Yummylicious is back!

Last April when my nephew and his family were visiting Johor Baru again, he longed for our family’s regular steamboat dining experience and asked if we could dine at Yummylicious.

A serving of the Fish Pot with fresh vegetables
and deep-fried fish fillets on the side.

Ever since we took our nephews and nieces to Yummy Steamboat in Century Gardens, a business which later rebranded itself as Kitamura Thai Suki & Shabu-Shabu at Taman Pelangi in 2010, they got hooked on the steamboat served here.

It was not just these youngsters but many regulars became fans of this family-friendly steamboat place for the past 10 years, for the wholesome goodness of tasty steamboat, served with personalized service.

Our most recent visit to Yummylicious was when the other nephew (his brother) and wife dined with us in a pre-lunar new year steamboat meal.

So when this nephew was here in April, he too wished for a Yummylicious steamboat meal.

These fish fillets are made from Buffalo Pomfret

Since I’m friendly with Albert Ng, the entrepreneur who runs the restaurant with the help of his daughter, Melissa, I would be tasked to send him a message to make our table reservation.

I expected Albert to reply as usual by text, with his confirmation and a warm welcome over again. But my phone rang and I was surprised that it was Albert calling me…

Instead of the usual confirmation and welcome, Albert explained that I had reached him just as he was recovering from surgery on his leg!

This was due to a fracture which he suffered after a bad fall and that the surgeon recommended proper post-op rest so that his wounds would heal better.

The Fish Pot simmering to a boil.

As such, he had no alternative but to close the restaurant temporarily until he was ready to be up and about again.

I know Albert is a hands-on entrepreneur who works hard to perfect his recipes and serve freshly cooked dishes from an ala carte menu – in addition to the steamboat – to add more variety and taste.

So with the help of modern technology, Albert then posted messages to his regular diners to inform that they will have to miss the familiar taste of chicken broth, herbal, miso or tom-yam soups in steamboat – at least for a month or so – while he recuperated.

As he was virtually immobile, Albert felt that it was wiser and less stressful to have a temporary closure before the restaurant reopened to operate in full swing again.

A new dish: Miso Chicken with a side of Mayo dip sauce

But while he was resting and recuperating, Albert assured me that he would be dreaming up new items to add to the menu when it was ready to open again.

So not only was my nephew and his family but a host of regular diners were also deeply disappointed for missing the familiar steamboat experience at Yummylicious.

Then recently in mid-May, I received a message from Albert that started like this:

“Dear Friends and Valued Customers, Yummylicious will be reopening after an unfortunate month-long hiatus…”

The message went on with an invitation from Albert to dine at Yummylicious – a name coined from his original Yummy + Delicious – because his restaurant was opened again!

Stir-fried Clams in spicy Thai sauce

Delighted with the good news, I quickly replied with warm words of encouragement and assured Albert that I would arrange to dine there again very soon.

When I met him again, his face was wreathed with smiles even though (I noticed!) he walked with a slight limp but I could see that he was ever so eager to get back into the routine of serving his regular diners.

In fact, he was still undergoing physiotherapy but was making encouraging progress in his recovery.

Albert went on to share that he and his culinary team have a few new dishes in the menu and they proposed to serve monthly specials, to add more interest to the menu.

The recommended Fish Pot is a hotpot that features chunks of fried fish fillets with a mix of fresh vegetables.

This serving is presented with a variety of vegetables in the pot with the fish fillets on the side. He tells me the fish is Buffalo Pomfret, known locally as niu chang.

Among the vegetables, I recognise Albert’s creation of Tau Kee made with fish paste on crispy beancurd skins which can be savoured either freshly fried or in the soup.

The vegetables included slices of fried beancurd, tomatoes, yam, black fungus and leaves of Chinese cabbage on a bed of more cabbage pieces.

I like this presentation where diners can see the items arranged in the hotpot before a serving staff comes to fill the pot with steaming hot fish soup and let it come to a boil.

My own mix of dip sauce topped with cubes of pork lard!

While this pot is simmering, I head over to the Sauce Island to create my own mix of dip sauce from a range of sauces and condiments including their signature Thai suki and green chilli sauce and other favourite toppings.

Albert is hovering nearby and probably saw me looking closely and wondering what that new item among the sauces and condiments was…

He then comes to clarify that its deep-fried cubes of pork lard… explaining with a smile that it was Melissa’s idea…

Back at the table, Albert said we could eat the chunks of deep-fried fish with the dip sauce or add the fillets into the simmering fish soup.

When the soup was cool enough to taste, fans of fish soup will agree with me that the tasty fish broth was both light and refreshing.

Now there is something for everyone to enjoy from the ala carte menu: From Miso Chicken served with a light mayo dip sauce to a platter of stir-fried Clams in an appetizing, spicy Thai sauce.

A fresh hotpot to enjoy a choice of ingredients
in a convivial steamboat meal at Yummylicious!

There are also familiar house specials like Pandan Chicken, Thai Fishcake, Pineapple Fried Rice, Fried Fish Slices, Fried Fish, Fried Tau Kee or beancurd skins and Fried Wantan.

When we have finished the fish soup to its last drop, Albert prepares a fresh hotpot with our pick of his classic chicken broth and he invites us to the chiller to choose our ingredients and bring them to the table in the baskets provided.

This is the dining concept that regulars are familiar with, where they pick a range of ingredients packed on colour-coded plates, hygienically covered by cling wrap.

The soup bubbles to a boil in the hotpot before we add in the ingredients and start to enjoy a convivial steamboat meal, along with our individual (Read: personalized) mix of sauce dips created from the sauces and condiments at the Sauce Island.

While I’m focused on enjoying my meal, I can hear Albert greeting regulars as they arrive in the restaurant and he seats them with his welcoming smile along with familiar chit-chat.

As the tables are gradually being occupied, I know Albert and his team at Yummylicious must be doing something right to keep diners coming back again and again.

Yummylicious Steamboat (Non-Halal) is at No. 33-A & 35-A, (Upstairs) Jalan Kuning 2, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Baru, with air-conditioned and non-air-condition sections.

Open from 5pm to 11pm, Wednesday to Sunday only. Closed on Monday and Tuesday.

For reservations, Tel: +607 – 3360980.