Miyakori Coffee

Miyakori Kuromitsu Coffee (RM$13.90, S$4.58)

Morning starts at the Miyakori Coffee, in JB City Square Mall.

We tested the cafe by ordering their specialty, the Miyakori Kuromitsu Coffee - with black honey, a Japanese sugar syrup. The sweetness it exudes is light and natural. Well suited with the mildness of the Japanese coffee.

This is no doubt a good change from the strong brews of St*rbucks.

5 Eats in City Square Mall, JB

Having our good share of news about noxious crimes in the JB state of Malaysia, Johor Bahru City Square Mall is probably the furthest i would dare venture alone across the Singapore Causeway. The mall is a Singapore investment sited next to the Malaysia custom office, and prices are not exactly cheap; in fact, many of the franchise stalls here actually boosts the highest price tag among their outlets!

But the mall does provide a good get away from our everyday places. And here are 5 eating places we enjoyed during our recent visit; we are planning for a revisit soon.

1. Ho Seng Kee Wanton Mee, 何成記云吞面 (Level 6, Lot J6-07)

A good light breakfast starts here, at the rooftop air-conditioned terrace. It was worth it for the noodle, a nice bouncy texture that you would never get it at $3 in Singapore. Just gotta complete the meal with a Kopi though.

2. AhGong Laksa, 阿公辣沙 (Basement 1, Lot MB-02C)

Maybe breakfast was too light, or it was our gluttony, Ah Gong Recipes managed to draw us with their promise of a good hot bowl of Laksa soup!

3. Kimdo BBQ, 金都串串烧 (Level 3, J3-19B)

Craving more bites, we succumbed to some BBQ snacking at Kimdo. Oh, the fresh squids and chicken wings dipped in sourish, spicy sauce! And we had our most thirst-quenching drink here.

4. Season's Cafe (Level 2 , Lot J2-37 & 38)

On some day, a decent set meal in Season's Cafe, aka Malaysia Swensen's. They just might be having more dedicated kitchen chefs than Singapore's? You will not regret.

5. Penang Road Famous TeoChew Chendul,  槟城律驰名潮州煎蕊 (Level 3, MF-19A)

And the last shall be first.
This is a must visit for their incredible chendol and rojak! Read more here.

Season's Cafe - LNY Promotion

Teriyaki Chicken with Rice (RM$19.90, S$6.70)

Season's Cafe ended our venture at the Johor Bahru City Square this Chinese New Year season. If i remembered correctly, we had never lunched at Season's Cafe because of its close resemblance to Swensen's Singapore - that element of novelty is just missing. Today, we were attracted by their CNY promotion set.

8 dishes range from Chicken Baked Rice or Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza (RM$16.90) to Lamb Chop (RM$25.90). In between, there were Spicy Aglio Olio Mushroom Pasta, Black Pepper Seafood Pasta or an Half Spring Chicken (RM$19.90). All sets come with complimentary day soup.

Close resemblance to Swensen's Singapore? Yes. But we thought Season's Malaysia tastes better. Can eat.

Black Pepper Beef Burger (RM$17.90, S$6)

Complimentary Soup of the Day - Creme of Mushrooms

Kimdo BBQ, 金都串串烧

Why is BBQ food bad for us?

Barbecuing causes the surface of food to become contaminated by smoke - the smoke emitted contains poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide and PAHs. For people on the go, we simply do not care about scraping the black bits off the meats to reduce PAHs. And business at Kim Do BBQ was too good for the server to bother about the strong fire that causes the burn.

Our last stop at Johor Bahru City Square was at Kim Do where we eat at our own risk. Sinfully enjoying their signature 'Single Bone Chicken Wings' and 'BBQ Fresh Squids', dribbled in special hot sourish chili dip! Then hoping to justify our wants with some freshly squashed Balonglong fruit juice, served with a preserved plum fruit - surely this detoxify us? Else it quenches our thirst most explicitly!

Kimdo Single Bone Chicken Wing (RM$1.90, S$0.65) x2

Taiwan Eryngli Mushroom (RM$2.50, S$0.85), Crispy Bean Curd (RM$1.60, S$0.55)

Local Fresh Squid, RM$16, S$5.40 (RM$12, S$4 per 100g) 

Fresh Balonglong Juice (RM$5.50, S$1.80)

水塘, Ah Gong Recipes since 1978

Ah Gong's Traditional Laksa (RM$8.90++, S$3)

Cheung Fun (RM$4.80++, S$1.60), Traditional Kopi (RM$2.70++, S$0.90)

Our walk around Johor Bahru City Square exposed us to many small, interesting eateries and thus we decided to drop our previous plan for a big meal, but instead to take a few snacks for our lunch.

Ah Gong Laksa attracted us with our love for laksa; and their cheapest offering of kopi in this entire shopping mall. Yes, do not think that everything across the causeway is cheaper than in Singapore. Consumer prices in Malaysia are constantly updated to keep pace with the falling ringgits.

The laksa was sufficiently enjoyable, albeit the missing cockles that were not available today. This is a good break before we continued our shopping.

Teochew Chendul!

Original Chendul (RM$6.50, S$2.20)

Penang Rojak (RM$8.90, S$3)

We have never expected a Chendol to taste this good. Good is an understatement. It is exemplary; representing the best of its kind. So rich with coconut milk and Gula Melaka, but never overwhelming nor cloying, it just feels easy to drink up! We could never understand how they do it - guess it got a lot to do with the right proportioning of everything.

Then comes their Penang rojak that attacks your senses, right through the nostrils! The heavy fermented shrimp paste travels up the senses with the aid of the juicy cut fruits; it was awesome! We wouldn't have it any other way.

If you have only 30 mins at the Johor Bahru City Square, this little Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul eatery is good enough for you to drop everything else and spend it all here.

Ho Seng Kee, 何成記云吞面

Doesn't this picture sets you salivating? Hold it there, you've got to travel the distance to the Johor Bahru City Square for your fix. 

Ho Seng Kee operates from the roof terrace of the shopping mall, bringing forth freshly made noodles daily, from duck, chicken eggs and high protein flour. Their noodle alone warrants a repeat visit; and you may well enjoy their prawn dumplings too.

Original Wantan Mee, M (RM$8.90, S$3)

Spicy + Black Sauce Wantan Mee, M (RM$8.90, S$3)

Prawn Dumpling Mee (RM$12.90, S$4.30) 

Restoran Loon Sing, 隆盛佛跳墙酒搂

Does one dream of holding one's wedding banquet in Johor Bahru? Their renowned good food; made affordable by ringgit exchange rates and significantly improved restaurant decor these days, it might just be worth considering the hassle of ferrying all your friends and relatives over the causeway for the big day...

Especially after today's smooth traffic across the immigration offices in our chartered buses, and delectable lunch banquet at Restoran Loon Sing (adjacent to AEON Bukit Indah & McDonalds); any of our resolve begin to waver - we wiped off clean every dishes; everyone enjoyed ourselves and left home feeling well fed.

Menu for the day is especially impressive with lobster salad, abalone soup, roasted suckling pig, steamed fish, baked prawns and braised fish maw! We are quite sure such listing fetches more than S$1K/ per table in Singapore?

This is about RM$1500, include all taxes. Now start thinking about it!

Lobster Salad Combination Platter

"Buddha Jumps Over The Wall" with Abalone, Mushroom, Shark fins, Scallop, Sea Cucumber and Chicken. 

Roasted Golden Suckling Piglet

Steamed Marble Goby with Fine Soy Sauce

Wok Baked Sea Prawns in Twins Style (Sesame sauce/ Salted egg yolk)

Braised Fish Maw Dry Scallop & Mushroom Greens

Emperor Waxed Meats Rice with Eight Treasures

Home Made Snow Ice, Mango flavor

Restoran Grand Straits Garden

Fishball with Seaweed Soup

Dinner at Grand Straits Garden Restaurant (besides Danga Bay) started out dishearteningly simple and light with fishball soup, bean curd and tomato with eggs... but we have to agree they are tasty and nourishes our tired bodies from the long day.

Then came our much-loved seafood - tender squids and crispy large prawns! Disappointingly, a lesser fancied Seabass compared to the freshness of lunch's Snapper fish, and a heady plate of grilled chicken that tastes like German sausages! I'm sure beer-drinking Dad would loves them.

This is a garden restaurant perfectly set for a romantic evening - piped in music, cool evening breezes, alfresco dining under a vast night sky - even the mood of our big group was lightened as we headed home...

Home-made Bean Curd Hakka Style

Tomato with moist Scrambled Egg

Stir-fried Fresh Squid with Celery

Crispy Oat-coated Prawns

Steamed Seabass in Hong Kong Style

Grilled Chicken

Teluk Sengat (Desaru) Crocodile Farm

Before some shopping therapy at Jusco mall, the tour guide introduces us to the Desaru crocodile farm which houses "more than a thousand" saltwater crocodile species; including 1 oldest, largest (more than 155 years) lizard who simply refuses to come out. You will see later :)

Caretakers with metal pole, 'disturbing' the sun-tanning reptiles.

The farm was built in 1979. And our guide thought we could help by visiting, to finance the farm's continuation. Our group really felt welcomed by the caretakers who brought us around, stirring up excitement in the waters for some photo moments! and performed feeding whole chickens to the pack of voracious reptiles!

It was a pleasurable trip and we were happy to be doing something for conservation.

Open pond with crocodiles of more than 155 years old! So many of them!!

The largest, oldest and most stubborn reptile - simply refuse to budge! He is huge! 

Feeding time by the jovial caretaker - we exclaimed!!