Johor Bahru: Ah Yit Imperial + Choco Choco Cafe + Go Noodle House

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.

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.

Johor Bahru Taman Mount Austin: The Alley + Secret Ingredients Chicken Pot + Hotcake Johor

I embarked on a day trip to Johor Bahru (JB) Taman Mount Austin with the gang again after 3 years. JB has become one of the most familiar state of Malaysia that I have been visiting frequently, I have lost count of the number of times I have visited and I never get tired of visiting despite my last visit was just 2 weeks ago. So when GF asked me to go along for this trip, I immediately agree because there is just so much more things to explore in JB.

To avoid the jam, I was at Woodlands early in the morning at 9am and began my adventure together Meryl, GF and Kelvin. It took us an hour for us to clear both checkpoints and reach JB.

We made a stopover at Taman Century and start our day with the famous Wanton Noodles at Restoran Yit Foh for breakfast. This was my second visit to Yit Foh after 6 years. The restoran was full hourse when we arrived, thankfully we managed to secure a table without much waiting time.

We got a plate of crispy wantons which has a crunchy texture when bite, it was so addictive.

The wanton noodles were served with the home-made cha siew and wanton soup. The egg noodles were springy and toasted in chilli sauce that gave a fiery kick when consumed. It opened up our appetite at once.

We also had a big bowl of wantons for sharing. This was really a savior which helped to balance out the spiciness we experienced from the wanton noodles. The bowl of wanton soup was comforting and delicious.

Restoran Yit Foh

153, Jalan Harimau, Taman Century, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Operating hours: 8am to 4.30am daily except Thursday

After the satisfying breakfast, we drove down Aeon Mall Tebrau City Shopping Centre for shopping. GF and I got a black dress from Padini.

After we were done with shopping, we went to The Alley (鹿角巷) to try their famous bubble tea chain that originated from Taichung. 

I got Earl Grey Milk Tea with pearls at RM10.70 (or S$3.57).

The Alley is best known for its unique rounded base cup and handmade Deerioca tapioca pearls. The drink has a fragrant earl grey tea flavour and combined with ice, it made a perfect refreshing drink.

The happy us with our drinks, we were enjoying our trip so far.

We walked over to Komugi Japanese Bakery to buy bread which we will be smuggling in to karaoke for our late lunch.

Aeon Mall Tebrau City Shopping Centre

No. 1, Jalan Desa Tebrau, Taman Desa Tebrau, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

We walked over to Tesco Tebrau City to play claw machine and snack shopping. Being a enthusiast, it is GF must do activity when she's in JB. No matter how old are we, we become a kid at heart when we see cute plushie. 

I bought a big pack of Rota Prawn snack at RM2.50 (or S$0.83) from Tesco.

After we completed our mission, we headed for karaoke next.

We revisited Decast KTV because of the affordable package that they offer. We paid RM20 (or S$6.67) each for 3 hours of singing session from 3pm to 6pm with free flow of drinks.

Singing our heart out for the past 3 hours.

JB feels like a second home to us, we frequent this city a lot for their shopping, entertainment and food. JB doesn't bore us as there is always new places to explore. Moreover, the pricing is reasonable and it won't burn a hole in our wallet.

Decast KTV

1, Jalan Austin Heights 8/5, Taman Austin Heights, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

We drove down to Restoran Secret Ingredient Chicken Pot which is highly recommended by GF. The restoran is also located along Taman Mount Austin, an area where many great food spotting places are located.

The restoran has a clean and simple furnishing. Perhaps because it was a Sunday, there was still ample of seats in the restoran. 

We ordered the large Chicken Pot for sharing among the 4 of us. The chicken pot inside comes with generous chunks of gong bao chicken in a delicious non-spicy broth. It was a comforting pot to have for dinner where we drizzled the flavourful broth on our white rice.

We also ordered more side dishes to add into the chicken pot for our steamboat dinner. Here were some of the dishes we ordered - glass noodles, luncheon meat, hotdogs, baby corn, crabsticks and vegetables.

I enjoyed the dinner where the broth was packed with flavour from the gong bao chicken and all the ingredients we added in. The price was also very pocket friendly, it was only RM20 (or S$6.67) per pax.

Secret Ingredient Chicken Pot 秘制鸡公煲

35, Jalan Austin Height 8/1, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Operating hours: Tue to Sun from 12pm to 10.30pm

We ended our night with our last stop to Hotcake Johor which was located further down the street for a drink and dessert session. The cafe looked inviting with its cute decorations and pleasant colour combination.

Feeling thirsty after the steamboat dinner, we immediately ordered a drink to quench our thirst. I had Milk Tea at RM10 (or S$3.33) with jelly cubes in it. I just can't have enough milk tea.

The milk tea has a light roasted brew, together with the milk , it added sweetness to the drink. My all time favourite drink.

GF and Kelvin ordered the Pancake with Vanilla Ice Cream for sharing. The pancake was very fluffy and light, it literally melted when we insert in our mouth.

The cafe was a nice place to enjoy a dessert break and laughter with the awesome companions. Good food, shopping and great company creates the best escape from our mundane life in the stressful city.

Hotcake Johor 舒馥芮松饼

71, Jalan Austin Heights 8/1, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Operating hours: 11am to 11pm daily

Time was getting late and we left JB at about 9pm, there was a jam and we reached Woodlands at about slightly past 10. Though it was only a day trip, we managed to accomplished so much in a day. It was always so fun when we travel, let's have the next one soon again.

Johor Bahru 2D1N: Citrus Hotel Johor Bahru

Sunday 19/5/19

I was looking forward to this getaway because I need a break from the bustle city and personal space for a breather. However, my trip did not turn up to be ideal as I was sick and I could not enjoy my trip to the fullest.

I met up with Linda at our usual timing at Woodlands Bus Intercharge, it was a long weekend this week, the checkpoint was packed with people. We reached City Square at about 1.30pm. Since I was feeling unwell, we decided to have something light for lunch. I recommended Tea Garden which is located at level 6.

I had Crispy Noodle in Egg Gravy at RM12.80 (or S$4.24). I The noodle was crispy at the top and soggy at the bottom as the noodles were soaked into the rich gravy. Not sure if it was too flavourful or I was too hungry, I cleared every bits of it in minutes.

After the lunch and window shopping, we made our way to our hotel which is just directly across the street from City Square. 

Citrus Hotel Johor Bahru by Compass Hospitality

16, Jalan Station, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

I have stayed at this hotel in Bangkok and I wanted to give it a try at the one in JB. Citrus Hotel JB is a 4 stars hotel, the main reason for choosing this hotel is the excellent accessibility and valuable pricing.

Our room was located at level 5.  

Let's proceed for a room tour.

I initially booked a Standard Room with 2 single beds. However, the room was unavailable and we were given an upgrade to Standard Plus Room with a queen bed instead.

The room was pretty all right, just that the furniture were a little old and some parts of the room was not properly cleaned up.

I like that the bathing area was partitioned and separated from the toilet, so that the floor will not be all wet when we stepped out.

We took half an hour break in the hotel before we head out again. It was so nice to just relax in the hotel. We walked over to JB Sentral to take a bus down to KSL City.

We were the first two passengers to board the bus. The ticket price was RM1.50. Time really flies fast, it was already nearly 3.45pm when we boarded the bus. We wasted no time and conquered all the shops that we wanted to visit.

My loots from Tesco:

Got this big pack of Curlys Curry BBQ which at RM3.19 (or S$1.06).

Got this Lightening Feminine Hygiene Wash at RM7.90 (or S$2.62). I have been a user of feminine wash ever since I was introduced to it. It gently cleanses intimate areas, maintain a sensible pH balance for all-day freshness and comfort.

We have been fighting our own battles for the longest time and we yearned for a recharge. So here we were at JB for our getaway. 

We chanced upon this claw machine shop with pinky backdrops  and LINE Friends characters, it looked so attractive that it ignited the child within us and we found ourselves stepping into the shops for a photo.

We stopped by the Eureka vending machine to purchase a can of popcorn, I got Dark Chocolate Popcorn at RM8 (or S$2.65). The reason why we purchased at the vending machine was because certain flavours were out of stock at City Square.

The time was about 6.20pm and we took a dessert break at Blackball Dessert House. Both of us ordered Melon Jade Jelly at RM9 (or S$2.98) each. It was a cooling and refreshing dessert to have after 2 hours of walking, a delightful end to round up our trip in KSL.

We took the bus back to JB Sentral at 7.10pm and began shopping at Komtar JBCC. We walked around until 8.20pm and began sourcing for food to buy back and munch in hotel. 

We settled for Pizza Hut. The waiting time was so long and we waited for half an hour. We went back to the hotel shortly after getting our dinner. I was feeling hungry and lethargic due to my flu, it really ruined my mood. 

We were back in hotel at 9.30pm and here's my dinner. I was so hungry that I immediately start eating the minute we were back. We ordered Wow Combo 2 which consists of a regular Hawaiian Chicken Pizza (not available in Singapore) and 2 Cream of Mushroom Soup. Guess what?

This combo only cost RM15 (or S$4.97). With this price, I could only get a personal pizza in Singapore. It's a steal.

The Cream of Mushroom tasted delicious and paired well with the pizza. We were watching Channel U's show while having our late dinner. 

Time to just laze around in our room.

Monday 20/5/19

Good morning, it was 9.30am and we already got ourselves prepared to start our day as we intended to check out the hotel at 10am.

This was the most photo-worthy spot of our room, it looked pretty good except for the old furniture. But still, this hotel gave us the best access as it is just a stone away from the shopping mall and eateries.

This trip may not be the most enjoyable trip for us due to my illness, we still managed to achieve the things we want. We foresee another trip in again soon.

One last photo before we checked out our room at 9.50am. 

We decided not to waste any moment away and we left for City Square to purchase 'Avengers: Endgame' movie ticket for 11am show. The movie ticket was RM17 (or S$5.63). The queue was so long that by the time we purchased the tickets and Eureka popcorn, the time was already 10.30am and we were left with less than half an hour to source for breakfast. I got a bread from Season for my breakfast.

After the devastating incidents, half of the life in the universe were gone. The remaining Avengers work together to reverse Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe. During the battle, the Avengers are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the final fight with Thanos. 

After overpowering the heroes, Thanos seizes the gauntlet, but Iron Man got the Stones back and uses them to disintegrate Thanos and his army, at the cost of his life. Following Tony Stark's funeral, Captain America returns the Infinity Stones back to their original places in time. He remains in the past to live with Peggy Carter and live till old age.

***

It was a really long movie, it was 3 hours long. By the time we finished the movie, it was already 2.15pm. We didn't want to go back home late, hence we just grab something fast for lunch.

I got a Kaya Waffle from Daily Fresh at RM4.10 (or S$1.36). The Kaya Waffle was savoury and sweet.

We left JB at 3.15pm and the queue at the checkpoint was madness. We almost couldn't squeeze in. Thankfully we got the correct line and managed to clear it fast. We reached Woodlands Checkpoint in an hour.

This marks the end of my JB staycation. I need a speedy recovery and I will be back to JB again to fulfill my makan journey.