Restoran Yi Bao Mee Hun Kueh (順利麵粉粿) - Chilli is the game changer to the food!

• Operating Hours: 9.30AM to 7.30PM
• Operating Days: Daily except on Thursdays
• Address: 5, Jalan Maju, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru, 80400
• Food I had: Mee Hun Kueh

There are many Mee Hun Kueh stalls in JB, and today, I would like to introduce one of my favorite stalls. It was a lazy Sunday and since we didn't have any plan, we drove into Johor Bahru to hunt for food.

The Chinese name of this stall is not the usual translation from its English name, therefore please take note of the shop name if you are taking a cab down!

It was really humid when we were there, but the shop is really well ventilated though it is not air conditioned. They have many fans installed at strategic locations, which is just right for eating Mee Hun Kueh. Personally, I feel that this is one of the plus points of this shop as I seldom see that in many stores, not even in Singapore. So, thumbs up to them!

Unlike most of the restaurants, they do not have any menu on the table or for their customers. You will need to look at the wall for the type of food they serve, and it was all written in Mandarin. A simple translation is as follow:

On the left;

面粉粿 - Mee Hun Kueh

板面 - Ban Mee

幼面 - You Mee

面线 - Mee Sua

米粉 - Bee Hoon

肉汤 - Meat Soup

粥 - Porridge

On the right;

江鱼仔 - Fried anchovies

加菜 - Add vegetable

凉茶 - Herbal tea

薏米水 - Barley drink

酸甘酸梅 - Sweet sour plum drink

罐装水 - Canned drink

One of the key factors for a good bowl of Mee Huh Kueh include the special sauce they had premix for you to mix it into the noodle. It's a mixture of red chili, green chili with lots of chili seeds in sight. It was stingingly spicy when tasted it by itself. 

The noodles were machine cut, there were fried anchovies, sliced and minced meat, egg, and Sweet leaf Bush aka 玛尼菜, it does look like leaves pluck out from trees but it's edible which is a good source of vitamin K.

The soup looks clear but it was refreshingly sweet, which I could taste the noodle and the meat in the soup itself. The noodle, however, is machine made, so the uniformed shape, size, and thickness are going to be the same, which other shop does still keep the tradition of pulling the noodle themselves.

And do not forget to eat them with the chili, it will really enhance the taste, it brought up the taste of the soup and the noodle to another level.

There was two type of meats - sliced and minced meat, they both do have a different type of tenderness although both had the taste, I preferred the sliced as you bite into it, you would feel the meat sliced direction.

And whats hidden right below beneath the soup is a soft boiled egg, be careful not to stir the noodle too fast as it might break the egg, or if you preferred to mix the whole egg with the soup.

This place will always be one of my top Mee Hun Kueh shops to visit as their chili is really my top reason why I kept coming back to this shop for more.

Penang Rojak in JB - Motorbike selling Rojak with Sticky sauce filling up fruits and you tiao.

• Operating Hours: Mon to Tues (12.30PM to 4 PM) & Wed to Sun (12.30PM to 5 PM), close on Thur
• Address: 3-7, Jalan Maju, Taman Maju Jaya, 80400
• Food I had: Penang Rojak

Rojak is a Malay traditional food with vegetable and fruits.Rojak means "mixture".

No matter Singapore or Malaysia, you can see rojak almost everywhere. Had tried a lot of places and nowhere yet able to beat this Rojak stall that I am introducing.

This motorcycled stall's opposite Restoran Yi Bao Mee Hun Kueh.

 From the owner, he prepares the sauce, fruits and you tiao in the morning to ensure they are all fresh.

You might see some would eat and stand by his stall or waiting to take away order. You can request to separate the sauce from the food or ask him to mix it for you if you asked him to mix, it's recommended to eat it immediately, else just separate it, they will give u 2 packets, one would be the sauce another would be crushed peanuts.

They were packed in this plastic container and was given 2 satay sticks to eat on the spot. I requested for all you tiao, you can request it from the owner.

Take note do not to stir the food as it will make all the food soggy. So just eat as how it is, no need to mix it. The sauce is very sweet with a mixture of sugar, crushed peanuts, prawn paste and something unique about this sauce - Maltose is added so the sauce is very gluey feeling. It was really a perfect match. The sauce was so good I can even use my tongue to dig out all the sauce clean.

Ramenplay (拉麵玩家) - First time having pork cheek

• Operating Hours: 11 AM to 10 PM
• Operating Days: Daily
• Address: 30 Tai Seng Street #01-03 S(534013)
• How to get there: Tai Seng MRT, take exit B and walk about 5 mins.
• Food I had: Pork Yakiniku Tonkotsu Ramen, Toroniku Ramen, Chicken Gyoza

Was going to Changi but we drove passed Breadtalk HQ and was thinking why not have our dinner there? So we went over without knowing what to eat. We reached the dining area and we saw RamenPlay that we have not tried yet, so why not? 

It was 9.30PM and there were expectedly no crowds.

There was an ongoing promotion where you order a ramen and top up additional $4 to have a side with a drink.

Toroniku Ramen, Toroniku means pork cheek. This is one of RamenPlay’s recommended dish on the menu. I loved the firm texture of the ramen, it is very similar texture as wanton mee, hard yet chewy once bite.

The pork cheek in this dish was surprisingly very soft until it nearly melts in your mouth, but I do not like the slight burnt taste of the meat, and that burnt taste does blend into the soup which does not make the soup better. If there was no burnt taste, the broth would be much tasteful.

I have always love Japanese soft boiled egg, and Ramenplay did not fail my expectation on the egg. The yoke was very juicy, gluey and full of taste, if you eat it with the soup it will taste much better.

Next was Pork Yakiniku Ramen, Yakiniku means grilled meat. it reminds me of Yoshinoya, the taste was exactly it. The noodle having the constant texture, the difference is the soup, which does have a much sweeter in taste compared to Toroniku Ramen, but this soup does not have the burnt taste so I can conclude that its the burnt pork cheek that spoil the soup.

We ordered a set and 3 gyoza presented to us, with sesame sauce at the side. If you love gyoza or any fried dumpling dim sum, you will love this. The minced chicken meat wrapped in crispy dumpling skin. The skin was fried to the point where the skin was crispy but preserved the juice and tenderness of the meat.

RamenPlay has a lot of items offered on the menu even Shabu Shabu. There were so many other Japanese Ramen stores these days, you could give it a try with their ramen (hope their pork cheek is not burnt) especially their gyoza. After tried out their dishes here, I will return for their food over here to have an affordable Japanese cuisine as compared to others.

Ramenplay does have other stores around Singapore, Bedok Mall, JEM, Novena Square, and Resorts World Sentosa. Do comment if they do really taste differently.