Singgah Selalu @ Johor Bahru

Whoops, didn't realise that this post was languishing in the unpublished pile!



Apologies for the lack of photos, we only had the camera phone to work with.

The restaurant is quite easy to find as they have a few branches. We went to the one at Danga Bay, which is opposite of Tune Hotel.

The restaurant is huge, could easily seat a 100 pax or more!

K: I think it can seat more than 100. Maybe 200++? It also has live music performance at night. Very convenient place to meet up & lepak. Nak tengok bola pun bolehhhh....

We had the controversial asian favorite; sharks fin soup, tomato chili crab and butter fried sotong (calamari).

The sharks fin soup, to be honest, was forgettable. The restaurant didn't even have black vinegar and instead gave us kicap - FAIL wey! It wasn't bad, mind you, but it wasn't great so why spend money and have a poor shark die in vain for mediocrity?

The tomato chili crab was rather pricey (RM40++) but the portion was fair enough. I don't have chili crab often enough to tell you if this is the best thing ever but it was good. The crab was meaty and fresh, I only wished the sauce was just a little more sour. 

The outstanding dish was the butter fried sotong because of the generous portion. Rm14 for a dish big enough for 3! And yes, it was yummy too.

K: Yeah, the butter fried sotong is the only dish that I would consider value for money. The rest were, hmmmm, average.

Good variety of food - Western, Malaysian, Chinese - so, if you come in a big group there're plenty of choices for everyone. Shisha pun ada!

Quality wise, not bad but just doesn't have that extra zing.

Verdict - It's not bad but it's not outstanding. Certainly won't have us rushing for another trip to JB.

Singgah Selalu

36, D,E,F, Jalan Skudai, 

80200 Johor Bahru.

T: 07-2377255

Price - $-$$$

Halal

Open 24 hours

Ikan Bakar Seri Empangan @ Putrajaya

The Ikan Bakar Seri Empangan Putrajaya (which translates to Putrajaya Dam Grilled Fish) was opened earlier this year, taking over a failed steamboat restaurant.

K: It was actually brought to Putrajaya by Tan Sri Aseh, the President of Perbadanan Putrajaya to liven up the dam area. The original restaurant is the famous Muara Ikan Bakar in Kelang,  at least that's what I was told.

We had four dishes; kailan ikan masin (salted fish kailan), sotong masak tiga rasa (three flavoured squid), ikan pari bakar (grilled sting ray) and nasi lemak.

K: This is actually the 1st time I've had sotong masak 3 rasa. Masak 3 rasa is normally done for fish rather than sotong.

The veggies (RM6) were so so and the sotong (rm15) rubbery and lacking in flavour.

But the fish saves the restaurant from being written off.

The fresh sting ray (RM 7.50) was grilled simply in banana leaf, which keeps the fish moist yet fragrant. That's it, no sambal or fancy spice rub, I don't think I detected salt either! It's served with a not too spicy asam jawa dip.

K: The dip was nice and it complements the fish well.

Sambal ikan bakar is available only during lunch time, so we'll have to make it a point to drop by at that time.

The nasi lemak (RM2) was good as you can tell they weren't stingy with the santan. The sambal was thick and had a nice kick that went well with the sting ray. But the nasi lemak was rather kedekut with other condiments, just some lonely cucumber.

K: Price wise, not bad, the pari was only RM7.50 but the sotong cost a whopping RM15. Maybe I'll pick a different recipe for the sotong next time.

Pfft. A different recipe will not change the fact that it was overcooked to death.

Ikan Bakar Seri Empangan, is as the name says, at the dam near the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC). There's a lovely waterfront park with a playground to help you work up an appetite. Apologies, no pics of the park as it was dark by then.

The restaurant itself isn't terribly fancy (just plastic tables and chairs) but it's clean and has a gorgeous view of the (only) skyscrapers in Putrajaya.

Verdict - Food wise, hit and miss. Bonus points for the park and view, boleh lepak!

Ikan Bakar Seri Empangan
​Pusat Kawalan Empangan,
Taman Empangan, Presint 5,
62000 Putrajaya

Tel: 013-3490191, 012-4268081, 017-3368081, 012-2888340, 012-3378081

Price - $ - $$
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm, Tuesday-Sunday. Closed on Mondays.

Halal

Kedai Makan Jadi Baru Botak @ Restoran Botak

Apologies for the lack of pics for this post, it was a rainy day and we were rushing for cover.

K: One good way to find out good makan places is to ask people. That's what we did. We got a lot of recommendations and one of them was for Kedai Makan Jadi Baru (Botak). 

TJ: With such a name, who wouldn't be intrigued? Is the chef botak? Will you lose your hair from eating there? Dun dun DUUUUUUNNN....

K: Kedai Makan Jadi Baru literally translated is Becomes New Eating Shop. How did Botak comes into the picture? Apparently, the proprietor is bald (botak), so people started to refer to the shop as Botak's. As they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So, as the place is already well know as Botak's shop, the proprietor included (Botak) in the signage.

High on the recommended list was the fried senangin, fried cuttlefish and asam pedas. My friend who recommended this place said he would always go here everytime he's in JB. Apparently this place is also a favourite of the Johore Sultan. Which Sultan? Now that's one question I forgot to ask.

So when we got here of course we ordered all that plus some otak-otak and stir fried spinach.

TJ: The food here tastes very homemade. All of the dishes felt very simple and humble, but well cooked indeed.

Take the fried senangin for example. It's just fresh fish, seasoned with a light hand, fried to a crisp but the flesh was still tender and juicy. The stir fried sotong with shallots, also lightly seasoned, was soft but springy. It takes experience to not overcook such delicate things!

The otak-otak was a very generous sized portion and not fishy. I prefer nyonya otak-otak over Malay as the former usually steams the dish instead of grilling, which can make the dish dry if the cook isn't careful. Plus the former is heavier on the spice. Botak's otak-otak also had some fish flakes to add texture to an otherwise smooth mousse.

I find that Malay asam pedas to be spicier and more sour than the nyonya version. This one was like a middle ground; spicier than nyonya but sweeter than Malay style. The fish was fresh and cooked to perfection. The assam pedas was served with okra and eggplant.

The stir fried spinach was worthy of my popo's home cooking. 

This was our third Asam Pedas for this makan trip, plus we had a late breakfast, so we were not as enthused as we normally would be. While I can see why it's recommended and I agree that they were all good dishes, the prices weren't competitive. 

Out of the three places we had Asam Pedas, Botak's was the most expensive. To be fair, we had the other two in Melaka, however one must factor in the ambience.

The ambience at Botak's is nothing to shout about. While the restaurant is clean, it's in an old, shabby neighbourhood. There's no air conditioning either. Despite the lack of a crowd, parking was surprisingly scarce for a weekday (we came around 12pm to avoid the lunch rush hour). 

The cost of our meal (inc drinks) came up to roughly RM30-40 per pax.

Wah, can you imagine the price if it was upscale? We hear this restaurant is very popular, even with Singaporeans. Could that be the reason for the price?

K - The portions were so so considering the price. Only the otak-otak's portions were generous. Nice food, but not a must eat for me, especially since there's nothing special about the restaurant itself. Just a typical kedai makan. 

Verdict - Worth a visit, at least once to rasa. Delicious, simple food but the price makes us think twice about coming again...

Restoran Makan Jadi Baru (Botak) (map)

No. 145

Jalan Lumba Kuda

80000, Johor, Malaysia

Tel: +6072249225

Price - $$ - $$$ (depends on what you are ordering of course)
Opening hours - 7am to 10pm

No pork served

Gerai Ayong @ Johor Bahru, Johor

I pestered K to take me on a makan trip last year before delivering but the man was just too busy. In the end, we planned the trip for Jun 2013, that's over half a year ahead! 

Haze or no haze, aku takleh sabar dah woy. I WANT MY NOMS I WANT IT NOW!

I got some serious side eye when choosing JB for makan trip destination. JB takde benda lah, said K and some friends. HAH! 

Apologies for crappy photos (and lack of it), we used a camera phone. But to make up for it, have a map! 

Important advice for people not familiar with JB - don't completely trust googlemap for directions. It hasn't been updated, we had to make a lot of u turns as there was no right turns. 

Gerai Ayong, Medan Selera Tepian Tebrau

Gerai Ayong is famous for tauhu and char kway/ koi bakar, sotong kangkung, ikan bakar (grilled fish) and ais jelly. 

Clockwise from top - ABC, Tauhu & Char Kway Bakar, Ais Jelly

The tauhu and char kway bakar (grilled) was a surprise hit for both of us. The crunchy, lightly charred tauhu and char kway  was served with sweet and sour rojak sauce with peanuts and cucumber. 

The sotong kangkung was good, served with same sauce. The sotong was springy and overall, it's a good dish, but I wouldn't drive all the way from KL to JB for it, mostly cos it's not something too hard to find.

We chose ikan pari (sting ray), the sambal on the ikan bakar was an absolute winner. Sweet, sour and spicy, the sambal was so sedap you don't need any dipping sauce/ condiments and the fish itself was fresh and well cooked. We were hoping for other seafood like baby crabs but they only had fish in stock that day. 

 
Left - Sotong Kangkung & Ikan Pari Bakar

For drinks we had the ais jelly and abc. Wah, macam day and night. The ais jelly is light and refreshing thanks to the limau, while the abc was heavier as it's served with generous drizzle of chocolate sauce instead of sirap. The abc was interesting but it can be weird eating red beans and sweet corn with chocolate. To be honest, I think the ais jelly compliments the fish better than abc.  

K: Actually felt a bit muak eating the ABC. Too rich, too rich! It's something I would give a miss and I am a choc lover too. Choc's great, as long as it's not too sweet of course.

Random musings: The stall's name is Gerai Ayong & the operator, Ayong, is Chinese, so how come the name of the operator on the signboard is Malay? Chinese Moslem? Ali Baba? Anyone can shed some light?

Gerai Ayong is located at the Tepian Tebrau Food Court, which apparently has other good stalls too. Will have to make another trip down to JB to check the rest out...if we can resist going back to Ayong that is!

Verdict - Worth the trip, worth a repeat :D

Gerai Ayong
Medan Selera Tepian Tebrau
Jalan Mohd Amin
80100 Johor Bahru

Open from 6PM - 12PM

Closed on Wednesdays

No pork served

Price range - $-$$

Mee Udang Mak Jah @ Taiping

When asked for makan spots in Taiping, K's friends enthusiastically nominated the famous Mee Udang Mak Jah at Kuala Sepetang aka Port Weld. We were warned that it tends to be rather hot to dine in this open air stall during the day, so we came at night instead.

Finding the place was an anti-climatic adventure as we couldn't find an address. Turns out there's really no need for one as it's facing the ONLY trunk road from Taiping. There are a lot of Mee Udang stalls along the road but we were told to ignore them and only go for Mak Jah.

The famous dish is actually called Mee Udang Banjir (literally translates to Flooded Prawn Noodles) and is not the same as chinese style prawn mee. I've never actually had Malay style prawn mee before but whoa, this is good stuff I can't believe I've been missing out all my life!

The biggest difference between the malay style and chinese is that the former's soup is thicker and more tangy, probably due to a tomato base. Add the slow burning spiciness balanced with sweetness and you've got a bowl good to the last drop. It's served with crunchy fried shallots and of course, a generous serving of fresh prawns from Kuala Sepetang.

The noodle dish comes in two versions; "biasa" (RM7) and "special" (RM11). The difference is the size of the prawns, the latter served with bigger prawns.

K: I had the Mee Goreng Udang Biasa (RM7). It's basically mee goreng basah with a generous serving of prawns. The mee goreng udang was good but having tasted TJ's mee udang I have to admit, mee udang is waaaay better than the mee goreng.

According to an article published on a local daily that hangs proudly on display, the restaurant exclusively uses fresh prawns from Kuala Sepetang. No prawns = no mee udang = close shop. Fuh, that's commitment!

Afterwards a friend of K's asked him if he tried the cucur udang which we didn't since we were already quite full after eating the noodles. K's friend said the cucur udang is a must have too. Ah well, next time then.

Mee Udang Mak Jah is a family run restaurant and one of her children opened an outlet in Klang Valley! Some critics say it is not as good as the original but we have no complaints upon our recent visit there. Having missed out on the cucur udang at Kuala Sepetang, we didn't want to miss out on them this time. Alas, the Wangsa Maju outlet does not serve cucur udang.

K had a chat with the cashier who turned out to be the wife of Mak Jah's younger son. She says it's not easy to prepare the cucur udang, which is why it's not available in KL. Apparently the cucur udang is prepared by Mak Jah's older son, who is running the original outlet in Kuala Sepetang. He was supposed to come over to KL and serve cucur udang at the outlet here which would mean no cucur udang at Kuala Sepetang, but since his kids are still in school, the idea was shelved.

K was quite astounded at this bit of news. Since when was cucur udang so complicated that only ONE PERSON in the entire family knows how to prepare it? Not even the younger brother can prepare it?

Wow!! This must be a helluva cucur udang!! SAYA MESTI PILIH!!!

Another trip to Kuala Sepetang beckons....



In short - Slurp slurp burp! Good food + generous portions + good price = Must makan

Mee Udang Mak Jah
Jalan Taiping-Kuala Sepetang
Kampung Menteri,
Kuala Sepetang, Taiping
Open from 11am to 10pm daily*
*closed on Wednesday

OR

Mee Udang Mak Jah
No.22, Jalan Wangsa Delima 10,
Wangsa Maju (near Wangsa Walk)
Kuala Lumpur
Open from 11am to 10pm daily

Price - $
Halal