{"id":4205,"date":"2025-10-07T09:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T01:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ipacktravel.com\/wp\/?p=4205"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:16:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:16:59","slug":"johor-bahru-buy-sister-nyonya-city-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ipacktravel.com\/wp\/johor-bahru-buy-sister-nyonya-city-square\/","title":{"rendered":"Johor Bahru Buy: Nyonya Sister Nyonya Kueh @ JB City Square"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nyonya Sister, on Level 3 of JB City Square, is located right outside OldTown White Coffee<\/strong><\/a> kopitiam<\/em>, and next to the exit that leads to JB Sentral \/ JB CIQ. It is usually the first stall that most people will see after entering the shopping centre from JB Sentral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyonya Sister sells a wide range of Nyonya \/ Chinese kuehs <\/em>(bite-size snacks, desserts or pastries), nasi lemak<\/em> (coconut-milk-flavoured rice), etc. The traditional snacks, especially the hot-selling items, usually sell out by early afternoon. I have patronised the stall many times to buy their kuehs<\/em> for next day’s breakfast, and trying something different each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nyonya<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One particular kueh<\/em> at Nyonya Sister \u2014 that I like the most \u2014 is a dark-coloured round kueh<\/em>. It is a little bigger than other kuehs<\/em> at the stall and seems relatively unattractive \u2014 that’s probably why I did not notice it until my sister suggested that I try it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two look-alike dark kuehs<\/em> at Nyonya Sister and about the same size. The tortoise-shape kueh<\/em> with moulded pattern and a “\u5bff” (longevity) Chinese character on its glutinous rice skin is filled with sweet mung bean paste. It is a black-coloured ang ku kueh<\/em> known as orh ku kueh<\/em> (\u9ed1\u9f9f\u7cbf).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other dark-coloured, patternless kueh<\/em> is mugwort kueh<\/em>, or cao zai guo <\/em>\/ \u8349\u4ed4\u7cbf, a traditional Hakka snack that is very popular in China and Taiwan, but seldom seen in Singapore and Malaysia. One savoury mugwort kueh<\/em> and one sweet orh ku kueh<\/em> makes a perfect pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nyonya<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nyonya Sister’s Mugwort Kueh (\u8349\u4ed4\u7cbf) looks dark initially but the skin, made with glutinous rice and mugwort (\u827e\u8349), is actually dark-greenish on closer look. The mild-sweet skin has savoury fillings that is a mixture of preserved sweet daikon radish (\u83dc\u812f), dried shrimps, chive, etc. It is really delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nyonya<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before finding the mugwort kueh<\/em> at Nyonya Sister, I had “\u8349\u4ed4\u7cbf” in Taiwan’s Fenqihu Old Street (\u596e\u8d77\u6e56\u8001\u8857), near Alishan Scenic Area (\u963f\u91cc\u5c71), in 2022. I have never seen the kueh<\/em> in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from mugwort kueh<\/em> and orh ku kueh<\/em>, Nyonya Sister’s other traditional kuehs<\/em> are also nice to try. Their chee cheung fun<\/em> (\u732a\u80a0\u7c89) are very similar to Hakka choy ban (\u5ba2\u5bb6\u83dc\u677f) except that the chive \/ turnip fillings are wrapped using chee cheung fun<\/em> instead of choy ban<\/em> skin. I have tried other types of ang ku kueh<\/em>, chendol kueh<\/em>, tapioca kueh<\/em>, Nyonya kueh<\/em>, shrimp dumplings, etc, and also yam cake with chunky cuts of yam. Their kuehs<\/em> are not too sweet and no strong flavours using artificial flavourings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nyonya<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is always something different to try at Nyonya Sister and shortlist the traditional kuehs<\/em> that one will like. For me, trying something different each time is better than eating the same thing every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n