Tea Garden Restaurant, Johor Baru (The Diet Goes South)

Waking early in Johor, and after a less than satisfactory hotel breakfast, we ventured out to the mall close to 11@Century Hotel, KSL City. It was nice to see some unfamiliar cafe names and chains, even if some did belong to those guys from across the Causeway.

Open for business early!

Of the few cafes opened before the mall, I choose Tea Garden Restaurant, drawn by the rows of old coffee shop style coffee cups which had been stuck into plaster and mounted as a wall decoration. I was also quite excited when I saw the breakfast offerings, because apart from the usual curry noodles and bread and kaya (coconut spread), there were some distinctly un-Kuala Lumpur choices.

Soy bean curd with glutinous rice balls, served in pseudo old-time cockerel bowls.

It seems that the Johoreans are fond of glutinous rice balls, as this was the second time in as many meals that I have seen them featured. I ordered the version with soya bean curd and sesame filled balls. I have to say that the Southerners have got the art of glutinous rice ball making to a T. These little ones were springy and tender - the perfect consistency. The filling was also just right - sweet and rich enough without being too pasty. The bean curd was alright, but there was a distinct aftertaste of sourness and tackiness on the tongue to lead me to believe that this outlet still uses plaster for the coagulating agent. Still, for RM3.90, the balls alone were worth the experience. Besides, no one in KL serves soya bean curd with glutinous rice balls!

Mung bean porridge.

I was also very excited to find lek tau suan (dou shuang) on the menu. I first ate this sticky porridge in Singapore, when my family used to visit the Lion City a lot, way back in the time when their economy had not outraced Malaysia's and when it was actually cheap to shop there! We used to eat this dish at the NUB (National Utility Board) food court on Orchard Road, and I have never been able to find one as good ever since.

A generous portion of yu tiau. Too bad they were cold!

 This is a deceptively simple dish. Mung beans (split Asian green beans) are boiled till tender, and thicken with corn or potato starch to achieve a gluey consistency. The challenge is to ensure the porridge is clear, with the beans clearly defined. The soup should not be cloudy or grey. My order came with a side of yu tiau (flour cruellers) for RM3.80.

Unfortunately the dish missed on all counts. The beans were still too hard, and had not released their rich, beany flavour. There was too much starch, making it pasty (like the glue we used in school to make papier mache) and it was undersweetened. The yu tiau was cold and rubbery. I simply could not bring myself to polish up such stodge, so I contented myself with texting my dad and telling him of my experience.

Long, tall iced white coffee.

A good roast!

Kit was quite happy with his iced white coffee and pronounced it quite palatable, and of a good roast, worth its RM3.50 price tag.

Tea Garden Restaurant
LG 34 & 35
KSL City
33 Jalan Seladang
Taman Abad 80250
Johor Baru, Johor