Johor Bahru Old Town Food Hunt 新山陈旭年文化街寻美食

Together with hubby and foodie friend Angie, we went across the causeway to Johor Bahru Old Town for some old school food. Whenever we have Angie for company, it's usually an enjoyable experience with lots of laughter and good food.

As a regular day tripper to JB, naturally I took the lead and showed them the shortcuts to JB old town. When hubby wondered aloud how come I was so familiar with JB roads and places, I froze. OMG! I realised then that I was revealing my usual hunts in JB to him. Ahhhh ... ! Shucks.

First stop was to crowded Restoran Kin Wah for its traditional breakfast set of toasted bread, 2 half boiled kampung eggs and coffee for Angie; I had a teh-C (tea with evaporated milk) and hubby ordered another slice of toast but was devoured by Angie because she like the toast. haha..... Total amount spent was RM11 for the three of us.

It was a late breakfast as it was already past eleven o'clock. I was famished and opted for a portion of nasi lemak (coconut rice) with side dishes of spicy chicken, brinjal and curry vegetables (RM8). I don't know if they charged me for the sambal chilli. The nasi lemak was fragrant, tasted good with the chilli paste and spicy side dishes.

Angie was rushing to foot the bill, but when she brought out an old wallet .... gwa gwa!

The blur queen brought Thai baht!! How to pay with Thai baht? I'm not surprised if she had ended up in Changi Airport that morning. LOL

She was quite upset with herself, so we had to console her and finally we had a good laugh over it. The kind and generous lady had wanted to shower us with yummy food treats but her plan failed. I loaned her RM100 so she could at least buy some souvenirs back.

After breakfast we strolled to Hiap Joo Bakery opposite the coffee shop to queue for its popular banana cake. There were two queues: one for its freshly baked buns and one for banana cakes. Angie met her relatives who offered us a hot-from-the-oven coconut bun.

There was a lady outside the bakery selling some tempting Nonya cakes. She had made them that morning. One piece cost RM1.20, 4 pieces cost RM4. I bought 4 pieces from her.

I like the yummy coconut taste of the cakes which were soft and moist, were not overly sweet. Closed on Thursdays and Sundays, she would be selling different types of Nonya cakes depending on what ingredients she could get from the market that day.

As the banana cakes would only be ready at 12.15 pm, Angie and I decided to take a walk along the Tan Hiok Nee 'Culture Street', leaving hubby to queue for the cakes.

I brought Angie to Red House as I wanted to buy the Giant Chicken Burger for my son, but the eatery changed management recently and a completely different menu was offered. Crew member Sylvester approached us to recommend their specialities. Angie was attracted to an old school Hokkien dish and so we decided to try their food.

We ordered a coffee and their special Hainanese milk tea (RM3), Angie liked the tea so much, she ordered another cup. We reserved a bowl of old school Hokkien porridge (RM6.80) as it was only available for breakfast and Angie wanted to wait for my hubby to come so he could taste it too. Awww .....

Sylvester recommended their special crispy Chicken Chop with Salted Egg Sauce (RM16.80). It was served shortly when hubby arrived at 12.48 pm with the freshly baked banana cakes. We shared the chicken chop. What a yummilicious dish! Angie didn't seem to have enough of it. haha.....

We met the chef and owner of The Red House Cafe Mr Tan and his wife. They and another partner had just took over on 1st October 2016. We had a good chat with Mr Tan who has been in the food and beverage business for 30 years. Looking forward to trying his other dishes on our next trip.

Several Hainanese kinsmen came to meet hubby and we had a chat and took some pictures. And one of these gentlemen paid for our meal. They invited us to their clan premises nearby.

We went for Sangkaya coconut ice cream after visiting the clan. We ordered their signature coconut ice cream, cendol and coconut shake. As it was a sunny day, we lepak (relax) in the air-conditioned cafe to enjoy our chilled desserts and chit chat.

I have scheduled to return to Singapore before 4 pm to beat the congestion on the causeway, but Angie was raring to try more traditional food. I brought her to Sekee Coffee Shop to eat the Teochew kway teow soup (flat rice noodles), but it was closed.

We walked back to City Square and Angie brought us to Nyonya Leaf for a late lunch. She ordered Assam Laksa, Penang Prawn noodles (no prawns as they were sold out), 2 prawn crackers (too hard), chee cheong fun (steamed rice rolls), bubur cha cha  (sweet potato and yam dessert), bubur hitam (black glutinous rice dessert) and cendol. The meal cost about RM62, Angie insisted on footing the bill.

Angie discovered Daiso,  we went in to have a look-see but came out with big bags of purchases. LOL.... Angie was left with 10 Malaysian sens after the shopping.

I bought many glass containers. At our Singapore Customs, I was told to remove the newspaper wrapping around the glass bottles for inspection.

Angie and I went our separate ways after clearing Malaysia Immigration as we stay at different ends of Singapore. I took an express bus back and reached home around 8 pm. It was a tiring and enjoyable day for me.

Johor Bahru Old Town Tour Johor Bahru Old Town

带1号趴趴走, 到新山老街吃吃喝喝新旧口味美食, 逛陈旭年文化街。这很有特色的一条老街, 有很多的咖啡店和美食。我们来到了文化街找老店老招牌吃传统早餐 。

锦华茶餐室的经典早餐 — 传统咖啡，炭烤面包，半生熟蛋 —  经济又实惠。店里还有一档是卖马来族的Nasi Campur (马来杂菜饭), Mee Rebus (马来杂卤面) 和 Nasi Lemak (椰浆饭)。

1号抢着付钱的时候, 才发现带了泰币来游马国。这一来就影响到1号的心情。可爱的1号原本想好好地请我们吃一顿, 可是当天是万圣节, "洋鬼"拿她开玩笑啦! 哈哈 。。。

锦华茶餐室对面是协裕面包西菓厂, 很多人排队等待美味的传统海南面包出炉。老公花了75分钟排队买了刚刚出炉的香蕉蛋糕！松松软软的香蕉蛋糕还带着香香的香蕉味, 好好吃! 放了一晚的香蕉蛋糕, 隔天当早餐吃, 还是一样的松软。一盒小盒的香蕉蛋糕值RM4.80。

这里最受欢迎的面包是椰子面包；最受欢迎的蛋糕则是香蕉蛋糕。这面包店所有的面包和蛋糕还是使用老式木烧窑烘烤的。

面包店外有一位大姐卖娘惹粿, 看起来新鲜可口。大姐当天早上做的娘惹粿, 一片RM1.20; 四片RM4。娘惹粿柔软不失弹性、不死甜、椰浆很够味, 好吃。星期四和周日休息。

经过最显眼的地标"红楼"时, 1号发现了咸糜 (Rm6.80), 服务生介绍了海南奶茶 (RM3)和金沙鸡扒 (RM16.80)。炸鸡扒淋上咸蛋黄酱汁,  一吃不得了! 太好吃了!

我第一次吃福建咸糜, 加了菜豆、芋头熬煮的古早粥！1号说有小时候阿嫲煮的味道 ……

老公的海南同乡来相会, 请我们吃这顿。我们也拜访、参观新山的琼州会馆。

从琼州会馆出来, 我们去Sangkaya 椰子雪糕专卖店吃椰子冰淇淋、 椰汁奶昔 (milk shake)和煎蕊 (cendol)。因为有冷气, 很舒服, 我们窝在里面聊天, 错过了吃古早味潮州粿条。

新山也吃得到正宗的娘惹美食！1号带我们到 Nyonya Leaf娘惹餐厅吃亚参叻沙、 槟城福建虾面和甜品。我很喜欢他们的亚参叻沙, 酸味的浓汤, 好开胃。我爱吃亚参叻沙, 每次到槟城都非吃不可。

Restoran Kin Wah  锦华茶餐室
67, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000, Johor Bahru.
Opening hours  营业时间 ：7 am - 6.30 pm

Hiap Joo Bakery   裕面包西果厂
13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000 Johor Bahru.
Opening hours  营业时间：7 am - 5.30 pm (周日休息)

Nonya kueh hawker outside Hiap Joo Bakery 娘惹粿小贩 (面包店外)
Thursdays and Sundays closed  (星期四和周日休息)

The Red House Cafe 红楼茶餐室 陈旭年街
56, Jln Tan Hiok Nee , 80000, Johor Bahru , Malaysia

Sangkaya 椰子雪糕专卖店
14, Jalan Dhoby, 80000, Johor Bahru
Opens: 11am - 11pm (Daily)

Nyonya Leaf 娘惹餐厅
Komtar JBCC, 2nd Floor