i went to Muar again when i was back home last weekend! my bff with balls (bffwb) had some errands to run in Muar and i shamelessly tagged myself along he invited me to go along!

our initial plan was to have brunch at this POPChuco cafe when we arrived but to our dismay it only opens at time 1600 so we tried our luck at this nice cafe along the same road which bffwb visited few weeks back. it’s closed on Monday. bloody hell. must be bffwb no shower that morning! so we resorted to Old Town White Coffee wtf. we did go back to this lovely cafe in the evening!

we were so glad that we came!POPChuco Art Gallery Cafe is like a hidden gem among stones wtf. we almost missed it as i didn’t expect it to be a two-storey wooden house. when Waze told us that we have reached the destination we both were like WTF? where’s it? we had to park the car by road side and search for it on foot, fearing that we might miss it again. =.=

how could we even miss this huge singboard? i had no freaking idea.there’s three dining areas altogether, alfresco, indoor at ground floor and upstairs. it’s an old wooden house where you have to climb the stairs outside of the house in order to gain access to the first floor. the upper level only opens after time 2000, we left earlier than that, so didn’t manage to have a look.POPChuco Art Gallery Cafe is a creation by 7 youngsters. each of them experts in different fields (law, food technology, psychology, photography etc) but they share one interest, i.e. art. and they welcome art lovers to work with them, whether you’re an artist/photographer/composer.

pachuco means any young hispanic/Mexican-American males perceived (through similarity of garb, haircuts, etc.) to be members of a street gang (source). and that is what POPChuco is, nonchalant, rebellious, whatever with some pop elements.there’s surprises at EVERY nook and cranny of the building, the wall, the lamp, the divider, the window, the fan, the eberythingyoucanthinkof are all skillfully quirkily decorated, handmade using recycled thingamajigs with aplenty creative juice, effort and love.

apparently, they are not that good at food art. food was unfortunately disappointing, not as interesting as their art creation. only ONE main dish every day, good thing is they rotate the main. they have wider choices for side dishes and beverages though.

and oh you are welcomed to bring your own food (which is a rare scene in restaurants/cafe) for birthday celebration/gathering/anyoccasion/evennooccasion, but you have to order the beverages on their menu.we ordered a rice set meal and one side dish and a dessert for sharing.

i ordered Dragon Fruit Juice for myself while bffwb had Pop Why which comes together with the set meal, i remembered mine was really refreshing but i couldn’t recall the taste of Pop Why. but i do remember the POP drinks series have cute Chinese name like 随便，都可以， 一样，不懂叻，and 有什么. that’s 有什么 on the table, which literally means, got what?Sweet & Sour Rice | RM 10.90
an ordinary 咕噜肉饭 with sides of fried egg with runny yolk and veggie.Fried Mushroom | RM 4.80
battered abalone mushroom deep fried to crispy! nice snack to munch on on a lazy (late) noon!Ice Cream Potted | RM 5.90
vanilla ice cream on an Oreo cushion, topped with crumble Oreo soil and decorated with mint. Oreo lover will definitely love it. you can also choose chocolate ice cream if you’re a chocolatey person

i managed to squeeze in a quick Muar trip when i was homed during Raya holiday! we traveled to Muar pretty frequent as it’s just 45 mins away. moreover Muar was where popo gave birth to her children, so Muar always have a special spot in my maternal aunts’ & uncles’ heart. every second day of Chinese New Year, we will sure make a trip down and visit the relatives there.and whenever we’re at Muar, there’s one eatery that we must pilgrimage to, ie. Kedai Makanan Yong Kee which located at Jalan Haji Abu, or colloquially known as Tham Jiak Street.

Kedai Makanan Yong Kee is a hub where all our favourite stalls gather, it’s like killing many birds at once. we arrived at noon and maaaan it was crowded and luckily we managed to seize a small table hehe

sorry no shop frontal shot cos i was too famished to remember that. i made it up by showing you guys more foodie photos okie

Otak-otakhad otak-otak as appetiser! there’s many other stalls around but we heart this stall the most as others either have too muchy flavouring or hardly can bite any fish flesh.

you can opt for fish or prawn otak-otak or you can even buy it in a larger paste form in a box to be steamed at home!

Wanton Meethis is the plate of wanton mee that mami and her siblings grew up eating! honestly i find it bland but mami and yiyi (mami’s sis) savour it as if it’s the best they ever tasted =.=

the char siew color might put it off a little, it’s more reddish than ordinary one.

Pork Sataywe also had sticks of porkie satays and ketupat.

Yong Kee Siu Lap Ricethis roast porksome stall (and the wanton mee) is the most famous one in Muar. you can mix and match what you want, we had roast sausage, siu yuk and char siew. all meat was tender and flavourful. nom.rice drizzled with their special gravy and the chili sauce is yummy! not ordinary condiment you get with chiken rice!