Food Blog | IKar (家特式鱼头米 新山分店)

Today I have more food coming from the Nusa Bestari area (Giant side), and very recently I took a visit to IKar, a popular fish noodle restaurant! It has an extensive menu and delicious food, so I’m sure this will be something that you guys will enjoy.

UPDATE: A New outlet has opened in Eco Botanic as well. This one is of the one in Nusa Bestari. The new outlet’s address is the following: No 34, Jalan Eko Botani 3/6,Taman Eko Botani, 79100 Iskandar Puteri Johor.

My girlfriend has been bugging me to go and try that with her for quite some time, as it is a pretty popular restaurant in the area. I personally am not a fan of these types of ‘healthier’ noodles, so I’ve been more than hesitant to try it. But she finally managed to convince me (albeit it took her recovering from illness in order to convince me haha!).

Is it Halal?

I believe this is a non-halal restaurant - it serves food involving the use of Chinese wine, so I think it is safe to assume that this is a non-halal restaurant.

Where it Is

It is on the same row as RHB Bank, but I think the landmark for a lot of people will be Changman Dim Sum (arguably the best Dim Sum in at least Bukit Indah). It is on the left of Changman, at the corner lot. Quite a big restaurant, so I would say it is quite hard to miss.

Address: No. 32, Jalan Bestari 5/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor

 

Operating Hours:

10am to 9.30pm daily (No rest days)

What it Costs

What I will first say about the menu here is that it is really interesting! Here is one of those place where you pick and choose what you want and achieve your ideal noodle bowl. Basically, it comes in 3 (or 4, depending) steps. First step will be your broth. Basically, what soup you want your noodles coming with. I personally got a curry and my girlfriend got a traditional (contains chinese wine and milk) broth. There are other choices as well!

The second step would be to choose your meat that goes with your broth and noodles. My girlfriend chose the handmade fish paste (RM11.90), and I went with the pork belly slice (RM13.90). The third step would be to choose your noodle, and you can choose between bee hoon, vermicelli, rice and a dry toasted noodle.

The optional fourth step would be your add-ons, where you can add things like fresh squid, lala, fresh prawn, fish ball, etc. I personally added lala (RM4.00), but after seeing how big the portions were, I kinda regretted my decision, because it really is a big bowl of noodles.

Our entire meal (including green tea) came up to RM35.60, which averages to RM17.80 per person. A little bit on the pricier side, but removing the lala will make it around RM15 per person, which isn't all too bad.

How it Tastes

It tastes really good. I’m personally not too big on these kind of noodles, but it is a great place to get your noodles. Perhaps the traditional broth isn’t as strong tasting as I would like (especially compared to Kuala Lumpur versions), but overall it is a nice tasting broth with nice noodles.

For my curry broth one, they actually served the bee hoon separately from the broth, and the noodles were delicious. The broth, was a bit meh. I almost wish that it was just that little bit thicker, because it gets to a point where it just gets so difficult to drink it.

There is a lot of ‘liao’ (basically meat or any other contents that are edible) in the broth, which for me makes it feel very worth it. I almost feel like this place is more suitable for when you want a fuller meal rather than those lighter ones. But overall, it makes some nice tasting food!

Suitable For…

A late brunch! You want to be hungry when you come here, and I feel that this place would be most suited for a late brunch, where you will be hungry from not having had breakfast, and your stomach is craving for a big lunch.

Star Rating

6.5/10. It is a pretty nice place. I really want to give it 7, but I feel as though it hasn’t done just enough. Perhaps one more trip back to try something else can change my mind, but it was close. Good food at a manageable price point, with a soup that reinvigorates your energy!