Hock Meng Restaurant in Johor

"This is about as no-frills as a place can get. Zinc roof, peeling wooden wall, gravel road, open air with worn looking tables (clean) and plastic chairs, complete with a resident mongrel (docile). There's no flashy signboard so if it weren't for Google maps, I wouldn't know there's a restaurant here. Without any ambience to speak of, it's obvious that this restaurant let their cooking do all the talking. The staff are also not a chatty bunch. They are direct but not rude, recommending but not pushy. I'm already beginning to like it here already. I've read some say that the prices are on the high side. Our dinner consisted of fried bee hoon, assam stingray, deep fried tofu, vegetables, and 2 deep fried dragon tongue fish (literally translated). All that for RM$101 for a table of 4. Expensive or reasonable? So does their cooking pass muster? Unanimously we felt that overall it was good. Surprise number one was the humble fried bee hoon. Simple yes, but simply delicious. You know the cook has skills when the strands of bee hoon still has some springy bounce. We also liked the assam stingray because the assam doesn't overpower the delicate flavor of the fish. Moreover the stingray was fresh, each layer of flesh clearly defined and so satisfying to the bite. The tofu was good. I think children would like it. Adults might find it enjoyable with white rice. The vegetable was a tad salty, the deep fried tongue fish would be nicer if it were fried a bit longer so that all the bones are crispier. When we came by at around 6pm, there were already a few tables halfway through their meal. This place attracts families, and it was nice to see young and old eating together. We don't visit Muar often. But hopefully the next time we pass by, this place would still be as rustic and the food would still be as good. Till next time."

"Super tasty & yummy a bit too concentrated taste but the aftermath is dehydration and need to drink a lot of water to wash out the MSG / salt / Na etc… It’s a simple or call it primitive kopitiam in an open unpave land fried up some delicious food Watch out when it rain or wet not many tables are under cover Reasonable service and does the job Great value for money"

"Food was good. Above average for sure. We tried many zichar all over Malaysia. This is one of the better ones. However the pricing for the Assam fish was pretty sus. We ordered half of a relatively small fish (golden snapper) and got charged 80+ rm. Suspect it is a little marked up."

"Found a hidden gem during my trip to muar, had a decent dinner in this restaurant. We ordered 4 dishes for 2 pax and it cost RM50"

"Kampung style, came at 635, lucky to get an under the roof table. If seating outside will be slightly hot before 7pm. Soup steamed fish (half) Black bean chili stingray - must eat Indo fried mee - must eat Luo Gan (macam big size of Lala) - must eat Caipo Tofu - must eat Stir fried vege Better come before 6pm or you gonna queue for parking and table. I will be back!!!"

"An off-road away from the town open air seafood "restaurant". Chanced upon it when researching seafood in Muar. One of the places with 4* and above. So did it meet our expectations? That's a solid YES! In a nutshell, delish and value for money seafood tze char place. Ordered 7 dishes for 4 pax, of which 3 are fish, and the damage is RM264. The most delish are the Kung Po mantis shrimp (fresh, crispy, succulent on the inside, coated with generous thick Kung Po gravy), the butter chicken (large pan fried chicken chunks coated with thick savory buttery gravy), and steamed fish with cai po bits (fish is fresh, and comes in a salty gravy). Yums! The steamed stingray with fermented bean paste was nice and fresh, and the deep fried flat fish was fresh, crispy on the outside, tender and silky inside. Stir fried sweet potato leaves were very well executed, done over high heat and retains the freshness of the greens. The deep fried sotong was forgettable though. So, great food, reasonable pricings and a satisfying meal. Service was fast and the lady boss was polite, and portioned our orders properly. Many reviews mentioned the poor state of the toilet. IMHO, for such a place, it's actually quite the norm. It's serviceable, and yeah that's about it."

"Open air restaurant with shelter. Very nostalgic atmosphere with great food. Otha is available here and the fish was very fresh and deliciously cooked."

"We came here on weekends, around 9pm, had to wait 45 minutes for the food, overall was okay and delicious. Best to eat something first before you come. It’s worth the wait, good food always takes long time. We sat outdoor, not hot, cuz have wall fan. What we order: - small chili padi soy sauce fish (fish very fresh and nice) - prawn petai sotong in kung po sauce (delicious) - friend indo noodles (for me just average, is a bit spicy, and fragant) - seaweed fish ball soup (average) - small lala (nice) Chai po tofu (nice, just the burn garlic have burn taste and bitter) tofu was nice - gu lu pork (古噜肉）(delicious) Price also reasonable, will definitely come back again."