2016-12-19

Hey people!

Sometime this year, I saw a clicknetwork.tv video by DJ Rosalyn on cafe-hopping in Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia and I was intrigued by the creative cafes and street sightings that you can find across the causeway.

Knowing that the exchange rate is currently very favourable to us (S$1 = RM $3.09 for now), the boyfriend and I agreed that we should go day tripping at JB one day. I guessed it was also timely that I was selected by Singapore Instagram (SGIG) for a Day Trip to Johor Bahru and I could bring along a plus one so I brought the boyfriend along. This marked my first day trip with my other half and my first trip as an instagrammer.

One of the things that I looked forward to seeing was street art and this wall art was one example. Doesn't it look vibrant and cool?

The last time I saw something similar, I was in New Zealand but I guess street art is starting to get more prevalent in other countries.

I've heard that Penang is also known for wall art and the streets are a popular destination among tourists.

Well, looks like you need not travel so far into Malaysia to check out wall art because JB has them too. The only difference is that this wall art is tucked in a hidden alley and I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't brought to the site by my instagrammer friends.

Turning old and dirty sewage pipes to creative art forms - I really like that!

Come on, let's paint the town together!

Besides wall art, there was door art too and this was one of my favourites. These pictures not only draw attention; they also spruce up the look of the shop tremendously.

A simpler form of door art but it illustrates how people look nowadays.

The boyfriend looks like this when he plays Pokemon Go.

The colourful streets lined with cafes and the Chinese lantern decor reminded me so much of Hoi An, Vietnam.

Look what we found in the midst of exploring - a kitten! It was tiny and adorable to bits!

The cafe district of JB is approximately a 15 minute walk from City Square Mall (the mall that you'll see when you cross the Malaysia customs), that is, if you know your route well and are not distracted by other things along the way.

The awesome thing is that the cafes are all side by side (see the stars on the map) so you can really go all out and cafe-hop at all convenience.

The Replacement Lodge & Kitchen

(Address: 33 Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia)

By the time we crossed the customs and reached the cafe district, it was 11ish and we were hungry for brunch so we went to our first food stop - The Replacement Lodge & Kitchen.

Photo credits to Ranger

The Replacement was crowded with patrons already and we needed a table for 18 so naturally, we had to wait for a while.

We occupied our time by exploring the area and taking photos. I love this candid photo taken by fellow instagrammer, Ranger. If you look closely, you'll see another instagrammer, Yeshita taking photos from the inside of the cafe too.

After a short wait, we got our table and proceeded to enjoy a sumptuous brunch.

YX and I shared a Chef's Salad with Smoked Salmon (RM $25.90) and it was mega delicious. The combination of ingredients was SO DARN GOOD! This photo actually garnered lots of likes because of its aesthetic appeal but wait till you taste this! If Instagram has a taste function, you will spam the 'like' button like no tomorrow.

Eggs Benedict is something that I'll always go for if I cafe hop.

This is The Replacement's Eggs Benny with Portobello Mushroom (RM $25.90), an extremely popular dish among my Instagrammer friends. Majority of us were either having Eggs Benny with Portobello Mushroom or Eggs Benny with Smoked Salmon. Both were awesome!

Pairing our meals with a refreshing Asian Pear Juice called Yellow Pages (RM $15). SO. GOOD.

Bev C'afe

(Address: 54 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Bahru 80000, Malaysia)

After The Replacement, we hopped to Bev C'afe for a drink.

I love the exterior of the cafe because it reminded me of an English cottage. It must be the brown brick wall and the random potted plant in the middle of the bench.

Spot on, Bev C. I liked this quote so much that I climbed a ledge to take a photo of it.

When I stepped into the cafe, I was stunned to see a lifestyle shop selling clothes, bags, shoes and the like. Wait, aren't we going for food?

And then I realized... oh, Bev C'afe is a cafe cum lifestyle shop so you can basically visit this cafe to satisfy your food and shopping needs.

They even have a bed in there! I mean.... do people really use this? I hate to imagine the number of people who have lied on this bed before us. :S

Many of the diners were in Bev C'afe for a good ol' cup of coffee so we went for coffee too. We had an Ice Mocha while our friends had the cafe's signature Espresso Cubes.

Did you noticed that the seats were lined with shirts? How resourceful! The next time you have an old shirt that you don't wear anymore, don't throw it away. Reuse them by turning them into a seat cover or a cushion lining.

Never knew that a plain, grey wall beside a window could make a nice backdrop for a couple photo.

I looked pensive but I'm pretty sure I was only thinking of what to eat next. Which brings me to...

Roost Cafe

(Address: 14 Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru 80000, Malaysia)

Roost Cafe was the first cafe we went by when we entered the cafe district so interestingly, it was the last cafe that we visited at this area.

Roost is an awesome place for large group gatherings because they have plenty of seats to accommodate lots of people and even an entire area dedicated to chillaxing.

With the walls lined with books that serve more as a decor than actual reading material, the cafe looked more like a living room than an eatery, really. No complaints though - I love the interior!

Look, they even had a random shopping cart there!

I don't think people actually visit Roost to read but hey, I can pretend to be intellectual, can't I?

Photos credit to Sharon

Instagrammer Sharon asked YX and I to be her models for a photo idea that she had.

She wanted to take a bird's eye view couple photo of us sitting at the couch and basically directed us into these shots. It was a hilarious experience and YX kept trying to make me laugh but it was all good and we loved how the pictures turned out!

Another one of my favourites, never mind that we looked kiddish and crazily happy.

This photo was one-of-a-kind and I've never taken anything like this before. Why are my Instagrammer friends so talented and creative?

Have you seen seats like this before? Probably not!

One thing to point out about Roost Cafe was that it looked a tad old and rundown but (without sounding too cheesy here), it still retained beauty in its simplicity.

Take the picture above as an example. The walls behind me were rundown and the colours of the tables and chairs were uneven and imperfect but the cafe still looked inviting, rustic and comfortable. Love this photo, by the way!

Photo of YX and me is credited to Ranger

Time to order something from the cafe.

Roost believes in serving healthy meals so its menu is largely yummy, nutritious goodness. We were still full from brunch so we went for a cold-pressed juice served in an old school bottle instead.

Drums Cafe

(Address: 39 Jalan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru 80000, Malaysia)

Other cafes that you might want to check out include Drums Cafe that sells largely desserts and drinks. I read that the main menu is limited so you might want to consider visiting for light bites instead.

Can't comment about the quality of the food since I have not tried it but it is definitely a photoworthy cafe with a unique interior setup. If I'm not wrong, they have drums lining the ceiling too!

Chaiwalla & Co. Container Cafe

(Address: Lot 2180, Tan Hiok Nee Street, Johor Bahru 80000, Malaysia)

I noticed this cafe because, well, it's in a container so it was hard not to notice it actually.

They are well-known for their teas, coffee and smoothies. Best of all, customers can customize their drinks by choosing their preferred size, flavours, toppings and sweetness level - kinda like ordering bubble tea, yah?

Go try and tell me whether you like them! :)

Flowers in the Window

(Address: 9 Jalan Dhoby, Johor Bahru 80000, Malaysia)

This cafe caught my attention because I walked by, noticed flowers in the window and realized that hey, the name of the cafe was echoing my thoughts.

This Insta-worthy flower-themed cafe has a lovely and romantic ambience. With pretty flowers in every nook and corner, it makes a great place for dates. Go visit this cafe to try their sourdough and artisan breads as well as their herb-infused beverages!

We Are Nuts About Coconuts

(Address: 14 Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru 80000, Malaysia)

Another cafe that made me stopped in my tracks - the 'We are Nuts About Coconuts' Cafe. What a catchy name!

It's the go-to place for anything coconut-related, be it if you just want to quench your thirst with coconut water or if you want to relish in some artisanal ice-cream stored in a coconut husk. It was a pity that the cafe was closed during my visit; otherwise, I would have made it a point to try the ice-cream at this highly-raved cafe!

While exploring the streets, we discovered an alley with a bench placed at a random spot.

Little did I expect that it would become such a nice and green backdrop for phototaking. Thank you Lutfi for directing me into this pose.

A swing out of nowhere but it made a great photo prop, don't you think?

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru

(Address: Menara Landmark, 12, Jalan Ngee Heng, Bandar Johor Bahru, 8000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia)

At around 4pm, we made a stop at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru which was a short walk from City Square Mall.

The hotel was super sweet to host us instagrammers for tea. Many thanks to Ms Grace Chiam for facilitating our visit!

I must say that the hotel looked well spruced up with Christmas decorations, all ready to usher in the festive season.

While waiting, we toured the hotel and visited Level 13 which accomodates a gym and a swimming pool. There was even a wedding reception set up beside the swimming pool.

The view from Level 13 was pretty good and we took some photos but this photo with the wedding reception in the background turned out to be our favourite one. LOL!

Finally, it was time for tea at The Food Store, which looked more like a cafe to satisfy your dessert cravings.

The cafe was cosy and spacious as well, with large group seating to cater to families as well as smaller tables for the solo traveller.

If you have a sweet tooth, this place will be heaven for you because they sell an assortment of cakes and sweet treats. They also have the usual coffee, tea and beverages to accompany your desserts.

Their cookies were DELICIOUS and definitely worth trying. I had to stop at one cookie though to prevent myself from overeating and to avoid feelings of guilt. HA HA.

Since Christmas is the season of gifting, they also have plenty of nicely packaged biscuits, chocolate, candy and the like which you can buy home for family and friends. Good eh?

For tea, the hotel fed us with yummilicious cookies, churros and teh tarik.

Churros were a bit of a sugar overdose for me but OH MAN, I loved the teh tarik a lot! The cookie was enough to win me over already and now the teh tarik? You really spoil us, Doubletree! :)

Besides ensuring that we were well fed with sweet treats, each of us were also given a gorgeous notebook with the nicest, leather cover! I'm a notebook person so my eyes totally lit up when I saw it. Thank you sooooo much!

Photo credits to Ranger

Ending this blog entry with a photo of the instagrammers at Doubletree. I enjoyed myself and learnt so much from this inspiring bunch. :)

The hotel was the final stop of our day trip because many of the instagrammers returned to Singapore for their own plans after that. As for YX and me, we walked back to City Square Mall to do a bit of retail therapy and to grab light dinner. Although I didn't shop till I drop as I thought I would, I managed to get a work dress and a box of eye drops for approximately S$27 in total - so unbelievably cheap!

Reached home very late that day because we kinda got stuck at Singapore customs but I was in such a jolly good mood. I explored a place that I've never been to; made new friends; learnt new things and got to share an amazing experience with a loved one. Thank you SGIG for making my first day trip so memorable and I hope that I'll be able to travel like this more often in the future.

It's raining now so stay comfy and cosy, people! Goodnight!

Disclaimer: Reviews are based on personal experiences.

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