Sunflower Cafe in Johor Jaya in JB. A Modern Malaysian Kopitiam

If there is a "Malaysian cafe", to me it's those contemporary kopitiam (coffee shop) of sorts that serve Nanyang coffee with an extensive multicultural menu from kaya butter toasts to nasi lemak, mee siam, roti canai, laksa, Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow to spaghetti, chicken chops as well as burgers and more. Familiar brands are Old Town White Coffee, Secret Recipe, and Papparich etc. Johor Bahru homegrown brands include Moonlight, Tea Garden, One Two Eat, The Toast etc. There are also many up and coming Johor brands. Today, makan buddy Keng Chong introduced me to Sunflower Bakery & Restaurant in Johor Jaya. We love it.

Banana Cakes at Kampung Resipi, S'mart Pandan Johor Bahru JB ⭐⭐⭐✱✱

You know, when people talk about banana cakes in Johor Bahru, the first thing that come to everyone's mind is Hiap Joo Bakery. Of course, Hiap Joo's banana cakes baked with it's 97 year old wood fired oven have no equal in JB. Nevertheless, my friend John recently introduced me to another delicious banana cake - by Kampung Resipi at S'mart Pandan.

Banana Cake @ Daily Grain Bakery 每日五谷 in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru

Today, I tasted a most delicious banana cake at Daily Grain Bakery 每日五谷 in Taman Perling. Daily Grain's soft and moist banana cake had that delicate, seductive fresh banana fragrance. The tender texture was punctuated with nuttiness from bits of walnuts in the banana cake.

Chopping the walnuts into tiny bits.

The walnut bits made the banana cake's texture more interesting - something that I did not find in banana cakes sold in other places. This banana cake was so good, I finished off half a dozen slices before I knew it J. No kidding. 

MR Lau, Daily Grain's affable boss shared that his banana cakes are made with only all natural ingredients, without any chemicals and preservatives added.

Those who bake know that over ripe bananas are sweetest and make the best cakes.

All the flavours came only from natural ingredients such as fresh eggs, bananas, and walnuts. No wonder, the cake was just delicately sweet rather than the usual too-sweet, sugary taste that we get elsewhere.

MR Lau also shared that Daily Grain uses sunflower oil in his banana cakes, which explains why the cake tasted light and was not greasy at all.

Daily Grain's banana cakes are freshly made right there at the shop everyday. 

The banana cake batter is ready early in the morning.

Into the oven goes the large tray of banana cake batter.

If you want to catch the freshest banana cakes, be at Daily Grain Bakery 每日五谷 at around 8:00am when the freshly baked banana cakes leave the oven. Perfect with morning coffee J.

Daily Grain offers this piece of spongy aromatic banana cake (cut into 6 slices) at RM4. Yes, I ate this all by myself. Easy.

Daily Grain's all natural banana cake made with sunflower oil is a tasty and heart healthy choice. I am sure to pack at least a couple of pieces home whenever I am in the area. Just remember that Daily Grain's banana cakes are best eaten within 2 days as no preservatives are used.

Daily Grain also has a wide range of other goodies on their menu including their popular coffee and multigrain toast which I liked.

Restaurant Name: Daily Grain Bakery 每日五谷
Address: 237, Jalan Simbang, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/vW5g
GPS: 1.481733,103.682307
Hours: 8:00am to 7:00pm (closed on Sunday)
No pork, no lard

Date visited: 18 July 2012

Hiap Joo 协裕 Bakery and Biscuit Factory in Johor Bahru Old Town - Heritage Trail Edition

Johor Bahru, 25 Jan 1966.  Today, I performed my weekly ritual of going to the famous Hiap Joo bakery in downtown JB to buy bread and cakes for the family.

I like to go there with my trusty motor bike as downtown JB is very congested and it is really difficult to find a parking space for a car. With my bike, I can just park it on the curb at Kin Wah coffee shop just across Hiap Joo. I dash into Hiap Joo, make a quick purchase and off I go - just like the way many of Hiap Joo's regular customers do.

This wood fired oven has been the centre piece at Hiap Joo since 1928

To do this with precision and to get the freshest cakes and pastries, I know exactly when Hiap Joo's confectioneries will be taken out of the oven each day. The earliest batch of cakes and pastries leave the oven at about 12:30pm and the last about 2:30pm.

This large golden brown slab of banana cake at 50 sens

Hiap Joo makes a wide range of confectioneries and I am a die hard fan of their soft and moist freshly baked banana cakes. I can never get enough of these soft, feathery, melt in your mouth, fluffy fragrant cakes made with real bananas and with no preservatives or artificial flavourings. I also like the subtle smokey flavour from the browned skin.

At Hiap Joo, the whole family chips in to make the confectioneries every day. It is a heartwarming scene, that is a joy to watch.

The slabs of banana cakes are cut into bite size pieces by hand with amazing precision. Each piece is exactly the same size, reflecting the quiet pride and dedication that Hiap Joo put into their products. This commitment is ultimately reflected in the quality and taste of Hiap Joo's cakes and pastries that we enjoy so much.

I am sure to be a life long customer of Hiap Joo's, and hopefully my future generations too.

After note: Hiap Joo has remained true to its tradition over all these years. Prices, however, has kept up with the times. The slab of banana cake now sells at RM8.

->> Enjoy tradition, heritage and delicious food all at once.

Name: Hiap Joo Bakery and Biscuit Factory

Address: 13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 8000 Johor Bahru

GPS: 1.456701,103.764421

Hours: Daily 8:00am to 6:00pm (closed on Sunday)

Halal

Date visited: 25 Jan 1966 (imagine lah!)

JB Banana Cake · Hiap Joo 100 Year Old Bakery & Biscuit Factory Johor Bahru 协裕面包西果厂

✍️ Update 11 Mar 2024. By now, we can say more or less everyone in Singapore and Johor knows Hiap Joo's banana cakes, and it needs no further introduction.

Anyway, here's my periodic update chronicling the changes of our heritage food over time.