Fat Fish 肥鱼 — Restaurant in Johor

I find it odd saying that this is one of the best eats in JB. I should be mentioning bak kut teh, paper wrapped chicken, assam fish head or the likes .. but this has left a great impression.

Ok, the place opens late (no lunch), and I arrived around 9pm on a weekday with the place under 50% capacity. Immediate seating and order.

There were ample parking lots by the road/ around the restaurant.

Since it was my first visit, I received recommendations and ordered a 金目鲈 🐟 in their signature 胡椒猪肚汤, with add ons of cabbage 🥬 and lotus roots (which they messed up and gave me potatoes instead).

Anticipating that this could work like hotpot, I added a portion of beef (other pork options available too).

The visual of the dish was not as 'intimidating' as Tanyu or other SG equivalents of 烤鱼.. and I find that refreshing.

Now, the soup is the bomb 💣 I have many a great memories of such soup recipes from Hong Kong's 坤记 豬骨煲, to China's 劳王 胡椒猪肚汤 hotpot soup base.. and this was a very competent rendition.

The barramundi 金目鲈, as you would expect, got a mud taste, not everyone is against/ for it, but I'll try the snapper next time (pricier). The fish itself was sizeable, fresh, and well cooked. Unlike the heavy flavors of spice and mala on a grilled fish, this is a lot more 'refine'.

Yes, the kitchen gave me potatoes instead of lotus roots, but it went well with the hotpot and slowed cooked till a mushy state at the end, which made both the potato nicer, as well the soup. The cabbage is a must have, it adds sweetness to the soup and very nice by itself in the soup's flavor.

The beef was quite forgettable in my opinion, but I might still go for their pork options in the future.

My family has a customary style to end such meals, which is to make a 泡饭 out of it. So, adding the brilliant soup base over a small portion of rice, it was super.

Now, RM 120 for this meal not exactly an economical dinner, but it's absolutely good value. I'll be back with a gang the next time.

Please don't drop your high...

Went there for dinner at about 8pm. There were a total of 3 groups of customers, including ourselves, in the restaurant. However, it was just left with us after 9pm. My fianceé was offered a free hair band before we ordered our food.

The kitchen staff seemed a lot more attentive than the waiter and waitress. When they noticed that our fire was out, they asked if we wanted them to light up the fire again. And when I dropped by chopsticks on the floor, the kitchen staff who was resting at the table across us offered a new pair of chopsticks.

The concept is similar to hotpot. However, you cannot just choose a soup base. You have to order the fish, or the seafood platter. Then you can choose your soup, and subsequently add on any additional ingredients, such as meat, seafood, vegetables or staples to cook in the pot.

We chose the mushroom seafood soup, which came with generous portions of enoki mushrooms, some king oyster mushrooms, sliced potatoes and cabbage. I was not able taste any seafood, and I thought it tasted more like just mushroom soup.

The handmade noodles looked like mee pok, but tasted slightly better than mee pok. However, I personally do not like to have my mee pok with soup.

I paid a total of 107.60MYR for 2 persons. We only ordered the seabass, mud crab, abalone, and handmade noodles.

I thought that the overall taste was so-so, nothing special. The only thing I liked was the attentive staffs. However, I cannot comment much on the food because we did not order much food. Perhaps adding other ingredients into the soup might have made my experience more impressionable. However, I did not think that it was worth paying so much money for the ingredients...

The entrance leads to a dim and relaxing interior that exudes rustic charm, with chilling jazz playing up the mood. The servers, pleasant and polite, showed us to our table.

Seafood platter in Spicy Sichuan Mala soup base. I chose the ‘Medium’ level of spiciness, just to be safe. Scallops, crabs, prawns, squids, mussels, bamboo shellfish and Lala bathing in and soaking up all the goodness and flavors of the ‘Sichuan Mala’ broth. This invoked memories of my work and holidays in Tianjin, Beijing, Shenzhen and Sichuan.

A small flame alight below the platter keep them warm and bubbling away happily in their sumptuous jacuzzi. Handmade noodles goes well with the broth. Dip some fried buns into the savoury aromatic Mala broth. Divine!

Sipping Korean Soju together and exchanging kind words reignite sweet memories from more than one or even two decades of friendship.

A big fat Red Snapper arrived shortly. It was soaking up all the goodness in a platter with ‘Seafood Mushroom’ broth bubbling slowly, over a small flame. We tore into big fat fish and scooped a generous portion to eat. So tender and juicy, it was bursting with flavours we can’t stop.

As we kept the Soju ambrosia flowing, we reminisced happily and randomly munch on crunchy fish skins and chips. We totally enjoyed the excellent food and rustic ambience in the wonderful company of close friends.

Fat Fish JB seafood restaurant is an excellent choice, for celebration and gathering with family...