Joanna James
You might've heard of Kuala Lumpur, Malacca to be foodie paradises. But did you know that Johor Bahru's cuisine is quite something too? If you didn't, you are about to come to the same conclusion!
Heard of rice rolls? If you haven't, at Johor Bahru restaurants, you have the chance of sampling those. Maybe you tried these at dim sum restaurants in Singapore or some other country – but the ones you find in Malaysia has a special quality to it. These are usually accompanied by curry or a sauce of your choosing. A dish of Chee Cheong is usually priced at RM5.
These are pancakes with quite an eccentric filling (although you may not find it to be eccentric if you've tried it before). The pancakes are made of rice flour, and the filling consists of sweet corn and peanuts, yum!
You can have these whichever the way you want. Have them fried, grilled – it's completely up to you although the BBQ version is loads better with its taste of chilli sauce. The price of this is nothing compared to that of what you find in fancy restaurants in other countries.
Usually people boil the carrots or cook them, but in Malaysia, they cut the carrot into small cubes and steam them until they are tender and chewy. The fun part comes afterwards – the steamed carrot cubes are then mixed egg yolk and fried. You might find bean sprouts thrown into the mix for added crunchiness.
Well, these are often called smelly tofu as it has a very strong smell that could turn your stomach – or not – as some people really dig the smell. Usually, you can tell the dish from miles away thanks to its smell. If you don't like how it smells like but still want to try this, you will find that the dish is quite tasty with red chilli paste.
Malaysia has a diversified culture – though not quite as diversified as some Asian countries – the diversity is often reflected in Malaysian cuisine. These Teochew kuehs were not originated in Malaysia but in China. But thanks to the Chinese population in the country you can enjoy this here too. You can buy a dish of Teochew kueh at about RM5.
At streets of Johor Bahru, you can find Muah Chee which is a favourite of everyone who grew up in Malaysia or Singapore. This is more of a snack you can have on the go. The rice dough has a delicious coat of sugared peanuts which amps up the flavour.
While places like Berjaya Waterfront Hotel offer you the fancier version, at alleyways in Malaysia, especially in Johor Bahru, you can find a somewhat cheap yet delicious version of Chwee Kueh. This is steamed rice cake with radish and chilli added to enhance the flavour. Don't forget to sample this while you are on tour!
This is the Malaysian version of a burger. Wherever you are in the country, you can gorge on a ramly burger though the taste might differ a little bit. In Johor Bahru, you can get a burger with either chicken or beef and among the other ingredients are egg, soy sauce, cabbage, chilli and margarine.
This is a soup dish you can sample anywhere in Johor Bahru. The broth smells and tastes divine, and Penang Assam Laksa is a restorative broth.
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