Johor Bahru is just a 10-min train ride for me, but I have not been there for over 20 years. I used to go there during my younger days for the cheap and good food and entertainment.
Johor Bahru, affectionately known as JB, is the closest city to Singapore, but the hassle to cross the borders (yes, two countries and you need your passport to clear immigration) has turned me away from all the good food and cheap entertainment and shopping.
亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸 Ah Koong Restaurant started in 1975 in a coffeeshop in Taman Sentosa by Mr Tan Ooi Koong. AK Noodle House is started in 2008 by his son and adopted a modern approach (central kitchen, machine made, franchise, halal certification), while staying true to retain the recipe of making authentic fishballs only from fresh wolf-herring fish (locally known as Ikan Parang).
They are famous for their fish balls – minced fish meat shaped like balls. Many Singaporeans would drive to their Taman Sentosa store for a quick meal before heading to many KTVs and pubs in that area. And with the same minced fish meat, they would produce a variety of yong tau foo items (different ingredients stuffed with minced fish).
AK Noodles House uses ingredients from their factory, so it felt like I bought the ingredients from Sheng Song (a local supermarket in Singapore, which BTW sells their products) and cooking them with my laksa recipe.
And unlike Singapore laksa, they do not put in Vietnamese mint (aka laksa leaves) or blood cockles. I would normally order their other favourite among Singaporeans – the fresh oysters lightly blanched in fish stock.
I would scoop them out and put them in the laksa, and they tasted so good. And they were quite generous in the portion too.
Johoreans would complain that Singaporeans brought the inflation into their hometown. I would not deny that MYR 35 (~SGD 10) for a bowl of laksa is quite expensive by local standards. But these days you can’t get that quality of fish balls and quantity in Singapore without paying more than that. So what going on in HK-Shenzhen is also true with Singapore-JB.
For my friends who asked me is it worth buying JB properties, do take note that there’s a border crossing. However, if that does not “border” you, then you are in for a place that is significantly more affordable than Singapore for the time being before inflation sets in.
AK Noodles House @ Johor Bahru City Square
Lot J2-12, Level2, 106-108, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Tel : +60 7-207 0898
Visited Sep 2024
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