One-day Trip: Muar

Earlier this year, I told myself that I have to start exploring this country, so, when a friend suggested a trip to her hometown Muar, and feast on durians, I was up for it. Perhaps not so much of the durian, but when I thought of the word “feast”, my head just went nod, nod.

There are two bridges in Muar and this is the First Bridge. Hello Muar~!

Muar First Bridge

From a journey that started at 7 am, you get 3 girls hungry for some food. It definitely is time for some awesome local delicacies for breakfast! Our first pit stop, Otak-otak!

Ah Wen’s Otak @ Taman Sakeh. This one’s definitely home-made as it was home-made, right there at the house. She was just packing up and done for the day when we approached the lady. She gave us our orders, and my, can one smell the warm otak. Ah, can’t wait to sink my teeth into it! And I did sink my teeth into more than one. It was awesome!

Muar Otak-otak

Verdict: 10/10. It tastes as good as it looked, maybe even better. It had a nice karet texture; not mushy, not tough. Just a nice touch of springiness. Fragrant and full of flavor, albeit spicy. But, spicy’s good and just what you’d want in an otak. The amazing thing about it is that it’s good even when it’s cold (well, not like 4 °C, but cool room temperature and a few hours later). That makes it worthy of a 10/10.

Next on the menu, there’s Chicken Rice Balls. Well, who would have guessed that they have it here, too? I’ve always thought that it’s a specialty of Malacca. Oops!

Muar Chicken Rice Ball

Verdict: 8/10. I liked it, and the rice ball wasn’t oily.

How can one be in Johor and not have Johor Laksa?

Johor Laksa

Verdict: 8.5/10. I’ve never had a Johor Laksa before this, and I must say, it’s one of a kind. Using sambal udang as a condiment to the laksa really brings out a more unique flavour and texture, not to mention the extra zing and spiciness. All in all, it’s good and I liked it.

Stir-fried Rice Cake. It’s something nice to have for breakfast, lunch or supper.

Muar Stir-Fried Rice Cake

Verdict: 8/10. Love the fragrance from the egg. mMMm…~

A truly satisfying and hearty breakfast! Of course, after so much food, it’s time for a little tour of the Muar town. It is a big area, but it is mapped out in such a way that it’s not too difficult to tell where u are in the town area, especially based on the different colours.

Muar Blue Street

Muar Red Street

Muar Yellow Street

In such a hot weather, the best thirst-quenching drink is of course, Muar Pear Juice!

Muar Icy Cold Pear Juice at Jalan Yahya

Verdict: 8.5/10. It’s definitely not everyone’s cup of drink. At the first sip, it took me quite a while to adjust my palate to it. It’s icy cold,  sweet, sour, with a hint of fermentation (it has this alcoholic taste to it, but if it were alcoholic, then I’m sure that the bees at the stall would have been drunk). It’s an acquired taste to which I have acquired soon after ‘cos I was craving for it after further sightseeing!

Jump at Dataran Muar, facing the Muar River

Muar Beach

Okie dokie, it’s time for lunch. We went to Parit Jawa for the Parit Jawa Assam Fish, a popular place among the locals and even foreigners.

Parit Jawa Assam Fish

Verdict: 8/10. The kuah was really good, especially with rice. Well-balanced spicy:sour ratio. It really does open up one’s palate for more.

Muar Egg Bomb aka Fried Egg

Verdict: 9.5/10. Love this egg! But it wasn’t enough to share among us. Really reminds me of back in the day, in the school canteen, where having this egg on my bihun goreng or nasi lemak would have been a treat as it cost an extra RM0.50; well, my daily lunch money was RM 1 or RM2, so I can’t afford it all the time as I’d like to save up some money for the pisang goreng or keropok lekor. The egg was crispy on the outside, with fluffy egg white, and just slightly runny on the yolk.

What’s a trip to Muar without a visit to its Fishing Village, a.k.a. Kampung Nelayan? It’s quite a quiet lazy area, which suit us just fine, ‘cos then we can have all the fun!

Muar Fishing Village Jump

Muar Fishing Village Jump

Muar Kampung Nelayan

Muar Kampung Nelayan Boats

Muar Kampung Nelayan with Salted Fish in Action

After all these sight-seeing, it’s time for our durian appointment. It truly was a blessing to be invited to tag along to a durian feast in someone’s durian plantation in Parit Jawa. Did I mention that we get to eat as much as we want for free? Such generosity!

Durians Up on a Tree so High

It truly was a durian haven! There were durian trees everywhere, with many durians hanging up there, waiting to fall off. I prayed that it wouldn’t fall onto my head, or anywhere near me. There were durians of various sizes, types, intensities and flavours.

Parit Jawa Durian - so cute!

Parit Jawa XO Durian

XO Durian~!

Verdict: 10/10. After a few durians, the winner, for me, was definitely the XO durian. At the very first bite, I was awestruck and lost for words. For a few good seconds, my brain stopped functioning and couldn’t figure out a word to describe the experience. It was fluffy soft and creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness, and awesome fragrance. It definitely was the durian to have.

This is how one should wash their hands after devouring these little musky devils.

Washing Hands using Durian Husk

After that satisfying session, we head back to my friend’s place to rest, but not before we had more icy cold pear juice!

But, not too long after that, it’s dinnertime!! Dinner was @ Jin Jin Restaurant, for its Fish Fillet Bee Hoon Soup. Definitely a place where the locals go to.

Fish Fillet Noodle Soup

Verdict: 8.5/10. After a day of gorging on food, this bowl of noodles actually felt light, and it was really good. I liked it (but I could be biased as I’m a fan of bee hoon).

Brinjal with Salted Duck Egg and Oh Jian

Brinjal with Salted Duck Egg. Yum!! Heavenly. I could have the whole plate all to myself!

A truly awesome trip. Muar, I’ll be back!