Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture · History

Adventurous Foodie Geographer's Diary with 70 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com

Mom's Restaurant & Bakery 📍 What to Eat @ Khaling, Trashigang, Bhutan ☏ 1798 1386 ☏ 1790 4662

Mom's Restaurant 📌 Khaling town along Trashigang - Samdrup - Jongkhar Highway ☏ 1798 1386 ☏ 1790 4662 ⏰ Lunch & Dinner


Master Sonam from Barshong Lakhang (Karma Thegsum Dechenling Monastery) brought us to Khaling town in Trashigang district (
dzongkhag) in the far east of Bhutan.

Master Sonam oversees many aspects of the monastery's operations including its farm which produces vegetables, milk, butter and cheese for the monks' daily meals. This picture was taken at the monastery's mushroom farm near Khaling.

Chin Choon Black Sauce Prawn Noodle📍265 Bukit Batok 進春

進春 Chin Choon Prawn Noodle 📍265 Bukit Batok East Ave 4, Singapore 650265 (stall in De Tian 德天 coffee shop) 🚅 15 minute walk from Bukit Batok station ⏰ 7am - 3pm (Mon & Weds off)
Decades ago, I was living near Upper Bukit Timah Road. I remember three stalls from there which I often had my breakfast - a black sauce pork & prawn noodle shop, a Teochew sliced fish soup stall, and a wanton mee / chicken rice stall with roast chicken and pork. I don't know the names of any of these favourites. I just know where they were located along Upper Bukit Timah Road. They were my reliable places of habit 老地方,习惯的味道.

#01-148 Fu Cheng Steam Fish & Seafood 📍 Old Airport Road Food Centre 福城 ☏ 9736 5766

Fu Cheng 福城 📍 51 Old Airport Rd, stall #01-148, Singapore 390051 (Old Airport Road Food Centre) 🚅 5 minute walk from Dakota station ☏ 9736 5766 ⏰ 5pm - 9pm
Kaki kaki jio-ed (invited) to try Fu Cheng steamed fish stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre.

Go Go Jiangsu China • My Personal Journey of Discovery

Jiangsu province is one of my favourites places to visit in China. Slightly more than 102,000sq km, Jiangsu is the third smallest Chinese province but the fourth most populous with around 85 million people. (To put things in perspective, Peninsula Malaysia is 131,000sq km in size with population 20 million.)

Jiangsu province has the highest Per Capita GDP among China's 34 provinces at USD22,500.

Ah Mah Lee's Food Stall • Li Ji Xiao Chi 📍 Holland Village Hawker Centre 李記小吃

Li Ji Xiao Chi 李記小吃 📍 1 Lor Mambong, Singapore 277700 (stall #01-23 in Holland Village Market & Food Centre) 🚅 3 minute walk from Holland Village station ⏰ 10 am - 3 pm | 6:30pm - 9:30 pm
Ah Mah (grandma) Lee's food stall Li Ji Xiao Chi at Holland Village Hawker Centre recently got a lot of attention on social media. Buddy Kristen wanted to support Ah Mah Lee's stall.

Ruh Cafe No.2 📍 Coffee in Kaohsiung 路人咖啡2號店 ☎+886 7241 6321

 Ruh Cafe No.2 路人咖啡2號店 📍 801, Taiwan, Kaohsiung City, Qianjin District, 大同二路46號 🚅 5 minute walk from Cianjin 前金 station ☎ +886 7241 6321 ⏰ 8am - 6pm (Sun off)
Modern cafes are everywhere in Taiwan. Taiwanese love chilling in cafes with friends, their devices (phones, etc), and even books.

Ji Ji Wanton Noodle 📍 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre 基记面家 ☎ 6532 2886

Ji Ji Wanton Noodle Specialist 基记面家 📍 531A Upper Cross St, stall #02-48/49 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, Singapore 051531 🚅 5 minute walk from Chinatown station ☎ 6532 2886 ⏰ 9:30 am - 3 pm | 5pm - 7 pm (Thurs off)
Ji Ji Noodle House really doesn't need any more introduction. The wanton noodle stall has been in the Hong Lim area since 1965 and in the Singapore Michelin Guide since its inaugural edition in 2016.

Mohd Chan Chinese Muslim Halal Restaurant 📍 Ipoh Branch 怡保 清真中式佳肴 ☎ +6012 790 0914

Mohd Chan Restaurant @ Ipoh 📍56, Jalan Raja Musa Aziz, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia ☎ +6012 790 0914 ⏰ 11 am - 10:30 pm
Mohd Chan Chinese Muslim Restaurant is a chain with many outlets in Peninsula Malaysia. Our host brought us to the Mohd Chan outlet in Ipoh.

Chooi Yue Dim Sum • Eat with Locals📍Taman Ipoh Selatan 翠月楼点心 ☎ +6016 534 5965

Chooi Yue Dim Sum Ipoh 翠月楼点心 📍Tingkat Taman Ipoh 12, Taman Ipoh Selatan, 31400 Ipoh, Perak ☎ +6016 534 5965 ⏰ 7am - 2pm (Thurs off)
Found myself in Ipoh again, the Cantonese town of Perak, Malaysia. As a Cantonese myself, I feel a certain visceral affinity for the laid back, prosperous former mining town.

Eating dim sum is part of being Cantonese, so it is naturally part of our agenda.

Looi Heng Koka Chicken Rice 📍 Yun Sheng Coffeeshop Johor Jaya Teratai 瑞興可口雞飯 • 雲昇茶餐室

Looi Heng Koka Chichen Rice • Yun Sheng coffee shop 📍 Address: 2, Jalan Teratai 8, Taman Johor Jaya, 81100 Johor Bahru 📞 +6016 757 4592 (Yun Sheng coffee shop) ⏰ 7:30am - dinner
瑞興可口雞飯 has been at this corner coffee in Taman Johor Jaya Teratai for over 30 years. It has a multi-generation local following built over the decades without much social media hype.

瑞興可口雞飯 doesn't have an English name. For the purpose of this article, I  translated it to Looi Heng Koka Chicken Rice.

Artemis Grill & Sky Bar • Capitagreen Rooftop Singapore

✍17 Oct 2025. A new Era of Artemis Begins.

Artemis recently re-opened its Mediterranean inspired grill restaurant, rooftop sky bar, and event space. Strategically located at the prestigious core of Singapore's Central Business District - 138, Market Street, Capitagreen, Level 40.

Siniawan • Cowboy Town of Bau District • Story Behind the Weekend Night Market 新堯湾夜市

Siniawan is an old town popular with Kuching people for a weekend getaway or just a night out.

The population of little Siniawan town stands at about 3,600 people with Bidayuh Dayak (750 families) majority, followed by Chinese (700 families), and Malay (100 families). The Chinese are mostly Hakka.

My Little Spanish Place Bukit Timah MLSP • Certified Restaurant from Spain 2025 ☎ 6463 2810

My Little Spanish Place (Bukit Timah) | 619 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 269720 🚅 3 minutes walk from Tan Kah Kee station ☎ 6463 2810 ⏰ 6:30pm - 10:30pm (Lunch available on Sat & Sun | off on Mon)
Attended the Giant Paella Brunch event at My Little Spanish Place in Bukit Timah which was part of Eat Spain Drink Spain Singapore festival 2025.

Kellie's Castle, Folly or Haunted House? Enigma of Batu Gajah 📞 +6010 505 4817

✍️ 9 Oct 2025. Finally visited Kellie's Castle 😄

I first heard about Kellie's Castle when it made the news in 2000, when the Malaysian government decided to restore and repurpose the long abandoned property into a tourist attraction.

Global Travel Meet Kuala Lumpur 2025 • Tourism Malaysia's RM420 Million Masterstroke.

1 - 3 Oct 2025. Malaysia successfully hosted 1,500 of the world's key hospitality and travel industry leaders, innovators and stakeholders at the Global Travel Meet 2025.

L'Arte Pizza & Focaccia Hidden in Tanjong Pagar (next to Pura Brasa Spanish Restaurant) ☎ 8932 2923 🍕

L'Arte Pizza & Focaccia | 5 Wallich St, Guoco Tower, #01 - 14, Singapore 078883 🚅 3 minutes from Tanjong Pagar station ☎ 8932 2923 ⏰ 11:30am - 8pm
I vaguely know that there is a pizza kiosk opposite Pura Brasa the famous Spanish restaurant in Tanjong Pagar. Today, I found out that they make excellent pizza Romana or Rome style pizza 🍕 and focaccia.

Sinhalese Bar Ipoh • Original Pre-War Chill @ Concubine Lane ☎ +605 241 2235

Sinhalese Bar | 2, Jalan Bijeh Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia ☎ +605 241 2235 ⏰ 12 noon - 10pm (Monday off)
I never tire of Ipoh's Concubine Lane even though I don't count the times I have been here anymore 🤭

Pak Tam Bakery • Rediscover the Soulful Joy of Humble Roti Loaf Bread 🍞

On the way from KL to Ipoh, we pulled over at Tapah RnR (rest stop). After doing the needful, I roamed around the food stalls. I expected the usual.

Then, buddy Sidney pointed out that "the famous thing here is the bread" 🍞

Nam Makes Guangxi Chicken Special 廣西味唸鸡

We all know that Cantonese and Hainanese love their chicken, but the people of Guangxi love their chicken as much as their compatriots in Guangdong and Hainan provinces.

Pah Li Ban Sien's Kitchen • Guangxi Taste Chicken Rice @ Gao Deng Coffee Shop Skudai 阿贤厨房•廣西味淋滑鷄•八哩半高登咖啡店 ☎ 017 754 1696

Sien's Kitchen • Guangxi Taste Chicken Rice 阿贤厨房•廣西味淋滑鷄 | 1&2, Jalan Kilang Nenas, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor ⏰ 7:30am - 12 noon (Thurs off)
Tried one of the three chicken rice stalls at Pah Li Ban (in Skudai), my regular JB breakfast haunt for over a decade.

Fly Direct from Singapore Changi to Zhangjiajie by Loong Air 🛫 Launch 9 Oct 2025


Starting from 9 Oct 2025, Loong Air 长龙航空 will fly direct between Singapore and Zhangjiajie 张家界 in China's Hunan province.

Hong Wen Mutton Soup Maxwell • Original 50 Year Old Beauty World Icon 紅炆羊肉湯

Old Beauty World Hong Wen Mutton Soup 紅炆羊肉湯 | 1 Kadayanallur Street, stall #01-25, Singapore 069184 (Maxwell Food Centre) 🚅 At Maxwell station ⏰ 9:30am - 7:30pm (Sat & Sun off)

Stumbled upon Hong Wen Mutton Soup stall at Maxwell Food Centre. I know Hong Wen as it was one of the top of my mind Chinese mutton soup stalls in Singapore since the 1980s.

Eh... But Hong Wen Mutton Soup seemed a bit out of place here in the CBD 🤔 - the stall is an Upper Bukit Timah / Beauty World icon.

Olive Oil 101 Crash Course 🫒 Eat Spain Drink Spain Singapore 2025


Most of us have attended wine tasting, tea tasting, coffee tasting, cheese tasting, even durian tasting, but this was the first time I experienced olive oil tasting, thanks to Eat Spain Drink Spain (ESDS) festival 2025.

Spicy Wife Nasi Lemak with Huge Fried Chicken • Amoy Street Food Centre ☎ 8089 2119

Spicy Wife Nasi Lemak | 7 Maxwell Rd, Amoy Street Food Centre, stall #02-119, S069111 🚅 5 minute minute walk from Maxwell & Telok Ayer station ☎ 8089 2119 ⏰ 10:45am - 2pm (Sat & Sun off)
New spicy lady on the block was attracting a lot of attention 🤭 😘

#HuntTheMouse & DBS Celebrate Singapore’s 60 years of Nation-Building with S$120,000 Hidden in Heartlands

From 14th August to 25th September 2025, Sqkii and DBS present #HuntTheMouse DBS SG60 (the “game” or “cash hunt”), a special edition of the popular cash hunt game to celebrate Singapore’s 60 years of nation-building and the heartlands.

Jamon Iberico Night @ NÓMADA Keong Saik Road • Eat Spain Drink Spain Singapore ☎ 8209 7809

NÓMADA | 1 Keong Saik Rd., #01-05, Singapore 089109 🚅 10 minutes walk from Outram Park & Maxwell stations ☎ 8209 7809 ⏰ 12 noon - 2:30 pm | 5:30pm - 10:30 pm
I love Jamon Iberico, the king of Spanish gastronomy, so I was looking forward to the Eat Spain Drink Spain, Jamon Iberico Night at NÓMADA at Keong Saik Road.