Before turning off at Ayer Keroh exit, we made detour and travelled further down south to the quiet town of Tangkak. It is the northern part of Johor, close to the state of Melaka. It takes about 20 minutes by car from Ayer Keroh toll to reach to the heart of town. It is famously known as the ‘fabric town’ due to the abundance of cloth shops.
However, that said, we weren’t there to buy fabrics. No… we were there for one thing and one thing only that is to feast at Jia Jia Bah Kuet Teh. It is said that this stall is famous amongst the locals and probably the best of them lot…. in Tangkak.
The shop was spacious yet clean and despite of the size, most (if not all) tables were taken when we arrived at about 10AM. However, we did not need to wait for long to grab an empty table and order our dishes. We did not have to wait long either for our food to arrive as they were served within 5 ~ 10 minutes.
Being blessed to reside in Klang Valley with abundance of delicious bak kut teh especially the ones from Klang (like Teluk Pulai or Pao Xiang), plus I did not have any expectations at all, I was surprised by their version. Served in claypot, it has the usual suspects in it; pork ribs, belly, stomach, intestines, mushrooms, beancurds and a handful of chopped romaine lettuce. The meat was a-okay but I did not like the intestines because I felt like they were not washed properly and hence, the texture and taste. But that aside, the soup was delicious, intense with Chinese herbs and pork essence.
The yam rice was just under par; bland and mushy but I was told that it is usually quite alright compared to what we had on that day. The pickled vegetables were normal; perfect to whet your taste buds but the braised chicken feet were amazing!
Despite being on the sweet side, these collagen-packed feets were moreish. It was an easy eat as the skin fell off the bones easily. The chopped garlic and chili gave a slight kick to the dish. We had two portions while contemplating on the third.
The overall bill was RM32 with a pot of tea. We wanted to drop by another shop for wan tan mee but we were too full that we decided to skip it all together and travelled back to Melaka. Besides that, prior to this, we bought some pork buns which may have contributed to our filled tummy.
Address :
38, Jalan Kemajuan,
Off Jalan Payamas,
(a road opposite the Post Office)
84900 Tangkak,
Johor.
GPS Coordinates : 2.272898,102.544702
