Down & Dirty :Hiap Joo Bakery, Johor Bahru- Malaysia

Across from the famous Kin Hua Coffee shop is Hiap Joo another must visit place in Johor Bahru. There is always a queue so chill have your breakfast or a cup of coffee at Kin Hua first.  The good news is the queue moves fairly quick, it really only slows down because of tourists like me who like to take photos of silly stuff- like a stack of wood.  But its well worth the wait, the banana bread and coconut bread are a winners. They still use wood to fire the ovens like a good old school bakery should. Good to see they are burning recycled wood. 




The queue that never seems to go away..

Stacked wood looks recycled? No one would cut it like this for burning?

The oven complete with soot and smoke!

Coconut bread.

Banana bread- this is well worth the wait banana bread is light yet the cake remains moist and you can smell the bananas(not kidding!)

Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory
Address: 13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000 Johor Bahru
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hiapjoobakery

Kin Hua Kopitiam:Dirty Dining in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Kin Hua Kopitiam

Part of getting to know the culture of a new place is to experience breakfast "like a local"! In Johor Bahru, there is no better place to do this than Kin Hua. 

It really ticks all the boxes for Dirty Dining-it has a good mix of locals and visiting Singaporeans from accross the border, it is packed from early morning till way past lunch. Everything is prepared & served "old school". The toast is done over coals, the coffee is filtered through a "sock" (figuratively speaking), eggs are boiled and timed to perfection manually. (no immersion circulator here)

I will have to take more photos and update when I have more time.

Look at them buns!

Fresh buns toasted with butter and kaya (coconut jam) were absolutely delish. 

Eggs-cellent!

The eggs were free range and you could tell from the colour of the yolk. The yolk was a dark orange vs the typical yellowish colour we have become used to with industrial eggs.

A dash of pepper and soya sauce and I was all set. Just like the locals did I dunked the bread in the eggs and slurped the remainder of the eggs straight from the bowl.

In Malaysia soft boiled eggs are referred to as half-boiled-eggs. 

Kopi!

Mastering the art of ordering coffee in a Malaysian Kopitiam (coffee house)

Coffee=kopi (koh-pee)
Coffee black with sugar=kopi-O
Coffee with cream =kopi-C (C= carnation evap milk, they dont have regular milk) and they will automatically add sugar unless you specifically mention otherwise.
Coffee with cream no sugar= kopi-C- kosong
Coffee black no sugar= kopi-O -kosong
Stronger coffee =kau

Therefore my coffee is kopi-C-kosong-kau which translates to coffee with cream, no sugar, served strong.

If you want a cold coffee same as above but add "peng"

X = Paid!

They have a unique billing system here. Grandma will come over ask you what you ordered (although she already knows what you ordered). She will then add the bill up using a calculator (although she already has the total amount in her mind). She will show you the total to verify the amount. Pay that amount and dont question grandma!

Once she collects the cash she will mark the table with an "X" to let the others know that you are good to go. 

Remember Grandma is watching so you dont want to get caught out-you dirty,dirty boy.

Brilliant!

Kin Wah Address: 8 Jalan Trus, 80000 Johor Bahru 

Open: 7am to 12pm

Dirty Dining in KL: Heritage Food Village-Brickfields Kuala LumpurSentral

 

Dirty Dining in KL!

 

Getting down & dirty in KL and I mean that in the most positive way. 

This place serves simple home style cooked meals. 

Which translates to great cheap eats!!!!

Spoon, fork or chopstick..choose your weapon?

Go figure... does not seem like chinese food if I dont use chopsticks, but I see all the locals grab a spoon and fork.

Quattro Stagioni?

Four Seasons= Wok fried mixed vegetables with belachan (shrimp paste) Okra, Eggplant, Lima Beans and string beans

Pork Belly with salted fish

Pork Belly with Salted Fish -I have been here a few times to try this. The preparation is inconsistent a visits ago it had tad too much salted fish. Today it was spot on!

Deep Fried Squid with chilli sauce

Deep fried squid with chilli sauce.. ho hum.. will give this a miss next time.

Fish Head Curry

This is my go to dish at Heritage Food Village-the fish head curry!  

Address:
80-82 Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Brickfields 50470
Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur

Alive & Brewing in JB: a review of Art 52 Coffee Johor Bahru, Malasyia-CLOSED! :(

We Brew Seriously! 

Art 52 Coffee JB

Just like the sign says these guys are serious about their coffee! 

Barista Owner Ang Yee Siang and Stella Teo are brewing up top shelf stuff in Johor Bahru.  Outshining many a shop across the border in Singapore and in capital KL.

Since I rarely read or follow instructions I kept pushing, pulling or sliding the entrance door only to notice that I needed to "RING" to get in. Thats what you get when you keep looking at your phone.

my shadow

Definitely a place for coffee lovers!!!  

The shop serves as an art gallery on the first and second floors. On the second floor hidden behind a door is a real "hole in the wall" cafe.

Did I say HOLE IN THE WALL? 

Today they had single origin Ehtiopian, Sidamo.  He took about three tries to get the perfect pull for my first shot. He tasted each one and did not seem satisfied until the third one. I really appreciate the attention to detail. The result was a very good strong citrus notes with a floral finish. As every espresso drinker knows there is nothing better than your first cup. 

Upon ordering my second one the barista offered to tweak the coffee slightly for me. My second cup was even more enjoyable than the first. This very rarely happens for me. The second cup had longer finish and initial floral notes before a strong lemon finish. 

My second cup!

The Art Gallery!

Have not tried other places in JB but all I can say is the coffee scene in JB is alive & brewing!

Location: Art 52 Coffee,  #52 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Bahru 

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/art52coffee

instagram: @art52coffee

Hutong Lot 10-The Best of KL Hawker Food , Malaysia

Hutong LOT 10- How to rock the KL street scene like a local but still be a tourist.

Located in the heart of KL's Shopping District, Hutong Lot 10 is a great first stop to get initiated into the KL street food scene. A good half-way house before you cross over to the dark and seedier (read: tastier) side of the KL street food divide. Sadly, having said that; KL hawker food scene is in general on the decline. The rising rental costs & property costs coupled with the lack of interest of the second generation to run their family business have forced out many of the players. 

This place is operated more like an upmarket food court. It does a fairly decent attempt to replicate the Hawker Experience.

Located on the Lower Ground Floor on the corner of Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail. The place is easy to miss, you need to take the escalators down into this food dreamland... 

Chua Brothers Penang Char Koay Teow

My first go to food dish here is the Penang Char Kway Teow! Trust me… Pay the extra for the duck egg!  

I have been here many times and often watch in amazement at how simple this dish is to make but ever so difficult to master. You need to get the right burn on noodles, layered with the right amount of oil and crisp sausage to create texture, the addition of the duck egg also adds a certain saltiness.   

Most of the star rated hotels in town do a version of these noodles but fail ever so miserably.

Ask for it extra spicy and with extra lap-cheong (sausage) if you want to live on the wild side.

Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles

My second most favourite dish is the Fish Head Noodles from Woo Pin. I was first introduced to this dish at the original branch in Cheras and it took me a while to figure out they had a branch in Lot 10.


The dish the serve up comes close to the original version. The fish stock is prepared with salted vegetables and then you have the option to add evaporated milk (say yes…!). They add vermicelli noodles and chinese wine for a bit of acidity. Ask for extra wine and constantly add it into the broth it will give the dish some chutzpah! Also ask for the fish on the side that way you don't end up with soggy fish. You can add the fish into the broth as you go and still get crunchy warm fish vs hot & soggy fish. The sambal is badass with the right amount of heat and acidity so use carefully.


In the picture is the Woo Pin Fish Head noodles, fish on the side, chinese wine & sambal.

While there are better and cheaper places, Hutong Lot 10 offers the KL visitor or local  a nice alternative to the harsher realities of KL Street Food scene.  

Jom Makan!