.jpg "Tangkak · Muar · JB · Johor 1-Day Getaway · Food Trail Itinerary July 2022")
This day trip from Singapore to Tangkak was planned around eating durian at Mt Ophir Durian (a durian shop in Tangkak town with their own durian plantation). We set off from Singapore at 7am and arrived back in Singapore the same day at 10pm.
We had an itinerary but used it only as a reference and was prepared for changes as situation required or according to our whims and fancy (that's the flexibility and fun of a DIY trip).
The trip took us from Singapore > Johor Bahru > Tangkak > Muar > Johor Bahru and back to Singapore.
Clearing both Singapore and Malaysia immigration was a breeze as traffic was light this Weds morning. We cleared both checkpoints by 8:30am.
There are several breakfast options, we settled on Wang Xiang Noodle at Jalan Keris in Johor Bahru because it is conveniently located 10 minutes drive from the Causeway (near Sri Tebrau market). A few of us have eaten here before and like this pork noodle restaurant.
The noodles do the job of a tasty, filling breakfast that is easily accessible at this early hour. The savoury sweet pork soup was mild and flavoursome but I didn't quite like the green leafy taste from the lettuce in the soup. The pork slices, tendon, liver, etc., were fresh, cooked to the right doneness and naturally sweet. I would have loved pork kidney but didn't see it in the menu.
I couldn't finish my cup of kopi O as it was too sweet, thin and had little coffee taste. (Of course, there are many kopitiam with nice robust coffee but ordering food from individual stalls for eleven of us in a popular busy coffee shop could be messy and can lead to delays. We were on a packed schedule.)
 |
| Wang Xiang Noodle |
I had some more breakfast options in mind such as Seng Steam Fish and San Lou Cafe but we decided that we had enough food and ready to get on the road to Tangkak. Tangkak is 176km or 2 hours drive from Johor Bahru.
Our destination - Mt Ophir Durian in Tangkak. It is easy to locate this shop - it is just behind the only Caltex petrol station in Tangkak.
Mt Ophir Durian's durians are from their own durian plantation. When we come to their shop in Tangkak, we get fresh durian collected the same morning.
Inside the shop, there are simple tables and benches to enjoy our durians in comfort.
 |
| Tekka durian |
We had tekka and mao shan wang durians. I prefer the tekka here as it has more bitter taste than sweet, its flesh was more creamy, meaty and good value as the seeds were thumbnail size. The mao shan wang was on the sweet side, not as creamy and mostly had big round seeds.
Needless to say, durian prices are seasonal. When we were there, both mao shan wang and tekka were going for RM40 per kilo. Mt Ophir Durian's signature is "milk bottle" durian but these were not available when we were there.
Mt Ophir Durian contacts ☎ 012 653 1317 ☎ 012 227 6322 ☎ 012 659 1899.
After durian, we planned to do some shopping at the two traditional Chinese bakeries in Tangkak (Hua Bee and Tangkak Traditional Bakery) but we were caught in a heavy downpour.
Our first choice for lunch in Tangkak is the legendary Do Do Do restaurant for their beef dishes but today (Weds) was their off day. So, we decided to proceed straight to our next stop, Muar.
 |
| Merlin asam fish |
Merlin was full house when we arrived (it was a small restaurant). But, turnover was quick and we soon had a big table for all 11 of us.
The last time I was in Merlin was 10 years ago. I have forgotten how their signature asam pedas fish tasted but looking back at my old post, I had it recorded as robustly sour with spicy taste. This time the dishes and flavours seemed to have changed a little.
We had both the fish tail and head since we were a big group. The tail is now made with sea bass fish while the head is still snapper fish. The fishes were very fresh. The watery asam sauce had a mild savoury taste with flavours mainly from the savoury spicy hot sambal. The sourness was only slight.
We also had sambal petai and sotong (squid), oyster omelette, otak otak, and their signature fried "dragon tongue" fish.
We always have a cafe stop for our Johor day trips though we don't specify any in the itinerary - we will just cool our heels in any cafe we chance upon.
Sai Kee Coffee 434 spans two shop lots and sports retro hip wall to wall, ceiling to floor. Kopi 434 serves traditional Nanyang coffee and also Western style brews using their own Robusta and Liberica beans from their own plantation and roaster. Kopi 434 also serves light meals like kaya toasts, mee rebus, nasi lemak, sandwiches, etc.
My usual - kopi C kosong. The cuppa was thick mainly from the evaporated milk which slightly overpowered the bitter taste of the coffee.
We overstayed at 434 Kopi as we love the ambiance and couldn't resist shopping for 434 Kopi products here.
To keep to our schedule, we skipped our planned otak otak shopping at Cheng Boi and Xiao Mei. We also skipped shopping at Claytan Tableware as they were closed just before we reached Ayer Hitam.
From Muar, we proceeded straight to The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey to do a spot of shopping before having dinner. It's a large and beautiful mall with most of the shops open for business (post pandemic) though the crowds were not big this Weds evening.
Johor Bahru has too many dinner options which gave me a minor headache deciding where to go. We chose to stay in the Mall instead of getting back into our van to search for dinner across town. We settled on Palsaik Korean BBQ. The restaurant was full house, so we had to wait in line for a table for 11 of us. Palsaik do not take reservations.
The food and service at Palsaik were alright, comparable with most similar Korean BBQ places scattered around Johor Bahru - yeah, JB is a Korean BBQ paradise.
Where Palsaik has the edge is its decor and location. Palsaik is probably the prettiest Korean BBQ in Johor Bahru. For the same food, Palsaik's prices are at a substantial premium over Korean BBQs in Bukit Indah, Pelangi and Mount Austin.
After Palsaik, we headed back to Singapore. We cleared Singapore immigration at 9:30pm and all of us reached home between 10:30pm and 11pm, as planned. Tired but we all enjoyed ourselves.
Total expenditure on food and beverage was RM180 per pax (not including transport, and personal shopping).
Breakfast in Johor Bahru
Stall name: Wang Xiang Noodle 万香生肉面 👈 click
Address: 93, Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru
Tel: +6019 291 9191
Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (Mon off)
Johor Bahru Breakfast Option Two
Stall name: Seng Steam Fish 👈 click
Address: 120, 100, Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru
Tel: +6012 775 0511
Hours: 9:00am - 2:30pm (Mon off)
Johor Bahru Breakfast Option Three
Tel: +6012 791 7868
Hours: 7:00am - 2:00pm (Thurs off)
Durian in Tangkak
Stall name: Tangkak Mount Ophir Durian
Address: Unnamed Road, Taman Sentosa, 84900 Tangkak, Johor (behind Caltex Tangkak at Jalan Payamas)
Tel: ☎ +606 978 1881 ☎ 012 653 1317 ☎ 012 227 6322 ☎ 012 659 1899
Hours: By appointment
Restaurant name: Do Do Do 👈 click
Address: No. 90 & 91, Jalan Teknologi 1, Kawasan Perindustrian Tangkak, 84900 Tangkak
Tel: +6016 236 9298
Hours: 7:30am - 4:00pm (Weds off)
Restaurant name: Hai Sing Seafood 👈 click
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete