Thursday, July 31, 2014

Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 1 of 2

I was thinking of going overseas but couldn't think of where to go so I decided to visit Johor Bahru. Although I have been to Johor Bahru many times, I had only been to a few places, so I decided to stay in Johor Bahru for 2 days to explore as many places as I could. Also, I have planned to walk instead of the usual cabbing here and there so I could explore more places.

So on a Monday morning, I woke up early in the morning and headed in to JB with CT. The weather wasn't very nice to us. It was heavy downpour that morning.

Initially, we were intending to try the Roti Canai at Bukit Chagar, but we couldn't find it sadly. So we settled for Roti Canai at Afrida Restaurant (Unkut Aziz).
Afrida Restaurant
Plain Roti Canai

Roti Canai with Egg
The Roti Canai were large and fluffy. Usually I eat 4 pieces in Singapore, but I felt full after 2 piece of plain Roti Canai there. The curry they provided was a little salty however. We spent a total of RM7.60 inclusive of 2 drinks.

While having our breakfast, I was trying to figure out where we were because we actually lost our way. Then, I realised we passed by the Roti Canai shop at Bukit Chagar but because it is not really visible, we missed it. I shall try it another day.

After our breakfast, we set off our journey to KSL, where we had booked a room to stay for the night. As we set off, we lost our way again. The roads are rather confusing and we don't know which road to take, but it wasn't that bad.

We stumbled across the first glass temple in the world "Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple". This was supposedly to be the part of our itinerary for the second day, but since we happened to be here on the first day, we headed in for a tour.
To the Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple
Exterior of temple
As we enter the temple, we were approached to pay a fee of RM3.00 for the camera.
Fee for Video and Photo taking
Interior of temple
The view of the temple was breath taking, it is definitely worth to visit. For more pictures of the temple, visit my album on my Facebook page.

After the temple, we continued our journey and stopped by Plaza Pelangi for a short break. 
Plaza Pelangi
To be honest, from the glass temple, there isn't much to see along Lebuhraya Tebrau (the road that lead all the way to Plaza Pelangi). When we reached the plaza, it was about 1100hr but a lot of shops were still closed, so we just went to Uncle Jo's cafe for a drink.
Uncle Jo's Cafe

Another reason why we choose here is because they have free WiFi!
Free WiFi at Uncle Jo's
Three Layer Tea
While using the WiFi, we ordered their three layer tea to quench our thirst. The tea is pretty sweet and it cost RM7.60 (inclusive with their GST and Service Charge).

Once we got enough rest, we hit the road again. From this point onward, there are a lot of shop houses and more things to see.
Shop houses along the road after Plaza Pelangi
We didn't explore or shop much there though. We just wanted to head to the hotel so that we could unload our baggage first, so we just window shopped while heading towards KSL.

KSL
Once

we reached KSL, we went straight to the hotel lobby and checked in because we wanted to rest for a while after a long walk from JB central to KSL in the rain.

Award for KSL
As we were heading to our rooms, we noticed a plaque awarded to KSL by agoda.com, so I guess this hotel is worth coming. Anyway, KSL is a 5-star hotel if you still do not know. My stay in the hotel was a pleasant one.
Room of KSL

Although we wanted to rest, our stomach were rumbling shortly after we checked in, so we headed over to Taman Sentosa (about 10-15min walk from KSL) where lots of food had great reviews.

One of our chosen place to try was Tong Tong Causeway Bay Hong Kong. When we were there, they were changing their signboard because the previous signboard had spelling error and it was too small. Many people missed the signboard when they are trying to find the shop, so he decided to upsize the signboard and correct the spelling errer
Tong Tong Causeway Bay Hong Kong
They were known to specialized in roast meat so we ordered a Char Siaw, Roast Duck and Roast Pork.
Lunch with all the roasted meat
The roast pork and char siew were rather unique I would say and it was delicious. No wonder it is so popular. What's more, everything on the table only cost RM32.00! How affordable is this meal, I had a little chit chat session with the owner and I found out that he used to open this shop in Singapore. He only closed the shop in Singapore because he was moving back to Malaysia (He is a Malaysian). According to him, many Singaporean still travel in just to eat there.

Along the same stretch of road, there are quite a number of bak kut teh stalls and apparently all of them are popular. 
Tang Feng Bak Kut Teh
Durian Ice Cream
Fried Durian
We stopped at Tang Feng Bak Kut Teh not for their bak kut teh, but for their durian specialty. We were so full after the roast meat platter, so we could only settle for dessert. The ice cream was RM8.50 for 2 and the fried durian was RM10.00 for 3. The ice cream was actually just vanilla ice cream with durian taste, but what I love was the durian puree in the ice cream. The vanilla ice cream itself was also smooth and creamy. The fried durian was a even better durian dessert. The durian paste in it was Mao Shan Wang and together with the crispy exterior, it was a perfect match.

After so much of food, it was time for some relaxation. So we headed down the road to Plaza Sentosa, where they had Kaki Kaki Reflexology (for massage) and LUSH (for nails).

When we arrived at Kaki Kaki Reflexology, we had a hard time deciding what package to pick. After taking about 5 minutes talking to the sales staff, we chose a 60 minute facial massage (RM199.00) from Lotus Beauty which locates inside Kaki Kaki Reflexology.
Namecard of my therapist
According to my therapist, she came up this massage that is purely for face and part of upper body because she felt that face has been neglected during massage (which is kind of true). Her massage was really comfortable and I totally fell asleep! This is serious! I usually don't fall asleep during massage but she made me sleep so nicely.

Because of her professional service, I decided to add a whitening mask treatment (RM49.90).
First time doing whitening mask treatment
Overall was a great experience. I enjoyed every moment with my therapist. She was nice enough to tell me a lot of new places that I never hear before, but I wasn't familiar with JB area so I actually don't know most of the places that she told me. It doesn't really matter anyway. I got a few packages from her already, so I will still be visiting her and then I can ask her slowly while I familiar myself with JB.


After the invigorating facial massage, we proceeded on for pedicure at Lush which is just diagonally across Kaki Kaki Reflexology.
Lush front desk
CT doing her nails
Tea while waiting for CT
So while waiting for her to finish her pedicure (RM38.00), I was served with chrysanthemum tea. The whole process took about an hour. After that, it was just nice for dinner!

Taman Sri Tebrau Hawkers Centre
We headed down to the nearby Taman Sri Tebrau Hawkers Centre for dinner. CT wanted seafood for dinner so we settled for Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant since she recommended it.
Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant
Fried Mantou - RM1.00 each
Sambal Sotong (Squid) - RM15.00
Chilli Lala (Bamboo Clams) - RM15.00
Sambal Stingray - RM20.00
All the dishes we ordered were small size because it was just me and CT. We couldn't finish that much food. CT initially wanted chilli crab too but it really wasn't worth to get it for just 2 person. So we decided to come back again with more people the next time.

Anyway after the sumptuous dinner, we strolled back slowly to KSL which took us about 20 min. Right outside KSL there was a Pasar Malam (Night Market) waiting for us.
Start of Pasar Malam
The Pasar Malam will be there every Monday Night. They move around everyday in the week but I am not too sure what are the other locations for other days though. 

So while we were walking down the Pasar Malam, I saw this stall selling Pedi Spin. I have been contemplating to get it but wasn't very sure if it is worth it or not. The price in Singapore cost SGD29.90 for one of those and RM79.90 in Malaysia. Guess what, this lady boss was selling at just RM28.00!
Selling products
Pedi Spin
Of course, being cheapskate, I got it because it seems like the authentic one. She even throw in free batteries. Since I am talking about this product, I am going to tell you my review. I tried it and I am glad that I only got it at RM28.00. It is totally bullshit. Please do not believe whatever the advertisement says. It is world's apart. It doesn't shave off the feet at all. Even if it does, it is shaving off very little at a time. I'm sure even after using this from full charge till the battery die, I cannot even shave off all my dry skin on my feet. I am really disappointed in the product. Then I went online to read up what others say about this product, I got the same feedback. So please DO NOT GET PEDI SPIN!

Coconut Ice Cream
I spotted this coconut ice cream which is very popular to tourists in Thailand. I tried this in Singapore before and it cost SGD5.00. Now in Malaysia, it also cost RM5.00. It is definitely more worth it to eat it in Malaysia than in Singapore. Of course, it is cheap in Thailand too.

Jia Jia
Before I went to this JB trip, I actually did some research. I found out that this Jia Jia beverage stall is very popular. True enough, when I was there, they were having a long queue. I gave it a missed after seeing the queue though. I wonder if it is really that nice. Anyway they specialise in soya beancurd and soya milk.

Apam Balik (Turnover Pancake)
Apam Balik is known as "Turnover Pancake" in English. I love this since I was young so I bought 5 for RM2.00. Each was sold at RM0.50. This Apam Balik here was definitely not up to my standard. I have tried Apam Balik at many places in Malaysia and this is one of the bad ones. Apam Balik consist of the crispy pancake crust, crushed peanuts, sugar and creamed corn. This one that I tried had creamed corn concentrated at the centre of the pancake which made it very sweet. The distribution of the ingredients weren't good enough.

After walking the whole stretch of Pasar Malam from KSL to Grand Paragon and back, it was about 2200hr. We were dead tired after a whole day of exploration on foot. So we decided to head back to KSL to rest for the night. But before that, we went to TESCO to get some water and we were glad that we went there. Just outside TESCO, there was a booth selling coconut drinks. The way it was served was very unique. The husk was removed leaving the flesh and juice intact.
Removing the edible part of coconut from the shell
Pouring out the coconut flesh and juice as a whole
This was the first time I ever saw this way of serving coconut so we decided to order one to try. Each coconut cost RM5.00 and it was really convenient to eat. I love this idea of cutting coconut.

Well, that summed up our first day in JB
Continue on with Day 2 of our trip:
Johor Bahru Exploration - Day 2 of 2

For more and better view of pictures, visit Flying Panda Facebook Page

No comments:

Post a Comment