Near to Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk in Bandar Johor Bahru, Ah Ma TeoChew Kuih (阿嬷潮州糕) is one great place to have traditional Teochew kuihs (bite-size cakes, dumplings, biscuits or pastries) and also popular local dishes. Some of the dishes include nasi lemak, Teochew porridge, curry noodle, curry chicken with turmeric rice, etc, as shown on a banner outside the shop.
Ah Ma TeoChew Kuih offers quite a number of different Teochew kuihs of different categories. It is not possible to try all of them in one visit unless you are in a big group.
On our first visit, we have both types of the peach-shaped Teochew yam kuih (潮州芋头桃粿) and Teochew rice kuih (潮州饭桃粿), Teochew oh ni (潮州芋泥), ku chai kuih (韭菜菜粿), mang kuang kuih (芒光菜粿) and four of the golden bun oh ni (黄金芋泥包). For mixed kuihs, we have pulut tai tai (蓝花饭), thousand layers matcha kuih (千层抹茶糕) and baked cassava kuih (烤木薯糕). The mixed kuihs are priced at RM5 for any 3 pieces.
The kuihs may be accompanied by a small dish of Ah Ma's homemade kaya for eating with unsweetened kuihs, especially the blue pulut tai tai that is made from glutinous rice and flavoured with butterfly pea flowers.
Not to be missed is the Ah Ma-recommended yam kuih (芋头糕). The yam kuihs, rice kuihs and vegetable kuihs are accompanied by Ah Ma's special chilli sauce with finely-minced garlic and a trace of lemongrass flavour. The yam kuih, with crispy toppings, is great-tasting with the chilli sauce — a must-try!
The Golden Bun Oh Ni (黄金芋泥包) is served with chilli sauce — a weird combo for sweet pastries.
The fried yam buns contain molten yam fillings (oh ni) that is mildly sweet.
Apart from traditional Teochew kuehs, there are other local dishes as well. One of Ah Ma's recommended dishes is the fried kway teow with cockles and prawns, which is not available at the Tan Hiok Nee outlet until recent months. The fried kway teow is not oily and is delicious!
The shredded chicken kway teow soup (鸡丝粿条汤), being a hot and light dish is also great for breakfast.
For beverage, do try the unique Ah Ma Signature Coffee (阿嬷特调咖啡) and Dalgona Coffee (400次咖啡). Ah Ma Signature Coffee has a strong unique taste that seems like traditional coffee well-blended with dark chocolate — it's quite similar to the hor ka sai coffee (虎咬狮) in Taiping.
The Dalgona Coffee is an iced coffee and offers an experience that is quite different from drinking cappuccino or latte. The sweetened coffee is whisked or beaten 400 times until it frothed and then added onto milk to form a dual-layer beverage. This foamed coffee is special as it is usually the milk that is beaten until it frothed, not the coffee.
That's two wonderful coffees to try at Ah Ma Teochew Kuih.
Apart from dining-in, most of the traditional kuihs, yam cakes and rice dumplings can be purchased from a stationary bicycle-assisted cart outside the cafe as takeaways.
There are Gula Melaka steam cake (马来糕) and orange butter cakes (鲜橙牛油蛋糕) too. Each box of cakes and Teochew kuihs are priced at RM7.
The Gula Melaka steam cake is soft, spongy and has a nice gula melaka (palm sugar) aroma, and is not too sweet. The traditional kuihs can also be mix-and-match to have each of the five types available.
Ah Ma's handmade chilli sauce, sambal, fried onions and kaya (coconut jam, RM7.50) are also available for sales in jars. Ah Ma's handmade kaya is viscous and not too sweet.
Website:
Address:
Ah Ma TeoChew Kuih (阿嬷潮州糕)
No.13, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
7am to 5pm | Closed on Monday