Our Johor-Singapore Trip: Day 3

It's always nice to have very good friends in very different places. That way, where ever you go, you'd be able to access the more inaccessible places, the places only the locals know, the places Lonely Planet knows nuts about.

We started our 3rd day during our Singapore-Johor trip eating roti prata for breakfast. It wasn't just any roti prata. It was roti prata on Bukit Chagar.

This was what the place looked like, sort of like a lone food shelter that popped up from the ground, in the middle of nowhere, on Bukit Chagar. And it looked like it was populated with government civil servants. If you came here often, you could get your IC, passport & police report done, all in one morning.

Bukit Chagar is just behind the new multi-million ringgit immigration building that has probably filled a lot of pockets. You can tell how close the roti place is to the massive blue buildings.

This is Roti Prata. On Bukit Chagar.

We were able to cross over to Singapore in one piece after that. This time there weren't any episodes with those Johor cowboy taxi drivers. 

On the other more civilised side which we call Singapore, we caught up with Sarah, Aunty Chua and family. It was a good learning experience to sit down and chat with them as they shared their life experiences in Singapore. 

If you guys have not seen them for a while, there you go. Sarah and Alex have two beautiful daughters, the other two older ones were their cousins who came by during the school holidays.

That night, Alex graciously took us to dinner at Dian Xiao Er, which is a Chinese restaurant chain at a mall somewhere at Ang Mo Kio I think. Sarah, please confirm!

No, it wasn't a drive-in restaurant. I just thought you needed to see this picture of how systematic & technologically advanced Singapore is. The red light changes to green if there's a vacant parking lot. So you can actually spot an empty lot from far away. I think Spring needs to learn a few things from here.

For a moment there I thought I was watching Little Nyonya.

The four of us shared a set meal which included these:

Dong Po Meat ~ This is one good dish here. Very moist and tender with all the fat and meat intact, which says good cooking skills.

Steamed garoupa fish, I think ~ nicely done.

Kailan with a tinge of kaffir lime. Something we have not had before. Interesting and pretty addictive actually.

Brocolli with mushrooms ~ nothing to shout about.

Dian Xiao Er soup of the day.

This is supposed to be their signature herbal duck dish. 

The herbs came out pretty strong alright.

We definitely think Dian Xioa Er is worth visiting for the few interesting dishes that they have. We of course ate and wiped our mouths while Alex graciously footed the bill. So we're not quite sure how much the food here costs. Thank you, Alex and Sarah for feeding us.

Then as we walked out of the restaurant, we spotted a Singapore kiasu line which snaked all the way to a Durian pancake stall.

Whenever there's a line at a food stall, we knew it had to be something good. So Nee got a bunch of those Durian puffs.

And those puffs were dangerous. They were pure 100% durians and they could kill.

Next post: Banyan Tree Bintan Island

Singapore Trip 2009: Day 2

We know you guys can't wait for the Taipei postings, so we'll finish the Singapore ones pronto. Sorry, we just have to get this out of the system before we can start new ones. It's like detoxing.

A Singapore trip is never complete with the Orchard Road experience, especially when it's near/during Christmas. We were there a week before Christmas and the festive decors and lighting were already up.

In Singapore, one can really feel the festivities of Christmas albeit it being rather commercial. But this work of creativity is worth the walk.

This was one of the newest shopping malls on Orchard, The Ion.

We didn't really explore much inside cos we thought it felt like any other typical shopping mall. Plus, Nee wasn't really on a shopping spree this time around. WHEW.

This one's for NEE. I couldn't believe it but somehow I knew, she enjoyed the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic on the plane ride to Taipei recently. 

It was a whirlwind tour of Ion, something like a snap-we-were-there kinda thing. (Whoever heard of a mall tour before?) We had to rush off to this place at Suntec City 1 cos it had a Japanese buffet lunch & it ends at 2.30pm. Why does our trip feel like The Amazing Race?

This was Kuishin Bo upon Terri's recommendation. And we trusted Terri's thumbs-up! So we just cannot miss it even though we only have something like 50 min before closing.

This place did not disappoint us. They did not scrimp. It in fact beat any local Kuching hotel buffer in terms of food and price. For S20.90/RM50 not including taxes, there were generous portions of sashimi laid out & waiting for us, even though it was near closing time.

Faced with such time limitation, we piled our table with as much as we can, out-kiasu-ing the Singaporeans. NEE: There were salad and cold cuts counters; sushi counters with assortment of sushis, makis and temakis; teppanyaki section where they cook fresh the ingredients you choose; hot food sections and chawan mushi sections and not to mentioned Greg's favourite desserts counters.

I loved the desserts. You can pick anything with your eyes closed & it's good. Loved the cream puffs. Had double-triple helpings. I love you Kiushin Bo!

We then headed back to Orchard for some lighting views and ended the day with real Singapore Chicken Rice in Singapore. Dinner was with Nee's ex-uni-mates at Boon Tong Kee. Also mentioned in Terri's blog.

I think we ordered to many kinds of side dishes that night. You might not want to do that when you're here cos the other dishes can overpower what's supposed to be the highlight, pure original unadultrated roasted/steamed chicken. NEE: It could well also be we finish the kiasu-stuff-ourselves-silly lunch at 2 30 and started dinner around before 7 pm.

Nee felt that the chicken, especially the skin, was excellently smooth. I couldn't discern much of it cos having too many dishes on the table was confusing.

The secret to having a good Chicken Rice meal is to keep it simple. Just chicken & rice. That's why kids love it. But it does go well with smaller helpings of sides like tofu, kailan & bean sprouts.

NEE: A good place for chicken rice alright but the other dishes are quite average really.

Back to Johor: Koay Teow Kia

Despite what this photo may have looked like to you, Woon Kiang is not a red light district.

We were back in Johor after our Singapore day trip, and night outings in Johor usually means koay teow kia.

Koay teow kia makes very excellent supper, & breakfast too (I can imagine), if they open for breakfast. It's a much smaller version of the usual larger koay teow, much softer too & tastes like koay chap. The small portions with side dishes make it the perfect small meal. But that night, it was more like dinner.

This is definitely one of the must-have things whenever we're in Johor, including the Otak-Otak.

You can also read about the other koay teow kia & Otak-Otak place here.

Throat Slitting Taxis in Johor

We haven't had any mishaps before taking taxis from Johor Bahru down to Singapore in our previous trips. But this time it was different. It was unfortunately a Sunday, & that's when taxis are a scarcity. And when that happens, taxi drivers become primal animals out for the kill.

A lot of things in Malaysia are just there for show. For example, the big red letters that say BUDI BAHASA AMALAN HIDUP KITA. When I approached the counter for a ticket, the lady behind the box didn't even want to look at me. I wanted to buy a ticket but she wouldn't sell it to me. BUDI BAHASA my posterior.

You probably can't see the sign below but it says RM15 per person or RM60 per trip to Singapore & that is as clear as broad daylight. It's right in your face.

But when we got into the taxi, they were asking for S$60. That was definitely cut-throat robbery, in clear broad daylight. I was fuming mad. It's ok if they were asking nicely for RM10-15 more on top of the RM60 but this was insulting & offending.

So we got off & joined the rest of the people in the waiting area who were in the same predicament. At that point we felt very lost cos it looked like there was no way we would ever get to Singapore. But we had no intention of feeding these bloodsuckers. Our badly corrupted country needs a major change now more than ever, & we were not about to continue endorsing this criminal activity.

Next to us (a whole bunch of people waiting for taxis) were a whole bunch of taxi drivers sitting there drinking coffee & waiting for suckers & hawking their prices in Sing$ & mocking us - Tak apa. Boleh tunggu. Tunggu lama lama. Mana ada teksi.

I felt like punching them in the face. But they looked bigger than I was, so I let them go.

Then a young couple next to us went up to ask & guess what. The price was now Sing$35 per person. Yes, I know. That was murder. And being principled, the couple didn't yield as well & took us just across to catch a bus.

The bus ride cost RM2.00 to the checkpoint. We got down, went thru the immigration, & went up another bus for S$2.50 which brought us straight to the taxi stand at Bugis Street. No hassle. No waiting. Everything was clockwork.

We were so grateful to the young couple. Apparently the guy was from Johor & the girl was from KK, & both of them were working in Singapore.

That particular experience in Johor reaffirms our belief that there is completely no hope for Malaysia, unless it changes, unless it removes all the corrupted politicians, from the man at the top to the taxi drivers at the bottom, unless it changes its system of administration, enhances & enforces its laws. But meeting a couple like this also reaffirms our faith that there is hope, & there is still really nice & sincere people around in this country of ours.

Coming into Singapore, we felt a huge wave of relief. At last, we were in a safe place where the taxi drivers go by meters, & will take you anywhere you want to go. We were back in civilisation.

Ah Koon Western Knife Fish Balls in Johor: Day 1

This is no kung fu movie although the name may suggest something like that.

We were in Johor Bahru & Singapore for a break about a couple of weeks ago. We normally like to stop by JB to meet up with my ex-uni mates Chia Hwee and his wife Sabrina. This couple is one of the most hospitable friends that we have, always ferrying us around and feeding us all the time. But come to think of it, when they were in Kuching, we were also guilty of feeding them until they exploded. So I guess what goes around, comes around!

As it normally happens with us, we were whisked off straight from the airport to Ah Koon's fishball place. According to Chia Hwee, this place is famous for their sito fish products ~ west knife fish (direct translation).

The eatery requires you to pick your own noodle (dry or soup; thick, rice, vermicelli or lao soo fen), followed by the items that you fancy.

This is one of their specialties - fried fish cakes side order dipped in chilli sauce.

This was what we had:
Dried noodles in soya

Oyster soup.

Soup noodles.

Soup with a variety of yong tao foo items

The fish items were definitely the main attraction here. They were all amazingly smooth and impossibly crunchy. I wouldn't want to imagine what they did to achieve such effects. Let's just assume that it was real culinary kungfu.

This place is supposedly very famous. I saw a lot of photos of Singaporean actors on the wall eating fishballs. But we do find all the items a wee bit too salty for our taste and we could also taste the msg. But nonetheless there were tasty & definitely enjoyable!

This was where we stayed at in JB. It's a relatively new hotel called Paragon (recommended by Chia Hwee).

The tip here is to always go for a newer hotel, as they would have special introductory rates, & newer rooms.

-Nee

Pigging It Out in Johore Bahru

Nee & I went on the Star Cruise sometime ago in May on the Singapore-Penang-Phuket route. We took a late AirAsia flight & landed at Johor Bahru for a night's stay before we crossed over to Singapore the next morning. And what was supposed to be an overnight stopover at Johor Bahru turned out to be a WILD PARTY.

Where da party? Aiya, if you've been reading my posts, you'd know you'd have to expect a bit of exaggeration on my part.

You must remember that for people like us who are beginning to slowly edge towards the uncle & auntie phase, having supper outside late at night is already a party ok.

If you're ever in Johor Bahru, you should try this place. They sell Koay Teow Kia, which literally means 'children' of the big koay teow. :)


It's one of those hawker food that opens late into the night - simple & yet so fulfilling, & you'll never know whether it's the environment or the food itself that makes it taste so good.

We were lucky to have such wonderful hosts in JB. Kah Fei & his wife were there from the moment we stepped out of the airport. They were very gracious, whenever we open our mouths, they made sure they'd put something in there.

So, obviously the next morning before we departed for Singapore, there was a breakfast party.

Again, if you're ever going to Johor Bahru, DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE. It's called Storia Cafe at Jalan Storia.

It looks like one of those mom & pop kopitiam from yesteryears when the televisyen set had no colour yet, & West Malaysia was half an hour behind Sarawak in time.


This looks like mom & pop, but over the years they've become gramps.


This shop is so old that they don't even know nuts about modern child labour laws.

Nolah, I'm sure this must have been their loving grandaughter helping up with the shop.

And this must be their filial daughter-in-law.

And this must be the uncle who makes great drinks. They keep him at a distance in a box.

Most of the food here is your everyday Malaysian breakfast.

Do not let the blandness of this bee hoon deceive you. It is simply the best party bee hoon I've ever tasted.

Again, it's the simplicity here that is most happening. You can easily have two plates of everything here.

Excellent nasi lemak at it's simplest form & configuration. Sometimes, it's underrated meals like this that can best satisfy the cravings, something totally different from the overloaded ones at 4-star hotels.


But you know, I haven't getten to the best part yet. THIS, is the real reason why we came here.

This is where the PARTY is at -Otak Daging Ikan & Otak Kepala Ikan. Literally, the direct translation of this will shock you to death - Fish Meat Brains & Fish Head Brain.

Actually, it's just fish cakes.

These are the most succulent otak-otak I've ever had.

But then again, I've almost never had them in Kuching ever before. Heheheheh.

And then at one of those special moments in time, I turned over to Nee & said, 'Wow, it'd be nice if you can make these. mmmmmm.'