Restaurant Hwa Mei Bak Kut Teh, 40 yrs of taste 华美肉骨茶

Restaurant Hwa Mei

There are so many Good taste BKT in Johor, but a few fit my taste bud. Hwa Mei is one of the few that managed to keep my mind on him every time that i was in JB town in the morning. Now the name of the restaurant is confusing. I would think that it should be called Hwa Mei, instead of Mei Hwa. as Old chinese word reading is always from right to left (reverse when compare to english reading). I am confusing is because searching in internet most of the netizen called this restaurant as Hwa mei. Anyway we are referring to the same restaurant.

Hwa Mei already has more than 40 yrs of running business and is still here. although they had changed the "management team" (I actually mean the cashier), original tau keh nio (Lady Boss) has already passed away due to cancer (My condolence). But the chef uncle always with a white singlet (Bruce Lee style) is still there healthy and cooking. So rest assure that as per my title Original taste for 40 yrs is still here.

Environment in this restaurant is always cosy, this shop is located under a big old tree and windy spot, so you can imagine you don't need air-cond to keep yourself cosy in this place.
Its BKT is cooked using charcoal, and the whole restaurant is filled with mild aromatic smell of charcoal.
In terms of service it has actually gotten better since changes of management, it is now managed by their relative on the cashier and service side.
I would rate a 'B' on its cleanliness. The staff working there is also very friendly :)

It is a bowl type BKT, they managed to keep the tenderness of the pork and you can which part of the pork that you like.
It has a very tasty broth - strong sauce taste, but not heavy taste. taste Best when you are having your "Brunch"

Remember to always order a pot of hot tea when having BKT, Tea is said to be helpful on lowering your blood cholesterol. as BKT is consider high cholesterol food. eg: eating satay with cucumber.

Restaurant Hwa Mei 华美肉骨茶
146, Jalan Lumba Kuda
80300, Johor Bahru 
Johor
Operating hour: 10-2pm

Off days : unknown but open on weekend

Pls remember to support us by clicking like at FB website here and follow us on twitter.

Google maps Location as per below. I cant pin point the exact location. you might need to ask the locals there if you cant locate the shop. Good luck! 

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Ah Lek Bak Kut Teh (Johor Jaya) 亚历肉骨茶

Ah Lek Bak Kut Teh (Tmn Johor Jaya) 

Today i am recommending my top No 1 Favourite Bak Kut Teh (BKT). Ah Lek Bak Kut Teh, The boss had been selling bak kut teh since i was kid which means at least 20 yrs. previously he is located in taman Sentosa. about ten yrs ago they had moved here to Tmn Johor Jaya.

They are selling per bowl BKT since long time ago. I love the taste very much that i had it almost every sunday morning, if you going there to eat on sunday morning you have a very big chance of meeting me there haha.

They had win numerous compliment from professional gourmet reviewer such as Ah Hong from Taiwan, Kuang Ming Newspaper. They had even win top 5 Johor's BKT contest (i forgot who is the judge could be ah hong or ??).

What  is so special about this Ah Lek BKT? Must order in this place

1. Bak Kut Teh - strong in Herbal and Pepper taste, apart of the spice taste, most importantly it's soup is brewed for few hour of pig bone. thus it also has a tasty aroma soup! Must take note that sometime the pork is a bit too hard, I normally will request them to give me tender meat. 
2. Braised Pig Leg - Apart from it's Top rated BKT, this is another No 1 Best selling dish. I would boast they had the best Braised pig leg i ever had till now. 
3. Salty Vegetable - I love this dish very much too! 
4. a pot of Tie Guan Yin Chinese tea. 

at least 2 person to eat then you can have it all! 

There is also 1 more thing that i like this restaurant very much is the staff working there. all is their family members and relative. thus i always get very friendly serving service. if you are an regular, they even could remember what is your style of eating, such as drinks, and are you still waiting for your friend etc. unlike other's shop that their assistance has already replaced by vietnamese or bangladesh. If you understand what i meant. 

Bowl BKT 

Braised Pig Leg

Salty Vegetable

Braised pig leg

BKT in progress

pot of salty Vegetable

Various compliment badge

BKT in progress

Friendly auntie

Ah Lek Bak Kut Teh

No 49, Jalan Teratai 2, 

Tmn Johor Jaya

Working Hour: 8AM - 2PM

Off day on thursday and friday.

Pls remember to support us by clicking like at FB website here and follow us on twitter.

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Eating BKT in Kiang Kee Bak Kut Tea - Kota Tinggi 强记早市肉骨茶

If you are thinking where and what to eat in Kota Tinggi, Try this very famous Bak Kut Teh. "强记早市肉骨茶 Kiang Kee Bak Kut Tea" 

This Kiang Kee BKT is a very famous BKT in Kota Tinggi, 

Kota Tinggi (KT) is located about 40km from North East of Johor Bahru. Travelling from JB town to KT will takes about 40 mins without traffic jam. the road to KT is always free of traffic, so no worries about that. however this shop is located at the farthest side of KT. it will took nearly 1 hour to travel to here from JB. 

Though Far yet it did not deter the BKT lovers to travel far to had their meal here. 

I can assure of that! as i am one of these BKT Lovers, 45min travel in the morning for breakfast is actually not so bad when the country road you pass by has lots of trees and palm trees. to me, it is just like a picnic in weekend for a relaxing and sense of fulfillment of breakfast is worth it! 

The main patron for this restaurant is local from KT, Passer by from JB and Singaporeans that is going to Desaru, Kota Tinggi Waterfall, Mersing and Endau Rompin. everytime we passed by we will definitely drop by and had a breakfast before continuing our adventure on other places. 

  

This shop has been in business for more than 20 years i bet. heard about stories that in the early years instead of using pork they use wild boar meat that they hunted near their house to cook BKT! 

That is so cool and Interesting ingredient! but ... no more now.. wild boar meat is hard to hunt nowadays even in Kota Tinggi and if replacing pork with wild boar meat will definitely sent the bill up to the sky. 

Business hour here is starting from 7.30am till he sold out (Roughly around 11.30am) if it was weekend be prepared that it will sold out earlier! 

Today i arrived at 8.30 am (yeah i am a early bird i thought!). Day Dreaming!! i have to wait around 20 minutes to grab a table for me and my friend. 

The restaurant is too crowded! by that time almost 30-40 table is fully occupied. so i have to wait for people to finish their food before we can have a sit. 

but no problem, you can order your food first before you found a table. 

then once you found a table there will be a number for the table which is hang on the roof. go and update the owner / waiter of the number they will sent the food to your table there. 

what should we order? 

Needless to say, 1st thing is BKT, then Braised Pork Leg, Ham Choi, and lastly a pot of chinese tea "Hao Cha" "好茶".  

1.     BKT - here is a clay pot style, serve Boiling in the clay pot, it has a Strong taste of Herbs which i guess is the same recipe years ago to cook wild boar meat (as wild boar meat has a very heavy wild taste) and yes, it definitely taste good proven by the crowded there! it was served together with mushroom & fried tau kee and 3 layer meat (三辰肉 a description for chinese for 3 layer Skin, Fat, and meat). Verdict = Yum Yum and very tasty! worth every KM for the travelling! 

2.     We also Ordered Braised Pig Leg - Verdict = taste nice but not fantastic, i give 3.5 star for this. tenderness of the meat is just nice, but my pot meat is just too fat.. not perfect :(.  

3.     Fried Tau Fu pok - it is a type of food fried Tau fu skin till crispy if you understand what i meant. Verdict = of course Fried Tau Fu Pok is very tasty as it absorb the soup in to it and haha just nice :) think also hungry... 

4.     a pot of pepper pork nerve - they picked out parts of the pig with nerve and slice it to very slim pieces, it give a very good feel of chewing, the soup of the pepper taste is not too strong. Verdict =i will give it 4 Star. Must try! i yet try it before elsewhere. 

5.     a pot of Chinese Tea - "Hao Cha" - i din know what type of tea is that, asked also just simply answer me with a grin "Hao Cha Loh" zzz, this boss is so cocky. but when you drink... i also started to grin :). now this tea is special, really cant recognize it's taste.. i bet there must be some mix among a few types of tea leave. the most special parts is it's fragrance! very nice and strong smell, taste fantastic. I like it very much as i am also a fans of chinese tea. Verdict = VERY GOOD TEA! Must try! 

Work in progress

YumYum

Boiling BKT

Clay Pot Tau Fu Pok!

Tau Fu Pok and Mui Choi

Pepper Pork Nerve

Braised Pork Leg

Clay pot BKT

Parking

Crowded scene

So many people waiting for table

inside waiting crowd

Name: Restaurant Kiang Kee Bak Kut Tea 强记早市肉骨茶

Address: Batu 8 1/2, Jalan Mawai, Kota Tinggi. Poskod 81900

Operating Hour: 7.30 am to 12 am (Till sold out, take note that normally sold out around 11am) 

Pls remember to support us by clicking like at FB website here and follow us on twitter. 

Some where around here in google map.

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Eating Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 in Malaysia

Its been a long time that i wanted to write something about Bak Kut Teh. due to my love for this food and it's indeed a very unique food to have in Malaysia.
This time while i was sitting on a boat to Mersing which is a 2 hour boat trip, i at least could find a bit of emo to write this description or a bits of history of BKT.

Bak kut teh (BKT) is one of the most popular delicacy among Malaysian and Singaporean. Both Chinese from this 2 country has developed an unspeakable passion for BKT. Malaysia tourism department has also declared it as 1 of top 5 of Malaysia Unique cuisine same row as Nasi Lemak.

The word 'Bak Kut' mean ribs meat in hokkien language. and in this food it means Pork Ribs.
'Teh' means tea. Example of Chinese tea.
So u can imagine that the pork rib is cooked in a Pot of Chinese tea.
Well almost like that.
It is actually a kind of food that cook pork rib in a soup of mixed herbal and tea might be. There is no fixed recipe of soup. Everybody has creatively added in tons type of ingredient in the soup. Ranging from herbal, pepper and etc.

Origin of BKT was rumored Started by the china migrated coolie working in the pier. They gathered the herbs drop on the ground while unloading from the boats and boil pork together in a pot. As time goes by with then improvement on the recipe it has transformed into delicacy that is essential to Malaysian chinese food!

Passion for this gourmet that we developed does not need to speak or written in words. Malaysian eat BKT in their breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Anytime you want to you can get it. as for me, I must have it at least once per week. If I missed 1 week I will feel extremely uneasy.

Traditionally it is also being served in 2 general ways. one Bowl per person or by clay pot which is share among a table, then we will eat it with a white rice. Normally side dishes will be a 'ham choi' salty vegetable and 'yau za guai' or 'you tiao'. Lastly you must further match is with a hot Chinese tea. Only with the combination like this your meal will be a perfect Malaysian BKT meal.

Bowl type Bak Kut Teh

Clay pot Style Bak Kut Teh

Ham Choi Salty Vegetable

What is so special of BKT that till we love so much?
It is the combination of meat and soup. The Chinese love to drink soup. Thus when this meal is a combination of soup and lots of meat it could satisfy our needs two bird at one stone.
Furthermore the soup is a herbal soup. It is not too heavy taste food, that is why we could even have it as a breakfast.
Tenderness of the rib pork, tasty soup with herb taste, fragrance of white rice is a perfect combination!
Lastly Chinese tea will do it's 'magic' to dissolve the cholesterol of the oily and meaty meal.

now you should understand what type of love we had for BKT!
One of the most famous BKT in Malaysia is Port Klang BKT,
Of course we will try to introduce some Johor's famous BKT for you!