Food, Glorious Food!: Special JB Edition II (ZZ Sup Tulang, ABC Kg. Melayu, I.T Roo, Warung Siput Sedut Wak Dol)

When I was in Penang two weekends ago, I tweeted the various food and food places I tried and went to, which got a lot of attention. While most people salivated over the kuey teow and nasi kandar I had, one person though remarked that Penang couldn't compare with JB in terms of being the king of cuisines. Well, I'm a JB-ian, so I can't possibly refute that. But I must say that Penang is a pretty delicious place. And I can't deny that I still think about the many lip-smacking goodies Penang has to offer.

But let me leave the Penang vs JB debate to your goodselves. Instead, allow me to bring to you a 2nd Edition of "Food, Glorious Food" featuring JB. I balik-ed kampung this past long weekend, and here's my verdict on more great makan places around town. Drooling, as usual, is optional...

Our first stop was ZZ Sup Tulang at Jalan Petrie. It's a bit tricky to find, but once you're in that Jalan Petrie/Jalan Mariamah area, you can't really miss it. But don't expect a proper restaurant and all, cos the joint sits on a piece of land with a jungl-y feel to it. The huts and gazebos allow you to have proper seats as you suck on the sup tulang or sit "bersila"-style.

On to the food now. As the name of the place suggests, the specialty here is the sup tulang. And apparently you can have it at any time of day. It's really good, and comes with a straw so you won't miss a single bit of the fatty stuff.

BUT even more special here is the mee rebus tulang! I mean, two great cuisines combined and you get a meal two times the awesomeness. Just have a look lah...

The trick is to really savour every bite and slurp. I must say that the mee rebus is not as good as Haji Wahid's but it's a hundred times better than most other imitators.

Other specialties here include the bubur nasi and laksa Johor which I'll surely try the next time around. We did though sample some otak-otak and it was good as expected, despite being a tad too spicy.

Next up: the food court at Kampung Melayu. If you didn't know already, I was born here. And it's been a while since I roamed about the neighbourhood, which hasn't changed much, really. Only that some houses that looked old 20 years ago, look old-er now : ) .

Anyway, the food court is known for a slew of delectable offerings. Be warned though that cleanliness is not quite the priority here, so it's better that you just enjoy the food here and NEVER EVER sneak a peek at the kitchens. Hehe.

Since we were quite full then, dessert was the priority. And none more famous here than the Azmie Wawa ABC. We ordered the regular and special ones...

Holy moly, right? It will take some time to go through the pile of icy goodness and as for the taste, it was a mixed review, really. If you're a fan of minimalist ABC, this version might be too overpowering and over-indulgent, especially with the thick chocolate sauce on top, but personally, I liked it!

What also hit the spot for me was the yong tau fu. Took a sip of the soup and a world of memories came flooding back. It had the taste of my childhood as yong tau fu was one of the things my late father would buy came pay day as a treat. It tasted exactly how I remembered it. Nice.

OK, now on to some western food. Yup, classic western food. And this place, I.T Roo Cafe apparently serves the best of a Malaysian favourite, the chicken chop.

Situated at Jalan Dhoby (a road most Johoreans would snigger at when mentioned), this is one of those old cafes that been's been around since forever. They've made it a point NOT to make it look too modern, and what I also liked about the place was the many nostalgic photos plastered on the walls. Retro's the way to go here.

The recognition of "Best Chicken Chop in JB" was actually given by The Star in 2003, so is it still the best around today? We ordered two types of chicken chop; the fried chicken chop with black pepper sauce, and the girlled chicken chop with mushroom sauce.

And I'm happy to report that both chicken chops actually hit the spot! Both the chicken were grilled and fried to perfection and the sauces were faultless.  

I also looked up foursqaure for some tips and many said the local dishes were good as well. Tried the mee mamak, and it wasn't bad at all.

Up next, we wanted to try some Thai food as well. An odd choice when you're in JB but we saw this place Terra Thai on the way to ZZ Sup Tulang earlier and decided we just had to try it.

Located at Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad, you can't really miss the place as the signboards are sufficient and the 1930s bungalow that houses Terra Thai are lit-up well at night.

We were greeted with warm smiles as we walked in and were pleasantly surprised by the nice, yet understated interior. And I must say that the service here is first class. The waiters can actually recommend dishes and are always attentive.

We ordered a few of the more popular dishes including the tom yam, ikan dua rasa, somtam, beef and pineapple fried rice.

The tomyam resulted in smoke coming out of our ears but we couldn't get enough of it. Haha. And the rest of the dishes came across as authentic as well, indicated by the sweat that continued to pour down my face throughout the entire meal.

And finally before we left for home, we just had to make a stop at this famous nasi campur place in Kg. Pasir, Warung Siput Sedut Wak Dol, famous for its (what else?) siput sedut cili api.

It's been around for 20 years, and I guess they're just comfortable being there at the old premises that hasn't deterred people from all walks of life flocking over for the food come lunch time.

It's a very kampung and authentic malay makan experience as you serve your own rice and pick whatever lauk you want including ikan bakar, ulam, asam pedas and other types of vege.

The siput sedut here is totally awesome and having it with a side of ikan bakar and steaming hot rice was just perfect. And lucky for me, the warung owners are also fans of MHI, and we left with an extra pack of siput sedut, on the house!

So, planning a trip down to JB now? : )