In Johor Bahru, you can enjoy special cuisine that is different from Kuala Lumpur. For example, Johor Laksa is a dish that can only be found in Johor Bahru. So, I tried Johor Laksa, a noodle soup and then Kway Teow Kia, and a street food called Lok-Lok. And whenever I visit Johor Bahru, I almost everytime go to a crab restaurant and a Peking duck restaurant.
Table of Contents
1. Johor Laksa
2. Kway Teow Kia
3. Lok-Lok
4. Salted Egg Crab
5. Peking Duck
Johor Laksa
Malaysian food has a strong regional flavor. Just as in Korea you can taste different foods from each region, the same is true in Malaysia. The most famous place in Malaysia for food is Penang. However, far away from Penang, Johor Bahru in Malaysia's southernmost tip also offers unique cuisine.
One of Malaysia's special delicacies is Laksa. However, you must be careful when ordering Laksa. Because Laksa in Johor and Penang are different foods. The food called Laksa in Penang is Asam Laksa, while Laksa in Johor is Curry Mee.
Assam Laksa is a noodle dish in a sour soup, while Curry Mee is a curry noodle dish. However, Johor's curry mee, called Johor Laksa, tastes slightly different from the curry mee eaten in Kuala Lumpur. Johor Laksa has a stronger scent of spices and a weaker taste of coconut compared to Kuala Lumpur's curry mee.
And when it comes to curry mee, people in Kuala Lumpur often choose Yellow Mee. However, Johor Laksa's options go beyond noodles and include all kinds of fried foods.
As someone who mainly eats curry mee in Kuala Lumpur, it was quite a culture shock. It felt like eating Yong Tau Foo, a Malaysian fried food, in curry soup.
And since they sell Assam Laksa in Johor, you can also order laksa to eat curry me and then get Assam Laksa. Of course, the visuals of Assam Laksa and Curry Me are completely different, so you can easily tell which type of Laksa it is the moment you enter the restaurant.
In particular, Assam Laksa is a food that has strong likes and dislikes because not only does it contain mint, so it has the same spice and a strong sour taste, but also because the noodle used is vermicelli, which is similar to glass noodles.
Kway Teow Kia
Although I was proud of having tried many foods in Malaysia, it was Kway Teow Kia who showed me that there were still new foods to be had. After trying this Johor food, my first question was, can I find Kwetiaw Kia in Kuala Lumpur?
Of course, you can find it in Kuala Lumpur, but the locals said that since it is difficult to find this food itself, it will be even more difficult to find a delicious restaurant.
Kway Teow of 'Kway Teow Kia' is a wide rice noodle dish. It is a dish where you order different parts of pork over rice noodles. It seems like a very simple combination, but it's a dish I've never seen before in either Korea or Malaysia.
In particular, the rice noodle soup is the same black soup as Malaysia's famous Bak Kut Teh, but surprisingly, unlike Bak Kut Teh, it has almost no herbal medicine scent. So, I asked why this soup had such a weak scent, and a local said that if it has a strong scent, it is called Bak Kut Teh.
The funny thing is, you can order rice instead of pho. So I ordered two rice noodles and a bowl of rice. Kway Teow Kia restaurant is usually open in the evening and until dawn. So, when we visited a little late in the day, Johor people who had come to drink and eat hangovers were occupying a few tables.
Next time I go to Johor, I definitely plan on going to eat Kway Teow Kia. Until then, I'll have to do some research to see if I can eat kwe tiaw kia in Kuala Lumpur.
Lok Lok
Lok Lok is a Malaysian street food. Lok Lok is a deep-fried skewer of various meats and vegetables. Instead of Lok Lok, I prefer satay, which is grilled thinly sliced chicken, pork, or lamb. Whether it's lok lok or satay, both are a late-night snack rather than a meal.
However, Johor's Lok Lok is different from what you see in Kuala Lumpur. In particular, the fried broccoli was delicious no matter how many times I ordered it, even though it was a bit greasy.
Salted Egg Crab
While chili crab is famous in Singapore, salted crab crab is popular in Malaysia. When ordering crab in Malaysia, most people order it with salted egg sauce. There are sauces such as sweet and sour, black pepper, and garlic, but the salted egg sauce is the best.
There are several places in Johor where you can eat seafood. Food in Malaysia is generally cheap, but seafood is relatively expensive.
When eating produce dishes, etc., you can eat them in the city and nearby areas of Johor, but when eating crab dishes, you have to travel to the outskirts. Because there is a famous seafood restaurant located in Gelang Patah, located on the western side of downtown Johor.
After tasting this restaurant's salted egg crab, crab dishes at other seafood restaurants will feel ordinary.
Peking Duck
Peking duck is not unique to Malaysia. Moreover, just like in Korea, Peking duck is not a cheap food in Malaysia. However, in absolute terms, Malaysian Peking duck is much cheaper than Korean Peking duck.
So, I visited many Peking duck restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru. Although there are good restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, I always go to the Pekingese restaurant in Taman Molek in Johor.
This restaurant looks very expensive, but despite its nice exterior and interior, the prices are not as expensive as you might think. And the food always tastes consistently delicious every time I go. I think I've been visiting this house for over 10 years. Every time, I was always satisfied with the price.
There are a lot of delicious dishes in Johor. Bon appétit.
'Malaysian Food' 카테고리의 다른 글
| 4 facts you need to know before eating Malaysian durian (0) | 2024.03.26 |
|---|---|
| The 3 Nasi Lemak Shops That Personally Recommended (0) | 2024.03.15 |
| 15 Famous Malaysian Desserts (0) | 2024.03.14 |
| 20 Famous Malaysian Dishes (0) | 2024.03.14 |