Mount Austin’s best kept secret

The Chinese community generally believes that a person’s health is affected by the kind of food they consume. Food items which consist of herbs, roots, leaves and condiments contain properties that can affect bodily functions.

This is the same philosophy adhered by the proprietor of Bai Nian Jia Restaurant, Hoo Kian Teck whom started his famous herbal soup restaurant in September 2009 at Mount Austin, Johor Bahru.

Hoo has been involved in the herbal soup business since 1983, where he opened a Bah Kut Teh specialty shop in Kota Tinggi, Johor. Since then he has been extensively doing a lot of research on Chinese herbal recipes while flying to Hong Kong and China back and forth.

The Bai Nian Jia restaurant caters various kind of special Chinese herbal soup which has different affects on the body. Each herb are carefully selected and sourced from mainland China and other parts of the world.

According to Hoo, most of his customers are regular customers, whom seek specific herbal soup which has been pre mixed by him. Some of his customers seek remedy for several ailments as diabetes, high blood pressure, tiredness and many more.

The recipes offered by Hoo is a well kept secret which he inherited from his late ‘sifu’ (spiritual master. Some of the ingredients used in his recipes are Astragalus root (huang qi), Chinese angelica root (dang gui), Chinese wolfberries (gou ji zi), Chinese yam (huai shan), Codonopsis root (dang shen), Cordyceps (dong chong xia cao), Ginseng (ren sheng) and many more.

Some of the soup catered in this shop derived from ancient recipe which cannot be found elsewhere such as Eucommia Barks pig tail soup which strengthens the back. They also serve Cordyceps Ginseng nourishing soup, Beauty Face Black skinned chicken which has Fleenceflower root and Rhizoma Polygonati.

Ho personally recommends Antler Black Skinned Chicken supreme soup to his customers which has a secret ingredient and considered as the mother of all soup. Apart from herbal soup, Bai Nia Jia also serves non-herbal soup which consists of scallops, different type of mushroom, lotus root and many others.

Bai Nian Jia’s chief cook, Yew Chee Meng, who has 30 years of experience in authentic chinese cookings said the effects of various decoctions in the soup helps creating cooling effect within the body, reducing cholestrol, promoting body wellness, solving gynecological problem and many more.

The restaurant opens at 11.30 am every day and closes at 10.30 pm. For further information on the herbal soups and menu please get in touch with Yew Chee Meng 0102007662.

Bai Nian Jia Restaurant is located at 61, Jalan Austin Heights 3, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru.