Lace Ruffles World

So I had visited Kuu by Tea Garden before ( Read Part 1 here ), and this time I decided to visit it again for the egg tarts and also the mee rebus. The mee rebus was okay. It wasn’t spicy at all and it would definitely taste better with some cili padi thrown into it. It definitely isn’t as good as the ones you can find at Malay stalls and restaurants. It isn’t bad though and it is something I would order again.

Tea Garden is a popular cafe chain in Johor Bahru. The recently revamped Aeon Tebrau City now has Kuu by Tea Garden. I don't know why they add Kuu to it. Perhaps it is a mini version because Tea Garden has more variety of items to order. The popular food at Tea Garden are actually the snacks like egg tarts and salted egg bun. At the regular Tea Garden, there are Cantonese egg tarts and Portuguese egg tarts which get sold out often but it seems like Kuu by Tea Garden only has Cantonese egg tarts which don't get sold out. I don't know why they don't sell Portuguese egg tarts in their Aeon Tebrau City branch as they are popular in other branches. The egg tarts are delicious enough for me to purchase again. I don't really recommended the main courses in the menu though. I have tried the herbal chicken and I think the chicken was quite tasteless. Read Part 2 here

At Aeon Tebrau City, there are 2 shops selling Japanese baked cheese tarts. So who does it better? For that, I have to taste both at the same day because I'm not good at remembering taste precisely. First off, is Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart. Mmm! It's delicious and fragrant. I can't eat more than one though because I would get sick of it easily. These things are to be enjoyed in small portions. Next is the Uncle Tetsu's cheese tart. From the picture, you can already see which one is more well-baked. Uncle Tetsu's cheese tart looks less appealing due to its lack of browning. Taste-wise, it is more sour and less fragrant. It is also more crumbly so be careful when you hold it. So the obvious winner is Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart! I won't bother with Uncle Tetsu's cheese tarts anymore as long as there are other baked cheese tarts nearby.

Miyako is one of the restaurants located in the Japanese Street in Aeon Tebrau City. It is mainly a BBQ restaurant with a few Japanese offerings like grilled mochi, karaage etc. Look at the picture below. Does it remind you of anything? It looks exactly like BBQ Plaza! The set usually includes cabbages. I chose the plain bone broth even though they have other fancier soups. I don't really like the meat as it is not very fresh. The meat tastes like it has been frozen for a long time, but what can you expect from a restaurant in a mall? The dipping sauce is crucial here, and there are many types of sauce available which you could scoop on your own. The place is often a little too cold for me so be sure to bring a jacket if you feel cold easily.

Yoshinoya Hanamaru is one of the latest additions at Aeon Tebrau City which has a Japanese street filled with Japanese shops, cafes and restaurants. It is popular with its udon which is a great choice when you are just slightly hungry. I ordered the beef udon and I was disappointed. The beef was not flavorful and was very tasteless. Most importantly, there's no egg in this dish and egg makes a world of a difference when it comes to udon. I would instead recommend the basic springy udon with runny egg, Ontama Bukkake, which is cheap and delicious. Or, you could order any udon noodles with ontama (runny egg). I assure you that the egg is the distinctive factor in deciding the tastiness of udon. I will never get bored eating this basic Ontama Bukkake!

Johor Bahru seems to be upgrading itself with new malls. Aeon Tebrau City is not new but there was a recent expansion the mall is bigger now with new shops. On the highest floor, there is this theme park for kids where you can find FANPEKKA Cafe by SDS. SDS is prominent bakery and cafe in Johor Bahru. I wasn't in the mood for cakes as I was hungry so I ordered aglio olio instead. I'm not a fan. I'm easy to please when it comes to aglio olio but this pasta tastes 'empty'. It has not much flavour except for MSG. Suffice to say, I wouldn't come here for main meals again. I have tried cakes at SDS before and they are passable. Not great but not terrible either.