Food Republique @Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru

6 January 2014

Thanks to Ben and Ms Kim Tan's invitation. This is my first food tasting invitation. The exciting part is I got the chance to meet Johor Kaki's author, Tony. Johor Kaki food blog is very famous among Johorian and Singaporean. I am so happy to meet him personally.

Texas Mexico Sauce

Texas Mexio Glazed Sauce

We are here to tried out this newly created sauce.

The sauce is purely vegetarian (contain onion). The uniqueness of this sauce is It will taste differently with the main dish. It may look like "Rojak" sauce but it is totally different. "Rojak" sauce have this pungent smell. However, this sauce have fruity with a bit honey smell. Try it yourselves. ^^

Appetizer

Tortilla Nachos RM12.90

It is a Mexican originated snack. The salsa source is made out of tomatoes, lemon juice, onion and basil leaves. The secret of the salsa source is "garden fresh". I can really taste the chilled and sour sauce with the crispy nachos.

Fried Polenta RM8.90

This dish is seldom sold in local western restaurant. The reason is polenta flour not often sold in Malaysia. We are very lucky to have Ben bring us this dish to Johor Bahru. Ben shared some background of polenta. The corn flour we often see in the market are in white powder form. The specialty of this polenta is crushed from corn. Polenta has a creamy texture due to the gelatinization of starch in the grain. However, it may not be completely homogeneous if a coarse grind or hard grain such as flint corn is used (Wikipedia, 2013).

This is how the crunchy palenta look inside. It is very soft inside. 外脆内软 I really like the creamy texture.

Bruschetta Appetizer RM6.90

The toppings was served chilled with the lighted toasted french toast. It is best use our finger to pick up. You can taste the vinegar and sweet tomato. The vinegar is really great do not have pungent smell. The slightly warn french toast act as catalyst when chew with the topping.

(PS: Please watch Korean drama "Jewel in the Palace" to have better understanding on vinegar.)

Main Dishes

Salmon Ala' Carbonara Pasta RM28.90

The ladies like this dish very much. It is very creamy and thick texture.The fresh tomato cubes add some sourness in this dish are a great combination. You should see Kim Tan's facial expression when tasting this dish. She really enjoy this dish. For me, this dish is a bit sweet. I prefer light pasta.

Smoked Grilled Chicken Burger RM20.90

If you can not consume beef, tried out this smoked grilled chicken burger. It is very juicy. Addition to it, Food Republique used special burger bun. That is why their burgers are the best seller.

Texas Glazed Rib Eye RM55.90

The rib eye is cooked to medium well level (70%). It is time for us to taste the beef with the new invented sauce. The beef tasted a bit salty and have a bit pineapple smell.

Personally, I prefer the boiled vegetable with the texas mexico sauce.

Texas Honey Glazes Burger RM24.90

This is currently the best burger in my list. Reasons?

The cheese just melted on the hot grilled burger meat
There are sliced of bacon on the meat patty
I can pulled the cheese very high up before it break
the combination of meat patty, bacon and cheese is so perfect
Not to forget the bun. The bun is very soft. It absorbs some meat juice and bring out the taste. The bun did not go soggy like other bread does.
To describe the perfect state, please watch anime "妙手小当家"。 The anime describe better than me

Texas Glazed Salmon RM52.90

The salmon slide is very thick. The salmon tastes a bit sweet with the sauce. While the prawn tastes a bit spicy. To avoid taste boredom, it is advisable to take a bite of salmon then a bit of prawn.Then, You can always taste something new. I personally also recommend the smashed potato. It is very smooth. No small chunk or big chunk in it. I really like the boiled vegetable. It has sweet potato in it. However, the sweet potato disguise itself like carrot. When we eat vegetables, it is like playing hike and seek with taste bud.

Dessert

There will always be another stomach for dessert

~ quoted by Ler

Hot Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream RM9.90

The brownies was baked by Ben. The edge of the brownies is a bit crust and crunchy. As you slowly eat into the center of thee brownies, it is very soft. The right way to taste this dessert is

1) use spoon or fork to cut a small edge and taste the bitter sweetness

2) take a bit of ice cream and some brownies

3) continue the above steps

Then you can taste the difference. First bite is bitter sweet. The second bite you can feel the hot brownies then a bit of cold ice cream. It is a very exciting taste bud experience. Not sure why when tasting this dessert remind me of Katy Perry - Hot N Cold Song.

Ler's Reviews:

Service: 4/5

Delicious: 4/5

Parking: 4/5

(quite easy at night, as much of the shops are not operating at night )