brisket in Bornga's special sauce and golden pumpkin.

Woo Samgyup RM38

At Bornga, you do not need to do the cooking. The staff would do all the cooking for you. All you have to do is to eat! The staff first pulled the exhaust pipe down and cook the meat in front of us. He first spread the Woo Samgyup on the stove and let it cook. As it was thinly sliced, the meat was cooked very quickly. We were glad that the staff cooked the meat for us as we did not want to overcook the meat.

Woo Samgyup RM38

Once the Woo Samgyup are cooked. You can dip the beef into the special house sauce provided and roll up the meat with rice and various vegetables. The Woo Samgyup was delicious. The essence, flavour and juice of the meat was still retained, making it a rewarding gourmet experience whether you had it alone or wrapped in vegetables.

Mansinchang Samgyupsal RM28

The second dish was the Mansinchang Samgyupsal RM28; tenderised pork belly seasoned with parsley flakes, salt and pepper.

Mansinchang Samgyupsal RM28

Mansinchang Samgyupsal RM28

Again, the staff cooked the meat for us over the charcoal stove. All we had to do was to watch! =)

Mansinchang Samgyupsal RM28

Once the Mansinchang Samgyupsal was cooked, the staff would put them into a plate for us. The procedure is the same again. You can either eat the meat on its own or dip it in sauce and wrap it with vegetables. Personally, I thought that this was just an average dish.

Chadol Duenjang Jjigae RM24

We also ordered a Chadol Duenjang Jjigae RM24, a traditional Korean soybean paste stew with beef and vegetable. Personally, the picture of this on the menu did not entice me. But as the partner was quite keen to have this, we ordered it.

The soybean paste stew was cooked in front of us at our table and boiled till the it was reduced.

Chadol Duenjang Jjigae RM24 - vegetable bowl

One the meat was cooked, the Duenjang Jjigae was mixed into a vegetable bowl, and mixed with rice and vegetable (like how you would do it with bibimbap).

Chadol Duenjang Jjigae RM24

The end result! Tada! The Chadol Duenjang Jjigae was superb! Each grain of rice was well coated with the intense fragrant and flavour from the stewed soybean paste. Each mouthful was just so incredibly flavorful and brilliantly in terms of texture (soft or crunchy depending on what you ate). Fantastic! The more you dig into this bowl of rice, the more you will love it. This was our favourite dish in this meal! A Must Try!

Do note, there’s a minimum order of two meats for BBQ.

It was certainly a good decision to visit Bornga at City Square! The food and the service was good. And for such a price, it was certainly value for money! 

Bornga Korean BBQ Restaurant 본가 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

Unit MF-23, Level 3, Johor Bahru City Square Shopping Mall

106-108, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 80000 Johor Bahru

Tel: 07 207 2334
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

View FoodieFC's Malaysia Map in a larger map

Hua Mui Coffee Shop 华美茶餐室 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

Hua Mui Coffee Shop 华美茶餐室 is a popular two storey Hainanese coffee shop (aka Kopitiam) located near the causeway. To be exact, it is a 15 minutes walk away from City Square! This coffee shop has been operating since 1946, serving both both Chinese and Western cuisine (do note they have been certified halal). I first read about this place through Johor Kaki Blog and had shortlisted this as a place to try one day. That one day came 2 years later!

When we arrived on a weekday morning, the ground level of the restaurant was full. We headed up to the 2nd level. Do be careful, as the steps are quite steep at the upper half.

The 2nd level had more seating capacity compared to the first. It was well ventilated. It was a pleasant surprised when I found out that my mobile phone was able to detect Singapore's M1 service at the 2nd level! =)

Menu Cover

The menu cover.

Menu

Menu

Menu

The extensive menu which offers a variety of western, rice, noodle, meat, sides, soup, sandwiches, bread, prata, beverages and even desserts.

Condiments

The condiments on every table. There's also the green chilli which was not on this table.

Tea RM1.60 , Coffee RM1.60

I drank the Coffee RM1.60. It was really just so-so. It was thick, but not aromatic and was too sweet for me. Most people patronise Hua Mui for its coffee. Maybe its just me (who do not like the coffee).  

Butter and Kaya Toast RM1.60

The charcoal grilled Butter and Kaya Toast RM1.60 was also just averaged.

Mee Hua Mui RM6

I saw most people ordering the Singapore Style Bee Boon. But coming from Singapore, I refused to ordered this dish and decided to try the Mee Hua Mui (did not see anyone ordering this) instead. It was a stupid decision, I should have followed the crowd.

The Mee Hua Mui RM6 was just average with nothing much to shout about. The gravy was a disappointment as it was flavourful enough and it was not well mixed; some parts were just too gooey with lumps.

Hainanese Chicken Chop RM12

Just when I thought that it was a mistake coming here, the Hainanese Chicken Chop saved the day!

Hainanese Chicken Chop RM12

The Hainanese Chicken Chop RM12 (signature dish) served with green peas, tomatoes, potatoes with light brown mushroom sauce was superbly executed. On the exterior the batter was thin while both the batter and skin was fried till it was so crispy! The interior was amazingly succulent. The light brown mushroom sauce was light yet tasty. The only complain I had was that the sauce was cold.

This coffee shop still uses the traditional way of delivering food to the 2nd level.

To keep the authenticity of the outlet, they have retained the traditional pulley system! As you can see in the above photo, the food for customers at the 2nd level are placed on the tray linked to the pulley system. Then one of the staff at the 2nd level would use the pull system to pull up the tray of food.

The Hainanese Chicken Chop is a must try at Hua Mui Coffee Shop! If I come again, I will also want to try the Singapore Style Bee Hoon. If you have tried it before, do let me know!

Hua Mui Coffee Shop 华美茶餐室 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

No 131, Jalan Trus
80000 Johor Bahru
Tel: 07 224 7364
Opening Hours: daily 730am to 930pm

No 50, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4
Tmn Sutera Utama, 81300Skudai, Johor

View FoodieFC's Malaysia Map in a larger map

FoodieFC's Guest Post on Johor Kaki Blog

Last week, I received a message from Tony to guest post on his Johor Kaki blog. I accepted it immediately. I have been following Johor Kaki since last year after I chance upon the blog. The blog is a useful source of information for anyone searching for makan places in Johor. Bagus! 

Johor Kaki Blog

In the guest post, I wrote on the 'must order' dishes at my two favourite restaurants (Teck Sing and San Low Seafood) near the causeway (Johor Bahru's checkpoint). If you are keen to read the post, please click here. 

San Low Seafood Restaurant 三楼海鲜园 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru) 2nd Post

My 2nd visit to San Low Seafood Restaurant 三楼海鲜园 in a space of a week. As this is a 2nd post, I will not re-introduce the restaurant here. The first post can be found here. 

photo from previous visit

Not too crowded as it was a Monday evening. Again, there were several Singapore plated cars parked at the side of the restaurant. 

Menu Cover

Menu (a)

Menu (b)

Menu (c)

Selected portion of the menu.

San Low Fried Bee Hoon RM9

A visit to San Low Restaurant 三楼海鲜园 is not completed without its signature San Low Fried Bee Hoon (rice vermicelli). Delish!

Fu Yong Egg (Omelette) RM6 (S)

The Fu Yong Egg (Omelette) was disappointing. It was hard, rough, tough and oily.

La La RM12 (S)

The La La dish was just well average.

Salted Egg Crab RM56

The Salted Egg Crab was delicious. It was well executed. It does not have creamy gravy unlike how what other restaurants serve this dish. The salted egg coating the crab was just nice. Not overly salty and very addictive. The crabs were fresh and meaty. The meat easily pulled out from its shell was sweet, juicy and tender. Enjoyed the dish. 

This time round, some hits and misses. The items to go for will still be the Chilli / Salted Egg Crabs and the San Low Fried Bee Hoon.

There this marks the end of my JB posts for now. My main objective for this series of posts is to answer the question I have always been pondering about 'What to eat in JB (Johor Bahru)'? Part of the consideration is the distance from the Woodlands Check Point and (of course) Cheap and Good!

San Low Seafood Restaurant 三楼海鲜园 (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

Jalan Biru off Jalan Merah, Taman Pelangi

80400 Johor Bahru

Tel: 07 332 3869 / 07 334 3623

Opening Hours: Daily 430pm to 1am

Website

Facebook

Location

View FoodieFC's Malaysia Map in a larger map