After knowing each other for a decade, we finally embarked on our first overseas day trip to Johor Bahru (JB) together. During our last meet up in June, I suggested to go on a day trip to JB and all of them spontaneously agree.
I woke up at 6.50am to prepare myself as we were meeting at 8.40am @ Kranji Station. Despite reaching so early, the queue was madness. This was the first time I saw such a big crowd at Singapore checkpoint. The queue at Malaysia checkpoint was even chaotic. Thankfully I have chosen the lane that was in order and we managed to clear the entry before 11am.
I woke up at 6.50am to prepare myself as we were meeting at 8.40am @ Kranji Station. Despite reaching so early, the queue was madness. This was the first time I saw such a big crowd at Singapore checkpoint. The queue at Malaysia checkpoint was even chaotic. Thankfully I have chosen the lane that was in order and we managed to clear the entry before 11am.
Our first stop was to Hiap Joo Bakery which was 8 minutes walk away from JB City Square. We came here because Steffi wanted to buy their famous banana cake. However, the shop only start selling the banana cake at 12pm (another 35 minutes of waiting time), so Steffi and Adrian got Coconut Bread instead.
After getting the bread, we called for a 6 seater grab car to bring us to Taman Sentosa for lunch.
The grab fare was RM11 to Taman Sentosa.
We were spoiled with many food choices. Our plan was to order 3 pax portion of food so that we can try out the food over at 2 restaurants.
We entered Ah Yit Imperial, an atas looking Chinese restaurant.
Ah Yit Imperial is famous for their herbal duck and roasted pork. It was 12pm when we arrived at the restaurant, we were famished because we had our breakfast super early.
A group photo before we dig in. This marked the start of our gastronomic venture.
We have a new addition, Adrian, to our poly peers JB outing because he is the 地头蛇 of JB, our tour guide of the day.
JB has been one of my regular destination to visit. It is one of the places with many pocket friendly cum delicious food and best shopping places that is just a causeway away from Singapore. I always love traveling here with my friends when I need some relax time.
The guys did the ordering and here comes the food. First up was Roasted Pork and Char Siew.
The best part of the roasted pork was definitely the crispy skin, it stayed crunchy when bite. The char siew was coated with the sweet sauce that tasted savoury, it also contained well mix of lean meat.
We ordered Herbal Half Duck which was juicy and succulent, the meat was tender and we were captivated by the shiny duck skin. It is worthy to be Ah Yit Imperial's signature dish.
Next was Spicy Beancurd. The cubes of beancurd was toppled with spicy chilli paste. The beancurd was soft and paired well with the chilli, offering a savoury and spicy notes. The spiciness will stay with you for a good while.
My favourite was Salted Egg Lotus Root and Pumpkin.
Every piece of lotus root and pumpkin was well coated with salted egg yolk sauce, making it a delightful treat. The lotus root was very crispy but I still prefer the savoury salted egg pumpkin. The balance between the sweet and savoury taste was perfect.
The lunch was worth every penny. The bill came up to RM145.10 (or S$48.21) for 6 pax, which was just S$8 per pax. I definitely cannot find such price in Singapore. JB is indeed a food heaven, my top choice when it comes to short escape.
Ah Yit Imperial 阿一鸭皇阁
2, Jalan Sutera 4, Taman Sentosa, 80150 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Operating hours: 10.30am to 10pm daily
We were feeling so full that we decided to give the second restaurant a miss. We then made our way by foot to KSL which was 15 minutes walk away. We just enjoyed the sight of the old streets while walking towards our destination.
After getting some items from Watson, Christine, Adrian and Chan Lin began on their adventure at the claw machines. Luck wasn't on their side.
After an hour of walking, we settled at Choco Choco Cafe at the ground floor of KSL for our relax session. The guys recommended this cafe because of their Instagram worthy latte art shots.
A photo with the girls while the guys went to order our drinks. Thanks Chan Lin for treating us the drinks.
Check out the cute latte art of our drinks, we love their 2D art. Just name the character you want and the staff will try their best to have it drawn for you. If you order a cold drink, you can get a 3D art drawn.
Spending our time chatting everything under the sun, sipping our latte and keeping our phones at bay due to no internet connectivity, this made us forget about the hustle and bustle of the city life and take things easy.
That's my cute Crayon Shin Chan Matcha Latte.
I have been a matcha lover who love the lingering bitter yet sweet taste of the matcha. The matcha latte did not taste bitter because of the adequate amount of milk added.
We tried our best to drink consciously so that the latte art will not be destroyed. The last bits of the latte art before I gulped down the drink.
After the drinks, we split into 2 groups for 45 minutes free and easy activities. Steffi and I went to shopping at bakery and Tesco while the remaining went to claw machine hunting.
I got myself chocolate biscuits (RM3.79 or S$1.26).
I picked up Soothing Feminine Hygiene Wash at RM8.5 (or S$2.85) to replenish my current stock at home. Do remember to bring your own paper bag on Saturday because Tesco will charge RM0.20 on plastic bag.
We met up at 4pm and grab down to R&F Mall mall. The grab charge was RM13.
There were stage performance going on to celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, so many Chang E on stage.
Because the group said that Magnum is a must eat in JB because of the cheap price, we got a box of Magnum Mini Classic from the supermarket at R&F Mall. 6 sticks of Magnum Mini cost only RM14 (or S$4.65). Thanks Christine for the ice cream treat.
Admidst all the fanciful desserts found in the cafe, we just stick to our classic Magnum Mini stick ice cream. We do not want to go for something too full before our dinner. Dessert was now ticked off from our "to do" list.
Magnum Classic contains the perfect mixture of cracking Magnum chocolate and velvety smooth vanilla ice cream.
We then made our way to our last stop of the day, City Square, using the long connecting bridge.
It was nearly 6pm and we don't want something too heavy for dinner, so we ended up at Go Noodle House located at level 6 of City Square. Go Noodle House transported us to the ancient days with its retro and rustic interior, wine bottles and furniture.
I had a cup of Ice Milk Tea and Ban Mee for dinner. I have been eating lots of good food today so decided to eat clean for dinner. Dinner was RM18 (or S$5.98) per pax. Compared the dinner to our lunch and the price paid, I must say that the further up you go, the cheaper the food is.
After the dinner, we walked around the mall for another hour before we made our way to JB Sentral at 7.30pm to catch our train (at 8.30pm) back to Singapore. This was my first time taking the train, the ticket from JB to Singapore was RM5.
Though the journey was only 3 minutes, but the waiting time and clearing of checkpoint took quite awhile too.
Glad that the group enjoyed the day just like me, hope this will not be our last overseas trip. Let's have another round soon.
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