Johor Bahru Found in Geylang!

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Greetings Greedies, get your guts ready for a veritable Cze Char FEAST at a Geylang institution that is far from unfamiliar. In fact, we’ve covered it before here on the Makan Kakis blog. However it’s SOOO GOOOD that its virtues bear repeating, so here goes…

Michelin Bib Gourmand-mentioned JB Ah Meng is a long-time favourite of chefs not just because it’s conveniently open late (perfect for after-service suppers), but also the food is legitly tasty. Our Makan Kaki Petrina Loh of Morsels, like so many other chefs (including our other foodie friends KF Seetoh, Rishi Naleendra & Chef Daniel Tay), makes a beeline for JB Ah Meng whenever she can with colleagues and friends when she’s in need of her JB Cze Char fix.

A definite must-try is the signature San Lou Mi Fen 三樓米粉 (quirkily named 3rd Floor Vermicelli, or Chao Tah “charred” Bee Hoon), which is a pork and seafood wok-fried rice noodle dish made distinct by its pancake-like appearance. Crispy and charred on the outside, but fluffy and tasty underneath, this dish has lots of smokey wok hei and flavour. It’s fun picking through the tender strands for tasty little morsels of pork, squid and egg, as well as bright green crunchy cai xin hidden right at the bottom of the plate!

Chef Petrina also recommends the beautifully crispy Fermented Beancurd Pork- so savoury, super umami, marinated in very traditional, pungent & salty fermented beancurd, this dish is done to perfection.

Finally, no trip to JB Ah Meng would be complete without ordering the White Pepper Crab. Sweet tender crab flesh is enhanced by the lightly spicy white pepper sauce, dotted with smoky garlic that lends a heady, very aromatic, subtle flora heat to the dish. That’s the essential difference between white pepper sauce and the more common, hard-hitting heat of black pepper sauce (although JB Ah Meng also serves this version).

Sometimes, you have to be in the right mood for crabs, because cracking them open is fiddly, messy business, but Chef Petrina says you’ll always be in the mood for this White Pepper Crab. The saucy dish comes with a generous serving of spring onion, which is something that she enjoys eating coated in the sauce. That white pepper sauce is also awesome spooned over everything, from the San Lou Mi Fen to a steaming bowl of white rice!

Chef Petrina’s recommendations aside, Denise is putting her money where her mouth is and her mouth where these other dishes are! If you’re in a large group, you might want to order these other delicious items on the menu, starting with the Garlic-Chilli Lala. Tender, yet firm to the bite, these briny-sweet clams are aromatic with garlic with just the amount of heat from red chilli and spring onions. The sauce is also good enough to slurp up on its own our scooped over rice.

The Cameron Highlands Dragon Vegetable stir-fried with bean sprouts and thin slivers of chilli& salted fish chunks looks deceptively simply, yet delivers on taste and texture. It’s so crunchy, so fresh & packed with flavour thanks to the salted fish.

Another great veggie option is the Snake Beans with Crispy Lotus Root. Lardy fried onion and whole garlic cloves, along with tender celery take this dish to another level!

So Hungry Humans, if you’ve never tried JB Ah Meng before, please please please put it on the top of your list and head on over this weekend! Be warned though, it gets packed Fridays through Sundays & you can expect queues, unless you show up really early at 5-ish when it first opens. Reservations are advised, especially if you can “chope” some of the Whie Pepper Crab in advance. Sometimes by 8.30pm the White Pepper Crabs are sold out. To avoid disappointment, you could also make plans for a meal there earlier in the week for an earlier dinner at this populat late-night supper eatery!

TASTE:
JB AH MENG
534 Geylang Road, S(389490), corner of Lorong 30|
Open Daily: 5.30pm – 2.30am
Tel: +65 67412418