If you have visited Johor Bahru often enough, Restoran Hua Mui is one of those names that becomes part of the routine (especially after getting some Hiap Joo banana cake).
Hua Mui is one of JB’s oldest Hainanese restaurants, founded by Mr Chiang Kia Boon from Hainan, China.
Over the years, it has grown from a traditional coffee shop into a wider brand, while still keeping that Nanyang mix of Hainanese chicken chop, toast, coffee, noodles and local dishes.
The Jalan Trus outlet still has much of that retro coffee shop mood, with patterned floor tiles, canteen-like chairs, busy tables and a menu that feels almost too wide for one meal.
Hua Mui is also Halal-certified, which makes it more accessible to a broader crowd today.
The dish most closely associated with Hua Mui is probably its Hainanese Chicken Chop (RM 21.90).
While the name sounds like something from Hainan, this is really a Nanyang-style dish shaped by the Hainanese migrants who worked as cooks for British households and officers in Malaya.
It came with a large piece of fried boneless chicken, potato wedges, coleslaw, tomato, a small bun and brown gravy served on the side.
The chicken had a golden crust that was not aggressively crunchy, but had that familiar batter style that I remember from old Western food stalls and kopitiam plates.
The gravy was the part that I loved so much. It reminded me of KFC mashed potato gravy from a long, long time ago. Not the current version, but that childhood memory of slightly starchy brown sauce.
There are also local specials such as Nasi Lemak with Chicken Chop (RM 16.90), Mee Siam with Otak Otak (RM 14.90), and Mee Siam with Hainan Curry Chicken (RM 17.90).
The Mee Siam came with fried egg, cucumber, sambal and otah, but was just okay for me. I have had better versions elsewhere with brighter tang and a more balanced sweetness.
That said, it still had that dry, spicy local breakfast feel, and I can see it working for those who like their mee siam on the spicier side.
The other popular dish was the Wat Dan Hor (RM 20.90), which came with broad rice noodles, prawns, crabsticks, vegetables, seafood and eggy gravy.
I liked that the rice noodles had a gentle smoky note, though I would have loved a little more wok hei to give it a stronger lift.
The toast and coffee completed the retro coffee shop experience.
Nothing too complicated, just bread, kaya, butter and kopi after a meal that brought back a very specific childhood memory that we have perhaps left behind.
Restoran Hua Mui
No. 131, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours: 8am – 5pm (Mon – Sun)
Google Maps – Restoran Hua Mui
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