Ting Ting Restaurant (津津生魚米粉) @ Muar in Johor [Malaysia]

Our day trip to Muar and Batu Pahat covered lunch and dinner and for the former; we were brought to Ting Ting Restaurant, which was said to be famous for their fish bee hoon soup. 

It has both indoor and outdoor seating but knowing Singaporeans are generally renowned for being air-conditioning lovers; the indoors we shall proceed to! 

As our contingent was 29-strong, we were even given a private room with three tables! Numbers do matter sometimes and we do need it as the noise we made was deafening, and would likely disturb the other diners. Imagine numerous chants of yam seng for lunch.

The supply of beer was guaranteed too! 

Let's continue with the main stars; food.

First up was the Prosperity Cake; yes, once again since we were already given some when we cleared the Malaysian custom. It's not bad (denser texture than the morning one) but not when you are having it for the second time on the same day.

Fish Bee Hoon Soup - cooked in a large earthen pot, I must say my expectation skyrocketed as this was said to be the signature dish for the restaurant.

Normal in my opinion; soup wasn't particularly memorable and it was strange to bite into the sour plum that was cooked together. I think the fish soup I had at Chong Pang Hawker Centre (which I have yet to blog about) was better.

Steamed Fish - please don't ask me what species as I am terrible at differentiating them, except for maybe pomfret. It was freshwater though as I can still discern the slight muddy flavor. To up the palatability, the chef  added a ton of tasty fried garlic! 

Tofu with Minced Meat - while the tofu was nice and smooth, credit was given to the minced meat sauce which was a perfect companion for plain, white rice! 

Salt Baked Chicken - surprisingly delicious; the meat was juicy and chicken skin was thin without much fats. If not for the fact that I had nine other people sharing the food; I could easily had one whole chicken for myself. Okay, maybe half as I am greedy for other dishes too.

Cereal Prawns - the picture did the prawns justice; they were pathetically tiny. However, good things sometimes do come in smaller packages. Meat was fresh, batter wasn't cloyingly oily and the cereal flavor wasn't weak. Having typed that, Restoran Uncle Pou Wok @ Mount Austin was better. 

Mixed Vegetables - I don't know what's the name of this dish although I did sum it up quite well as it's truly a mixture. There were broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, green pepper, scallops, mushroom, pork, baby corn, prawns etc. Normal.

Oyster Omelette - I am particular when it comes to oyster omelette as it has to be exceptionally good in order to differentiate from a cheaper furong omelette. This was better off as a simple omelette without oysters. 

Braised Pork Trotters - My apology for forgetting to take a dedicated photo of the pork trotters even though I do have my reason; I don't eat pork trotter. Whatever the case, I do need some greenies and the xiao bai cai was fresh and crunchy!

Ending our meal with fruits; sliced guava with preserved orange peel. I actually blogged about the recipe of this healthy snack and you may find it here. 

Burp! 

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Address

Batu 3, Jalan Bakri, 

Kampung Parit Keroma Darat, 

84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Name Card (For Reservation)

As above.

Limited Menu

As above. 

Click here for my itinerary for this day trip to Batu Pahat (Yong Peng) and Muar in Johore, Malaysia! 

Souvenir Shop next to Nam Thien Temple @ Muar in Johor [Malaysia]

While temples can be intriguing, I was charmed by a building beside Nam Thien Temple in my day tour to the Muar and Batu Pahat districts in Malaysia, which made me feel like I was in Taiwan, rather than Malaysia.

The dated tiles on the building, the light breeze shaking the leaves of the majestic trees, the bamboo furniture on the artificial lawn. the red lanterns that were hung up - maybe all the aforementioned resulted in an atmosphere that brought me back to my visit to Taiwan back in 2014. 

There was a shop where you can get drinks and snacks and just chill out in the relaxing environment. My understanding is that this building was new, despite its outlook and before the large fire that almost destroyed the neighboring famous temple; the place was chockablock full of mobile stalls.

土产店 - the three words caught my attention and for someone who loves to check out local food like snacks and biscuits; I had to step in!

Spanning two small shop spaces; layout was basic yet tidy enough to see what's available. Sampling was available for some products; a key motivating factor for me to buy! 

No sampling for this cassava chips (flavors like mushroom, carrot, pumpkin, dhal) but at RM 6.00 (less than S$2.00), I decided to purchase a few bags! Turned out to be quite nice although a tad too bland; on a positive note, it seemed healthier! 

Other stuff, including apple cider vinegar, soy sauce and even local honey; things that would appeal to my mom than I. Pity she only had only about five minutes to browse as the coach would be leaving soon.

Attraction for me was the chicken biscuit! Until my trip to China, I didn't know chicken biscuit had pork (yes, not chicken) and the ones I had in Malaysia thus far didn't have any meat. This shop had the meat version and given that borders at China are still not fully open; I got a few packs to indulge! p.s. good enough for me even though I prefer the China version which had more fats! 

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Address

Jalan Dato Koh Thian Peng, Parit Unas, 

Johor, 84150 Muar, Malaysia

Map

As above. Shop is next to the temple.

Click here for my itinerary for this day trip to Batu Pahat (Yong Peng) and Muar in Johore, Malaysia! 

Yong Sheng Gift Shop Flagship Store (荣成礼坊旗舰店) - Local Food Souvenirs @ Muar in Johore [Malaysia]

What's an organized day tour without a trip to a food souvenir shop where we can grab some local mementos for home?! The one identified for our day tour to Malaysia's batu pahat and muar was Yong Sheng Gift Shop Flagship Store! 

Located on the ground floor, it appeared to be the place where local Chinese would buy wedding pastries! There are a lot of customs for the ethnic Chinese when it comes to marriage (and festivals) and food plays an important role with items having certain auspicious meanings. 

My focus was obviously on the wide array of food products! It's not incredibly large but for food; quality counts more than quantity / variety. 

p.s. the store was crowded because of our tour. According to our guide, Yong Sheng is the most reputable one in Muar. Maybe a local Muar resident can let me know if it is true.

Whatever the case, I am always skeptical when it comes to buying snacks and pastries. Key concern; how to buy when I don't even know how it tastes like?! Sampling to the rescue! 

As there were so many of us, the samples ran out quickly and I had to ask them to open up more packs so that I can also try! Unlike some of the negative reviews I read online on Google, the staff members were friendly and more than willing to open a new pack for me to sample.

Sadly, there were no coffee samples. I love coffee and at the moment, my taste buds were only agreeable with Old Town White Coffee and G7 Vietnamese Coffee. Always good to have an alternative and I wouldn't buy a whole pack just to 'try'. Sampling is the way to go to get me to buy! 

I am known among my friends for not being a potato lover; preferring sweet potato fries to French fries. However, I decided to purchase the potato sticks (came in three flavors; salted, hot and spicy, and honey butter) as my friends were fans of the original Calbee brand.

Box of biscuits was incredibly cheap; like only S$3.00-S$4.00 each. Despite the attractive pricing, I stopped myself from buying as I have a high tendency to just throw away / leave them to expire if they turn out to be bad tasting.

You know Muar is famous for what? Their otak and you can choose from either prawn or fish! It differs from our Singapore version; substantially meatier and with pieces of fish meat within. 

No sample; didn't even consider. 

Samples included the 潮州白劳饼 which was like a larger piece of wife biscuit with thick filling. It's more satisfying like your typical wife biscuit and given that Yong Sheng is famous for this; I bought a few at RM12.50 apiece.

Another sample item; the almond crispy pie. I bake my own tarts during lunar new years and while pineapple tarts were popular, the almond cookies had their group of loyal fans. This almond crispy pie had about the same texture as my almond cookies, albeit in bigger portion. RM 18.80 for a box of 8 (or 10) pieces. 

You may even consider a hamper! Do note that Singapore government imposes GST for goods purchased overseas and for trips spent less than 48 hours, relief only applies for items that cost, in total, S$100 or less.

Thankfully, I only spent about RM300. 

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Address

Lower Level, Lot 1965, Batu 3, 1/2, 

Jalan Bakri, 84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia

Map 

As above

Website

https://yongsheng.com.my/

Click here for my itinerary for this day trip to Batu Pahat (Yong Peng) and Muar in Johore, Malaysia! 

Day Trip to Batu Pahat (Yong Peng) and Muar Districts in Johore [Malaysia]

I was up at 4.30 am on Saturday, 15 October 2022 so that I can prepare to take this coach at 5.30 am! Reason being I was persuaded by my mom to join my uncle's family for a day trip (priced at S$80 per person) to the northern districts of Johore state in Malaysia! 

The background is that my uncle would visit Johore quite regularly before the pandemic, mainly to pray at temples that would supposedly bring luck to the devotees. It's usually with the same group of friends and the cohort got sizable enough for them to engage a tour agency.

Aside from my mom, my uncle's wife and daughter,  Alex also decided to join us! Good for me as I would want to sit with my cousin whereas Alex shall work on entertaining my mom, which he doesn't mind. In fact, he takes care of my parents much better than I do.

Main organizer; a chatty guy with an aim to make us feel lucky! Aside from the constant chanting of "huat" (meaning prosperity in Hokkien), he will hype up the passengers with sentences like "we shall take the top three prizes on 4D tonight" etc! Sadly, such stuff doesn't rhyme with me. 

Pending Detailed Postings

• Breakfast at 友發咖啡店
• Tian Pao Kong Chinese Temple
• Nam Thien Temple
• - Buddhist Section
• - Souvenir Shop
• Lunch at Ting Ting Restaurant
• Yong Sheng Gift Shop Flagship Store
• Dinner at Cathay Restaurant (Kulai)

Starting the tour by crossing the second link, with Forest City on our left! Built on man-made islands super near Singapore, this integrated residential development was "described as one of the world's most useless megaprojects". The target was to sell 700,000 units but by end of 2019 but the reality check was that only 15,000 were sold. 

Change of bus after stamping our passports at the Malaysian custom! Thankfully, the crowd was manageable, unlike the crowds seen recently due to the Deepavali long weekend. 

There were USB ports on the 39-seater bus! I always made it a point to bring my 20,000mAh power bank, which wasn't used at all as the charging capability for the ports was good. 

Two things said to make our luck better; the prosperity water (just a bottled mineral water) and huat cake. It's all about auspicious sounding things to, I guess, make you feel like you are absorbing all the positively lucky energy.  

It started drizzling heavily! Not a good start to the day although the Chinese believes that water brings fortune and you can always adjust your tune accordingly to evade the negativity. 

Our breakfast at the Gelang Patah district. This would be self-expensed; i.e. not covered by package. Aside from my essential cup of kopi, we had toast for sharing and I also ordered wanton mee at 友發咖啡店! 

Large swathes of palm oil plantations as the coach ventured up north. Frankly, there wasn't much to see along the highway, unless you are in Perak where there were the Titiwangsa mountain range and many limestone cliffs.

Out of the highway to a place I am very familiar with; Yong Peng! It's a town where coaches from Singapore would stopover for passengers to grab a bite before they continue their journey to popular destinations like Genting Highlands, Kuala Lumpur etc.

Abandoned car parts or awaiting salvaging? 

First temple for the tour; Tian Pao Kong Chinese Temple! Paying homage to Ji Gong, the crazy, unconventional monk, its most noticeable structure would be the 68-feet tall statue! 

Despite the Buddhist roots, the temple was more Taoist and there was an interesting donation box that should find its way to Singapore soon! Put money in and it would dispense 4 random numbers, digitally, for 4D buying! Gamblers would love this! 

A Munchy's factory! Well, I didn't know it's a Malaysian brand and actually started operations right here at Batu Pahat district back in 1991. 

Our next destination was an hour drive away and how do you keep 39 passengers occupied? Play bingo! At RM 10 a ticket, it's irresistible for Chinese. Total jackpot; over RM 300. One win and I would have won back my tour package. 

My cousin won! 

Played a second time and this time, my mom was the lucky winner! As we were seated at the back, Alex was the designated representative to help her collect the winnings of about RM 200 plus.

Palm oil plantations again; do you know that Malaysia is the second largest producer of palm oil, after Indonesia, and it takes up over 15% of the total land area in Malaysia!? Among the Malaysian states, Johore took the lead with close to 39% of land devoted to palm oil. 

A pre-war building along Jalan Jabbar, Parit Jawa. As Singapore is a very small place, I always want to check out the little towns in Malaysia, to see if there are interesting history or things. According to the tour guide, Parit Jawa is famed for their asam pedas! 

My cousin said there's a crocodile in the river! 

I circled in red for your reference. 

The tour guide, Kai Ming, pointed out the uniqueness of this particular school which is said to be the only school in Malaysia named after a Chinese deity; the Child God Of Wealth - Shan Chai Tong Zi (善財童子). This is rare privilege given that Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country. 

A jetty beside a river that leads to the Straits of Malacca. The muddy water wasn't too inviting and my only worry was hidden crocodiles with a powerful bite that can pull you underneath! Unfounded worries maybe but no harm being more careful. 

A lonesome tree; this would be nice for some photo-taking. 

If only the building at the back can be removed.

Anyway, our second destination; Nam Thien Temple. I am going to separate this into two sub postings; the Buddhist section and lastly, the souvenir shop.

With a history spanning more than 70 years, this temple was partially burnt out back in 2020; about the time that pandemic hit the world and the newly built premises exuded a simple beauty of calmness. 

Buddhist section, left untouched by the blaze given that it's a separate building. In terms of historical relevance, you can find things like an ancient clock and retro looking switches. 

There's also a towering statue of Gautama Buddha although focus was on touching the feet and stomach of another statue, of Maitreya Buddha, known as the future savior of civilization. With the mess that the world is facing now, would I get the fortune of meeting him/her soon?

This honestly gave me the Taiwanese vibe! Housing a small little cafe and a souvenir shop, I knew I have to go in for a better look. According to my cousin, this area used to be chockfull of little stalls but they appeared to have been eradicated after the fire and the pandemic.

A ready model is always welcome! 

I forgot to share a picture of the coach that replaced the one we took from Singapore to Malaysia custom; license plate number Y9582. No doubt my mom would buy the number for 4D lottery for at least a few weeks. 

Lunch at Ting Ting Restaurant; said to be popular for its signature fish bee hoon, I must say I wasn't impressed. Dishes I enjoyed more were the tofu and the roast chicken! 

After a short ride of less than 500 meters, we were asked to disembark. We could have walked for good digestion after such a filling lunch. Well, I can't speak on behalf of the rest, many of whom were 10-30 years older than me.

Food souvenir shopping at Yong Sheng Gift Shop Flagship Store (荣成礼坊旗舰店)! Sampling was provided for some products and my mom and I spent like almost RM300. One interesting product was "潮州白劳饼" - it's like wife's biscuit, with much thicker filling. 

I bought a few packets of the dried jackfruit and it was so addictive! It was a Vietnam brand that was available in Singapore though; however, it was at least 30% cheaper from Yong Sheng.

Given my love for eggs, this would be a place that appeals to me! According to Google review, it has a rating of 4.5 among 14 reviewers. Maybe I should keep this in mind for a future road trip with Yongde and my elder sister! 

Finally some photos of a cemetery; albeit a Muslim one. We did pass by some Chinese cemeteries too but I couldn't get a decent enough photos for posting. 

More on the palm oil plantations, and was that soil erosion for the last photo? Maybe it was excavation of some soil for construction / mining purposes.

Karaoke time! Given the majority of the age group in the coach, songs were in dialect and these obviously didn't attract my cousin and Alex to grab the mic. We shy also lah.

We were back in Yong Peng! I was a bit disappointed at this point as I thought we would be going to three temples but I understand that we were running short of time and going back too late might result in us stuck in jams during the peak period. 

Stopover at Ming Ang! This was one of two rest stations in Yong Peng and I actually prefer this one as Ming Ang pastries are superb! In the past, I would sometimes walk over from the other rest station just to buy Ming Ang pong peah! Nowadays, it's no longer as troublesome as Ming Ang has some branches at Johor Bahru; one of which is at City Square Shopping Centre.

Discount card distributed to us by the tour guide. Yes, I know he will get commission but that is common practice anyway. 

There were food stalls too; as we were still full from lunch, I didn't take a look at the prices. Before the pandemic, prices were comparable to Singapore and I would usually only buy snacks like buttered corns, tea leaves eggs etc. 

Main souvenir section for last minute shopping! Again, be expected to pay higher prices compared to Yong Sheng. My recommendation was to try Ming Ang pastries instead; aside from pong peah (we call it ma ti su), my personal favorite is their siew pao! 

Another stopover but this time, we shall stay on the coach. This would be the collection of the famous Muar otak otak! The Xiao Mei brand is supposed to be one of the better ones, among the 300 otah stores in Muar itself. 

I mentioned two rest stations in Yong Peng; this would be the original one by the name of Lucky Garden. As Singaporeans made up a bulk of the customers, it didn't survive the pandemic. With border control released, maybe it would rejuvenate in the near future. 

Whenever I see unpainted concrete buildings with not many windows in Malaysia, I will suspect if it would be used to attract swallows. The prize? Bird's nest! 

Banana trees and papaya trees. Can you differentiate them? The joke was that my younger sister only knew how a banana tree looks like recently! For me, I stayed in the village for a good portion of my childhood and the two fruit trees were commonly planted in the area.

Bingo time again and I thought I would finally be rid of my spate of bad luck in 2022! I only left one number to shout bingo, and I had a 20% chance of either winning or sharing the tidings with others.

I lost to my cousin!

Yes, her second winning! 

The hill in the background is Gunung Pulai; with an elevation of 654 meters, the hike up is considered to be suitable for beginners. 

A sign that my luck would continue to be bad; my cousin's bingo card already had six numbers out whereas I could only manage a pathetic two! 

Last number for my mom. And she won, again! Strangely, five bingo games and all were won by passengers seated at the back of the coach. Pity I wasn't one of them, despite seated at the back too.

Dinner at Cathay Restaurant 新国泰冷气酒家(古来). A posh looking restaurant that seemed popular as a wedding venue; the food was generally average. A review would be posted in due course! 

Organizer and tour leader, Peter, giving a closing speech! And with the conclusion came the request for tips for both the tour guide, Kai Ming, and driver, David. 

Thankfully, no jam at both Malaysia and Singapore customs! I never knew it can be so smooth sailing for the second link as the causeway is a much nearer option for me since I live in Yishun, and Woodlands / Kranji is just a few MRT stops away. 

Ending the post with my box and bags of food. 

Getting fat with all the unstoppable snacking! 

My verdict for this tour package was that it was fun because of the company, including my uncle's friends. Food wasn't fantastic but I am not complaining since the price of S$80 wasn't exorbitant and the temples we were brought too were not run of the mill kind. And I did enjoy bingo, even though I didn't win.