Food glorious food....

Because my husband goes to JB for his work, normally when we go along with him, breakfast is limited to the hotel breakfast buffet or what I happened to pack for the trip and lunch is dependent on my friends who come and visit me. :-)

So I usually look forward to dinner.When we go to JB this is a must place to go for dinner.

IT Roo is located along Jalan Dhoby. Prime real estate area. The buildings are very old but have been refurbished. The only problem with Jalan Dhoby area at night is the transvestites. It's not really safe to walk alone here, at night, due to the unsavoury visitors who come for their 'servicing'. Due to that, most of the shops along this area closes quite early.

This restaurant, however, opens until 10.00pm. It's fully air-conditioned and there are also tables outside for those who smoke. The decor is simple with old family photos, pictures of Johor during the colonial era. There are also some knick knack to remind us of yesteryears.



I love Sirap Bandung! And happy to say that IT Roo's Sirap bandung is fantastic. They use ice-cream soda, which makes it authentic Johorean drink. Reminds me of my wedding feast. My mother brought a cook specially from Muar and they served this drink for the kenduri.








This is the way to drink Hot Milo. The saucer for older teacup sets like this one has a deeper bowl. The larger surface makes cooling the Milo faster. Just make sure that the saucer is clean.






This is my son's favourite meal at IT Roo. The Egg Sandwich. Scrambled eggs on lightly toasted bread.











This is my daughter's favourite meal. My son likes eggs, while my daughter likes chicken. The peas are usually given to the Father. I always wondered what is the secret ingredient in Hainanese Chicken Chop. And I found that out on my first trip to IT Roo. I think the cook made a slight mistake of being a bit heavy handed on the secret ingredient that I could immediately identify it. Husband said he was wondering what it was until I told him and he agreed with me.

Anyway, the first time I went to IT Roo for dinner, due to the fact that the secret ingredient was a bit overwhelming and the chicken wasn't broiled properly, the chicken chop was a bit difficult to finish. However, on our later visits, the taste was properly balanced and the chicken was cooked better. I prefer the mushroom sauce myself, being a mushroom lover, but my daughter prefers the black pepper sauce.

This is the steak served here. Relatively same sauce. The steak is well done but not dry. Just nice, even for me who prefers medium cooked steak.

My husband tests a restaurant via his Nasi Goreng Index. The first thing he orders in a restaurant like this is the nasi goreng. And I am happy to say tha IT Roo has passed the Nasi Goreng Index. The prawns are super fresh, unfortunately the quota for each plate is 2 (edited: husband corrected me, I earlier thought there were 3).

So if you are in JB, do visit IT ROO at 17, Jalan Dhoby, Johor Bharu.

Another place to visit is Gerai Makanan Kacang Pool Haji at Medan Selera dan Bazaar Larkin.

My husband, a foodie himself, was raving about this stall and wanted me to have a taste. Kacang Pool has arabic origins. The dish is made from beans ( I will up date on the type of bean, later) cooked with tomatoes, onions and spices, until the beans are very soft. The beans is then mashed. Some cooks add minced beef or lamb in it, otherwise it could be a vegetarian dish.

Kacang Pool is usually garnished with a slice of lime, minced onion and green chillies. You can have an egg with it. Normally the egg is fried sunny side up ( the egg is cooked one side only and not flipped) with the yolk still runny. The yummy part is when you break the yolk and mix it with the kacang pool. Delish!

At Warung Makanan Kacang Pool Haji, the set of RM4.00 is served with a hunk of bread as shown. The bread is lightly toasted on both sides. You can either tear the bread and dunk in the bowl or place it in the bowl and eaten with the fork and spoon. Whichever choice you make don't forget to squeeze the lime. The lime juice brings the dish to another level of deliciousness.

The Kacang Pool served here is mild and not overly spicy. The serving is not too big and just nice for a snack. Just don't have this dish if you plan to go elsewhere as the gas you emit may kill someone!

The cendol I had was nice. Th cendol itself was soft and spongy but lacked the strong pandan taste. My cendol had kidney beans in it and with the kacang pool, it did make a explosive impact ;-). The santan was fresh and the gula melaka was authentic. A definite repeat order next time.

So if you are somewhere near Larkin, it's worth the visit. You can't miss the stall as it is the only one serving Kacang Pool at the Medan Selera and Baazar Larkin. It opens early and closes late at night.