[Non-halal] Macam Hokkien mee, tapi bukan. We enjoyed this plate of Foo Chow noodles at Restoran Or Hwu 福州五湖餐馆 in Yong Peng.
On our way down to Desaru in Johor, we stopped by Yong Peng town for lunch.
Yong Peng is an excellent pit-stop for those travelling the Singapore-JB-KL route. This is because the town is only a 3-hour drive from KL and 1.5-hour from JB centre.
Compare to other major towns in Johor, it only takes 8 minutes to get to Yong Peng town centre from the North-South Expressway exit, vs. 20-30 minutes for Muar, Batu Pahat and Kluang.
As such, we think Yong Peng is a suitable pit-stop for lunch as it does not add too much travelling time to the journey.
Yong Peng – home to the Foo Chows
Known as Everlasting Peace in Chinese, Yong Peng offers plenty of Foo Chow cuisine.
This town has its roots back in 1800s when the Johor sultanate (with the the influence of the British) decided to enlist Chinese workers from predominantly Southern China to modernise the state.
While many Chinese of various dialects would settle here, the Foo Chows in particular had left an indelible mark in Yong Peng – based on the language and prominent offering of Foochow 福州 food here.
Yong Peng – famous for Foo Chow cuisine
Some of the popular Foo Chow (also known as Hock Chew) dishes here include Foo Chow fried noodles, Foo Chow egg soup, Foo Chow fish balls, fermented red rice wine noodles, and Foo Chow plain bread.
Foo Chow food at Restoran Or Hwu
In our short stop here at Yong Peng, we managed to check out two local restaurants for Foo Chow cuisine. And Restoran Or Hwu 福州五湖餐馆 was our favourite among the two.
Famous Foo Chow fishballs
Among the various Foo Chow dishes, we find the fishballs to be the most popular as there were plenty of restaurants offering this specialty.
Originating from the Fuzhou district, these fishballs are different from most due to the addition of minced pork filling. And the balls here did not disappoint.
Bouncy balls, delicious pork filling
The fishballs were super bouncy with plenty of fish taste. It was also slightly larger than the ones we had at another restaurant.
We thought the minced pork filling was delicious – no “porky smell” and seasoned with the right amount of salt. It has a good bite too (not mushy) which complemented the firmness of the fish paste.
The soup (made with light stock and pickled vegetable) in which our boiled balls were served in were simple, to highlight the flavours of the balls.
Or Hwu also offers fried Foo Chow balls here.
Excellent Fried Foo Chow noodles
However, our favourite dish here has to be the Fried Foo Chow noodles!
Curiously, this plate of Foo Chow looks very similar to the Hokkien Noodles in KL. This is due to the similarity of thick noodles and black sauce used for the dish.
In fact, this type of noodles is not found in Fuzhou China. Hence we surmise that this dish is a local creation in Yong Peng, taking inspiration from other cuisine here.
Plenty wok hei, touch of sweetness
No matter, we enjoyed this dish a lot!
Let’s use Hokkien Mee as the comparison. The noodles here are similar to Hokkien Mee in terms of thickness but with a firmer bite which reminded us of Ulu Yam-style Lor Mee.
The thicker noodles worked well to absorb the delicious gravy.
The gravy is superbly flavourful and similar to Hokkien Mee in terms of savouriness and umami.
However, it has a tinge of sweetness – which we suspect, comes from the addition of Foo Chow red wine.
This was a lovely touch to provide an additional dimension to the dish. The noodles dish has plenty of wok hei too, with prawns, greens, and pork slices as toppings.
The accompanying pickled chillies were good too.
Verdict
Overall, we really enjoyed the dishes here. We definitely recommend Or Hwu if you decide to stop by for a meal here in Yong Peng. Or Hwu is also known for its Egg Soup and Red Wine Chicken.
RECOMMENDED!
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Instagram for the latest food adventures and recipes.
More food recommendations in Johor
For more food recommendations in Johor, check out the archive below:
Restoran Or Hwu
Address: 214, Jln Besar, Taman Sembrong Baru, 83700 Yong Peng, Johor
Hours: 12.30pm-3pm, 5pm-8pm (Daily)
Phone: 013-399 9095
