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I realised that most Singaporeans are skeptical about travelling to JB after hearing horror stories about how cars get stolen and innocent people get murdered. Frankly, if you are feeling super anxious about crossing the borders, don’t bother venturing here because as a thriving city with extreme socio-economic strata, there are groups of people in JB who are not well-0ff. And you know when people get too desperate, they just do what they can to survive. So try not to be too conspicuous. Especially if you speak perfect English, wear full make-up, blings blings or carry branded handbags. Well, do what you can to keep yourself off the radar of vile characters.

I plan to share on how you can get around JB after exiting the CIQ customs. For those of you who took bus 170, 160, 950, CW1 or CW2 from Singapore and alighted at the CIQ, I’m pretty sure you’ve encountered those irritating cab driers who touts at the walkway heading towards City Square, the mall adjacent to the SG-JB custom. Don’t go with them! And walking is a no-no unless you are only planning to cross over to City Square or explore old JB town (the area where lots of old, quaint shop lots are located 5 minutes away from the mall).

The south of JB is most accessible. To explore close downtown areas such as Taman Pelangi, Taman Century and Taman Sentosa, I suggest taking cab from City Square. It will cost roughly RM6-8 to get to these 3 areas. Since cabbies in JB don’t charge by the meter, make sure you don’t get ‘cheated’. Negotiate the price when you get in.

You can either drive, cab or grab a bus to Taman Pelangi, Taman Century and Taman Sentosa to check out some local hot spots.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Jusco Tebrau City. They have good house brands and is also right opposite Tesco, yet another huge hypermarket.  Ok you can grab a bus there if you don’t mind waiting but honestly, the bus system in JB is awkward. We are totally clueless on bus timings and there’s no official transportation guide. To explore the city via bus, get ready to be friendly and ask bus drivers where are they heading. Some pointers.

• A make shift bus terminal (that’s what I thought when I see mutiple bus stops) is just along the streets between City Square and Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex. After crossing the borders, don’t cross the main road. Just follow the barricades and you’ll reach the bus stop. See the small yellow bus in the picture below? That’s where you can find buses heading towards north all the way to Johor Jaya, Jusco Tebrau City – meaning, the buses will pass by Plaza Pelangi and Taman Sentosa along Jalan Tebrau/Tebrau Highway.If you are willing to rough it out, I suggest taking bus 101 or 10A to go about downtown areas.

• Another ill-maintained bus ‘terminal’ is at the opposite side of City Square, right across the road where MacDonalds/Coffeebean is located. Make your way there if you are planning to go locations in the west of JB  such as Skudai, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Taman Skudai Baru, Taman Bukit Indah, Taman Perling and Taman Nusa Bestari.

• Bus fares are cheap and cost just between Rm1-4.
• Bus conductors will be shouting and touting. Don’t be overwhelmed by their rantings. They are actually very helpful if you want to check with bus can bring you to your destination or find out when the next bus is ooming!
• Before boarding, confirm with the bus driver again if you are heading the right direction. If you have problems with the Malay language, write out the address in a paper and show him. Generally, bus drivers can read in Malay.
• There are more than 2 bus operators and you can easily tell by the colour and condition of the bus. I trust your judgement not to board any cranky looking old bus infested with cockroaches. Keep your eyes open for the yellow smiley Cause-Way Link buses or white-blue Maju Express.
• Be prepared to inhale lots of toxic fumes while waiting for your bus to arrive.

Personally, I think there are more stuff to explore if you head north rather than west.

Well, hop on a bus if you are feeling slightly more adventurous. If not, stick to cabbing. Cabbing is good if you are running short of time but DO NOT go with the cab drivers who tout for passengers at the walkway heading towards City Square. Their charges are exorbitant.

Instead, continue walking to the mall and get to RHB bank located at level 1. Walk out of the slided doors and out to the main road. There is a shabby-looking taxi stand to your right. Wait for a cab there.

Another place where you can grab a cab is right outside the entrance/exit between Levi’s and a watch shop.

Otherwise, drive in with GPS/updated map. That said, be very careful. Roads in JB are going through major changes every now and then. Get a local friend to show you the way or get directions from them before you embark on this road trip. Do remember to never flaunt your stuff an hide everything in your boot including shopping bags.

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Have a good time discovering JB !

Next time you’re around Plaza Pelangi area, look out for this particular hawker stall called Sin Hock Guan Permas Jaya (Tangkak) Beef Noodles in Kakilang Food Court Centre. Well Tangkak is a little town in Johor known for its beef noodles. If I’m not mistaken Tangkak is along the way to Muar where I managed to grab some Bak Kut Teh and Thai seafood previously when I was there.

Look how gorgeous the bowl of beef goodness is. I always order the dry version because I prefer having my thick white rice noodles drenched in thick beefy gravy. The QQ rice noodles is accompanied by tender morsels of braised beef brisket, beef tendons, slices of beef tenderloin, bits of salted vegetables, some peanuts and lots of spring onions! In my opinion, this tasted better than the pricey Hock Lam Beef Noodle I had in Singapore.

Are you a huge fan of chewy beef tendon? I am! I love that piece of gelatinous, transparent, soft yet chewy morsel to bits. The texture of the beef tendon here texture is similar to boiled pig’s ear but it is bouncier and does not taste as funky. Nonetheless, it’ll taste bland if not for the yummy beefy saucy. Thumbs up for the tangy flavoursome sauce.

Every bowl of beef noodles comes with special homemade chilli sauce and a steaming bowl of beef soup. The chili sauce is strangely appetising. Must be the dollop of extra spicy green chilli the auntie mixed with the usual red one. I suspect she used those tiny chilli padi! By the way the chilli sauce is slightly thicker than what you get when you order chicken rice. It is perfect for dipping the beef.

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Oh before digging into this dish, do remember to add a sprinkle of fresh lime juice on the noodles and chilli sauce to enhance the flavour. Mix well! If you like more lime, just request from the friendly auntie at the stall. It’s free. I always get extra lime because I like my beef and noodles to have a zestier taste.

It cost just RM6 for a small bowl of beef noodles and RM8 for the larger serving. Unless you’re really hungry, I think the small serving is perfectly fine for a hearty lunch. I always drop by when I’m in Pelangi area and craving for BEEF.

Don’t worry you can’t miss Kakilang because it is a corner lot coffeeshop. Ah it’s very near Restoran Mei Sin that sells Mee Hoon Kueh. Mom likes it alot too and most of the time, I’ll be here with her after shopping at Plaza Pelangi. Yup that mall is actually of walkable distance to this food centre. Just 2-3 minutes drive away?

Actually there’re a few places that sells beef noodles in JB, I know of another stall at Ang Kim Chwee Coffee Shop which sells this scrumptious delight somewhere near the CIQ. Will cover that next round! Watch this space!

Kakilang Food Court Centre
Jalan Abiad 1
Taman Maju Jaya
80400 Johor Bahru

Was wondering where to bring JB pig-outers for dinner after a heavy brunch at Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh and mid-afternoon dessert at La Gourmet. Want to get something that can tempt our pampered taste buds that were kept busy all day. Thus, decided to get some sweet and sour asam fish and soupy drunken chicken from Jie Sheng. This place was recommended by dad.

We were there on a Saturday evening and it was almost full house; prepare to wait if there’s a crowd. Over here, the chef take his own sweet time to prepare his goodies. But it is worth the wait. Anyway time passes quickly when we were chatting about what to eat next and if we should go for durian ice cream dessert after dinner. Gluttons!

After about 20 minutes, we could smell our first dish coming. Behold, the Chinese drunken chicken! We ordered the medium sized one that cost RM14.

As we ladled the chicken pieces and soup we were enthralled by the extremely fragrant smell of Chinese rice wine but guess what. It tasted even better. The chicken meat was tender, moist and We could taste the rice wine and a slight hint of Chinese herbs, ginger and sesame oil which really gets the taste buds going. I particularly like the sweet wolf berries.

Absolutely superb. I could have this for dinner everyday. It was rich and really delicious. Ah no wonder this dish is considered a health-building soup. We felt so ’strong’ after slurping the soup that we can stomach anything and continue the food hunt!

Next, the Asam fish! We loved it! The fish was so soft, silky and was slathered with asam gravy that was distinctively sweet, spicy and sour. For those who can’t take spicy stuff, you’ll be pleased to know that the spiciness was not to the extent of numbing the tongue. I would say that the asam is more sourish than spicy.

Not wanting to overeat and waste food, we ordered a small serving of the asam fish at first but we finished the entire serving in less than 10 minutes because it was damn good. So to satisfy our cravings, we ordered the asam fish again. This time, we got the medium sized serving with 3-4 large piece of fish. That’s the one you see below.

It was served with eggplants, long bean and fried tofu skin. After soaking the fried crispy fried tofu skin into the tangy gravy, you’ll get a soft and rubbery crumpled sheet. The tart sourish flavor of the asam gravy really accentuated the golden fried flavor of the tofu. Another side dish that were meant to match this dish is the papadum, a thin crispy wafer that taste like a cracker. We dipped it into the asam gravy and it’s amazingly tasty. By the way, if you have no patience to pick out fish bones, no worries. It’s 90% flesh.

By the way, it cost just RM33 for a small and medium order of the asam fish.

Besides these 2 specialty dishes, we ordered a plate of stir-fry vegetables (RM6) and claypot beancurd (RM7) with mixed vegetables as sides. These 2 dishes were fine but they were still outshone by the drunken chicken and asam fish.

Surprise surprise. Just when we were about to finish off all the dishes, there was an electric cut in the area. The entire estate was pitched black. Interesting. But we did not dined in darkness. The chef and a few of his customers/workers drove their car and positioned them strategically facing the restaurant. All headlights were turned on and the warm orangy lights lit the entire place with a cosy feel.

Despite the sudden electricity cut, dinner was a cooling and relaxing affair. We spent about RM65 for here which I find reasonable, considering the quality of the fare. Can’t believe we managed to chow down all these even after eating for the entire day.

Jie Sheng Restoran
3, Jalan Permas 10/B
Permas Jaya
81750 Masai Johor
019-7989123
3pm-12am
Closed on Thursdays

After lunch at Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh, I brought JB pig-outers here for mid-afternoon dessert/yumcha. We need a place to chill and rest our tummies. I like the dim and warm  lightings that offer the vibe of a great chill out place for urbanites looking for a place to enjoy cold dessert with friends! Not to mention, there’s plenty of parking lots for everyone!

I guess Mar was feeling pretty happy after a good lunch. It totally showed on her smiley face. Speaking about parking lots. We came to a conclusion that Malaysian loves to park head-in while Singaporeans ace in parking butt-in. What you think? True?

Anyway I love this place because I love mango and I love sago. Well I’ll only have green bean soup if there’s sago inside and do you know that sago tastes exceptionally good in bubur cha cha and dessert pastries. But the ultimate sago partner is the slushy-cushy MANGO LOO! That’s how we call this mango dessert in JB which may originate from Hong Kong. Oh I still dream of the heavenly mango dessert I had at Xu Liu Shan, Hong Kong! *drools* Anyway, finally, a decent dessert place in JB where I can head for when the occasional mango sago cravings hits me.

Theses are the mango delights JB pig-outers had that afternoon. Mar and I decided to share a dessert to save space for whatever food that’s coming next.

Out of 4 orders, 3 were mango mango mango! Kelvin was the odd one out with watermelon ice. He wanted something more refreshing. So watermelon works better for him.

Can you see the sago sticking on the ice? Hard to tell eh? Can’t remember how much we spent here but it shouldn’t be more than RM30. The price of the desserts ranges between RM5-8.

Overall, La Gourmet is not bad but it can never beat the mango goodies at Xu Liu Shan. I so wanna go Hong Kong again!! Cablenazi, heard that?

La Gourmet
No 11, Jalan Kuning Dua,
Taman Pelangi. 80400, Johor Bahru
10am – 3pm
07-3313782

A short drive from the CIQ, lies this bustling restaurant with a crazy crowd who would brave storms to taste a flavorsome light brown broth.  When I was a little girl, I would look forward to Saturdays because pa will bring us to this stuffy yet fulfilling restaurant if we manage to catch the morning church service!

Now that I’m a big girl, Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh is where I’ll head for piping hot herbal pork ribs soup with friends who don’t mind the heat! So last Saturday, I was there with Kelvin, Vic, Mariko and Cablenazi.

Vic looked like he was glaring at Cable Nazi for scooping ladle after ladle of broth from the claypot. Haha. By the way, Kelvin and Cablenazi was so pleased with the fare that they ate 2 bowls of rice which they really shouldn’t had. GUYS DON’T EAT SO MUCH RICE. Must remember to always leave some space for more yummy goodies when you’re in JB.

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Basically the most important feature of this dish is the broth: it is a balance between the herbal and peppery version of Bak Kut Teh. Ah Soon’s herbal version is a tad milder than Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock (another one of my favourite) but it is still delectable. I’m a really big fan of herbs and spices. It should contain star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic.

Well we were late, so there wasn’t much ’stuff’ in the Bak Kut Teh lest for pork ribs. Normally in the morning before brunch,  we can find additional ingredients such as offal and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs added into this claypot delight at Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh. If you woke up late, just like us, then just be happy with the pork ribs.

Secret. The Bak Kut Teh tastes so good because uncle Ah Soon insist on using charcoal to prepare his specialty dish.

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The Bak Kut Teh came in a big claypot so we gotta scooped the herbie treat into individual bowls. Hm. It’s weird how I dislike to have my Bak Kut Teh served in little porcelain bowls.… If I can, I would just slurp the broth straight from the claypot because I like my Bak Kut Teh extra warm. Haha. Or perhaps it is the claypot illusion that there’s more broth and meat inside.

Oh when you’re here, do try the Yellow Rice Wine Claypot Chicken, Tau Pok/Fried Bean Curd and Salted Vegetables.

Yellow Rice Wine Claypot Chicken was awesome. The meat was so tender, moist and and we can tell from the taste of it that the usually dry and unspectacular chicken meat had successfully retained the sweet taste of rice wine! It must had been simmered really slowly over a small fire the entire morning.

Also, the soft and a little goey Tau Pok went extremely well with the thick soy sauce and cut chillies. Do remember to eat the Tau Pok immediately when it is served because it will not taste as nice after it turned cold. As for the salted Vegetables. In my opinion, Ah Soon’s salted vegetable is one of the best among the Bak Kut Teh restaurants in JB. It’s not too heavily salted yet briny enough to tantalise my taste buds with a slight hint of pickled sourness.

If you noticed, we didn’t have You Tiao/Chinese cruller fried bread stick. Another reason for you to have breakfast here instead of brunch/lunch.

For Bak Kut Teh (4 persons), Claypot Chicken (2 persons), 2 bowls of Salted vegetables and 2 bowls of Tau Pok, we spent roughly RM65 on lunch for 5 hungry adults. Not sure if Vic, Mariko or Kelvin gonna crave for this and be back again but I will definitely say yes  if dad wants to date me for breakfast this coming week when I’ll be back in JB for holidays. He’s the best. Cablenazi shall tag along if he has been a good boy this week.

Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh
141, Jalan Keris 1
Taman Sri Tebrau
Johor Bahru
016-7152678

Ah Soon is just 5 minutes walk away from the ‘famous’ Bamboo paper-wrapped herbal chicken which I personally think is over-rated. Would not recommend that Bamboo chicken restaurant because quality of food deteriorated after the renovation.