Chicken Rice in Johor Bahru

   There are numerous stalls selling chicken rice in Johor Bahru. So chicken rice is also a basic staple for the local people staying there. You normally see chicken rice being sold by the Chinese which is non-halal and also by Muslim which is the Malay version. I find the Malay version of chicken rice more dry in taste and the chili sauce is different.

 

   Normally for myself, I will order the Chinese chicken rice. If you take a walk along Jalan Harimau near to the 11@Century Hotel, you can find a few Chinese chicken rice stalls located in different coffee shops. The advantage of eating in Johor Bahru is that food prices here are less expensive compared to Singapore. The disadvantage is that there is less hygiene awareness by the stallholders in Johor Bahru. There are numerous occasions when I saw food handlers using their bare hands to handle meat or cooked food. The appropriate method is to wear plastic gloves.

   Normally when I eat Chinese chicken rice, I will also order side dishes along with the main dish which is the steamed chicken. The side dishes that I loved is the hard boiled eggs, green vegetables, char siew and sometimes tofu. The particular stall which I tried at Jalan Harimau served chicken rice with less salt content. So the chicken meat and vegetables taste lighter and is healthier.

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Grand Paragon Hotel in Johor Bahru

   I was walking along the stretch of Jalan Harimau road in Johor Bahru and saw an impressive tall building. I asked a passerby the name of this building. He told me that it was the Grand Paragon Hotel. It took me about 10 minutes of casual stroll to reach the hotel, as Jalan Harimau is a long stretch of road. There are plenty of 2 storey high shop houses and food outlets along this stretch of road.
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  When I reached the Grand Paragon Hotel, I saw a lot guests at the hotel lobby. The lobby is quite spacious and the hotel restaurant is situated near to the entrance of the hotel. Looking briefly at the restaurant menu, I noticed that Buffet lunch and dinner are available daily at this restaurant.
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   The Grand Paragon Hotel is about 10 minutes walk away from Plaza Pelangi. So this hotel is well situated near to many medical clinics along Jalan Harimau, food outlets and also Plaza Pelangi. As I was already staying at 11@ Century Hotel near Jalan Harimau, I will take the opportunity to stay in Grand Paragon Hotel when I can find the time.
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City Park in Johor Bahru

   If you are in City Square Mall at Johor Bahru and would liked to take a stroll outside the Mall, you could go the the mini park just opposite the Mall. The park is not located directly opposite the City Square Mall. After crossing the road or alternatively you can use the overhead pedestrian bridge, you need to keep left and continue walking.

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   After you reach Plaza Seni which is a old mall, you can see rows of small stalls selling all kinds of stuff on the pavement. This is where the walk starts to get interesting. You can visit these individual stalls and they offer a wide variety of products, especially leather goods and bags at very reasonable prices. Sometimes I do my shopping here, when I want to buy leather belts, caps or bags.

   The city park is most of the time quite deserted. You will see people walking by, using this park as a route to reach their final destinations. For me, sometimes I would sit at the bench on this park and relax under the shade of the trees. It is quite relaxing and peaceful here. However, like many of the places in Johor Bahru, the park is not well maintained but it is reasonable clean. In my opinion, it is relatively safe here during the day, as you still can see people walking along the pavements and children with parents. If the Johor Bahru administration could renovate this park, add more interesting kiosks, and create more social activities here, I am sure that more people would visit this park. After all, there isn't any nice park around this area except this city park. 

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Bee Cheng Hiang Store in Johor Bahru

   Many Chinese people will be familiar with Bee Cheng Hiang stores in Singapore. The company has been selling the popular barbecued pork called bakkwa in Singapore and Malaysia for many years. In fact the history of Bee Cheng Hiang dates back before the Singapore Independence and even the Second world war.

   If you are keen in trying out the Malaysian version of the barbecued pork, the nearest store is just about 10 minutes from the Johor Bahru CIQ. Besides the usual barbecued pork, the store also sells Chinese pastries. That note that you are not allowed to bring in the barbecued pork from Malaysia into Singapore, as the Customs and Immigration in Singapore prohibited it.

  I noticed that the prices of the barbecued pork sold in Johor Bahru is not cheap at all. In fact the prices are almost comparable to that of their stores in Singapore. I was having this impression that it should be cheaper in Johor Bahru, after all the cost of business operations such as rental of premises and staff salaries should be much cheaper than in Singapore. So why is this not reflected in the prices of the barbecued pork sold in Johor Bahru. I believe many Singaporeans will patronize the Bee Cheng Hiang store in Malaysia if the prices of their products are cheaper. They will buy it for their own consumption or give it away as a gift to their relatives, friends or business associates in Malaysia.

   I wonder whether there are other barbecue pork stores near the CIQ  in Johor Bahru besides Bee Cheng Hiang? Once I find out that there are other similar barbecued pork stores, I will furnish the details in this blog, so that the consumers have alternatives choices.

Delicious Wanton Noodle in Johor Bahru

   As I was at Meldrum street in Johor Bahru, I took the opportunity to try out the wanton noodle stall. If those who are not familiar with what is wanton, it is basically minced meat dumpling served together with yellow noodles. You can order either the dry or soup version. The dry version means that the noodle is served dry with chili and tomato sauce and sometimes added vinegar oil. Wanton noodle is a basic and popular food among the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore.

   The stall which is situated inside a worn out looking coffee shop. In fact if you are in Meldrum walk, you will notice that most of the coffee shops there are old. But don't let the outward appearance of the coffee shops deceived you. There are plenty of good food being sold at these coffee shops. I always take the time to go to Meldrum walk whenever I am in Johor Bahru as it is very close to the CIQ ( Customs and Immigration ), just less than 10 minutes walk away.

   The wanton noodle stall is normally very busy in the morning and also at lunch time. I like the noodle as it is light and fragrant. The only complain from me is that the standard serving is quite small in portion. You can in fact swallow the entire noodles in the small bowl within a few gulp. I have also try the Sui Jiao which is the meat dumpling but my preference is still their wanton noodle. I find the Sui Jiao has too much meat stuffing. I prefer Sui Jiao stuffed with minced meat, prawns, mushroom and sliced vegetables.

   If you intend to try the wanton noodle, try to do it on weekdays instead of weekends. Because the coffee shops are normally very crowded during the weekends, you may not be able to find a vacant table/seat. I have written a blog on this wanton noodle stall, if you are keen to read them, just follow the link below:-

 Wanton Noodle in Johor Bahru

Mail Boxes in Johor Bahru

   I was in Johor Bahru just outside City Square and decided to just cross the road and visit the Plaza Senin. This is a very old shopping mall in Johor Bahru city and despite its age, there were still many shoppers visiting this mall. Then my friend asked me whether there was any mail box around as she wanted to post 2 postcards. I asked some people and they directed me to the street that is at the back of this mall
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    My friend and I walked to the street as directed, but there was no mail box in sight. It seems that finding a mail box here was quite difficult. But as we wandered around the street further, I saw the mail boxes - there were two. Both are by the side of each other located near the open space car park, comfortably rested under the shade of a tree. One mail box is yellow and the other is Red in color. The yellow color mailbox has the word Ekspres which in my opinion means Express. The red mail box have 2 slots and it simply state Pos Malaysia Berhad. My friend dropped the postcards in the yellow mail box, which hopefully was the correct mail box for her postcards. Anyway, if it is wrong, I believe the post office staff will sort it out correctly later in the Post Office.
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   I think the Post Office of Malaysia can make the mail boxes more user friendly by putting signage on the mail boxes in English for the sake of international travelers. For example if the mail box is for international mails, just put the words ' For International Mails Only'. The color of yellow and Red are good because I could spot the bright color mail boxes far away. However the location of the mail boxes can be improved upon. I think these mailboxes should be placed in busy areas along the pavement of the main street or the next to a busy bus stop, instead of hiding it in the car park at the back of the rows of shop houses.

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