JB Eat: Chai Ji Fish Soup (财记鱼汤) @ Tan Hiok Nee

Rick
May 22
2 min read

Updated: Oct 10

Towards one end of Jalan Dhoby, adjacent to Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk, three new shops had sprung up in November 2024. The three shops have distinct colour themes of red, green and yellow. The shop with red theme is Chai Ji Fish Soup (财记鱼汤), which specialises in fish soup. Chai Ji Fish Soup has several branches in Johor Bahru and the outlet in Jalan Dhoby is the fifth one.

The new outlet is not very big and has an oriental feel. A large sign at the counter says "unlimited free top-up of soup". Chai Ji's menu has a unique fish-shape design, which is in line with their specialty. The restaurant serves fish-head pot, seafood pot, fish soup, fried fish soup, etc, with selection of various types of noodle. There are tasty side snacks as well as pork noodles. There are lunch sets at promotional prices on weekdays from 12pm to 4pm.

The Signature Fresh Fish Slice Soup (招牌鲜鱼片汤) is served with fresh fish slices (select from toman, sea barracuda or grouper), fishballs, bean curds, tomato slices, greens and desired choice of noodle in flavourful soup that has sourish notes of tomato and Chinese pickled mustard. The noodle dish is garnished with lots of fried shallots, seaweed strips, coriander, spring onions, etc, which add more flavours to the soup but not overly strong-tasting. The fish soup dish is delicious.

Chai Ji Fish Soup (财记鱼汤): Signature Fresh Fish Slice Soup

The Ultimate Fried Pork Noodle (无敌炸肉面) is served with selected kway teow dry-tossed in delightful dark sauce and fragrant oil and garnished with fried garlic bits, fried shallots and spring onions. The noodle is added with large pieces of fried pork, cut into strips, and fresh romaine lettuce and accompanied by a bowl of light-peppery soup. The noodle is flavourful and delicious on its own. The marinaded pork, with balanced fat and lean portions, is fried till crispy outside and tender inside. It has a nice aroma, tasty and irresistible. This is must-try too.