Johor Treats

Our trip to the southern most state in Malaysia was not an eating foray. Still, eating is hardwired into Malaysians, so there were some yummy surprises.

The Thistle, where we stayed and breakfasted.

I liked the breakfast spread at The Thistle, Johor Bahru. Kit however, was more inclined towards it being all style and no substance since he complained of soggy hash browns, hard croissants and noodles which were left to air-dry.

Cold cuts and salad.

I was quite pleased with the range of yogurts (plain, strawberry, mango) and condiments of dried fruit. The Asian porridge section was well-stocked, with both plain (Teochew style) porridge and chicken congee. There were the selections of salted egg, pickled lettuce stems, black bean fish, but the reason I did not go back for seconds was that the kitchen added minced ginger to the spring onions. Aiyeeee! No go, hombre! traditionally wrong, and palate-damning in my case!

Waffles on day one.

Waffles on day two.

The best thing about breakfast was the live waffle station. The first day there were even two kinds of waffles - white and wholemeal. There was also real maple syrup, not honey, and strawberry conserve on both days. The second day saw an absence of wholemeal waffles and whipped cream, but an addition of really, really yummy blueberry compote. Oh yummy! It was completely worth the wait, though the photo does not do it any justice at all!


After waiting for the better part of an hour at the Johor National Parks office, we were ushered to breakfast! I have heard about this practise, but it was my first time at the receiving end. We were all full, or had eaten, but I had to show face to the hosts. Plus, the meal was Nasi Ambang - that famous Johor rice dish. Unlike Nasi Lemak which is stewed in coconut rice, Nasi Ambang uses plain, steamed rice. The flavour comes from the food which accompanies the rice.

Nasi Ambang.

This variant, supposedly the second best in the city, had the state's signature salted fish. The difference between Johor's salt fish is that they use larger whole fish than the regular anchovies. The fish variant is also thinner, and thus crisper. It immediately gives a salty lift to the meal. A sambal-based chicken lends spice and heat, while the kerisik (stir-fried, dessicated, seasoned coconut flesh) lent the sweetness. Our packs also had a portion of fried yellow noodles, which was quite an interesting addition.

After a hard day of being on boats in the open seas, I needed sustenance. We did not want to get lost in Johor town again, so we walked from The Thistle to the Dataran Bandaraya where there is a mobile food market. Hawkers in vans park in an open lot and set up tables and shop.

The one thing I noticed is the malaise of the Malay populace. Nearly every single one of the 15 or so traders had the same product - steamboat on a stick and rojak. Only the vendor I chose offered another selection. The van with the numbers NC 18 and Bakso Dataran on it has some real good food.

Bakso, Johor style.

Since their bakso (beef balls hailing from Indonesia, originally) was advertised, I ordered a portion. The soup was pipping hot and flavourful. It had an egg beaten into the soup, along with some vegetables and rice vermicelli. The balls were 'cheat balls' in that the original bakso was made with ground beef, shaped into balls and held together with rice flour. Our local versions use factory made beef balls (like fish balls) which are springier, and with no real meat bits that one can feel. Still, it made for a satisfactory meal.

Geared up for satisfaction!

My Sup Gearbox was excellent. It is the bone and a bit of the lamb shank, stewed til tender in a few choice spices - cardamom, cinnamon, star anise (all the sweet, fragranced ones which do not clump up a broth) - and served with a straw with which one sucks up the marrow. The meat was very tender, with a clear soup which did not swim with a skim of fat. It was so satisfying and really primal. That chunk of meat and bone just makes you want to suck and masticate and poke your tongue into the chinks of the bone.

This meal cost RM12 with two bottles of mineral water. A steal, for the satisfaction I got from it!

Van NC 18 Bakso Dataran
Dataran Bandaraya
Jalan Lingkungan Dalam
Johor Bahru


Since it was our last night in Johor, I was loathe not to sample more, so we walked over to another van for more examples of Johorean street food. I ate 'cakoi' (this is the Malay-nization of yue char kway, that oil fritter which I have written about before), in Brunei when I worked there post 2000. That was the first time I saw non-Chinese make it, and they served it with kaya and margarine stuffed in between a cut made in the fried snack. It was good.

Cakoi bakar. Yummy!

This time round, the cakoi was grilled over coal, then sliced up and coated in this prawn paste mix, with diced peanuts on top and just some bits of bean sprouts. It looks a but gross, but it was good. It was a massive carb overload, but a very tasty one!

I also ordered the taufu bakar to try, but what came was completely not the KL version which is a whole toasted piece of fried bean curd stuffed or sandwiching a mixture of shredded cucumber and vegetables. For starters. Johor's tofu is different. It is larger, more flat and it has a pronounced bean-fish flavour. It has more robust flavour. Like the cakoi, it is grilled and cut up, with the same treatment. It really is even better than the cakoi dish, but two of them in one sitting is enough to sugar overload a person!

Ice kacang is the same in JB as in KL. Small comfort!

Being such a balmy night, it was great to sit and chat in the open air. So Kit had an ABC, with plenty of pink syrup. The ice was not as fine as it could have been, but it was good, nonetheless. I opted for the cheekong (again, another twisted perversion of its Chinese name of leng chee kang). It was, like how food should be, a different interpretation by the maker. This one featured peanuts (yuck and yikes) which I discarded right off, lychee, longan (both canned), barley, basil seeds (selasih), cincau (grass jelly) and raisins. Odd combination, and I suspect, like the cakoi and taufu, it is using the same gear to make two dishes, since Kit's ice kacang had the same ingredients too!

 This meal cost us RM14.50. No complaints!

Saat, Gerai 13
Dataran Bandaraya
Jalan Lingkungan Dalam
Johor Bahru