FEATURES

A hidden delight

QUAINT: Anna’s Kitchen in Jalan Abdul Samad is a little restaurant with an amazing ambiance.

CONCEALED at the basement level of a row of shops in Jalan Abdul Samad in Johor Baru is a restaurant and perhaps one of the best kept secrets in town too, Anna's Kitchen.

SCRUMPTIOUS: Australian chilled beef served hot with salad and mashed potatoes.

MOUTH WATERING: Chocolate brownies available at Anna’s Kitchen.

Located close to Hyatt Regency Hotel and Sultanah Aminah Hospital, the restaurant serves a variety of oriental delicacies and western staples. It also offers fusion delights.

The ambience and decor of the restaurant is appealing, decorated with quaint art pieces from various cultures, both modern and traditional.

Some of them were contributed by their patrons.

While the interior dining area is cultured, the alfresco dining area is lush with greenery, with a natural garden beside it.

"These plants that grow all over the place are a blessing from God. And once when I visited a patron's home she gave me a palm tree that wouldn't grow, but here it's thriving, and we didn't even do anything," said restaurateur Anna Teoh.

Among the restaurant's best-sellers is the cordon blue squid stuffed with chicken and cheese in a batter and deep fried, giving it an overgrown look.

Another favourite is the salmon with Chinese herbs, also a fusion of east and west.

Other meals include mussel spaghetti and traditional Penang chee cheong fun.

Teoh, who hails from Penang, gave up her corporate position and settled down in Johor Baru since 1990. She started Anna's Kitchen, a family-run business, in 2005.

Anna's Kitchen opens from 4pm to midnight.

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