Warakuya Japanese Restaurant @ Jalan Kuning 2 (Johor Bahru) [Malaysia]

I blogged about San Low Bee Hoon in 2014 and back then; a Japanese restaurant along a road after Pelangi Plaza caught my attention with its traditional façade. Every time the cab drove us to San Low Bee Hoon, I would tell myself I should pay the Japanese restaurant a visit.

The visit came only last month; after more than eight years! I am glad the Warakuya Japanese Restaurant managed to weather out the pandemic and it appeared to be real popular among my friends; hence the motivation to finally check it out. 

Not much of a queue when I arrived but it could be because of the weekday and that it wasn't yet the peak dinner period. The line built up only when we left at about 7.30 pm although it still appeared pretty manageable. 

One thing that would draw your eyes; the line of intricately designed bowls that you wonder what they would be used for. Furthermore, some, like the one in the above photo, have no references to Japanese cuisine. 

First thing that greeted us, aside from the person who brought us in; hot towel for us to wipe away our fatigue! When was the last time you get hot towels?!  Was it at Haidilao where customer service is always top notch!?

Without mobile roaming, I relied heavily on free Wi-Fi for my day trip to Johore. Unlike in the past, free Wi-Fi nowadays actually have pretty good speed. 

Complimentary tissue paper, free alcohol hand sanitizer; former should be the standard for all restaurants in Singapore and latter is pretty much the norm due to the pandemic although most would place it at the cashier counter rather than on each table.

Menus - I dislike it when eateries have too much of a variety for diners to refer to. I am greedy and will be overwhelmed with choices that I couldn't make a decision on! Variety is only preferred when it is for buffets. 

Our eventual selection; for three persons.     

Hot Green Tea - don't you find it fascinating that our definition of tea when we are young would be cold tea like Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea or milk tea but our taste preference changes when we age. So never say you would never eat something, unless you are dead allergic to a specific ingredient(s)! Hm.... I don't think I will eat shit though. 

Ikura Chawanmushi - I honestly expected a lot more fish roes; as far as chawanmushi is concerned; it was flavorful and smooth, with a nice tasting, 'crunchy' prawn. 

Gintara Saka Mushi - with so much enoki mushrooms, you would be forgiven for assuming this was just a bowl of mushroom soup priced at RM 32.90.  

This was a steal, given that gintara means cod fish and it's pricey in Singapore; it's my favorite fish yet I could only indulge occasionally.  A lightly flavored soup with delicious pieces of cod fish; it was so comforting to sip and enjoy on rainy weather!  

Okonomiyaki - with squid and prawns hidden in the batter, it was a tad too floury as compared to my recent dining experience at Ajiya, but one thing surprised me; the crispy toppings on top which might not be authentic yet resulted in an endearing texture change.

Hiyashi Wakame - a seaweed salad, this was appetizing and tasted like jellyfish doused with sesame oil. Serving was small and I think it's easy to down a few bowls of this with a bottle of beer! 

Special Warakuya Roll - indicated with a must try logo, this didn't elicit positive feedback from us; seemed like deep fried maki with ingredients like seaweed, prawns and minced meat. I think we like our usual California roll better, or those from Koh Grill & Sushi Bar.

Tempura Cha Zaru Soba - just now we talked about how our preferences change with age when it comes to hot tea. Personally, I have a few examples and one of them was cha soba; I didn't like this cold, Japanese summer dish until after I had it onboard Thai Airways on my way back from Hokkaido.

Usually, the sauce was pretty straightforward and didn't involve wasabi, sesame seeds, spring onions, crispies and a raw quail egg; however, since they were given, waste them not! 

Taste of the soba was normal, nothing exceptional. Credits had to be given to the ingredient-filled sauce though; as it did enhance the flavor and texture. At RM 24.90, it's super worth it, especially when you factor in the tempura! 

I loved deep fried stuff even though I am seldom impressed with tempura. The ones here were not bad but not exceptional enough for me to absorb the calories.

Most disappointed with this fan-shaped tempura; I think it's made from enoki mushroom. Not much of a taste; like deep fried mee sua and very difficult to break. Maybe it's only for display! 

Salmon Sashimi - beautifully plated, decorated with fake and real flowers, the salmon was in thick, satisfying chunks, albeit not in fresh tiptop condition. I would very much prefer the salmon sashimi from Japanese Curry Express @ Fortune Centre.

Pudding - was about to step away when we realized complimentary dessert would be given for every diner! Chocolate pudding with hello kitty imprint; nice, smooth texture and not overly sweet.

=====

For all that we had, the bill came up to less than S$50.00, and that included service charge and tax. In view of its wide variety (and it wouldn't burnt a hole in my pocket), it's definitely a place I would return to in the future.

One page on the menu had me drooling; the daifuku sushi cake! Maybe I would order just one of them in the future, and eat nothing else. That amount of starch would likely make me feel guilty for the next few months.

Address

43, Jalan Kuning 2, Taman Pelangi, 

80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Pricing

Ikura Chawanmushi - RM 16.90

Gintara Saka Mushi -  RM 32.90

Okonomiyaki -  RM 16.90

Hiyashi Wakame -  RM 8.90

Special Warakuya Roll -  RM 18.90

Tempura Cha Zaru Soba - RM 24.90

Salmon Sashimi -  RM 23.90

Hot Tea - RM 1.00 each

(Subject to Service Charge and SST)

Additional Information

I noticed these two items outside the restaurant after our meal. Like Haidilao, I am able to eat and drink for free? Shall confirm the next time as my GRAB arrived earlier than expected and I didn't manage to ask the service staff! 

For summary of my day trip to Johor Bahru, please visit 

https://cavinteo.blogspot.com/2022/06/day-trip-to-johore-bahru-malaysia.html

Nezha Pavilion Temple outside Palladium Mall @ Bangkok [Thailand]

I am no stranger to Palladium Mall at Bangkok as I once stayed in the connected Berkeley Hotel Pratunam back in 2018. However, I don't really remember this pavilion right in front of the main entrance and its patron deity is a well known figure in Chinese legends and mythology.

Known as Nezha, he was said to be born after spending a few years in the womb of his mother, and can walk and talk upon birth. Blessed with special skills and strength, he became enemies with the royal dragon family from the ocean and eventually, had to kill himself in order to save his family and townspeople. 

You can read more here; I learnt most of Nezha's history from a Hong Kong drama serial when I was a kid and the deity's immortal age was somewhere around early teens; which means kids of my era absolutely adored him! I bet the hula hoops, which looked like Nezha's Qiankun Ring (乾坤圈) weapon, were in great demand then.

Given his age, soft drinks are used for offerings. In Singapore, people would usually put out Yakult / Vitagen yogurt drinks instead. Oh well, different country, different culture and tradition. I was quite fascinated with this 'temple' as I don't remember of any temple in Singapore that honors Nezha. A search on the web revealed that there's such a temple; Tian Teck Keng Temple (天德宫) along Tampines Link. 

One interesting fact about the sculpture at Bangkok is that Nezha was standing on a dragon. Even though Nezha was eventually immortalized, the enmity between him and the dragon family continued to be unresolved, especially since it was Nezha who first killed the son of the dragon king. Drama right?

Bangkok's Street Food Market outside CentralwOrld Shopping Centre in Bangkok [Thailand]

Unlike Singapore, you can find pop up street food everywhere in Bangkok; therefore, it doesn't quite make sense to have a street food market right outside a popular mall when most tourists would have flocked to the night markets instead. 

Problem is, not all tourists have the energy to visit the night market every day and some would take comfort that this Bangkok's Street Food Market is within the capital's major shopping belt! We just had dinner and hence, was just looking around instead of actively searching for things to stuff our tummies with. 

I would, however, sacrifice my diet if the Thai durians were indeed 60 baht each pack. According to the sticker on each plastic film; the price was a lot higher but it was to be expected as the one I paid for at Or Tor Kor market was about S$20. 

Guess these were the Thai river prawns, with their large heads. I tried this on a number of occasions and while they were meaty, the meat wasn't as sweet and as crunchy as their saltwater cousins.

From the look of it, appeared to be exclusively thai fish cake. 

Business must be brisk! 

Cashew nuts with four different flavors! Tell you a secret, I used to get the ones with sesame seeds, and sprinkle a few teaspoons into my home salad. I forgot to buy a pack home recently. :(

I have never tried corn dog before; they seemed to be high in starch and if you compare between this and moo ping, it's obvious the latter appeals to me more. Way, way more. 

Thai style fried rice and noodle; latter of which is more commonly known as pad thai.  Expensive at about 160 baht but who knows; maybe it tastes heavenly?

This stall had a queue and I had to fight the temptation to check out further! As you can see, there's a halal logo. For Muslim friends, it's actually not hard finding halal food in Bangkok. 

I love food on skewers as they gave the impression you are not having a lot; just one stick. There are two concerns though; whether the food is fresh (given my sensitive stomach), and the risk of it turning out to be bad tasting. 

Moo Ping is generally quite safe in taste in Bangkok; we have almost one stick every day we were in the capital city and they were all from different stalls. In Singapore, I have had pretty bad ones and the best tasting so far was from the pasar malams. 

Drinks; I would strongly recommend trying the unique orange juice from the above plastic containers. You can find them along the streets and they cost generally between 20 to 50 baht, depending on the size. 

For those with deeper pockets, mango smoothie might be preferred. For older people, plain water would still be the most beneficial for our body. Thai drinks are generally too sweet! 

=====

Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok