Restoran Kak Kak (Johor Bahru) – RM3.60 Dim Sums at Famous 30 Year Old Restaurant Near JB Customs

The wife and I both enjoy eating dim sums, so we checked out Restoran Kak Kak during our recent day trip to Johor Bahru. On the whole the dim sums here were quite satisfying and we had a great breakfast.

Restoran Kak Kak (佳佳点心茶楼)

Restoran Kak Kak is a famous dim sum restaurant in Johor Bahru that has been around for more than 30 years. It is very popular with both locals and tourists (aka Singaporeans).

This old school restaurant still prepares dim sums the traditional way, steaming the dishes on bamboo trays inside large metal steamers.

The price is extremely reasonable. Most dim sums cost just RM3.60 per plate, while special dim sums cost RM4.50.

Restoran Kak Kak is located near Plaza Pelangi, a ten-minute drive from JB CIQ. We took a Grab ride (pickup point: “JB Sentral Main Entrance”) for RM6 to get here.

The restaurant opens daily from 5am to 11.30am and is closed on Tuesdays.

Old-School Restaurant with Friendly Staff

Restoran Kak Kak is an old-school street restaurant where customers dine on wooden tables under whirring fans. There are also outdoor seats along the street.

I was pleasantly surprised by the good service here. All the staff were quite polite, from the staff serving dim sum to the lady at the front counter.

We arrived at 9am on a Saturday and all the indoor seats were already taken so we had to sit outdoors. This was not a problem because there was a tin shelter overhead and the morning weather was quite cooling.

I have read that the restaurant can get really crowded during certain times so you might want to drop by earlier to avoid disappointment.

How To Order

After sitting down, I didn’t know how to go about ordering the dim sums, because there was no menu whatsoever. I later found out from a friendly staff that it was actually quite simple:

1. First, I queued at the front counter where a lady was standing with a large bamboo tray of dim sums (see pictures above).

2. When it was my turn, I told her the dim sums I wanted, and she put them on a small tray for me. If you don’t know the dim sum name, you can simply point at what you want inside the bamboo tray.

3. As for payment, we simply asked one of the staff to settle the bill after the meal. Every item costs RM3.60 except for several special items which cost RM4.50.

According to some food blogs, customers used to take their dim sums from roaming pushcarts instead of ordering at the front counter. However, I didn’t see any pushcarts at all during my visit. I guess they have changed their ordering system.

Below are the items I ordered, everything cost RM3.60 each except for the Lo Mai Gai which cost $4.50.

Lo Mai Gai (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken)

This was my favourite dim sum item! The Lo Mai Gai was very fragrant with a soft and sticky texture that felt so good in my mouth. The small chunks of Chinese sausage, mushroom and chicken were very fresh and delicious too.

Char Siew Chee Cheong Fan (Char Siew Rice Noodle Roll)

This dim sum dish is not available at the front counter – we had to order it from a staff who walked past our table.

It was quite delicious. The rice rolls had a silky smooth texture and tasted great with the savoury gravy and chunks of char siew.

Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling)

The shrimp dumplings looked tantalising with their thin translucent skins, and the taste did not disappoint too. The skin had a very smooth texture, and the shrimps were fresh and juicy.

Crab Sticks with Pork

I ordered this item because I had not seen such a dim sum dish before. Luckily, it did not disappoint. The juicy crab sticks were served steaming hot and went well with the savoury pork meat underneath.

Mushroom with Pork

This was another interesting dim sum dish. The mushrooms were fresh and I enjoyed eating them with the savoury pork meat.

Beancurd with Pork

This was an average dish. Order this if you like eating beancurd.

Siew Mai (Pork Dumpling)

I love eating siew mais, but unfortunately I was not impressed by the ones I ate at Restoran Kak Kak. They were tough and tasted a little bland. It wasn’t horrible but I’ve definitely had better.

Strangely I’ve read raving reviews about this item from other blogs. Maybe it was just my luck to have gotten a bad siew mai?

Fish Balls

Looking at the fish balls, I had expected them to taste chewy and “QQ”. Unfortunately they had an unpleasant soft fluffy texture and wasn’t exactly very palatable. Skip this.

Other Popular Items

Some of Restoran Kak Kak’s other popular items include Fried Wontons, Lo Bak Kou (Chinese Carrot Cake), Century Egg Porridge, Pork Bun (Da Bao), BBQ Pork Bun (Char Siew Bun), Seaweed Dim Sum, and Steamed Pork Ribs. We did not manage to try these items though.

Conclusion

The wife and I had a very pleasant dining experience at Restoran Kak Kak. Our sumptuous dim sum breakfast here cost less than RM30. The dim sums were not fantastic but for the price we paid they were very much worth it. The restaurant serves as a great pit stop if you are on an early morning drive up to Genting Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, etc. You can also check out the nearby KSL City Mall after your breakfast.

Restoran Kak Kak
Directions: 10-minute drive from JB CIQ (we took a Grab ride)
Address: 9 Jalan Maju, Taman Maju Jaya, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Daily 6am to 11.30am (Closed on Tuesdays)