Another visit to Food Republique at Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru.

This is my second visit to Food Republique (N1.48435 E103.77502) since Jan 2011 which was more than two years ago...
Everything looks the same, but we surprised by the taste of the foods which are much much better than before...

The cafe setting same as it...

I like these yellow hanging lighting display very much, it created the warm & relax atmosphere within...

We had 3 starters, 1 soup and 4 main course for the dinner...

1)  Nachos served with special sauce
2)  Italian Bruschetta
3)  Fried Polenta
4)  Chicken Clam Chowder
5)  Grilled Chicken Chop
6)  Cameralized Cheesy Cheese Bacon Burger
7)  Pan Fried Milked Fish
8)  Texas Honey Glazed Australia Beef Ribs

Nachos served with special sauce

These Nachos were handmade from the Chef - Ben. It was crunchy and went well with the special sauce from Food Republique.

Italian Bruschetta

Cube size of summer tomatoes, fresh garden basil and garlic presented on top of the crunchy biscuit. It had a little bit of sourness and taste good for an appetizers!

Italian Bruschetta

Fried Polenta is one of our friend's Favorite, it's an Italian corn meal fried to perfection. It was crispy from the outer skin and soft, flavorful inside, I tasted with and without the homemade sauce...both perfect! Don't miss this appetizer!

Fried Polenta

After taken the apprtizers, we had another flavorful soup - Chicken Clam Chowder. Rich creamy chicken and clams loaded with potatoes in the clams base soup. Another surprised for us! The finely chopped clams mixed well with the creamy chicken soup...I like it!

Chicken Clam Chowder

After a short break, the main courses started to presented on our table one-by-one...

The first was the Grilled Chicken Chop.

Grilled Chicken Chop

The plate of Grilled Chicken Chop served with the US Russet Potato Fries, Roasted vege and the homemade spicy black pepper sauce. The chicken was well marinated with the special seasoning, nice char with the herbs and succulent inside! And the homemade sauce played the big part of the dish, Delicious!

The homemade spicy black pepper sauce

The taste was nice and difficult to described by words, with the good combination of the char outer skin and the juicy chicken inside. You have to try this if you are a chicken chop lover.

Followed by the Cameralized Cheesy Cheese Bacon Burger.

Cameralized Cheesy Cheese Bacon Burger

The big size Burger served with the US Russet Potato Fries and corn. It was a total different experience on the burger! As for me, my experience with burgers only from the fast food restaurant and the Malay stall along the street...but this was totally new experience for me! The patty was well prepared and mixed well with the bacon, I like the moment when chewing on the char grilled bacon! Mr Ben told me before, they serve a varieties of nice burger. And my friend also noticed me that one of the very nice burger - Honey Glazed Burger which is off the menu too...
Excellent!

The bacon in the burger...

The Cheese, Bacon and the patty

Next, the Pan Fried Milked Fish.

Pan Fried Milked Fish

The butter fish dipped into their special seasoned and lightly flour patted, pan fried with the perfect timing. Served with mashed potatoes and roasted mixed vegetables.

Pan Fried Milked Fish

The fish was really juicy inside with the mouthful of butter flavor! Beside that, it went well with the spices outside and it was another delicious dish serve by Food Republique!

Texas Honey Glazed Australia Beef Ribs. This was the dish we were waiting for...

Texas Honey Glazed Australia Beef Ribs

The ribs served in about 600-700 grams, it's good for 2-3 persons. The ribs were grilled with the Texas sauce, tender inside and slightly sweet. You have to try the 2 different way which are...with and without the sauce. Some part of the ribs was dry because of its shape that the heat hardly reach to every part of it, but...it's time that you can compromise with the sauce...

This was also my first time trying on the beef ribs with Texas sauce, Marvelous!
It is a dish you cannot miss when visiting Food Republique in Taman Pelangi.

We will definitely be come back often to try their new dishes from the new menu. Do drop by if you just around the corner, you might fall in love with the dishes serve by Food Republique.

Food Republique

72, Jalan Kuning,

Taman Pelangi,

80400 Johor Bahru.

Tel : +607-3311718

https://www.facebook.com/foodrepublique

GPS Coordinates : N1.48435 E103.77502

Location map of Food Republique Cafe at Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru.

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Kampua Mee 干盘麵 from Intat Restaurant at Taman Indahpura, Kulaijaya.

The Intat Restaurant 运达茶餐室 (N1.64242 E103.61460) is located at Jalan Kenanga 29/17 of Taman Indahpura, Kulaijaya. The restaurant is behind the back row of shop lots which do not facing the main road, and it's take time to search for it sometime...

Intat Restaurant

The shop is a simple and traditional Chinese kopitiam style, and they are popular with the Kampua mee 干盘麵 and Sarawak laksa. The owner said they started the business since 12 years ago...

The environment of Intat Restaurant

The Kampua mee is originated from the Fu Chow of Sibu - Sarawak. It's a bit similar with the local wan tan mee (云吞麵), similar topping...but the noodle is more eggy, hard and springy. Normally the Kampua mee is serve with minced pork, BBQ pork and shallots with dark soy sauce. But the version from Intat Restaurant was slightly different where they added some crunchy roasted pork on it, we like it very much!

Kampua mee (noodle) originated from Sibu - Sarawak

Beside the Kampua mee, we also won't miss out the Sarawak Laksa which also selling from the same shop.
The different with Sarawak laksa and local JB laksa is the gravy without Santan (coconut milk), and it taste with mild curry flavor. Normally the laksa serve in yellow noodle or mee-hoon (vermicelli) with prawns, bean sprouts, fish cake and eggs. The taste was above average, I like they serve the laksa in the clay pot where the heat is maintain until the last drop! It's another dish worth trying!

Sarawak Laksa from Intat Restaurant

I would like to thanks the Gourmet group from Facebook - 吃的平台 where I got the information from, and thanks to Joell Choo too.

Do try out if you happen in Taman Indahpura of Kulaijaya, it may suit your taste bud! :)

Intat Restaurant 运达茶餐室
531, Jln Kenanga 29/17,
Tmn Indahpura.
Kulaijaya
7am - 5pm daily
GPS Coordinates : N1.64242 E103.61460

Location map of Intat Restaurant at Taman Indahpura, Kulaijaya - Johor.

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Full Varieties of Chinese Traditional Kueh and Snacks - MIn Corner 民糕点 at Tmn Tun Aminah, Skudai - Johor Bahru.

If you are the Chinese Traditional kueh lover, you shouldn't miss this Ming Corner - 民糕点 (N1.52204 E103.66411) located at Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah. The shop provide full varieties of kueh start from 11am till 8pm everyday except Monday.

Ming Corner - 民糕点

The dining area is air-conditioning that where you can enjoy your snacks in a comfy and clean area. The shop was packed with customers during our visit. According to the owner, the peak hour is between 3-6pm everyday where most of the customers having their tea break here...

The comfort environment of Min Corner

There is a long cabinet that arrange all kind of kuehs on the right side once you step into the shop...you can find almost 80-90% of the available kuehs in Southern Malaysia in this shop.

The all kind of kuehs in Min Corner 民糕点

The popular 'Teo Chew' kueh

The mangkuang kueh - my favorite!

The popular Tambun biscuit from the North also available here...

We tried some of the kuehs and the snacks from the shop, I wish I can try all of it, but I only have one stomach...

So we chose some of the popular kuehs (above) and...

Some of the snacks (above)...which I cannot remember the name of it.

Not all the kuehs sell here are perfect, some of them were taste above average and some were not...maybe it because of the regular customers taste which are different from us...but the prices are very reasonable. Beside the Dong Hong Trading 东鸿糕粿 which I blogged before, this will be the next shop worth the visit if you are staying around Skudai area.

Min Corner 民糕点

110, Jln Pahlawan 2,
Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai, Johor.

Tel : +6012-7681573
Operation hour : 11am - 8pm
Close on Monday
GPS Coordinates : (N1.52204 E103.66411)

Location map of Min Corner at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai - Johor Bahru.

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Feel the Vietnam! At Saigon Cafe, Taman Gaya - Johor Bahru.

Xin chào buổi tối !

Are you a Việt Nam Cuisine lover? If yes, now you can enjoy the Vietnamese dishes in Taman Gaya of Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru. The restaurant named Saigon Cafe (N1.56275 E103.80035) which located along Jalan Sasa 1, Taman Gaya.

Saigon Cafe at Taman Gaya

It has a simple and comfort setup in the cafe and serve varieties of Vietnam dishes. The cafe is operating by a couple where the owner is local and his wife is originally from Vietnam.

The simple and comfort setting of the cafe

I heard about the popular Vietnam beef noodle long time ago and till now only has the chance to try it out, I'm excited!

The lady boss took our order in a polite way...
Our the order below...
*  Cao lầu 凉拌麵 (Vietnamese rice noodle)
*  Pho (Vietnam beef/chicken soup noodle)
*  Bánh mì (French Loaf with braised pork)
*  Cà phê nâu đá (Vietnamese Coffee)

Cao lầu 凉拌麵 (Vietnamese rice noodle)

"Cao lầu is a regional Vietnamese dish made with noodles, pork, and greens and is only found in the town of Hội An, in the Quang Nam Province of central Vietnam. Its unique taste is rumoured to be contributed by the water from an undisclosed ancient Cham well just outside of the town."

The Cao lầu 凉拌麵 (Vietnamese rice noodle) was served in cold, that was the First surprise! It had an unique taste and we felt the crunchy-ness while in our mouth. It has peanuts, bean sprout, green vege, fried bean curd, rice noodles and others ingredients.

Pho (Vietnam beef/chicken soup noodle)

"Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles, a few herbs, and meat. It is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. Pho is primarily served with either beef or chicken. The Hanoi and Saigon styles of pho differ by noodle width, sweetness of broth, and choice of herbs."

We had a the 'Beef' Pho, the broth cooked with few type of spices which produced a special taste of it and the beef was tender and succulent. The Vietnamese soup noodle might not suit everyone taste bud because of the different feeling of beef soup compare with local version. For me, I like it!

Bánh mì (French Loaf with braised pork)

"Bánh mì is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread. Bread, or more specifically the baguette, was introduced by the French during its colonial period. The bread most commonly found in Vietnam is a single serving baguette, therefore the term bánh mì is synonymous with this type of bread. The bánh mì is usually more airy than its western counterpart, so as a result, has a thinner crust."

Their 'homemade' French loaf was tender and nice! It provided the different texture once you bite on it, the tasty braised pork went well with the fresh vegetables and the loaf. We love this "Bánh mì" very much!

Cà phê nâu đá (Vietnamese Coffee)

"Vietnamese iced coffee, also known as Ca phe da or cafe da (Vietnamese: cà phê đá, literally "ice coffee") is a traditional Vietnamese coffee recipe. At its simplest, Ca phe da is made with finely ground Vietnamese-grown dark roast coffee individually brewed with a small metal French drip filter (cà phê phin) into a cup containing about a quarter to a half as much sweetened condensed milk, stirred and poured over ice."

As usual, we will order the Vietnamese coffee when visit a Vietnamese restaurant. We had a hot and black coffee that day. The coffee was thick with a pure perfect aroma and everyone of us like it! The only disadvantage was...you have to be 'patient' while it dripping drop-by-drop...:)

Overall the meals were "thơm ngon!" ("Delicious" in Vietnamese). The services was good with the polite staffs, the prices are reasonable. There are still many dishes that we cannot finish by one visit, that means we have to come back for few more times to enjoy the Delicious Vietnamese Cuisine from Saigon Cafe!

Tôi sẽ được trở lại!
 ("i will be back" in Vietnamese)

Saigon Cafe

112, Jalan Gaya 1, Taman Gaya,

Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru

Tel : +607-8635892

Operating hours : 8.30am - 6.30pm

Close on alternate Monday.
GPS Coordinates : N1.56275 E103.80035

Location map of Saigon Cafe at Taman Gaya, Johor Bahru.

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Kim Long Curry Fish Head 金龙咖哩鱼头 along Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi - Johor Bahru.

In Taman Pelangi, there's a popular Clay pot curry fish head restaurant which is packed with peoples most of the time, the place mentioned is Kim Long Curry Fish Head Restaurant 金龙咖哩鱼头 (N1.48279 E103.77546). The restaurant is located along Jalan Kuning of Tmn Pelangi which is opposite the Kim Kopitiam. This is the second outlet where the First outlet is located at Jalan Wong Ah Fook in Johor Bahru town.

Kim Long Curry Fish Head 金龙咖哩鱼头

The reason we chose this outlet is because the restaurant operate from afternoon till night and with better environment, despite the majority reviews said the first outlet is taste much more better than this...

The restaurant has 2 dining area, indoor and outdoor. But the outdoor are just merely 2-3 tables along the corridor...we picked the corridor table.

The clay pot curry fish head serve in small, medium and large sizes depends on request from customer. We ordered a small size for 2 persons.

Kim Long clay pot Curry Fish Head

Once the lid lifted from the clay pot, the nice curry aroma was wafted around as usual. The other ingredients served together in the clay pot was young lady fingers and cowpea.

The flavorful curry fish head was slightly different from the one we had in Cedar Point, the level of the lemak (coconut milk) was much more lower and the curry powder taste more stronger, and spicy too! I felt the curry more oily, but it kept the heat very well till we finished... the fish was fresh, tender and moist. We enjoyed the nice curry on a raining evening...such a perfect timing for us!

There are a few popular and famous curry fish head around JB, I still haven't try all of them yet, despite the positive and negative reviews online, I'll still visit all of them in the coming future because I love 'curry'...Kim Long is another version of the Curry Fish Head originally from Johor Bahru, maybe you will like it. Try it out!

Kim Long Curry Fish Head 金龙咖哩鱼头

51 & 53, Jln Kuning,
Tmn Pelangi,Johor Bahru
Tel : 07-3333168
Business hour : 3.30pm - 10.30pm
Off Tuesday

GPS Coordinates : N1.48279 E103.77546

Location map of Kim Long Curry Fish 金龙咖哩鱼头 along Jln Kuning, Taman Pelangi.

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Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室 at Taman Musyi Ibrahim, Skudai - Johor Bahru

Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室 (N1.51318 E103.68936) is located at the Jalan Besar of Taman Munsyi Ibrahim at Skudai, Johor Bahru. The restaurant was swifted from Tampoi area to here since June 0f 2012, and their food business had run for almost 3 decades until now. The restaurant is popular with their home cook style of Teow Chew Cuisine.

One of my friend strongly recommend us to try out the 'Black Bean Paste Fish Head', and advised us not to visit during the peak hour because of the over crowded situation.

Ing Kee Restaurant at Tmn Munsyi Ibrahim

The operating by their family, once we got our table...the son (I think) politely came to took the order from us.
The order :-
*  Black Bean paste fish head 豆瓣酱(豉汁）鱼头
*  Bitter gourd cooked with pork ribs 苦瓜炒排骨
*  Cowpea cooked with roasted pork 豇豆炒烧肉
*  Stir fried vegetables

Black bean paste fish head 豆瓣酱鱼头

The black bean paste fish head was served with rich flavor of fermented bean paste with dried bean curd, the tantalising aroma completes the succulent flesh of this perfect dish. The traditional cooking method is very difficult to find nowadays, where you can taste the home cooking style back to 70s...

Bitter gourd cooked with pork ribs 苦瓜炒排骨

The bitter gourd was fresh and the tender pork ribs was not over cooked. This dish was well flavored! I like the gravy very much!

Cowpea cooked with roasted pork 豇豆炒烧肉

Yet another tasty dish that you cannot miss! The cowpea (豇豆) was served in the right timing and the roasted pork was excellent! This dish was slightly salty, but it went well with plain rice.
The Damage : RM70 for 5 persons included drinks. Reasonable and value for the dishes!

They have another branches or outlet located at Shahbandar area of TUTA (Taman Ungku Tun Aminah) which serve equivalent tasty foods too!
It's worth the visit especially for the Teow Chew Cuisine lover, I'll encourage my friends to try out even you are not familiar with Teow Chew cuisine.

We were satisfied with the meals and will be back for more from this Extraordinary Teow Chew Cuisine - Ing Kee Restuarant!

Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室

68, Jalan Besar,
Tmn Munsyi Ibrahim,
Skudai, Johor Bahru.

Operating hour : 11am - 3.30pm, 5pm - 9pm

Close on Tuesday

GPS Coordinates : N1.51318 E103.68936

Location map of Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室 at Skudai - Johor Bahru.

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