Ah Meng Kue Teow — Restaurant in Johor

An old establishment that stands against the test of time. Kuey teow thng apparently has quite a number of popular outlets in JB - I had tried one in Ungku Aminah, one in Permas and the latest one will be Ah Meng in Taman Melodies which has been operating for almost 30 years. Those who stay in the city centre will find this place convenient.

Long story short - I was staying in Taman Sentosa which was like a stone throw away (alright maybe a few stone throws but you get the drift). Had a tad too much drinking the night before and only something soupy and piping hot could provide the comfort to my body. The friend brought me here for breakfast.. god bless him! According to him, this is one of the popular place among the locals and sure enough it was packed when we arrived. Waiting time is an arse if you are hungry and have no patience to wait like everyone else but if patience is a virtue, you'll be rewarded with probably one of the better kuey teow thng.

Take your pick on your choice of breakfast... As the name suggest the famous one will be kuey teow but they do have other noodles to choose from. ◾Small - pork & liver ◾Medium - pork, liver, kidney, fish ◾Large - pork,liver, kidney, fish, abalone slices/oysters ◾XL - all included ◾Extra lard is available on request but I'm not sure if there's any extra charges because my customer paid for it. ◾If you prefer a lighter kind of breakfast, they do serve regular roti bakar and half boiled eggs on top of you preferred choice of teh or even kopi..

Of course extra ingredients are available at extra cost depending on how big your appetite and how deep if your pocket is. Personally I'm not really a fan of "spare parts" but my friend is.. so I've got to take pictures of this bowl. Anyway, all the ingredients are fresh and expertly cooked by Ah Meng himself... My friend actually commending the pork liver (smooth & nice texture) and kidney (thoroughly cleansed with little to none...

Unless you fancy tasteless fish slices, bad attitude and low QC, best to avoid this place.

All 4 bowls of dried noodle we ordered with chili vinegar came with just a blob of chili and nothing else. When asked why there’s no vinegar, the waitress brought a tub of sauces and told us to add it ourselves. I asked another (hopefully) more senior waitress for help. She snatched the bowl from me and unwillingly added the vinegar while mumbling complains. I was shocked and said “what about the other 3 bowls” and was ignored. An elderly uncle brought over the same tub of sauces and indicated that we settled it ourselves.

My kway teow noodle was bland and underwhelming (where are the aromatics? The lard?) only the liver pieces were palatable. The fish slices look good but were tasteless. I left 2/3 untouched and decided never to come back. I gave the atmosphere 2 stars because it’s air-conditioned. But can’t give any more stars because the frowning unresponsive waitresses mucking about really don’t make a pleasant dining ambiance.

As a JB local, I’m shocked and embarrassed by this type of service and quality. If you want the real thing, go to ah hwa eating house in Plentong. There you will find how kway teow cooked with love should taste like.

As for Ah Meng: please don’t insult this heritage dish we...

I really haven't been to this place for years, last one was before Covid and tried visited a couple of months back and it was closed. This time round noticed that the place has become air conditioned which made it more comfortable to dine. Visited on a weekend lunchtime and it was crowded. The place seemed to be full but I walked in and asked for a table and got one immediately. Was asked to scan QR to order food but a staff came and asked us for our orders instead. Had a look at the menu and was shocked that the prices have increased so much! It's almost 22Rm now for a big bowl of noodles. We ordered noodles and a side. The fried tau kee came first and it seemed cold. Wasn't that crispy and the fish paste inside was very pathetic. The chilli sauce also tasted a bit strange. Then came the noodles which we waited for quite a while. The biggest difference has to be the soup which was not as flavourful as before. The large noodles portion seemed quite decent, and the thing I didn't like was the fish meat didn't taste fresh, it was like flaky and powdery. The only thing I enjoyed was the abalone slices. Even the pork slices and the liver didn't taste consistent. Was a little disappointed that the standard had dropped quite a big and the price doesn't really justify for the quality. Probably won't...