Review Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Recommended)
Address: Jalan Pujaan, Taman Dato Onn, 80350 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xFf4RmDvnX3BfPTJ8
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)
Teh-O-Kosong Ais = RM1.50
Bakso Mihun = RM8.00
Sate (Satay) 6 Sticks = RM7.20
No Service Charges
Here is the Full Menu of the Eatery/Restaurant.
Prices are Accurate as of the Date of the Post.
Important Disclaimer:
This Eatery is located right beside an Actual (Still in Use?) Graveyard / Cemetery. 🪦 The Videos and Photos I've taken are only for the Sole Purpose of this Review with Absolutely No Intentions to cause any Disrespect. Especially if you are someone reading this who actually have a Loved One buried here, I've tried my best to ensure that None of the Deceased Names are identifiable in the Photos and Videos I've taken. I seek your kind understanding for this. 🙏
When I was doing my Research on Eateries to eat in Larkin, I came across this Unique Little Place. After further checking, I learnt that "Kubur" actually means Grave or Tomb 🪦 so this intrigued me immediately. 🤔 In fact, this place is so Unique that I don't think any Singapore Based Food Blogs or Food Influencers have ever reported on it before. 🤔
Protips:
1) If you are thinking of taking Grab to this place, 🚗 it is listed as "Bakso Kubur Cina" on Grab's Map as you can see in my Attached Screenshot.
2) The Location here can be abit Ulu with Overgrown Grass, 🌳 so there is a Risk of Mosquito Bites. 🦟 As such, I would recommend to apply some Insect Repellant before coming here just in case.
Having said that, this Place is actually also Not that Ulu as the Local Grab Driver I took knows this place well. 👍 According to him, actually this Place is pretty Well Known among the Locals here too. 👍 It is also located within Reasonable Walking Distance to the Kacang Pool Haji Branch at Jalan Dato Onn. 🚶
Interior of the Eatery
What this place actually is, is a Malay / Indonesian Kampung-Styled Warung Eatery built out of Wooden Planks with a Very Rustic Look. 🛖 The name of this place says "Boyan" which I'm guessing is referring to Boyanese Cuisine. 🤔
Obviously not Air-Conditioned, it was Pretty Hot and Humid 🥵 although they do have a Couple of Ceiling Fans to help provide some Air Circulation. 🌬️ The thing that surprised me the most was when I was there at 2.00pm on a Friday, it was not as Ulu as I thought and was actually Very Crowded with Customers! 😳 Understandably all of the Customers were Muslim Folks with me being the Only Chinese Person.
NGL of course I felt a Tad Socially Awkward 😅 but that feeling passed quickly as the Staffs were Polite, Friendly and Welcoming. 👍 That said, I would recommend if you can at least try to converse in some Basic Malay to be able to order food here. 🗣️
How to Order your Food:
1) Find an Empty Seat to sit first. 🪑
2) Signal to a Staff for Assistance 🙋♂️
3) Request for a Menu if you need (Or you can refer to the Photo of the Menu I've taken)📝
4) After placing your Order with the Staff, wait for your Food to be served up. 🍽️
5) Payment at Front Counter after the Meal. 💵
It took 3 Mins for my Teh-O-Kosong Ais, 9 Mins for the Satay, and 10 Mins for the Bakso Bihun.
Everything was up within 10 Mins.
The Available Condiments
🍯 Black Sauce Condiment
This was a Mix of Chopped Chilli Padi 🌶️ drenched in a Black Sauce thats neither Soy Sauce nor Kicap Manis. I think this is some sort of Dark Soy Sauce? 🤔 Its not Particularly Salty. The Whole Condiment has an Elevated Spicy Bite but doesn't Bite Hard.
🌶️ Red Chilli Sauce
This is a Sweet Chilli that tastes exactly the same as the Type that is usually served in Fast Food Restaurants like KFC. 🌶️
🌶️ Red Sambal Condiment.
I think this is Sambal Belado? 🤔 I recognize the Soft Texture of this Sambal from Past Indonesian Eateries I've eaten. 🌶️ It has a Strong Spicy Bite that will linger long on your Tongue. 🌶️ Spiciness is Elevated but still not strong until "Make your Ear Itchy" as how I describe for Very Strong Spicy Sambals.
🍯 Kicap Manis Condiment.
This is basically just Regular Kicap Manis that would be Very Familiar to any Singaporeans or Malaysians. 👍 For any Foreign Folks in the Group who have never tasted Kicap Manis, its actually a Very Classic, Thick and Dark Sweet Sauce that is regularly used in South-East Asian Malay (and some Chinese) Cuisines. 🍯 It has what I would describe as a Slightly Earthy Caramelized Sweetness to it.
🥤 Teh-O-Kosong Ais = RM1.50
Nothing particularly Special about this. Its just a Regular Iced Teh-O-Kosong. 🥤 The Tea Flavour is not Particularly Robust, but neither was it Bland. Very Standard Kopitiam Level of Teh-O-Kosong.
🍜 Bakso Mihun = RM8.00
Bakso is a Classic Indonesian-Styled Meatball usually made out of Beef or Lamb. 🐮🐐 They have a Few Variations of it in this Eatery. I ordered this because this was One of the Most Highly Raved Food Item in in Most Google Reviews for this Eatery. It was served up in a Relatively Large Bowl, Nicely Presented and looks like Alot of Food. 🍜
The Dish Consists of:
🍡 5 Small Pieces of Bakso Meatballs
🐐 3 Small Pieces of Kambing Slices
🍜 Decent Amount of Mihun (Noodles)
🥬 Some Cabbage Slices and Garnishings
The Soup has a Savoury Meaty Tone to it obviously infused with the Bakso Meatballs that its likely boiled with. 🍲 Saltish but Not Overly So.
What is Unique about it is that I feel its not 重口味 at all and taste like it has a Noticeable Chinese Influence. 🤔
The Bakso Meatballs themselves were Regular Meatball Sized. 🍡 The Bite Texture of Bakso is what differentiates it from Regular Meatballs. Bakso does not have a Typical Meaty Bite Texture but instead has a More Doughy type of Filler. 🤔 One taste of it, you can tell that this is done using a Mix of Minced Meat with Flour (Gluten?) and the Whole Thing Tastes like what I'd describe as a "Meaty Doughball", rather than a Standard Meatball. 🤔
This is my 2nd Time tasting Bakso actually and I can confirm this is what Bakso actually tastes like (at least in Malaysia) I've never been to Indonesia before to taste the Original Bakso though. 😅 If this is the 1st Time you're tasting Bakso, its a Taste you'll either immediately like or dislike. 🤔 You may even find it tasting Very Unusual due to that Doughy Texture it has. 🤔 Personally I'm not exactly a Fan of this, but I do respect it for what it is. It is a Culinarily Very Interesting Way to make a Meatball.
The 3 Small Kambing (Mutton) Pieces were Good and Meaty though. 🐐😋 Nicely Flavoured, doesn't taste like they're Marinated but they also aren't Gamey. I especially love some Fatty Parts which gave a Nice Fatty and Creamy Chew. 😋
It was a Pity they only gave 3 Pieces of it, although you can choose another Variation that includes More Kambing Pieces as I've seen other Customers order at this place.
Eating this Whole Thing together is exactly how you'd expect it to taste for what is essentially a Chinese-Inspired Meatball Bihun Soup. 🍜 Adding the Chilli Condiments improve the Taste by giving it an Additional Spicy Heat. 🌶️
I find this a Decently Put-Together Dish. 👍 Its Decent but I feel is not as Mind Blowing as how it is being described in Google Map Reviews. 🤔 One Main Aspect that kept me from liking this is perhaps because I am not particularly a fan of the Doughy Nature of Bakso itself. 🤔 Its a Dish you have to try yourself before you decide whether you like it.
🍡 Sate (Satay) 6 Sticks = RM7.20
I was surprised to find them selling Satays here so I thought I'd give them a try. 🤔 This was not particularly raved or mentioned much by Google Reviewers. They have 3 Flavours available. 🐔 Ayam (Chicken), 🐮 Daging (Beef) and 🐐 Kambing (Mutton). Interestingly, no matter which Meat you choose, it is Priced the Same at RM1.20 per stick. So I chose 2 of Each Flavour to try.
I was immediately impressed and intrigued when it was served up because the Gravy Sauce 🍯 is lum all over the Satays directly instead of being served in a Separate Bowl for you to dip. This is the 1st time i'm seeing Satay being presented in this way. 🤔
🍯 Quality of the Satay Gravy
When I tasted the Gravy, I was immediately impressed. 👍 It had a Robust Sweetish Gao Gao Peanuty Taste with a Gritty Texture. 🥜 Not only that, I also thought it had a Deep Smokey BBQ Flavour too. 🔥 Not at all Spicy, this really was a Very Earthy and Complex Satay Gravy. Superb! 😋
🍡 Quality of the Satays
I'll describe each of the Meat Flavour separately and what I was impressed with them was that despite the Gravy 🍯 Lum all over them making them Visually Unidentifiable, I could still easily tell them apart just based solely on Taste. 😋
🐐 Kambing (Mutton)
Fleshy, Meaty and Juicy and Not at all Dry, I could even taste bits of Fatty Parts that came with them. 😋 Kambing Meaty Taste is Gao Gao but in a Good Way and Not Gamey. I love the Solid Original 原味 Kambing Taste. 👍
🐔 Ayam (Chicken)
The Cut here taste like Breast Meat is used, and again its Meaty and Not Dry. Not as Juicy as Kambing but still had a Good Solid Taste of the Original Chicken Meat without it being Too Chickeny too. 👍 Having said that, I did find a Piece that is Slightly More Burnt and Chao Tah 😅 which resulted in me tasting some Carbon and the Rest of the Meat on that stick was Particularly Dried Out. I guess this Stick was a Misfire. 😅
🐮 Daging (Beef)
Once again, Meaty, Juicy and Not Dry (I think you can sort of see a pattern here huh?) 😅 Decent taste, but among all the Meat Choices, I feel Daging is the one that doesn't have a Gao Gao Beefy Taste. 🤔 I mean its there, but definitely not as Meaty Robust in Flavour when compared to the rest.
Among the 3 Flavours, I enjoyed 🐐 Kambing (Mutton) the most because of its Stand-Out Solid Robust Meaty, Juicy Taste of the Mutton. 😋 Despite the One Misfire for an Overly Burnt and Chao Tah Stick of Ayam that I found, 🔥 I thought this was Overall Still a Pretty Good Satay. 👍 What I really loved was how Moist and Juicy the Meats were compared to some Overly Dry Satay I've had in the Past. 😋
After eating this Satay I then come to realize the Real Reason why they Lum and Smother the Gravy all over the Satay is to actually keep the Meat Moist and Juicy and not Dry out Quicker. 🤔 Very Clever Technique to do it this way. 👍 This Satay also worked simply because the Gravy they used is Solid. 👍 Really Robust Earthy and Peanuty, 🥜 I simply loved the Unique Smokiness 🔥 that it has that I have yet to taste in other Satay Gravy I've had so far in JB. This is a Damn Solid Satay Gravy right here. ❤️
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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts
At the Price of RM1.50 (S$0.50) for this Cup of Teh-O-Kosong Ais is definitely Affordable. 🥤 Quality is Comparable to a Similar One sold in a Typical SG Kopitiam but at a Much More Affordable Price Point. 👍
The Overall Dish itself is Decent Enough and while I can't say its a Must Eat here, I can recommend to give it a try if you have never tried before. 👍 Think of it as a Malay / Indonesian-Styled Chinese Influenced Bihun Soup. 🍜
Even better, the Meats didn't taste like they're Highly Processed or Heavily Marinated and I enjoyed their Original 原汁原味 Taste of the Original Meat. 👍 The Gravy they use is also Damn Solid Robust and Gao Gao and paired with the Satay Perfectly. 🍯👍 Culinarily, I am also Impressed with their Clever Technique of directly Lum the Gravy all over the Satays like what they did. 🍯 This worked Double Duty both to Flavour the Satays and also to Keep from Drying out Faster resulting in a Much More Juicy Meat Texture. 😋 Although there were a Couple of Misfires with some Sticks being abit Overly Burnt Chao Tah, 🔥 the Whole Dish on a Whole was still a Very Good Quality Satay. 👍
Of course, the Main Unique Appeal of this Place is its Unusual Location
which is located literally right next to a Chinese Cemetery! 🪦😅
This is One of the Most Unique Eatery I've ever explored in Johor Bahru so far. 😅 Its so Off The Beaten Track that I don't think this place has ever been covered by any Mainstream SG Food Bloggers. 😅
It was a Very Unusual Feeling to be munching on some Solid Tasting Juicy Satays 🍖 while overlooking Someone's Gravestone 🪦 literally just a Few Steps away from your Dining Table! 😅 Never in my life have I ever had such a Unique Dining Experience. Literally Dining with the Deceased. 陪往生者吃饭. 😅
If you are not the Particularly Pantang (Superstitious) type, 😅 I can totally recommend this Eatery to experience a Literally "Out of this World" Dining Experience. 😅 Nothing Creepy or Scary at all, and the Whole Atmosphere just felt like a Regular Eatery. 👍 The Malay Customers I observed here certainly have no issues enjoying themselves with some even bring their Children along. 👍
Having said that, amusingly according to Google Maps, this Eatery even operates until 9.30pm at night 🌃 so if you want an Even More Exciting Unique Experience, try visiting this Eatery during the Chinese Lunar 7 Month Season after the Sun has set! 😅 So how about it? Do you think this is an Eatery you'd want to visit After Dark? 🌃😅
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