Over the
weekend, we took a little trip out to Johor Bahru (affectionately known
as JB). Just an hour away, it promises tasty food and decent
shopping. And if you're a little tired of the clean efficiency of
Singapore, JB is a scruffier, more laidback alternative.
This time around, we had our eyes on some juicy herbal roasted duck at Restoran Hao Bi. It's touted as the original behind Singapore's Dian Xiao Er, and has been our favourite since we first tried it last year. We ordered the Dong Quai flavour, and while it was a bit too bitter for me, the bf loved it and if you're a fan of herbal soups and drinks, you'll probably enjoy this as well. It was otherwise very juicy, tender and well-roasted, with a gorgeous golden-brown skin. I'd highly recommend it!
With lunch in our happy bellies and a spot of shopping later, we set off in search of dessert. I was super keen to try something new this trip and convinced the bf that we had to go check out a certain old-school bakery nearby called Hiap Joo. Established in 1919, it's a charming little shop that's family-owned and so popular that people queue up waiting for the buns and cakes to come out of the woodfire oven. After reading so much about the banana cake, we arrived at 4pm to queue hopefully behind a few others, and were rewarded 15 minutes later with fresh slabs of cake, sliced while hot and briskly packed for the long line of customers. Oh and the verdict? Totally yummy, fragrant and worth the wait.
This time around, we had our eyes on some juicy herbal roasted duck at Restoran Hao Bi. It's touted as the original behind Singapore's Dian Xiao Er, and has been our favourite since we first tried it last year. We ordered the Dong Quai flavour, and while it was a bit too bitter for me, the bf loved it and if you're a fan of herbal soups and drinks, you'll probably enjoy this as well. It was otherwise very juicy, tender and well-roasted, with a gorgeous golden-brown skin. I'd highly recommend it!
With lunch in our happy bellies and a spot of shopping later, we set off in search of dessert. I was super keen to try something new this trip and convinced the bf that we had to go check out a certain old-school bakery nearby called Hiap Joo. Established in 1919, it's a charming little shop that's family-owned and so popular that people queue up waiting for the buns and cakes to come out of the woodfire oven. After reading so much about the banana cake, we arrived at 4pm to queue hopefully behind a few others, and were rewarded 15 minutes later with fresh slabs of cake, sliced while hot and briskly packed for the long line of customers. Oh and the verdict? Totally yummy, fragrant and worth the wait.
Restoran Hao Bi
31 Jalan Meldrum, 80000 Johor Bahru
Hiap Joo Bakery
13 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000 Johor Bahru
Hi,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've been to JB a few times, starting only like 2 years ago, I only recently went food hunting in JB ... I think I ate once in HAO BI but it was quite some time ago... maybe I'll take note and go again next time I go JB :)
Hi again,
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention ... I also visited Hiap Joo bakery some time ago and bought the freshly baked banana cakes.... however this time round on my recent visit ... I was able to buy the some of the buns that just came out of the oven at 11am (yes u'll have to be there at that time ) as the queues of people go in and raid those buns :)
Hi, thanks for dropping by! I haven't been back to Hao Bi in a while and heard that the standard has dropped quite a lot, so I might not be able to recommend it anymore. :( Will look out for those buns at Hiap Joo though!
ReplyDelete