KEDAI TUAK AWAM : JOHOR BAHRU HOMEMADE TODDY

The Johor Bahru Toddy shop since 1920.

I read about this toddy shop in Johor Bahru from other bloggers. It is about 10 minutes walk from CIQ checkpoint at Johor. This makes this an affordable experience. This toddy is made from coconut juice and it is fermented. It has a slight alcohol kick to it from the natural yeast feeding on the natural sugars. If you are looking for a souvenir to bring back to Singapore from your day trip, you can get a 1.5 litre bottle to go for RM12.

Wikipedia: Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms.[1][2] It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of Asia, Africa the Caribbean and South America.

This is the entrance of the toddy shop. There is no way you would have guess they sell anything here. It looks so derelict. If it wasn't for other bloggers who have wrote about this, I don't think I would dared to venture in. Yes, I am a chicken.

My normal mug of toddy served at room temperature. RM3

Toddy tastes like barley actually. It is rather yeasty and a bit sourish. It is also sweet. I asked the man who was selling it what sort of yeast he used but he said everything is natural.

It is a sleepy place. So derelict and actually very quaint. There was only 3 people in there including the man who sells it.

So sleepy that someone picked this place for a nap, with newspaper covering his half drunk toddy.

I like this place. Although it is not flashy, I don't mind hanging out with a friend here and chat the afternoon away.

A typical old school Indian setup. It wasn't busy so the man served me my mug of toddy at my table. I was carrying loads of things so I thought he did it out of goodwill.

This is a closeup of the prices. I asked the man which a toddy mix is. It made mixing the old toddy with the new toddy, giving it more of a alcoholic kick. I bought 2 1.5litre bottles of the toddy mix back home.

He recommended putting the bottles in the fridge for maximum a week. It will have more of a kick. But do remember to give it a little mix. He didn't speak a lot of English, so our conservation was limited. I suppose from all the I have learnt about fermentation so far, putting the bottles in the fridge slows down the fermentation process. By doing so, you can keep the toddy for longer. If not, it will probably turn into vinegar in room temperature for that amount of time.

Their fame and reviews.

Prepping my bottles of toddy to bring back to Singapore.

Enjoying my mug of toddy with my podcast.

I was inspired by the simple setup of this toddy shop. Making your own fermented drink must be really easy. I have read about people making their own rice wine and fruit enzymes, so I must be able to make it myself too. Time to experiment.

Click here to read about my first stab at making Chinese rice wine at home.