Johor Bahru Lok Lok Supper!

It's has been sooooo long that I crossed over to Johor Bahru for supper thus I got quite enthusiastic (don't laugh) over supper. I was dreaming of all the stalls that I used to love and what will I order. Yum yum yum...

To add on to my anticipation, I had a real busy day and was trying to keep my starving tummy under wraps with much difficulty by the time my friend fetched me from my place. I was informed that everything was plan including what I was going to eat. Alright...

There's a slight jam on the Causeway, but it was nothing to fret about

Entering the Customs, no photography inside

First stop: Pamper the car with a Snow Wash

After the car was washed squeaky clean, we head down to Taman Sentosa and drove towards the familiar Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau. This is one of the hot spot Singaporeans head for late night supper.

"Are we going to have Abalone Noodle at Ah Piao?" I asked.

Nope, we parked right next to the noodle place and had to cross the road. Right in front of the Wisma Tiong Hua building, there was this little van parked there. It's a Lok Lok Kiosk! I've been craving for Lok Lok (乐乐串 which loosely translates to Happy Skewer) for the longest time.

I see Lok Lok!

Please don't finish all the food before I cross the road okie...

Phew... still have alot of food left

Can you see the sticks, they are skewered with enormous variety of ingredients. The man standing at the end of the kiosk (far left of photo) is "Boss", the important man in charge of cooking your meal.

I was slightly hyperventilating when I reached the kiosk. Oh what a spread! There's so many choices that my vision got blurry ( not that I was going to faint) because there's too many points my eyes will like to focus at the same time. They have everything on skewers there, you've got ingredients that started of as animals on fours, animals with wings, swimmers in the sea, something that had a shell (be it an egg or a shellfish), fruit/pod/leaf/root/stem/flower of a plant, the list goes on and on.

After I calmed down and explored the rows and rows of food, I not able to explain why, I started to check if they have any kind of skewered insect and was relieve to find none. Not that Malaysia is one of the "insect-feasting" communities around the world, but I just want to be sure. I my be quite a good eater, but I still have my limits plus watching Fear Factor did me no good in this sense...

Steps to get to your Lok Lok feast:

1. Approach the Kiosk and grab an empty but clean tray
2. Start selecting an assortment of ingredients on skewers, that's the most fun part (for me) because many a times, I was caught wondering "what is 'that' on the skewer I just took"
3. Hand over your filled tray to the "Boss"
4. Tell him/ her how you want your food to be done, you can choose either to fried or poached
5. Find a seat, settle down and wait impatiently for your meal

Waiting always seem to be forever, I'm always so hungry waiting waiting waiting... and finally my feast was served! Apologies if some of the below photos appear a little 'shaky' as the it was a cold night across the causeway and there was a great breeze going on.

The whole tray is mine! All mine. We had chili dip to go along, I must confess it's really "good stuff" (top left corner)

I was so busy snapping pictures that I did not realise the guy who served us was still standing there looking at me in awe. What? Do I look like an animal in captivity? So I took his photo as well

My favorite drink to go with fried food: Calamansi Lime Juice with Sour Plum. Extremely refreshing!

Makan makan! (meaning 'eat' in Malay)

Above: Shelled Quail Eggs, Below: Sliced Piggy Kidney (my friend's favorite, so I gave it a try )

Crispy Bacon

This is the star of the meal: Oyster Mushroom. Beware, it's so good that you may get hooked...

More Oyster Mushrooms

The mushroom were so addictive that I went on order 3 more skewers of it. As for the seasoning, they are around the same for most fried skewers. Once they were fished out of the fryer, they were left to drained for awhile. Thereafter they will be evenly "sprayed" (yes, they used a spray bottle like those used for spraying fine water mist on house plants) with their secret concoction, mostly made with light soy sauce and sesame oil. Lastly, pepper is sprinkled generously and they were ready to be served. It's a marvel to discover a simple combination like that can make oyster mushroom taste so addictive.

Thou shalt not be ambitious, I ended ordering too many skewers of oyster mushrooms and suffer from a Mushroom-Overdose I'll never forget that night. I told my friend that I'll most probably keep away from mushrooms in general, for a least 3 months. Do not underestimate how filling "a few" skewers can be. However I managed to get home ridiculously bloated but glowing with gratification.

I have blogged before that my friends call my "Goldfish" for my remarkably short memory span. Well, they have a legitimate reason... Less than a month after the above supper adventure, I forgetten about the incident and was ecstatical when my friend asked me to go along for another Lok Lok supper. This stall is slightly different from the first, you can also choose to grill your selection. No reward for guessing the first skewer I grabbed.



2 skewers of fried Oyster Mushrooms



Above: White Beech Mushrooms wrapped in Bacon, Below: Piggy Intestine (Another of my friend's favorite so I gave it a try as well)



A close-up for Grilled White Beech Mushrooms wrapped in Bacon





Mouth-watering Grilled Prawns, they were really delish! I wish you were there...





Super fresh Grilled Scallops, oh-so-juicy!

The second supper was wondrous as I've learnt to gauge how much I can consume to not suffer after. We order everything in moderation and truly enjoyed ourselves. It may be not the best place to eat in terms of hygiene level as it is a roadside-stall concept. However, I believe this is the way to go to experience different food cultures at times. Simple and rustic, no frills no pretence. I love it! Happy Feasting!