Hidangan Formosa Naruwan

Review Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (Average)

Address: Paradigm Mall, Skudai Hwy, Taman Bukit Mewah, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
(Located within Paradigm Mall)
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ivoufb5SVxMDNwnM8
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)

🐮🍜 Stewed Beef Noodle (Original) = RM22.00
🐷🍚 Braised Minced Pork Rice = RM10.00

Service Charge 10% = RM3.20

 Here is the Full Menu of the Eatery/Restaurant.
Prices are Accurate as of the Date of the Post.

This was a Taiwanese Eatery 🇹🇼 located in the Mall, just beside 来记海南鸡饭 Nasi Ayam Hainan Lai Kee actually which I will feature in my Next Review. 

I specifically marked this place for my Trip because of a Supposed Taiwanese Google Reviewer giving this Very High Praise. 🤔

His Exact Words were: "After I try 1st and 2nd Dish, its totally same taste as Taiwan Restaurant. I would say this restaurant is better than all Taiwanese Restaurants I tried in Singapore." 🤔

Very Bold Claim indeed, especially if it's from a Taiwanese. Let us discover together how true this is shall we? 🤔



Interesting Trivia about the Name of this Eatery.

The Name of this Eatery itself  "Hidangan Formosa Naruwan" already intrigued me, so I did further research on it. 🤔

"Hidangan" is a Malay Word that roughly translates to "A Spread of Meal".

"Formosa" is an Old Portuguese Name of Taiwan that originated around the 16th Century which means "Beautiful Island".

"Naruwan" itself is a Greetings Term from the Taiwanese Indigenous Ami Language that roughly means "Welcome".

So if you were to break it down, the Eatery's Name can probably be translated to "We welcome you to this Beautiful Island to enjoy a Spread of Meal"? 😅 Hahaha this is a Very Adorable way to name a Restoran. ❤️

Interior of the Eatery

The Restoran itself is a Typical Mall Eatery with a Chinese Look that at the same time also don't look Very Chinese sort of Furnishings. 🤔 The Restoran has a Unique Long Horizontal Layout and has both Indoor and Outdoor Seatings. Place is Cleanly Kept and Maintained. 👍

The Staffs are mainly Myanmar Folks who are Friendly and keep to themselves. Some of them can speak Chinese and it was quite adorable to hear them greet the Classic 欢迎光临. 😄 No issues with Customer Service here. Not Overly Crowded, there were a Few Tables of Customers as at 2.30pm on a Friday Afternoon Off-Lunch Hour.

No Idea what that Taiwanese Google Reviewer ordered that made him so Impressed, 🤔 so I ordered the 2 Most Classic Taiwanese Dishes to test. 🇹🇼 One of which, the Beef Noodles 🐮🍜 is a Signature Dish of this Place. It took 5 Mins for the Lu Rou Fan, and 6 Mins for the Beef Noodle. Everything was served up within 6 Mins.

🐷🍚 Braised Minced Pork Rice = RM10.00

I was Very Surprised when this was first served up. For the Price of RM10.00 for a Mall Eatery, I had expected the Portion to be a Very Small Bowl with maybe at most 1 Tbsp of Minced Pork like how Taiwan actually serves theirs. 🤔

What I got here instead of a Very Decent Sized Bowl filled with a Decent Filling Amount of Rice 🍚 filled with a Generous Amount of Lu Rou, 🐷 a Couple of Slices of Pickled Cucumber, 🥒 1 Full Braised Egg 🥚 and even a Bowl of Soup. 🥣😳

🥣 Quality of the Soup

Appearance has a  Cloudy Look garnished with some Sprinkling of Spring Onions. The Taste is actually the same type of MSG enhanced Soup that you'd normally find for Wanton Mee. 🍜 Not Overly Salty. I find it Adorable for them to offer this as a Soup to pair with Lu Rou Fan. 😅


🐷 Quality of the Minced Pork Lu Rou

Amount given is Very Decent at least 3 Large Tablespoons of it. It was a Good Mix of Meaty and Fatty Cuts and they do taste Decent. 👍 Very Classic and Decent Lu Rou Braised Taste, Salty but not Overly Salty although I feel the Overall Taste leans more towards Fatty Side because of More Fattier Cuts in this. 🤔 Because its Noticeably Fatty, eventually you will Quickly Jelak due to the Fattiness. 😛

🥒🥚 Quality of the Pickled Cucumbers and Braised Egg

Luckily this is where this comes in. They were Sweetish Sourish Pickled and eating them helped alot in Cutting alot of the Jelakness. 👍 I do like how Thin they were Sliced, almost Transluscent. If these weren't Sliced using a Mandolin Cutter, then the Chef who cut this actually has Very Good Knife Skills 刀功. 🔪

Braised Egg 🥚 was very Standard Tasting, nothing particularly Special but I do like its Softer Bite Texture. Its not those Firm Firm Dry Dry Type. Also to give a Full Braised Egg is Quite Generous for the RM10.00 Price of this Dish. 👍

🍚 Quality of the Rice

Interestingly, I put Rice as the Last Thing to review in this Dish because despite the Rest of the Dish is, this is the one that I feel let down the Whole Thing because they used Standard Jasmine Rice, not Taiwan Pearl Rice. 台湾珍珠米. 🍚🤔

To be fair, there is Nothing Wrong with this, and the Amount given is Filling and Acceptable. But can a Lu Rou Fan that doesn't even use 🍚 Authentic Taiwan Pearl Rice 台湾珍珠米 still be considered a Truly Authentic Lu Rou Fan that is supposedly "Better than ALL Taiwanese Restaurants in Singapore" as what that Google Reviewer proudly proclaimed? 🤔 I'll leave it for you to decide. 

🐮🍜 Stewed Beef Noodle (Original) = RM22.00

And now we come to the Actual Signature Dish of this Place. Taiwanese Beef Noodles is also a Classic Dish. 🐮🍜 The Presentation itself is Decent and looks Appetizing. 👍 Smells Appetizing too. It comes with a Small Dish of Kiam Chye Condiment 🥬 which is Unique as this is not Something I've encountered during my Taiwan Trip. 🤔

This Kiam Chye is not Very Kiam actually, but does have abit of what I call "Chou Chou-ness" that a Kiam Chye would have. 😅 Its also Mildly Spicy. 🌶️

Of course I dissected the Rest of the Dish closely. It comes with:
🐮 4 Large Cuts of Beef 红烧牛肉
🍜 Acceptable Amount of Noodles
🥬 Some Stalks of Chye Sim
🥬 1 Radish Cut
🥕 1 Carrot Cut

🐮🥣 Quality of the Beef Broth

I'll go right ahead to say that this isn't Super Amazing. 🤔 But it also doesn't taste like a Lazy Slapped Together Job. 👍

Not as Gao Gao Beefy as 劉山東小吃店 Liu Shandong Beef Noodles but also not Basic Normal like 建宏牛肉麵 Jianhong Beef Noodles that I've tasted in Taiwan.

Personally, I feel the Braised Flavour is More than Beef Flavour. 🤔 There is still a Robust Meaty Flavour Presence that is not Overly Salty. It also doesn't taste like MSG is used, or if its used, its probably very little.

🐮 Quality of the Beef Pieces

The Quality of this 红烧牛肉 is Decent. 👍 Its Soft and Tender 一咬就破 type of Texture which means it has defiinitely been Stewed for Long Hours in the Pot. 👍 

I especially like the Fattier Parts which does have a Melt in Mouth Quality. 😋 Still not as good as Liu Shandong, but better than Jianhong. 4 Pieces aren't alot but to be fair they are Relatively Thick Cuts.

🍜 Quality of the Noodles

The Noodles they use here look like 版面 Ban Mian, 🤔 which is different from the type of 釉面 You Mian or Udon types that I've tasted in Taiwan. That said, its not 版面 though. 😅 I do like that they are Not Doughy and have a Soft Bite Texture. Easy to Swallow, they are a Decent Carb Canvas in this Dish. Amount of Noodles also didn't feel Stingy, this was Filling and Acceptable.

The Rest of the Ingredients

The Chye Sim was Decent. I appreciate that they gave a Decent Amount of Stalks 🥬 instead of just 1 Stalk that some other Eateries would give to cut cost. 😅 That Radish Piece was Very Welcome because I loved how it soaked up the Beef Broth for a Juicier Bite. I wish they gave more than 1 Piece though.



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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

At the Price of RM10.00 (S$3.10), I must say that this Lu Rou Fan 🐷🍚 really surprised me. Because this is a Mall Eatery, I had expected them to do whatever they can to scrimp. This was absolutely not the Case here. 👍 Although not Super Amazing, the Whole Dish was still Acceptable in Taste and Filling 吃得饱 filled with 🍚 Rice, 🐷 Meat, 🥬 Veggies with even 1 Full Braised Egg. 🥚 For the Price of RM10.00 in a Mall Eatery, this was Unbelievable Value for Money, even perhaps rivaling a Non-Mall Eatery. 😳 This may be the Most Affordable Lu Rou Fan I've ever encountered in JB thus far. 👍

The Price of RM22.00 (S$6.70) isn't particularly Cheap for their Signature Stewed Beef Noodle. 🤔 It is certainly not at the Level of 劉山東小吃店 Liu Shandong Beef Noodles, but neither does it taste Basic Acceptable as 建宏牛肉麵 Jianhong Beef Noodles. 🤔 At the Very Least 吃得出来有用心做, not just a Lazy Slapped Together Job. 👍 Amount of Ingredients given were Acceptable for the Price and were Filling. Once again I overestimated how much I could eat and couldn't finish all the Carbs, so I must apologize to the Eatery for this. 😅

Is this Place really like how that supposed Taiwanese Google Reviewer claimed:
"Totally same taste as Taiwan and Better than ALL Taiwanese Restaurants in Singapore?" 🤔

Of Course Not. 😅
For one thing, the Lu Rou Fan here doesn't even use Authentic Taiwan Pearl Rice 台湾珍珠米. 🍚
At the very least, I know some Taiwanese Eateries in Singapore does use it. 👍

Having said that, this was still Overall a Decent Eatery to visit if you are craving for some Taiwanese Foods as long as you keep your Expectations in Check. 🤔 The one that has the Most Value is really their RM10.00 Lu Rou Fan. 🐷🍚 For a Mall Eatery to be able to offer it at this Price is really Very Unusual indeed. 🤔