Kimdo BBQ, City Square

If you are on a day trip to JB and just want to stay around the checkpoint, be sure to check out this stall selling grilled food at City Square. Flanked by various stalls selling a variety of snacks ranging to local kuehs to crepes, this stall can be easily missed amidst the busy action along the narrow stretch leading into the main shopping area. In fact, we only started patronising this stall recently despite having been to City Square on countless occasions.

We loved their chicken wing, smoked duck, lady's finger and homemade chilli sauce. The chilli sauce was wickedly spicy, but we couldn't stop ourselves from dipping into it anyway as its sour tinge really whetted our appetite and went perfectly with the BBQ meat.

Our only grouse was the tight eat-in area, but the food, in our opinion, is definitely worth a try. 

Our meal of 7 skewers and a drink came up to RM 26.

And if BBQ skewers are not your thing, you can consider having some roast duck nearby too!

Travel | Hotel Once Bangkok

Throwback to our Bangkok trip early this month. 

We were there for four days, during which we stayed at Hotel Once - a quaint boutique hotel with a charming interior.

This is one of the rare few hotels that I have come across by far that looks as captivating as the pictures on its website.

Plenty of greenery adorn the entrance and reception area, which immediately relaxes one's weary soul.

The room itself was spacious, and it came with a bathtub and a rainshower head. What I loved most about the room was the round window at the far end, which instantly ratchets up the hipster factor by a few notches. It was the perfect spot to take OOTDs!

Another interesting concept of the hotel is their Time Capsule Lounge. How it works is that you can drop postcards into the boxes like the ones in the picture below, and the hotel supposedly will mail the postcards out on the respective dates. Which means that you can write a postcard to your future self - how cool is that! I thought that it is a really clever marketing technique.

My postcard.

The downside of the hotel is the not-too-convenient location (the hotel is located along the Chao Phraya River and one has to take a river taxi to the nearest BTS station - Saphan Taksin) and the poor sound system. They also seemed quite short-handed, for one of the nights there was a wedding reception and the hotel issued a note to say that room service would not be available.

Overall, it was quite a pleasant stay for us.

Travel | JB: Restoran Ya Wang 鸭皇药材烧腊大王, Jalan Dhoby and more

It was an impromptu decision to enter JB today. We were supposed to meet our ID, but I woke up to a message from him saying that he had to postpone the appointment to another day. With nothing else planned, we then decided to spend our day across the borders.

Restoran Ya Wang near City Square, whose chef served as consultant to Dian Xiao Er Singapore, has always been on my to-eat list, but we have somehow never dined there despite our countless JB trips. The timing was always wrong. The chance finally came today, and so I jumped at opportunity to have lunch there since we don't usually enter JB that early.

The restaurant is located near another popular eatery, Kam Long Curry Fish Head. From the Curry Fish Head stall, cross the road, and walk along a canal until you see Tokio Marine at a corner. Turn into the street and you will see Restoran Ya Wang just a few shops away.

The bright yellow sign was quite easy to spot from far.

Their signature herbal duck, with a surprisingly light flavour. The gravy was much more full-flavoured. The meat was not gamey, which was good, and the skin was fairly thin. Overall, I would say that it was one of the better-tasting ducks I have had, but I still prefer Dian Xiao Er's version which offers a more distinct herb flavour.

Our set for 2 pax, which cost RM 51. The rest of the dishes, in our opinion, were a tad too salty. 

Business was brisk, but the service was impeccable. While waiting for our food to arrive, the middle-aged waitress who wore her hair in a ponytail told us reassuringly that our food would be served to us soon (and we didn't even chase them for it!). She also made us feel right at home when she checked with us several times throughout our meal to see if the food was okay.

The sun hung brightly in the sky as we left the place. We headed thereafter to Jalan Dhoby and explored the area for a bit before settling down in one of the many cafes in a bid to hide from the merciless heat.

I love the packaging of my drink; it reminds me of traditional Chinese ointment bottles.

Some of the sights that caught my attention:

 A really old school bakery. Check out the furnace at the back!

Tread carefully :p

The rest of the day was spent at City Square, where we caught a movie before heading home.

If you are looking to explore beyond the checkpoint area, I recommend that you spend a day or two at Taman Mount Austin, which houses plenty of restaurants and entertainment options, including an adventure park! Have fun!

Recipe | Beer-Steamed Clams

It has been a while since we cooked at home. We attribute that to the lack of our own kitchen, and I certainly hope that we will cook more often when the new house is ready. We are still sourcing for an interior designer while waiting for our keys, so the dream of being able to cook in the comfort of a kitchen that I call my own will have to be put on hold for now.

Anyway, we managed to rack up some supermarket vouchers lately so I decided to spend it on some seafood. Today, I'll like to share a simple recipe of a clam dish that we cooked over the weekend.

Clams pair so well with beer/wine

I am partial to this dish because it looks and tastes expensive, yet requires minimal effort to make. Perfect for a party. Just remember to have on hand lots of toasted bread to soak up all the moreish sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Beer-Steamed Clams

Serves: 2-3   Prep time: 10 min   Cook time: 10 min  

Ingredients
2 tablespoon of butter
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
500g clams

3/4 can of beer (I used Lager)

Directions

1. Clean clams by pre-soaking them in cold, salted water for half an hour. 
2. Heat up oil and add butter. Saute shallots and garlic till fragrant, about 2 mins.
3. Add in clams and beer, and cover the wok. Turn off the heat when the clams open up (about 6-8 mins later depending on their size).
4. Serve with toasted bread.

Travel | Taman Mount Austin, JB: Somewhere Else to Go Besides City Square

F and I frequent JB about once in month or two due to its proximity from our homes. We would go there in the late afternoon, catch a movie and have dinner near the checkpoint, then head back to Singapore late at night when the crowds are more manageable. As we enter JB via public transport, we would limit ourselves to just City Square and the immediate surroundings. Dinner would usually be at the back alleys along Jalan Meldrum / Jalan Wong Ah Fook, which offers excellent BBQ chicken wings and oyster omelette, by the way. However, it was getting a little boring and we were keen to explore other areas.

So when we went to JB again yesterday, we decided to try somewhere new. Upon a colleague's recommendation, we set off very much earlier in the day, and headed for a mini adventure at Taman Mount Austin. 

After crossing the checkpoint, we flagged a cab at City Square (the taxi stand is located beside Levi's) to go to our destination. Traffic was relatively smooth except when we neared the town; the ride took about 30 mins and cost RM 27. The town is near Aeon Tebrau City, a mall frequented by Singaporeans.

First stop, lunch.

Our original plan was to eat at Dream Café, which I read was highly raved among patrons. But this had to be thwarted when we found out only upon reaching there that the business had ceased. Disappointment kicked in but this soon went away after we stumbled upon a gem in a restaurant a few doors away (thankfully!).

The place we decided to dine at turned out to serve utterly delicious oven-baked chicken. The chickens are supposedly organic and imported specially from Korea.

We ordered one serving of whole chicken in the store's signature original flavor, and it came with two small sides and two dips. Gloves are provided if you don't want to dirty their hands (although I think fried chicken tastes better when you eat them with your bare hands :D). The chicken was served fresh from the oven and very hot. Its skin was crispy and meat tender, perfectly done! We were really impressed as each bite was juicy. It was not oily at all as it was baked.

Prices are on the steep side though. Our meal of a whole chicken and two canned drinks cost RM 70. Note that their chickens are of a much smaller size than the regular ones you see served elsewhere such as Nando's; one whole chicken was definitely not enough for two of us. In fact, I think I could have polished it all by myself. Their menu consisted of mostly chicken in various flavours. There are limited options for other mains --- only a couple of other pastas and salads are available.

Where: Thank U Mom
             15, Jalan Austin Heights 8/4, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Other info: Wifi is available after activating the Facebook check-in function.

After a light lunch, we explored the area on foot. This is their mini town centre, so there are many shops to walk into. Food and entertainment options are aplenty. There are also a couple of lifestyle shops that you and your family can do some shopping at (think Daiso).

Ice cream for dessert.

Left: Oolong tea flavour; recommended if you love tea. The taste was light and refreshing. The crunch from the sunflower seeds gave a nice contrast from the smoothness of the ice cream.

Right: Dark chocolate; flavour was just right as it was not too cloying.

The cafe provided a good respite after much walking. A corner of the shop is set aside for the sale of a small selection of clothes from some independent designers.

Where: Softsrve

             L1-03, Block A, Academic Suite Jalan Austin Heights, Taman Mount Austin

Other info: Wifi is available.

After leaving the place, we spotted a makeshift goreng pisang stall round the corner. We would have grabbed some freshly fried bananas if not for our exploding stomachs. What a pity!

We left the town after getting some cheesecakes from Uncle Tetsu. The cakes came with a thin perforated cloth, which prevented them from drying out even after a day. Worth a try!

Where: Uncle Tetsu Mount Austin, Johor Bahru

             No. 47, Jalan Austin Height 3, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru

All in all, we spent about half a day just exploring the area leisurely. We reckon that the place is good for a 2D1N holiday, as there are many places around the area which we did not have time to try. I love places like this, where the rows of shop-houses give an area so much character, unlike malls were everything seems too neat and sterilised.

The place is near the Austin Heights Water & Adventure Park, which we are aiming to visit the next time round. There is also an escape game to keep visitors busy.

Till the next holiday!