JOHOR BARU, Nov 16 – The next time you find yourself in JB, consider heading out of the city centre and to the suburb of Permas Jaya, less than half an hour away, for a meal you won’t find so easily elsewhere.

Our destination? Al Ansar Café, a stall in Restoran Musa in Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, that serves up some of the best lontong kering and laksa Johor in JB.

The corner-lot shop is easy enough to find, sequestered in a quiet residential area. There is plenty of roadside parking beneath the shade of mature trees.

Customers at the restaurant come and go, most of them regulars from the neighbourhood though some, like us, have undertaken a longer journey in anticipation of good food.

We sip patiently on our cups of frothy teh tarik while waiting for our food. Midday is peak hour for the shop; the makcik is kept busy taking orders one moment, dishing up the gravy for laksa Johor the next.

They had run out of the santan-rich soup for the more commonplace lontong basah when we arrived at lunchtime. Which was fine because it was their lontong kering that we wanted.

The dish is served with a variety of sides, from rendang daging or rendang ayam. We opted for the spicy-sweet ayam masak merah.

This turned out to be a good choice as the fiery red of the twice-cooked chicken (first fried, then braised) contrasted strikingly with the white of the compressed rice cake.

The cubes of rice cake are quite bland, naturally, being a substitute for fluffy steamed rice.

Which is why the tangy sweetness of the tomato sauce based masak merah gravy really transforms this dish.

Absolutely mouthwatering.

The accompanying stir-fried tempeh and mixed vegetables provide fibre and more texture, making for a well rounded meal.

Another highlight is Al Ansar Café’s laksa Johor, which in itself might well be worth the trek to Permas Jaya from JB’s city centre. Authentic Iaksa Johor is hard to find outside of home, as this is traditionally a home cooked dish.

At first glance, laksa Johor might resemble an ordinary bowl of laksa with a thick coconut milk based gravy. Dig in and you will discover that this dish uses spaghetti rather than the typical yellow noodles or rice vermicelli.

Purportedly it was inspired by the Italian style spaghetti bolognese; instead of the meat-based ragù, a more localised fish-centred gravy is employed here.

Unlike other variants of laksa, we found laksa Johor to be less spicy but with stronger notes of umami (belacan and dried shrimps are often used to deepen the flavours of the gravy).

Yet the generous mound of fresh herbs, bean sprouts and sliced red onion ensure every spoonful tastes fresh. Texture-wise, it’s a wild ride – soft boiled spaghetti, unctuous gravy, morsels of shredded fish, crisp herbs.

Many of my non-Johorean friends have not heard of laksa Johor, which is understandable given it’s unique to the home of the Southern Tigers. What’s more surprising is that many of my Johorean friends have not had laksa Johor either.

A large part of this conundrum can be explained by how not many restaurants or shops sell it; it can be very labour-intensive to prepare the fish-based kuah laksa (gravy). Typically fresh ikan parang (wolf herring) is used and there is plenty of slicing and pounding of herbs and spices involved too.

Which is why most of us first experience the wonders of laksa Johor at home – our own or someone close to us. I first had laksa Johor years ago when a Johorean colleague made it for the office potluck; everyone fell in love with the dish upon tasting it.

She had told us how much work went into making it, from shredding the cooked fish for the kuah to all the different leafy herbs that needed to be washed and chopped.

What a blessing then, that we found Al Ansar Café here in JB. No hours of kitchen work when the professionals do it so much better. We deem this a very rewarding gastronomic detour, for the lontong kering and laksa Johor.

Al Ansar Café @ Restoran Musa64, Jalan Permas 1/25, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, JBOpen Mon-Sat 6am-5pm; Sun closed

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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