Chilli Crabs from Hai Kee Seafood Restaurant (海记海鲜煮炒) @ Taman Sri Tebrau Hawker Centre in Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

After that inaugural memorable visit to Hai Kee Seafood Restaurant (海记海鲜煮炒) back in 2023, I became pretty much a regular; returning back every few months, and sometimes even a few times a month! 

One dish that I often order nowadays would be chilli crab, and I realized it wasn't covered in my original post. Furthermore, when I search for places to have crabs in JB; I noticed that Hai Kee would pop up! Hence, I thought to specially blog about it this time!

Given the sheer amount of food options in JB nowadays, I am pretty conservative in my orders; minimal carbohydrates, where possible.

Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves - this was a dish I wouldn't order on my own but when I have my health conscious mom with me; a plate of veg is always necessary! Well, this was stir-fried well; lightly seasoned with the natural goodness from the vegetables and multiple pieces of garlic.

Chilli Crab - the star of our show and comprised of two crabs that I had pre-ordered the night before as my mom prefers larger crabs! Even so, both were just about 700-800 grams each; quite small compared to the at least one kilogram crab I could get from Ban Leong although pricing per kilogram is still cheaper than our little red dot. 

Anyway, size aside; it's the freshness and sauce that matter most! And the sauce obviously didn't disappoint, given that I patronized Hai Kee so many times over the past 2.5 years; it was peppery spicy, thickened with a touch of tomato that still tingled the lips and tongue with a charred yet tempting aroma!

Freshness wise; we were more than happy, especially mom, who had no issue pushing the meat out from the crab legs, which can be difficult if the crab wasn't fresh enough.

See how plump, and how solid the meat was! And of course, the satisfaction as my teeth chewed through; bursting with seafood sweetness so enjoyable from crab meat! 

Fried Buns - I couldn't not having fried buns to soak up the chilli crab sauce! The small nuggets of deep fried goodies with crisp thin skin, and white pillowy insides. Eat them when they are still hot! 

=====

Two crabs, a plate of vegetables and four small buns; devoured in no time by my mom and I! We would prefer larger crabs though and when I checked with the young boss; he said aside from a higher price, it's harder to guarantee the meat from larger crabs. Oh well, I can definitely make do with smaller crabs then! 

Address

21, Jalan Badik 1, Taman Sri Tebrau, 

80050 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, 

Malaysia

Map

As above.

How To Get There

I would usually grab and you would likely be sent to this pretty big hawker centres with three entrances. Go to the one with no large signage.

It might look as if there's no shop that was operational. But the hive of activity would only start much further in. Do note that Hai Kee opens from 4pm and closes on Thursdays.

Look out from the signage hung right in the centre! 

And voila, you have arrived for a meal of happy satisfaction!

Pricing

Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves - RM 10.00

Two Chilli Crabs - RM 257.00

Four Deep Fried Buns - RM 4.00

(NETT)

Taiwan Connection 1908 @ Taichung City in Taiwan

I was enjoying my first jog at Taichung City when I chanced upon the above; piles of caged up pebbles with the words "Taiwan Connection 1908". 

Honestly, I am no stranger to this passage as I had taken a train that chugged along it back in 2014, on my first trip to Taiwan, and I recalled it was a ride from Taichung Railway Station to Xinwuri Station, where we then took the high speed rail back to Taipei. 

Back then, the overhead railway tracks were still undergoing construction, and I thought it was real nice of the government to keep a section of the old tracks for remembrance; similar to what we were doing in Singapore for the Rail Corridor! 

While Singapore's version is longer and concentrates on more a nature walk, this Taichung's rendition veers into the urban landscape, with views of decade-old buildings that follows the development of Taiwan's second largest city.

Jogging wise, quite comfortable in the cool January weather even though I think I would for an evening jog should it be summer! The trees along the path had yet to reach towering maturity, and hardly provided any shade.

Running towards the two useless "huts" that seemed more aesthetic than practical, until I got nearer and saw the rows of ancient wooden train sleepers right underneath. 

One thing I really like about Taiwan is their high level of creativity! While the tracks remained intact (p.s. didn't realize it was quite a narrow width between tracks), the sleepers were removed and replaced with tiles that looked like multiple trains parked in a train depot! 

Supposed to stretch a mere 1.6 kilometers with Taichung Railway Station somewhat in the middle, the passage I took for Taiwan Connection 1908 was only for the southern part. 

Area is opened 24 hours, and you might want to keep in mind the rules as above. 

Quite surprised to see that bicycles were not allowed! 

More photographs for your viewing pleasure.

Just wondering if it would be nicer or scarier at night.

Fascinating to see this overhead railway tracks and did you notice the different sleepers used for each track? One used wood whereas the other was concrete. While wood offers better vibrations, concrete is a lot more durable, and it doesn't rot. 

Safety cover that had weathered through many years.

And yes, vehicles still go past underneath! 

Views from different side of the railway bridge even though it's more a skybridge now. According to the information I found online; the railway tracks demarcate the districts in the past, for example, industrial on on side, commercial and governmental on the other

I am confused; the width of the tracks didn't seem like it's suitable for a normal train! 

This honestly looked like the toilets from a long time ago. I can confidently say that back in the 80s, toilets in such nondescript buildings were common in Singapore! 

Stone bench with pebbles underneath. Do you know where there are pebbles in between the tracks? "Known as track ballast, are crucial for railway stability. They support the heavy weight of trains, facilitate water drainage to prevent flooding, prevent vegetation growth, and lock the ties and rails in place to stop them from shifting."

Main reason why I mentioned earlier that I only checked out the southern part of Taiwan Connection 1908 was due to the above; the connection wasn't completed yet as of January 2025. Maybe it's fully connected now.

From the road, it appeared as if the railway bridge was still operation.

However, the noise from the trains came from further above.

Tunnel with some information of Taiwan Connection 1908. Unfortunately, the words were in Chinese. And not simplified Chinese; the words were in traditional Chinese which I can read, although they strained my brain! 

=====

Address

Along Jianguo North Road,

Between Guoguang Road and Minquan Road,

Central Dist., Taichung City Taiwán

Map

As above.

Floor Plan

As above.

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Taichung Civic Square (臺中市民廣場) @ Taiwan

Imagine coming to an open lawn that appeared parched of water, with patches of grass featuring a brownish greenish tinge that looked relatively uninviting.

But, it was filled with people, and none had their heads bowing to the allure of their mobile phones! A scene quite hard to find in hot and humid Singapore, except maybe at Botanic Gardens or Town Green at University Town. 

With demand comes supply; and you can find vendors selling helium balloons, plastic balls, toys, styrofoam planes, bubble wands etc! Not something you can do freely in Singapore as it would be considered as illegal.

You can even find picnic mats for sale; which I would strongly recommend if you are thinking of sitting on the grass, just so to soak in the relaxing atmosphere, in the cool winter weather.

Why? There were many dogs, and while I believe most Taiwanese are civic-minded; accidents can and do happen, and just to name an example, you can't really stop diarrhoea.

This civic square might not look much but it was a hive of activity when we checked it out at about 5.30pm on a Sunday. There were even buskers serenading the public with their music.  

Given the space, about 100 meters x 165 meters; the Taichung Civic Square is also known to be the location for the annual international Taichung Jazz Festival, usually held in October. Well, I very much prefer the status I encountered that Sunday though; relaxing with peals of laughter from the children mixed in with the canines' playful barks. 

 

=====

Address

No. 163-1, Gongyi Rd, 

West District, Taichung City, 

Taiwan

Map

As above.

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)