Breakfast at Kim San Kedai Makan (金山大众市场) along Muar Glutton Street [Malaysia]

After a drive that's more than three hours long from Singapore, we finally arrived at the famous muar glutton street, where we shall our breakfast right in Malaysia! 

Many shops were either closed or just started business; hence, after checking out the about 100-meter street, we decided to have our meal at Kim San Kedai Makan, which would be like our typical coffee shop with a variety of offerings suitable for everyone of us. 

Kaya Butter Toast - let's start with the toast, a must-have in Malaysia and Singapore! Not bad tasting with a crisp outer shell and loving the thick butter and the yummy egg custard kaya Do you prefer the green or orange one? For me, the winner has to be the orange! 

Duck Egg Penang Char Kway Teow - although it's a bit too early for char kway teow, it's hard to resist when the stall was already operation with the strong whiffs of fried noodles that were irresistible! 

Now, this RM9.00 a plate char kway teow was a downright disappointment; bland and no wok hei! The saving grace was the duck egg which gave it some brownie points.

Chee Cheong Fun - this would be something more suitable for breakfast and the only sad thing going through my mind was that Alex didn't join us for this trip since he is a huge lover for chee cheong fun. 

For RM 14.00 for two plates, I had to admit that the serving size was substantial! Both were alright tasting but it's the prawns over the minced meat for me. And having the shallots over the chee cheong fun was definitely a good move. 

Boneless Duck Noodle - among all the stalls in the coffee shop, the one that got the highest review score on Google Maps is actually the duck stall, commanding a high 4.8! 

Frankly, I was hesitant to order as I am very picky when it comes to braised duck and the noodles used weren't the type I like; which was like a thicker yet flatter form of yellow noodles. 

Priced at RM 8.00, this was honestly a surprise! The noodle tasted just like a more fulfilling form of mee pok, and the sauce was savory sauce; making every slurp delightful! While the duck meat was sliced thinly, it was tender, ending on a nice, braised note. 

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Do you think I will return? Maybe for toast and duck noodles. 

And maybe chee cheong fun if Alex were with me. 

Address

24, Jalan Ali, Pekan Muar, 

84000 Muar, Johor Darul Ta'zim, 

Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Moon Thai Kitchen Express - Mookata & Hotpot Buffet @ Yishun [Singapore]

I have the fortune to stay at an area with three coffee shops within a 5-minute walk, and one of the nearest coffee shop to me recently had a new stall; Moon Thai Kitchen Express - Mookata & Hotpot Buffet for only S$19.80 a person! 

For those wondering if it would be charcoal grilled for both mookata and hotpot; it's only for the former whereas hotpot shall be powered by gas canister. Nevertheless, my preference is always mookata over hotpot, and I am glad it is not the conventional mookata pot, which mixes both grill and hotpot; a frustration as my grilled meat kept going into the soup! 

Fridges of ingredients! 

Let's have the photographs do the talking! As this is a buffet, you wouldn't see me targeting much the vegetables although I am a soft spot for processed food like cheese tofu and meatballs. And maybe instant noodles as a satisfying conclusion to the meal.  

Grill selection included pork (liver, belly, collar), beef (short plate), chicken, lamb and even duck! Do note that unlike some mookata eateries, the meat here were generally not marinated. Which means, the sauces provided would be crucial for the dining experience.

Seafood selection wasn't as pathetic as I thought it might be for this pretty low buffet pricing. What I saw were prawns, scallops, mussels, clams, crabs, squid, fish fillet and crayfish! 

The free flow sauce bar; well, a 12-compartment bar was definitely a lot more than your conventional mookata, which would likely be just the thai chilli sauce of different levels of spiciness, and maybe a thai seafood sauce. 

 

Here, you get mookata sauce, suki sauce, peanut sauce, thai seafood sauce, Thai (Isan) dipping sauce, with additional toppings like coriander, sesame seeds, cut chilli, chilli flakes, grated peanuts, minced garlic and spring onion! 

After payment, take your number tent and the tray of utensils to your table, and wait. Note: strictly no wastage of food and the buffet has a time limit of 90 minutes. 

Take the time to prepare all the ingredients you want to indulge in! As mom was with us, I had to request for separate hotpot and grill since she doesn't take beef. Hence, you would eventually see two hotpots, and two mookata grills on our table.

Let us start the cooking, boiling and grilling! 

Given the lack of marination for the meat, it's the sauce and topping that really matter! And my favourite had to be the mookata sauce with sesame seeds, coriander and peanuts! So, so shiok! 

Amongst all the ingredients and meats, my favorite had to be the beef short plate, just like the ones I had at Yakiniku Go; albeit freeflow for ninety minutes! I took like three rounds of beef short plate, and enjoying every single slice. Seafood wise, not the freshest but at least not fishy.

Especially with my specially concocted sauce!

Some other ingredients we had, like the sambal sotong, shrimp bowl, and fishball filled with fish roes! Surprisingly, both the sambal sotong and shrimp bowl were not bad. I didn't dare try earlier as I didn't know what they were. 

Now the hotpot; the signature broth was said to be made with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Well, for my amateur taste buds, it was a clear, light and sweet soup; throw a few prawns inside for enhanced flavour! 

And I did end the meal with instant noodles!

Been so long since I last had, and it was 101% satisfaction. 

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Address

732 Yishun Ave 5,

#01-380, 31 Coffee House,

Singapore 760732

Map

As above.

Pricing

Mookata & Hotpot Buffet

(90 minutes unlimited)

S$19.80 a person (minimum 2 persons)

Dim Sum at 荣茂茶室 (Restoran Rong Mao) near Jonker Street in Melaka [Malaysia]

Before making our way home back to Singapore from Melaka, we decided to have dim sum for breakfast and my brother in law dropped us right in front of 荣茂茶室 (Restoran Rong Mao)! 

You can order direct from the large bamboo dim sum steamers or wait for the staff to bring along trays of dim sum items for you to choose from. p.s. not on trolleys though. 

As you can see, the whole place was crowded at about 9.30am and by the time we left, there was quite a long line right outside the eatery. Do note that it was a Sunday when we visited so I am guessing that weekdays would likely be less crowded. 

Menu pricing for reference; most expensive item was large dim sum item, which cost just RM6.00, less than S$2.00! The thing is that I am generally not very impressed with dim sum in Malaysia but I shouldn't be complaining given the pricing. 

Here's what we had; I am not going to go through every single item as the place felt so rushed and busy, and my family was so hungry; I didn't want to lengthen their non-stop salivating while I take pictures and slowly type down my review. 

Lo mai kai was good with tasty, flavourful rice although do be mindful that there would be bones in the chicken! Almost wanted to order seconds bu I need to control my carbohydrate intake.

Especially when we ordered quite a lot of buns, from pork bun, to char siew bun and large meat buns. While the meat filling was satisfying, the taste was either a bit on the bland side, or just plain savoury without the meaty sweetness that could have enhanced the palatability. 

So much carbohydrates! On usual days when my younger sister would join us on trip, she would be the one devouring all the "skin", ensuring that nothing was truly wasted. 

Xiaolongbao didn't look like much, and indeed, the meat was alright tasty. Key takeaway was the meat broth that had seeped out of its thin dough skin; amazingly juicy! Oily it was too but well; I don't eat xiaolongbao everyday. 

Salted egg bao was the last item sent to us as the person had forgotten our order! The yellow ball with a shiny sheen was almost a guarantee to order whenever I see it on the menu. 

Soft skin with yummy liquid sweetness! 

Too thick a dough; eat slowly and carefully! 

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I am unsure if I would be back given that there were so many other eateries to try in Melaka. And for me, I would prefer toast and nasi lemak over dim sum in Malaysia. 

Address

32, Jalan Tukang Emas,

75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Pricing

Total - RM 80.30