Malaysia - 2 Day 1 Night Johor Bahru Weekend Itinerary

Johor Bahru (JB), southern Malaysia, is Singaporean popular getaway. Like many, we visited JB for a cheaper alternative to food, shopping and leisure. Ever since moving towards the north of Singapore, we found ourselves frequenting JB more often. If this is your first time to JB, here’s a list of suggested things to do and places to go in 2D1N! 

Read Getting from Singapore to Johor Bahru here

Day 1

11:00 am - Have Brunch at a Local Cafe

Just across the causeway, the cafe scene is still going strong. Plus, the currency exchange rate really makes cafe hopping in Johor Bahru very enticing. You can find plenty of cafe near Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Mount Austin. There were hit and misses along the way, but our current favourite is Mok Mok Cafe & Bistro located in Pelangi. Not only the food is good, but the ambience is also cosy too.

Mok Mok Cafe & Bistro

78, Jalan Pingai, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 11am - 11pm

1:00 pm - Catch a Movie or go Shopping!

After a good brunch, head over to the Shopping malls in JB or catch a movie there! The malls in JB are getting bigger and better. The malls that Singaporeans frequent the most are City Square, KSL, Paradigm Mall and Bukit Indah Jusco. We don’t have a favourite mall but we patron KSL the most because there is a supermarket and it isn’t very far from the checkpoint.  The malls are pretty similar so pick one that is convenient for you. Movie tickets are priced from 9 RM (off-peak) to 17 RM (peak) You can check the movie timeslot here.

4:00 pm - Grab a Coffee or a Dessert

After all the shopping or movie, visit a cafe for coffee or even dessert! We visited Rabbit Softserve cafe this round to cool ourselves down.  Located at Taman Sentosa, this dessert place is a new kid in town. 

Rabbit Softserve JB

254, Jalan Sutera, Taman Sentosa, 80150 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 1pm - 10 pm, closed on Tuesday

Located at Jalan Trus, Faculty of Caffeine is one of the most popular cafés in town. Although started in 2014, the café is still going very strong today. We ordered the coffee and dessert and was impressed by the quality. I’m pretty sure this is the reason why people are coming back despite being more expensive. Plus, the ambience is quiet and relaxing too. We visited during the weekday so there isn’t much crowd. We heard the queue is crazy during the weekend!

Faculty of Caffeine

106, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours: 9am–5:30pm, Daily

To be honest, Shakespeare café is not in our list and we chanced upon it after buying the banana cake from Hiap Joo. The weather was scorching hot and Isaw they were selling bubble tea. Unfortunately, the bubble tea was not ready.We ended up trying one of their popular drink – Milkshake! The last milkshake I had was probably 4-5 years ago. Not a fan of it because they are too sweet for me! However, the coffee avocado milkshake is good! Not too sweet! Surprisingly, the shot of coffee goes really well with it!

Shakespeare

9, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours: 12–11pm, Daily

5:00 pm - Go for a good rub at Thai Odyssey

My favourite massage parlour in Johor Bahru is Thai Odyssey. There are many reputable ones in JB such as Thai Imperial, Relax Thai and etc. However, there are always hit and misses among the masseurs. We visited Thai Odyssey a couple of time and find that their quality and service is most consistent. Since then, we didn't change! 

Thai Odyssey- Multiple Outlets in Malaysia

6:30 pm - Dinner

This trip, we visited Naughty Bali - Serampang in Taman Sri Tebrau for dinner. We drove past this place multiple times and finally got to try. Naughty Bali used to to be a franchise from Naughty Nuri but I think they had to change the name and menu. The food is average but the service and ambience are great! Staff are really friendly too!

Naughty Bali

1, Jalan Serampang, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily, 5pm–1am

There are so many options to choose from and we are often spoilt for choices. Head over to Shik Gaek Korean Family Restaurant if you are craving for authentic and reasonably price Korean food. Do not forget to try their seafood pancake, stir-fry pork and Kimchi Jjigae! It’s so good we always take-away another set!

Shik Gaek Korean Family Restaurant

185, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 1200h - 2300h

Otherwise, head to Restoran Makanan Laut Asli Mutiara Biru for seafood by the sea! The restaurant is situated in Perling Town. You can even see Singapore from there! The Kelong-style seafood restaurant has a homely and rustic feel and serves affordable seafood! There are hit and misses among the dishes and alot depends on the freshness of the seafood. The good thing is that you can select from the tank

Restoran Makanan Laut Asli Mutiara Biru

 Jalan Sungai Temon Asli,  Kampung Sungai Temon,  81200, Johor Bahru, Johor.

Operate all day except Tuesday from  6pm - 10.00pm

8:00 pm -Check-in Double Tree Hilton Johor Bahru Hotel

After a long day of non-stop eating and shopping, we check into our hotel at Double-Tree Hilton to rest. Located at Jalan Ngee Heng, the hotel room is clean and comfortable. The only downside is that there are not many shops/restaurant nearby. You have to walk towards the direction of city square mall for food. Nonetheless, we love our stay there!

Day 2:

8:00 am - Have Bak Kut Teh for breakfast

Start your day with a bowl of delicious Bak Kut Teh (BKT) from Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh/亞顺肉骨茶 . Unlike the BKT in Singapore, the ones in Malaysia is tasty and flavorful. There isn’t much peppery taste. Also, you can add stuff like Inoki, beancurd skin and You Tiao. Plus, the service from Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh is really good.

Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh/亞顺肉骨茶

141, Jalan Keris 1, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80500 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 8am - 4pm, close on Monday

If BKT is not your thing, visit Yummy Nasi Lemak for yummy nasi lemak! The rice is very fragrant and fried chicken is tender. The Rendan is H's favourite. Plus, the environment is very clean and air-condition furnished so that you can enjoy the nasi lemak comfortably. Other than the Nasi Lemak, the Kueh is my favourite. The only downside is that the Nasi Lemak is more expensive than the ones you find in mak mak/other places.

Yummy Nasi Lemak House Johor Bahru

104, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Johor Bahru, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 8:30am–4:30pm, close on Tuesday

Otherwise, visit the food centre at Taman Sentosa! There are many different local foods to choose from! Unlike the usual Wu xiang you have in Singapore, the one at this coffee shop is different. It's a the Cantonese style and you can even add Chee Chong Fun in it! 

Food Tai Soon (along that stretch)

51, Jalan Badik 1, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 6:30 am - 2pm

Restoran Gim Cheng restaurant 

Alternatively, visit Restoran Gim Cheng restaurant for dim sum! The serve up to 50 different types of Dim sum for one to choose from. My favourite is steamed-version. Read more about Gim Cheng Dim Sum in JB here. They are open from 7am and gets really busy during the weekend! So, hea over before the crowd comes!

  

Restoran Gim Cheng Dim Sum

Address: 2, 2, 1, Jalan Sagu 36, Taman Daya, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Daily 7am–1pm Except Wednesday

 

Things to buy from Johor Bahru

Hiap Joo Banana Cake

Before you head back to Singapore, visit Hiap Joo and buy their Banana Cake! My mom loves them so much I have to make a visit to Hiap Joo whenever we are in JB. The Banana cake is freshly baked! It’s very flavorful and soft. Plus, no preservatives were added. Thus, it is recommended to keep max 2-3 days.

Hiap Joo Banana Cake

13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours: Monday 12pm to 5:50pm Tuesday to Saturday 7:30am to 5:30pm Closed on Sundays

Eureka Popcorn

I was introduced to Eureka Popcorn by my cousin and can’t believe popcorn can taste so good. There are many flavours and my favourite is the wasabi, classic mix and salted egg flavour. Once you start you can’t stop!  

Multiple Outlets - Citysquare JB

Lavender

I remember when Lavender Bakery just started, the bread was selling around $2.50 RM. Today, it has skyrocketed to $4-$6 RM. However, it still didn’t stop my mom from lugging back more than 50 RM worth of bread every time. The quality is assured! If you are a huge fan of bread and pastries, you will love Lavender

Multiple Outlets - Citysquare JB

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Read Getting from Singapore to Johor Bahru here
Read more 4D3N Long Weekend Getaway from Singapore here