[Johor Bahru] My friends and I were talking about Wanton Mee (since it is my favourite hawker food), and one thing led to another.
It was the statement, “Ho Seng Kee is the best wanton mee ever” that made me head to JB. I literally went, “Let’s go”.
I had this insatiable craving for wanton mee, so much so that I had one to two per day in Singapore during a period of time. But it wasn’t enough.
So after about a 2 hour drive and jam, we found our way to one of the oldest wanton noodle shop in Johor Bahru.
Ho Seng Kee has been around for more than 81 years, serving generations of Johoreans and Singaporeans.
THIS is the noodles people eat from young till they become parents.
What is special is the noodles are handmade fresh on a daily basis, made with only duck and chicken eggs, and high protein wheat flour.
This gives the noodles a distinct taste that is different from any store bought premade noodles.
No additional colourings, preservations, with minimal lye water added to prevent that alkaline taste.
From a street side cart to a restaurant within City Square Mall, the “Authentic JB Styled Wantan Mee” has come a long way.
The restaurant sells their Wanton Mee in a number of sizes at inexpensive prices (at least for Singaporeans) – RM8.90 (SGD$2.95) for a medium bowl, and RM13.90 (SGD$4.60) for a large.
Diners have the option between having their noodles dry and tossed in their choice of sauce.
The dry noodles come with the following customisable options of original, black sauce, spicy, spicy and black, or soup version.
The sauce was kept rather minimal, so the flavours of the noodles were contrastingly more obvious. (I could imagine some Singaporeans would find it bland and prefer a version with more sauces or saltier.)
Noodles were unlike any others I tried before – they were thin, springy, yet flat with a satisfying eggy bite.
You could add extra chilli sauce in the mix. Again, the chilli was unlike any other, with a tangy, sharp punch, though we (Singaporeans) might have preferred something sweeter.
Another highlight was the “Lovely Fish Ball In Soup” (RM6 for 6 pieces) which featured handmade fishballs with surprise filling in the middle. Like Fuzhou style.
The soup was clear, mildly sweet and flavourful.
While I wasn’t totally blown away by Ho Seng Kee, mainly because the sauces lacked the robustness, the unique texture of the noodles was a factor that was quite enticing. If the jam wasn’t that bad, why not.
Ho Seng Kee
City Square Mall, 108, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Tel: +60 12 710 7140
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm Daily
https://www.facebook.com/cshosengkee
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