HazelDiary

Ban Heong Seng previously operating at an old single storey bungalow house located at Jalan Tahar has relocated at Taman Impian Emas about 2 years ago. Online reviews are mostly about their famous beggar chicken and their old place. There isn’t much information about their new location so I thought of sharing it here.

Reservation at least one day in advance is required. So, we called for reservation 1 day before we dropped by next day. The person-in-charge would request to confirm the dishes we want so that they can prepare in advance. He is kind enough to send me the menu so that I can finalize with my friends. The reason being is that the beggar chicken/ duck will need to take 6 hours to cook under the grounded charcoal and another 2 hours make sure the meat texture is soft and tender.

HOW TO GET THERE
We took GRAB over and the fare is approximately RM32.00 ~S$10.85 for 6 seater GrabCar from a café in Taman Pelangi.Thus, if you are heading over from JB City Square, the fare should be around RM37 ~S$12.55 for 6 seater GrabCar.
Note:
1. The price for GrabCar is usually half-price of 6 seater GrabCar.
2. And we realized that 6 seater GrabCar is only available at town area. We tried to grab from the restaurant to our Airbnb but there is no availability. Thus, we booked 2 GrabCar instead.

Upon arrival, we informed the staff my name and he went ahead to prepare the dishes. I asked whether we are allowed to see where they prepare the beggar chicken and duck and he brought us back to the kitchen. There is a space/ partition next to the kitchen where the whole process is done.







My foodie friends were awed by the preparation and everyone busy taking video. Here is one short clip from me too!

Here are the dishes we ordered:
Beggar Chicken RM60 ~S$20.34


The beggar chicken baked in the charcoal bed for about 8 hours. Thus, this explains why booking in advance is required. The process takes a long hours as the chicken is marinated with herbs wrapped in two layers of cake paper, a layer of thick brown grease proof paper and covered with red earth clay and left to cook in a grounded charcoal fired for hours. As they un-wrapped the chicken from the clay followed by the layers of paper, you can instantly smell of the aromatic herbs.
We opt for Kampong Chicken as it has less fat more meat. The chicken texture is tender and as you pull the chicken, you will see the herbs inside. Herbs include wolfberries, red dates, danggui and more many. The whole chicken tasted flavourful and satisfying.

Beggar Duck (叫化鸭) RM46.00 ~S$15.59


The process to prepare the Beggar Duck is same as Beggar Chicken and the duck meat is equivalently tender and flavourful too. Duck meat texture is usually tougher but not for this. Everyone enjoyed the duck with the overflowing savoury gravy.




Pork Belly (Pork Knuckle) ( 補佛手) RM38.00 ~S$12.88

The herbal keeps the flavours in balance for this dish with the soft and gelatinous skin.

Country Fish (家乡鱼) RM32.00~S$10.85

This is rather interesting as the flesh is extracted and made into a paste. Then, it is stuffed back into the fish skin. Amazing on the skilfulness of the chef and it is served in fish shape and cut into fish cake style. Taste wise is not bad but I personally feel that it is a bit dry.

Melon Soup ( 冬瓜汤 )RM30.00~S$10.17

Another signature dish to order is the melon soup served in a melon. The melon is steamed with the herbs like white fungus, red dates and many more together. The melon absorbs the essence of the herbal and the overall broth tasted sweet and comforting.

Tung Hoon RM12.00~S$4.07

We also ordered Tung Hoon to fill our stomach but we realized that the dishes were too filling after that. Thus, I would suggest coming in group to share calories together.

We also ordered a plate of vegetable dish to complete the meal.


The total bill was RM251.00 ~S$85.08 inclusive of drinks and rice as well. My Singaporean friends felt that it is worth while with the amount of food we had. For those who are interested to give this place a try, remember to make one day reservation in advance.

Oh ya… the area is not well located in GRAB app. Thus, it is advisable to ask the owner to share the pin location so that it is easier for you to locate it when you call for a GRAB services. If you are driving, please get the information from the owner as well!

Ban Heong Seng Restaurant
Address: 113, Jalan Impian Emas 22
Taman Impian Emas
81300 Skudai
Johor Bahru
Malaysia
Tel: 07-2375194 / 016-7571887
Opening Hours: 12:00PM-2:00PM | 5:00PM-8:00PM (Closed on Thursday) – as per google information on 01 Apr’22

Read more about my Johor Food posts here.

Follow me on Facebook , Instagram and tiktok for insta updates