Soon Soon Heng vs Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh

This post is going to compare the 2 bak kut teh stalls that I visited during my trip to Johor Bahru.

Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 1 of 2

Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 2 of 2

Bak kut teh has been a very popular food especially among the Chinese. So during my trip to JB, I actually visited 2 bak kut teh stalls within the same area (Taman Sri Tebrau). They are Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh and Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh. Both locations is about 10 minutes apart by foot so it is pretty near. Of course, there are other famous bak kut teh in the same vicinity as well but I haven't try them yet. So, I am going to compare these 2 stalls first and I will add in the list as I visit other stalls there.

Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh

Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh

Let's begin my review...

• Both Soon Soon Heng and Soon Huat have a lot of good reviews

If you ever google online or ask people who frequent JB a lot, these 2 stalls has a lot of good reviews and they are very popular. Each of them has their own supporters. Before I went JB, I did my research on these 2 places. It is hard to tell which one is actually better.

• Soon Soon Heng is cheaper than Soon Huat

Let's just assume that we order 1 person's share from both the stalls. Soon Soon Heng cost RM8.00 while Soon Huat Cost RM9.00. It is only RM1.00 difference though, but still Soon Soon Heng is cheaper.

• Soon Soon Heng is more conveniently located than Soon Huat

Soon Soon Heng might have an advantage based on location since it is only located outside of KSL. KSL itself is a giant tourist attraction. The chance of people going to Soon Soon Heng is so much higher since it is so convenient if they are at KSL.

Soon Huat, on the other hand, is located at Jalan Sutera 1. Although that stretch of road has a lot of well known food stalls, it is not as convenient as to compared to Soon Soon Heng which is just beside KSL. Only food lovers like me or those who know where to get good food will know about Jalan Sutera 1. Still, it is only about 10 minutes walk from KSL (which I feel isn't that inconvenient).

• Soon Soon Heng uses gas stove while Soon Huat uses charcoal stove

Well, I think most people didn't realise this. Most of the places, including Soon Soon Heng, uses gas stove to cook the bak kut teh because it is easier and faster. However, Soon Huat uses the traditional way of cooking (charcoal stove) for cooking the bak kut teh. That only applies to the bak kut teh though. They cook other dishes on gas stove.

I have this stigma that anything that are cooked over charcoal tends to taste better, although scientifically proven that it doesn't make a difference. Even that being said, it is a fact that using charcoal to cook definitely require more work to be done compared to the easy-to-use gas stove. So for this point, I will give it to Soon Huat.

Soon Huat's Bak Kut Teh

Soon Soon Heng's Bak Kut Teh

The pictures are just for illustration. They were ordered in different amount and added different ingredients. 

Now I will zoom in on the bak kut teh itself...

• Soon Huat's meat is nicer than Soon Soon Heng's

In terms of meat, it was pretty obvious that Soon Huat's was better. One of the crucial point that I look at for the meat is the ease of removing the meat from the bone. The meat from Soon Huat came off easily without much effort. I could separate the meat and the bones even using just chopsticks.

Soon Soon Heng, however, I could not remove it with just chopsticks. I need to bite it off the bones, which might be a messy thing to do.

• Both Soon Soon Heng's and Soon Huat's soup taste equally good

Soup from both stalls tasted really good and taste about the same to me. It was a really hard decision to make to determine which soup base was better so I am going to give both a draw in this section.

Verdict

Based on the above points, both Soon Soon Heng and Soon Huat had a draw on 2 areas, won on 2 areas and lost on 2 areas. So they can be considered a draw, I am not satisfied with a draw, so I have to announce a winner.

If I were to choose, I will give the winner to Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh. The reason is simple, the food itself is more important than any other factors. Just by looking at the bak kut teh itself, Soon Huat actually won Soon Soon Heng.

Now that we have a winner, there is one extra note that I wanted to share. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment, bak kut teh is classified as a "heaty" food. Hence, you will tend to feel dehydrated after eating bak kut teh. Depending on how diluted is the bak kut teh, the effect varies as well. After eating at Soon Huat, my throat felt very dry. It felt like I had bad breath, but I don't. My friends had the same feeling as me too so it wasn't just me. It doesn't felt nice, but then again, it also mean that Soon Huat's bak kut teh has the quality. Soon Soon Heng, on the other hand, didn't have that much effect on me. This might a another reason why I gave the winner to Soon Huat.

Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 2 of 2

Moving from Day 1 of our trip to JB:
Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 1 of 2

After a good night of rest, thanks to the comfortable bed provided by KSL resort, we were all refreshed for another day of exploration in JB.

As we leaving the hotel for breakfast, CT spotted the Chinese guardian lions statues in front of the entrance of the hotel, she quickly undo her hair and tied it like the ancient Chinese ladies' hairstyle (based on TV drama) so she could pose together with the lions. She currently has a hype for ancient Chinese dramas.

Posing like ancient Chinese lady

For breakfast, we decided to go back to Taman Sri Tebrau for bak kut teh at Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh. According to some locals that we asked during the previous day, they said that this stall is more popular in demand.

Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh with extra button mushroom

We ordered a serving for 2 pax with extra button mushroom and it cost RM26.00 (inclusive of our drinks and rice). What I like about this dish is the soup base and the flavour of the meat was good too. It would have be nicer if the meat could be softer. I also realised this stall used charcoal to cook their bak kut teh which is quite rare nowadays. Maybe that explain why their bak kut teh tasted better than the rest. Somehow, using charcoal makes dishes taste better even though everything else remain constant.

As we had yet to explore the hotel on the first day, we headed back to the hotel after breakfast to check out their facilities. 

Entrance to Dinosaur Water Themed Park

So the first place we head to was the Dinosaur Water Themed Park. It's complimentary for hotel guests. but public need to pay a hefty RM50.00 for an adult. Unless you are a hotel guest, I wouldn't recommend you to go in for that kind of price.

The overall concept of this water themed park is rather simple. They have a few dinosaur statues placed around the park and some information about dinosaurs on the wall. The head of the dinosaurs will move and some even spit water.

Following the themed park, we visited the gold simulator and the gym.

To the gold simulator and the gym

We didn't play with the simulator nor did we hit the gym. We just explored them and the gym is relatively well equipped. All the equipment are well maintained too. No one was playing on the golf simulator so I couldn't see how is it like to play golf indoors, but it definitely looks fun. I shall try it some day.

As we head back to our rooms to collect our bags to check out, there was newspaper hanging on the door.

Star Newspaper

While CT need some time to touch up and pack her bag, I chilled on the bed and started reading the newspaper. I haven't done something so luxurious (lying on the bed and reading newspaper without having to do other things is a luxury to me) for a long long time.

Anyway, once we were ready to check out, we proceed to the lobby and handed the room keys to the reception. The seats at the lobby were beautiful, so I decided to take a quick picture before leaving the hotel.

Posing at KSL lobby

After leaving the hotel, we shopped in KSL. I didn't find anything worth purchasing except for 2 small panda toy from F.O.S. It was going at RM16.00 for 2 so I got 2 (1 for me, 1 for CT).

Chatime and the Panda

CT loves the roasted milk tea from Chatime so we went to to get it for her. It is like the sure thing that she will always go and get it if she knows there is a Chatime nearby.

After finishing her milk tea, we went for lunch at Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh which is just across the road. I know right, we just had bak kut teh for breakfast. It was bak kut teh overload!

Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh

This wasn't the first time that we ate here. Because it is nearest to KSL, we always eat here whenever we go KSL. This shop is pretty popular among Singaporeans and is always filled with people regardless the time I arrive. Overall, this meal cost RM34.70 (RM29.00 for the bak kut teh only).

Anyway, comparing both places (Soon Soon Heng and Soon Huat) for bak kut teh, I would prefer Soon Huat's. I will be doing a review comparing this 2 stalls soon, so stay tune for it.

After lunch, we headed back to JB central because there are places that I want to go before heading back to Singapore. We took a blue cab back to City Square which cost us RM12.00. It's expensive by the way. Blue cab is very expensive compared to the red ones. For the same distance, red cab usually cost around RM8.00. The reason why we took the blue cab is because there wasn't any other cab around at that time. So please take note, unless you don't mind the fare difference, choose the red cab if possible. Note: I am not advertising for the red cab. This is purely a sharing of my own experience.

That aside, my destination wasn't City Square mall. I am heading the Jalan Dohby and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. These 2 streets are parallel to each other. I have heard a lot about the cafes and nice food in these streets so I wanted to visit the place myself. These streets are near to City Square. It took me about 10 minutes to walk to the street.

Anyway, we passed by the new shopping mall directly beside City Square, so I thought of sharing because I know a lot of people doesn't know that there will be a new shopping mall coming up just across the border.

New shopping mall coming up

As we reached the streets, there were indeed a lot of cafes and food stalls. Many of the cafes were closed though. So we just stroll down the street to see what is there for us to go the next time. There are so many places that I want to visit the next time, but I am keeping them to myself until the next time I visit them.

Jalan Tan Hiok Nee

We visit the super famous Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory. There were so many media that interviewed them before. True enough, when we were there, all their cakes has been sold out and they only left with banana cake. Still, they were selling like hot cakes. I saw people coming in and grab 10 packets of them and paid for it, no question asked. Fearing that they might be selling out fast, I grabbed 2 packets and paid for it too.

Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory

Price list

Each packet of banana cake cost RM9.00. Based on the currency exchange rate then, it cost about SGD3.60 which might not be expensive to us. Considering that I am a Malaysian too, RM9.00 is very expensive for the local (Putting ourselves in their shoes: if the banana cake cost SGD9.00, will you still buy it?). 

Although that being said, their banana cake taste really good. One of the best I have ever tried. If you have not try it before, I would recommend it.

As we were walking, we spotted the entrance to Coffee Valley in an alley which could be missed very easily.

Entrance and menu of Coffee Valley

Being curious of the cafe layout upstairs, we went up for a quick peek. The place was really nice and quiet. So I ordered a waffle (RM10.50) and sit down to enjoy the ambiance and rest for a while.

Signature Original Waffle with Salted Butter

I don't know if it is the mentality that everything on the other side taste better or is it because it really taste better. I love their waffle and ice cream a lot. I crave for it every time I see this picture. Those in Singapore doesn't make me crave for them that much.

Enjoying the waffle

After spending quite a long while in the cafe, it was about 1600hr, so we decided to cross the border before the peak hour. That marked the end of our 2 day JB exploration and I did get a lot of experience and found out a lot more places in JB. I shall visit JB really soon again.

For more and better view of pictures, visit Flying Panda Facebook Page

Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 1 of 2

I was thinking of going overseas but couldn't think of where to go so I decided to visit Johor Bahru. Although I have been to Johor Bahru many times, I had only been to a few places, so I decided to stay in Johor Bahru for 2 days to explore as many places as I could. Also, I have planned to walk instead of the usual cabbing here and there so I could explore more places.

So on a Monday morning, I woke up early in the morning and headed in to JB with CT. The weather wasn't very nice to us. It was heavy downpour that morning.

Initially, we were intending to try the Roti Canai at Bukit Chagar, but we couldn't find it sadly. So we settled for Roti Canai at Afrida Restaurant (Unkut Aziz).

Afrida Restaurant

Plain Roti Canai

Roti Canai with Egg

The Roti Canai were large and fluffy. Usually I eat 4 pieces in Singapore, but I felt full after 2 piece of plain Roti Canai there. The curry they provided was a little salty however. We spent a total of RM7.60 inclusive of 2 drinks.

While having our breakfast, I was trying to figure out where we were because we actually lost our way. Then, I realised we passed by the Roti Canai shop at Bukit Chagar but because it is not really visible, we missed it. I shall try it another day.

After our breakfast, we set off our journey to KSL, where we had booked a room to stay for the night. As we set off, we lost our way again. The roads are rather confusing and we don't know which road to take, but it wasn't that bad.

We stumbled across the first glass temple in the world "Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple". This was supposedly to be the part of our itinerary for the second day, but since we happened to be here on the first day, we headed in for a tour.

To the Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple

Exterior of temple

As we enter the temple, we were approached to pay a fee of RM3.00 for the camera.

Fee for Video and Photo taking

Interior of temple

The view of the temple was breath taking, it is definitely worth to visit. For more pictures of the temple, visit my album on my Facebook page.

After the temple, we continued our journey and stopped by Plaza Pelangi for a short break. 

Plaza Pelangi

To be honest, from the glass temple, there isn't much to see along Lebuhraya Tebrau (the road that lead all the way to Plaza Pelangi). When we reached the plaza, it was about 1100hr but a lot of shops were still closed, so we just went to Uncle Jo's cafe for a drink.

Uncle Jo's Cafe

Another reason why we choose here is because they have free WiFi!

Free WiFi at Uncle Jo's

Three Layer Tea

While using the WiFi, we ordered their three layer tea to quench our thirst. The tea is pretty sweet and it cost RM7.60 (inclusive with their GST and Service Charge).

Once we got enough rest, we hit the road again. From this point onward, there are a lot of shop houses and more things to see.

Shop houses along the road after Plaza Pelangi

We didn't explore or shop much there though. We just wanted to head to the hotel so that we could unload our baggage first, so we just window shopped while heading towards KSL.

KSL

Once

we reached KSL, we went straight to the hotel lobby and checked in because we wanted to rest for a while after a long walk from JB central to KSL in the rain.

Award for KSL

As we were heading to our rooms, we noticed a plaque awarded to KSL by agoda.com, so I guess this hotel is worth coming. Anyway, KSL is a 5-star hotel if you still do not know. My stay in the hotel was a pleasant one.

Room of KSL

Although we wanted to rest, our stomach were rumbling shortly after we checked in, so we headed over to Taman Sentosa (about 10-15min walk from KSL) where lots of food had great reviews.

One of our chosen place to try was Tong Tong Causeway Bay Hong Kong. When we were there, they were changing their signboard because the previous signboard had spelling error and it was too small. Many people missed the signboard when they are trying to find the shop, so he decided to upsize the signboard and correct the spelling errer

Tong Tong Causeway Bay Hong Kong

They were known to specialized in roast meat so we ordered a Char Siaw, Roast Duck and Roast Pork.

Lunch with all the roasted meat

The roast pork and char siew were rather unique I would say and it was delicious. No wonder it is so popular. What's more, everything on the table only cost RM32.00! How affordable is this meal, I had a little chit chat session with the owner and I found out that he used to open this shop in Singapore. He only closed the shop in Singapore because he was moving back to Malaysia (He is a Malaysian). According to him, many Singaporean still travel in just to eat there.

Along the same stretch of road, there are quite a number of bak kut teh stalls and apparently all of them are popular. 

Tang Feng Bak Kut Teh

Durian Ice Cream

Fried Durian

We stopped at Tang Feng Bak Kut Teh not for their bak kut teh, but for their durian specialty. We were so full after the roast meat platter, so we could only settle for dessert. The ice cream was RM8.50 for 2 and the fried durian was RM10.00 for 3. The ice cream was actually just vanilla ice cream with durian taste, but what I love was the durian puree in the ice cream. The vanilla ice cream itself was also smooth and creamy. The fried durian was a even better durian dessert. The durian paste in it was Mao Shan Wang and together with the crispy exterior, it was a perfect match.

After so much of food, it was time for some relaxation. So we headed down the road to Plaza Sentosa, where they had Kaki Kaki Reflexology (for massage) and LUSH (for nails).

When we arrived at Kaki Kaki Reflexology, we had a hard time deciding what package to pick. After taking about 5 minutes talking to the sales staff, we chose a 60 minute facial massage (RM199.00) from Lotus Beauty which locates inside Kaki Kaki Reflexology.

Namecard of my therapist

According to my therapist, she came up this massage that is purely for face and part of upper body because she felt that face has been neglected during massage (which is kind of true). Her massage was really comfortable and I totally fell asleep! This is serious! I usually don't fall asleep during massage but she made me sleep so nicely.

Because of her professional service, I decided to add a whitening mask treatment (RM49.90).

First time doing whitening mask treatment

Overall was a great experience. I enjoyed every moment with my therapist. She was nice enough to tell me a lot of new places that I never hear before, but I wasn't familiar with JB area so I actually don't know most of the places that she told me. It doesn't really matter anyway. I got a few packages from her already, so I will still be visiting her and then I can ask her slowly while I familiar myself with JB.


After the invigorating facial massage, we proceeded on for pedicure at Lush which is just diagonally across Kaki Kaki Reflexology.

Lush front desk

CT doing her nails

Tea while waiting for CT

So while waiting for her to finish her pedicure (RM38.00), I was served with chrysanthemum tea. The whole process took about an hour. After that, it was just nice for dinner!

Taman Sri Tebrau Hawkers Centre

We headed down to the nearby Taman Sri Tebrau Hawkers Centre for dinner. CT wanted seafood for dinner so we settled for Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant since she recommended it.

Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant

Fried Mantou - RM1.00 each

Sambal Sotong (Squid) - RM15.00

Chilli Lala (Bamboo Clams) - RM15.00

Sambal Stingray - RM20.00

All the dishes we ordered were small size because it was just me and CT. We couldn't finish that much food. CT initially wanted chilli crab too but it really wasn't worth to get it for just 2 person. So we decided to come back again with more people the next time.

Anyway after the sumptuous dinner, we strolled back slowly to KSL which took us about 20 min. Right outside KSL there was a Pasar Malam (Night Market) waiting for us.

Start of Pasar Malam

The Pasar Malam will be there every Monday Night. They move around everyday in the week but I am not too sure what are the other locations for other days though. 

So while we were walking down the Pasar Malam, I saw this stall selling Pedi Spin. I have been contemplating to get it but wasn't very sure if it is worth it or not. The price in Singapore cost SGD29.90 for one of those and RM79.90 in Malaysia. Guess what, this lady boss was selling at just RM28.00!

Selling products

Pedi Spin

Of course, being cheapskate, I got it because it seems like the authentic one. She even throw in free batteries. Since I am talking about this product, I am going to tell you my review. I tried it and I am glad that I only got it at RM28.00. It is totally bullshit. Please do not believe whatever the advertisement says. It is world's apart. It doesn't shave off the feet at all. Even if it does, it is shaving off very little at a time. I'm sure even after using this from full charge till the battery die, I cannot even shave off all my dry skin on my feet. I am really disappointed in the product. Then I went online to read up what others say about this product, I got the same feedback. So please DO NOT GET PEDI SPIN!

Coconut Ice Cream

I spotted this coconut ice cream which is very popular to tourists in Thailand. I tried this in Singapore before and it cost SGD5.00. Now in Malaysia, it also cost RM5.00. It is definitely more worth it to eat it in Malaysia than in Singapore. Of course, it is cheap in Thailand too.

Jia Jia

Before I went to this JB trip, I actually did some research. I found out that this Jia Jia beverage stall is very popular. True enough, when I was there, they were having a long queue. I gave it a missed after seeing the queue though. I wonder if it is really that nice. Anyway they specialise in soya beancurd and soya milk.

Apam Balik (Turnover Pancake)

Apam Balik is known as "Turnover Pancake" in English. I love this since I was young so I bought 5 for RM2.00. Each was sold at RM0.50. This Apam Balik here was definitely not up to my standard. I have tried Apam Balik at many places in Malaysia and this is one of the bad ones. Apam Balik consist of the crispy pancake crust, crushed peanuts, sugar and creamed corn. This one that I tried had creamed corn concentrated at the centre of the pancake which made it very sweet. The distribution of the ingredients weren't good enough.

After walking the whole stretch of Pasar Malam from KSL to Grand Paragon and back, it was about 2200hr. We were dead tired after a whole day of exploration on foot. So we decided to head back to KSL to rest for the night. But before that, we went to TESCO to get some water and we were glad that we went there. Just outside TESCO, there was a booth selling coconut drinks. The way it was served was very unique. The husk was removed leaving the flesh and juice intact.

Removing the edible part of coconut from the shell

Pouring out the coconut flesh and juice as a whole

This was the first time I ever saw this way of serving coconut so we decided to order one to try. Each coconut cost RM5.00 and it was really convenient to eat. I love this idea of cutting coconut.

Well, that summed up our first day in JB

Continue on with Day 2 of our trip:
Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 2 of 2

For more and better view of pictures, visit Flying Panda Facebook Page