Every trip to JB seems incomplete without a meal of Bak Kut Teh and to date, the styles attempted are mostly herbal, peppery and dark. Hardly the same as those eaten locally and Hwa Mei was high on the list to try for quite sometime and I was skeptical about finding this place since we had attempted to track down another restaurant that was declared close in this part of JB. Finally, with much help from the nearby car mechanic, we found Hwa Mei snug in the back alley of a row of shop houses. Talk about hunting down, really.
The eating house was packed with diners at almost 1pm, which is no surprise. Eating is truly a pastime in Asian countries, regardless of time.
Yellowed walls, floor cracks filled with dirt and blackened pots are just some of the signs of history that this place has.
I watch intently as the owners fan the boiling pots of broth with an oldfashioned fan.
Old school teapot and cups.
Fried dough sticks are sold from a separate uncle who comes around peddaling oily packets at RM 2, not the bestest eaten but I have to have my BKT with fried dough sticks.
Our meal gets served shortly after in porcelain bowls. The main star - a bowl of piping hot BKT. Broth is darkened with soya sauce and spiced with garlic and possibly cinnamon and star anise. Very tasty and tongue scalding but the essence lies in the meaty pork ribs.
Innards that I usually shun away from and would only go for the collagen - pig's skin in short. The rest had a hearty good time with the intestines and stomach. I quote the companion who says - the best part of the pig so well done and barely gamey or skanky!
Tau kwa in the same delicious broth - and for once, I am not complaining that most of meal tastes the same way.
Sour vegetables are a must to quell any sense of gluttony.
The spread in its full glory before we proceeded to wipe the table of its contents and wish we had an extra stomach for more food. Hwa Mei's is one place that is well hidden off the usual touristy belt but more than that is a classic case of Hokkien Bak Kut Teh gone awesome. Note their closing hours though!
Opening hours: 830am to 2pm
Hwa Mei ak Kut Teh (Restoran Ah Bee)
146 Jalan Lumba Kuda, Bukit Chagar
Johor Bahru
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