JOHOR BARU, Jan 11 – My family and friends know I am not a huge fan of fish head noodles, particularly the typical version that uses evaporated milk. Add in a bounty of tiny fish bones and my indolence gets the better of me every time.

Yet here I am slurping happily at this bowl of fish soup noodles, down to the very last "milky” drop.

This could well be due to no actual dairy product being used; the milky creaminess of the broth comes from the use of milkfish (also known as ikan susu or ikan bandang in Malay).

Simmering the fish in water for three hours or more creates a velvety broth, with an almost sticky aftertaste on one’s lips.

If the luscious, buttery soup has us off to a good start, then the generous toppings bring this to the next level.

Slices of fresh siakap (seabass), sweet prawns, juicy tomato wedges and fried egg floss make this a well rounded one-dish meal.

This, dear readers, is a bowl of the signature Fish Soup Noodles at Old Times Recipe.

The shop is located in a corner of Taman Pelangi in Johor Baru, an apt location given this is the neighbourhood where the owner’s parents ran their noodle stall for over two decades.

Old Times Recipe isn’t as straightforward as a legacy F&B business, however. Beyond the trademark fish soup noodles, the shop also offers other dishes that are less common locally, particularly those with a Sichuan or Yunnan flavour profile.

For those who prefer their soup and noodles separate, two excellent options are the Hot and Sour Dry Noodles (Suan La Gan Ban Mian) and Sesame Paste Noodles (Ma Jiang Mian). With a side of the flavourful fish soup, you get the best of both worlds.

The former employs a good hit of vinegar for an appetising sourish note; the latter is tossed with their homemade sesame paste. Sesame oil and soy sauce rounds up the simple but effective seasoning.

Maybe it’s just me but sometimes I feel dry noodles are the way to go, the better to appreciate the chewy and bouncy texture of the shop’s handmade noodles.

I enjoy the flat noodles for soup but the thinner ones hold more of the dry version’s precious sauce.

A worthy side – and one that is recommended by the staff – would be the Mala Hand-Shredded Chicken or Mala Shousi Ji.

This dish has a strong Sichuan influence thanks to the numbing spice but also the aromatics, both fried/toasted (peanuts, sesame seeds, garlic) and fresh (celery and spring onion).

This is the one item on the menu, if you had a larger party or a bigger appetite, that it might be wise to order two bowls of: it is absolutely addictive.

Other items on the menu that stood out include their Deep Fried Crispy Sliced Pork (Zhaopai Sucui Roupian) and fiery Red Oil Dumplings (Hongyou Chaoshou).

To complete our meal, we shared a refreshing bowl of Sichuan Bingfen. Sweetened with hongtang (Chinese red sugar), this dessert is also known as ice jelly in Sichuan and Yunnan where it is a popular summertime street food.

Instead of fine shaved ice, ice cubes are used so the dessert won’t get diluted too quickly.

The deliciously wobbly transparent jelly is made from Nicandra seeds. The result is a touch firmer than our looser, local cincau.

Toppings vary – from cubed watermelon to white dragon fruit – but requisites include goji berries and haw flakes; the latter is diced finely here, almost melting into the dessert.

It’s not too sweet either; just enough to cool down the palate after the Mala Hand-Shredded Chicken. All the dishes we had combined to create a humble feast – truly comfort food for the soul.

Old Times Recipe

107, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, JB

Open daily 11am–9pm

Phone: 011-2614 9313

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

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