Kluang Best Food & Sightseeing Guide ● 10 Must Eat in Bat Town of Johor

Kluang is a good day trip destination from Johor Bahru as it is less than 2 hours of leisurely expressway driving away. It is also on the KTM railway route. If you go by train, once in Kluang, you can go anywhere with GRAB as most attractions are in the town centre (walking distance from the KTM railway station, if you like to walk like me 😄 ). There are plenty of good food to eat for your day trip. These are my 10 Kluang food recommendations.

👆click to follow me on Instagram

The original quaint coffee shop at Kluang's railway station. It's an obligatory tourist destination now. The railway station still in operation, still have its old timer charm. The coffee, toasts, eggs and wide variety of local delights like mee siam, nasi lemak etc are pretty tasty too.

Restaurant name: KLUANG RailCoffee

Address: Jalan Station, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2.033543,103.317584
Tel: 07-773 8391
Hours: 7:00am - 6:00pm

👆click to follow me on Instagram

When you have done Kluang Rail Coffee ad nauseam and want somewhere where locals go for their daily caffeine and carb fix, check out Hoover kopitiam. The charming place with old school vibes will be busy but you won't find many tourists here. Love the coffee, kaya & butter toasts and soft boil eggs here. The chicken rice is great too. By the way, Hoover is owned by a relative of the Kluang Rail Coffee clan.

Restaurant name: Hoover 豪華茶餐室 (the signboard outside says Kluang Lim 林)
Address: No. 24, Jalan Ng Pi Ton, Taman Sayang, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'18.2"N 103°19'52.7"E 🌐 2.038391, 103.331303
WAZE: Hoover Restaurant
Hours: 6:30am - 5:00pm (closed on Friday)
Tel: +607-771 2772

👆click to follow me on Instagram

Tasting Hai Kee's roast pork takes special effort if you are a day tripper from out of town as they open in the evening, through the night till dawn. You have to stay till 9pm or arrive before 9am but it is worth the while. The pork is uber fresh and roasting skills are good, so we have full seasoning flavour and taste of natural porky sweetness.

Restaurant name: Hai Kee Meat Merchants 海记肉商
Address: Jalan Haji Manap Nordin, Kluang Baru, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'31.9"N 103°19'59.4"E 🌐 2.042201, 103.333163
Hours: Evening till dawn

👆click to follow me on Instagram

I know right? You might be thinking, "Aiyah, rice wine mee sua, what so special"? My exact thoughts too when Sarah brought us here. But, the heady house made rice wine was mind blowing, so I have to include MG83 Cafe in my best Kluang food list.

Restaurant name: MG 83 Cafe 糖水美食馆
Address: No. 31, Jalan Dato Kaptain Ahmad, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°01'58.3"N 103°19'12.2"E 🌐 2.032871, 103.320048
Tel: 07 - 776 9887
Hours: 10:00am - 6:00pm

👆click to follow me on Instagram

Possibly the most successful Ramly burger food stand in Malaysia and Singapore.

Restaurant name: Fendy Burger
Address: Persiaran Dato Haji Ismail Hassan, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'06.5"N 103°19'17.4"E 🌐 2.035129, 103.321496
Hours: 5:00pm - 12:00 midnight

👆click to follow me on Instagram

Restaurant name: Putu Mayam Wahab
Address: Pasar Tani Kampung Malayu, Kluang, Johor (beside Kluang bus terminal at Jalan Bakawali)
GPS: 2°02'11.9"N 103°19'22.8"E 🌐 2.036633, 103.322987
Tel: 011 - 51888 596
Hours: 6:00am - 10:00am (Monday only)

👆click to follow me on Instagram

If I have time for only one good meal in Kluang, I will have it in STAR restaurant. Good food, warm service, comfortable interior, reasonable pricing, and critically, consistent and reliable in delivering a great meal.

Restaurant name: STAR Coffee House & Restaurant
Address: 10 & 12, Jalan Sultanah, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'02.5"N 103°19'18.0"E | 2.034015, 103.321678
Tel: +6013 723 3328 | +6019 773 3328 | +60 7-772 3288 | +60 7-773 3328 (best to reserve during peak season like holidays)
Hours: Lunch 11:30am - 3:00pm | Dinner 5:30pm - 10:30pm (Monday off)

👆click to follow me on Instagram

I am told by a few buddies that Kluang has the best among all Tangkak Beef Noodle outlets. Yes, I did get particularly hooked on their beef ribs in claypot. It's an excellent gu kut teh, of sorts.

Restaurant name: Tangkak Beef
Address: #5, Jalan Langsat, Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2.037137,103.319731
Tel: 019-778 1880
Hours: 8:00am to 6:00pm

👆click to follow me on Instagram

There are two places you can get the famous Botak curry mee, either at the father and son's shop or the daughter's stall. The curry mee is about the same in both places.

At the father's shop, you will eat in one of the quaintest eating places around and also possibly meet Botak, the man himself. The daughter's stall in the old Mengkibol hawker centre is also interesting in its own right, and you can also try other food stalls there.

Restaurant name: Botak Curry Mee
Father & Son's address: Jalan Paya 1/3, Kampung Paya, Kluang
GPS: 2.040879,103.334977
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm

Daughter's address: Jalan Panggung, Kampung Masjid Lama, Kluang (Mengkibol River Hawker Centre)
GPS: 2.029777,103.320971
Hours: 7:00am to 5:00pm

👆click to follow me on Instagram

Restaurant name: Barney's
Address: 7 & 8, Jalan Perniagaan 2 (Jalan Komersil Kluang 2), Kluang, Johor
GPS: 2°02'04.8"N 103°19'08.2"E 🌐 2.034679, 103.318946
Tel: 012-711 5435 / 07-774 4992
Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm

To make this list, I travelled to Kluang many times over the past 9 years. Many Kluangites helped me to locate the best in town. I personally tasted every food I recommend:

Original Kluang Rail Coffee 👈 click
Hoover coffee shop 👈 click
STAR restaurant 👈 click
Tangkak beef noodles 👈 click
Putu Mayam Wahab 👈 click
Botak curry mee at Kampung Paya 👈 click
Botak curry mee - daughter's stall 👈 click
Original KTM Kluang Rail Station coffee 👈 click
Hai Kee roast pork 👈 click
MG 83 cafe 👈 click
Fendy Burger 👈 click
Barney's 👈 click

Wait, there is more 😄 Other good Kluang food you may like to check out:

Yuan Fatt Shanghai mooncakes 👈 click
Nam Yick mooncakes 👈 click
Tong Huat mooncakes 👈 click
Mooncakes of Kluang 👈 click
Lady T milli crepe & coffee 👈 click
Old Pasar Beef Noodle 👈 click
Yean Kee Beef Noodle 👈 click
Ikan Asam Pedas 👈 click
KPH Kopitiam Teochew porridge stall 👈 click
Tan Ching Heng hawker food centre 👈 click
Chew Lam chee cheong fun & desserts 👈 click
Cendol Kadir 👈 click
Fishballs Mengkibol hawker centre 👈 click

One day food trail in Kluang 👈 click

Kluang Snippets

Picture credit: Wikipedia

Kluang is a small town in Johor state of Malaysia about 110km from Johor Bahru. It has a population of 300,000+. During British Malaya days, rubber was the backbone of Kluang's economy. In the 1970s, Kluang became famous as the "Tile Capital" of Malaysia as many famous ceramic factories set up around the town. Nowadays, Kluang is well known for its organic farms.

Bat Town. The name Kluang came from the Malay word "keluang" for flying fox which is a species of fruit bat. Once plentiful around Kluang, flying foxes are now rarely seen due to deforestation and hunting.

Betty's Boobs. Kluang town is located at the foothills of Gunung Lambak mountain with its peak at 510 metres above sea level. Old airmen during the British Malaya days refer to Gunung Lambak as Betty's Boobs because of its twin peaks. In those days of aviation, airmen relied heavily on their Mark 1 eyeballs for navigation. When they sight Betty's Boobs, they know they have arrived at Kluang.

View this post on Instagram

I remember I had to do this during my pre-U days in 1970s Singapore.

A post shared by Tony Johor Kaki (@johorkaki) on Aug 3, 2019 at 7:01am PDT

Street Art Alley. Have fun with creative and interactive street art when you are in Kluang at the back lanes of Jalan Merdeka near the Kluang Railway Station.