Cafe hopping trend in our neighbourhood country, Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia has been going on for a while now. In fact, I don’t enter JB as often but during those trips, I was led by some of my trusty foodie friends and we were driven exploring places. That said, I am also in the mood to clear some back logs, so why not start with the very recent trip last week. Without further ado, let’s head off to our first stop! Psst! I have also started on a food hunt for non-cafe food. So in case you are in need of some comfort food during the day.

Chaiwalla & Co. Container Café is easily accessible by foot or car. I have always passed by it but today we absolutely need a cup to beat the heat! So here’s the original Thai Milk Tea | RM 9.8, with the option of less sweet. Though we got to choose the sweetness, the less sweet turned out pretty sweet though! Also, the pearls were not ready when we reached hence we have it without the pearls. All in all, it’s still a good thirst quencher with a hint of Thai flavour to its tea.

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

Opening Hours:

Mon-Thu: 12:00pm-12:00am

Fri-Sat: 12:00pm-1:00am

Sun: 12:00pm-12:00am

Sangkaya is an established creamery brand in Malaysia by Malaysian, located not too far off from Chaiwalla. It’s so known among the locals as well as tourists, we queued for it in Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur, on a push cart. Now back to JB, we were attracted to ice cream, once due to the scorching weather. We came just in time as they had just opened its door at 11am. As we have a few food places to go, we limited ourselves to one for sharing and we ordered the Signature Coconut Ice Cream | RM 9.9. The 4 scoops of coconut ice cream is served in a coconut husk and comes with 3 toppings (we choose 2). Later we found out that we can mix and match the flavours among Coocnut, Matcha, Thai Milk Tea and Teh Tarik. Oh wells original coconut never fails too!

Address: 14, Jalan Dhoby, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun: 11:00am-11:00pm

Faculty of Caffeine (FOC) is no stranger to Singaporeans, for it’s stone throw away café location from JB's custom. This is my first visit after their revamped place and menu. Previously they were serving mainly all-day breakfast dishes, now they came up with fusion dishes such as Signature Tendon Unagi | RM 28.9 – a twist from the usual Japanese mixed tempura on a bowl of rice. It comes in Chicken and Vegetarian versions too.

Next, Fried Chicken Maze Ramen | RM 19.9 - a fusion of Western and Asian bowl includes tossing the spicy minced chicken, sweet leaf, spring onion, seaweed  and ramen together in FOC special sauce and accompanied with 63C sous vide egg and fried chicken. To be honest, it kind of tasted like Wanton Mee (Halal version maybe?)

Address: 106, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun: 9:00am-6:00pm

Shakespeare Milkshakes is a rather new kid on the block which features their specialty milkshakes, waffles, soft serve ice cream and coffee. Starting with the best-seller, Kinder Bueno Shakes, Berries Sparkles – watch out for the popping candy, and Avocado Power – more espresso would be good | RM 16.0.

I would like to recommend the Croffle in Turkey Ham | RM 8, if you need something comforting and savoury to go with the milkshakes. It’s packed with cheese, and is offered in two more variants – Tuna and Beef Pastrami. If you don’t already know, a croffle is a croissant in a form of waffle. In this case, it’s still a croissant that is compressed in a waffle maker.

Address: 9, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon, Tue & Thu: 1:00pm-11:00pm

Fri-Sun: 1:00pm-12:00am.

Closed on Wednesdays

Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory is a traditional brand needs no explanatory to many, as they have been around since 1919. One of the reason why everyone wants a piece of their bakes are because they are baked in hole-in-the-wall oven like using wood fire. It’s a pity there isn’t much bakery that uses such traditional baking method.

If you are there, you have to get the freshly baked Banana Cake (Small - 5 pieces) | RM 4.8, (Big - 10 pieces) | RM 9.6. Although it may seems like a regular banana cake, the ones from Hiap Joo’s are fluffier and more aromatic than the ones you can get in your hood. Moreover, they are sold like hotcakes, literally while stocks last! There is often a queue outside during noon but don’t worry, the turnover rate is quite fast.

Address: 13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sat: 7.30 am-5.30pm

Closed on Sundays

We have about an hour to kill before our train ride back to Singapore, hence we headed to JB City Square Mall for a walk. Chanced upon Tokyo Secret (originated from Hong Kong) and best of all, there is not queue! We got a box of 6 Japanese Hanjyuku Cheese Tart (Half Baked Cheese Tart) in less than 10-minutes, Matcha Tart | RM 8.9 and Cheese Tart | RM 7.9. We were surprised to find red bean and mocha inside the Matcha Tart! That’s it, matcha over cheese tart for me.

Address: Level 4, Johor Bahru City Square Mall, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Lot MS-03, 80000 Johor Bahru (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun: 10:00am-10:00pm

Softsrve Ice Cream and Dessert Bar has made its way to JB! Their moto is to create unusual soft ice cream flavours and experience. Presenting to you the Sunflower | RM 12, it consists of oolongcha softserve, caramelised sunflower seeds and dried pineapple flower atop. The subtle oolongcha taste makes is refreshing with an added crunch from the sunflower seeds. Besides oolongcha flavour, chocolate is available too. Softsrve also offers Kakigori and parfait series.

Address: #L1-03, Blok A, Academic Suite, Jalan Austin Heights, Taman Mount Austin,81100 Johor Bahru, Johor (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun: 12:00pm till Sold Out (for soft launch period)

Our friend drove us to this pretty looking Palladium Café, situated beside Eco Spring Show Village. The café has limited indoor dining and a spacious outdoor seating, overlooking the view of English-looking properties. For a moment, it doesn’t feel like I’m in JB.

The menu for food selection is pretty minimal, having only 3 mains and we narrowed down to Roasted Chicken Leg | RM 23.9 served in mushroom sauce. The Peach Latte was sold out and I went with Hot Organic Matcha Latte | RM 10.9.I cannot comprehend why the food took almost 30-minutes to arrive even when there’s no crowd. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the café is pleasant.

Address: Eco Spring Show Village, 81100 Johor Bahru (Map)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun: 11:30am-9:00pm

“Being plain doesn't necessarily means to be common, ordinary.” I believe this quote says it all. The ordinary swill rolls we know of in the past were the ones with white cream and vanilla roll. Then it started having multicolours roll and so on. Over at The Plain Jane, they take it up a notch with a modern twist of the classic swiss roll. Located opposite Serangoon Stadium and two bus stop away from Serangoon MRT station.  

Introducing the not so plain swiss rolls such as Earl Grey (in the foreground) and Thai Milk Tea (in the background) | $5.9 each. The flavours were delicate yet instinctive and I love the texture of the rolls – soft, dense and compliments the cream within.

We paired the rolls with the premium tea blend, Lychee Konnyaku | $8/pot. A great drink for palette cleansing if you are having more than one rolls and it’s also a great excuse to chill out in the cosy atmosphere. We later ordered Matcha | $5.9 from the not so plain swiss rolls selection. Although I’m a matcha fan, but this turned out milky when I preferred mine slightly bitter or sweet hence this is not to my liking as compared to the other two. This would satisfy you milky matcha lovers!

I was wowed by the effort in perfecting the cream bringing it similar to the actual flavour. However, it still depends on the individual on the preference of how milky or pungent the flavours are. Generally, I am still pleased with the overall experience and am glad that the calories are not wasted.

Moreover, what can go wrong in such a tranquil settings and the not so plain yet humble Jane (owner), who often come to ensure if we enjoyed our food.

Although it’s located all the way in the North-East Region of Singapore, I am looking forward to wet my taste bud over other awesome flavours like Yuzu, Meringue Roulade and Salted Caramel swiss roll.

Address: Block 211 Serangoon Ave 4, #01-10, Singapore 550211

Opening Hours:

Mon, Tue, Thu: 12:00pm - 8:00pm

Fri: 12:00pm - 10:00pm

Sat: 10:00pm - 10:00pm

Sun: 10:00pm - 8:00pm

Closed on Wednesdays

facebook.com/theplainjanecafe/

Gastronomia is one of Da Paolo Group's brainchild. Others includes a bistro, pizzeria and a catering arm which remains wholly owned and operated by the family. Gastronomia is an eat-in and take-out one-stop gourmet boutique, and is also conveniently housed in Cluny Court, just opposite the Botanic Gardens MRT staion, exit A. The gourmet deli café is filled with freshly made food and imported produce such as homemade pasta and sauces, pizza, pastries, antipasti, desserts and authentic Italian coffee using Bristot Coffee from Italy.

Address: Cluny Court Gastronomia, 501 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259760

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sun: 7:30am - 10:00pm

facebook.com/Gastronomia.BukitTimah/

..Hosted Meal..

In my opinion, Australian cafes serves one of the best breakfast and coffee. It has always appears to me that they serve healthy and hearty food with the options of having it gluten free and using the local produces.

Chez Dré is a modern bakery & café that specialises in French bakery and breakfast. Chez Dré is the hard work of Andrea (Dre) Reiss, built after extensive time and experience working in some of the most esteemed restaurants in London and Paris. 

The café it split into two sections, indoor area and a courtyard where the main entrance is. It offers a family friendly atmosphere with baby chairs available and a dog friendly courtyard. We waited for less than 20 minutes to have our table and I was glad to have it indoors near the windows.

Eggs Your Way | A$10.5 (gluten friendly option available | A$1.0) - poached, coddled, scrambled or fried with croissant or toasted sourdough. We ordered scrambled eggs and got omelette-like eggs, it was decent. Furthermore, it’s a pity that we came all the way here for its croissant and it’s sold out. Saw them baking a new batch but they mentioned that it was for a la carte and even if I want to top it up, they wouldn’t allow. To me, I think they were pretty stringent and it kind of ruin my experience.

On the other hand, the highly raved for one of the best Croque Monsieur | A$13.5 here was nicely done and it definitely rocked my boat. Béchamel grilled sourdough sandwiched with smoked ham, emmental cheese and dijon mustard. That warm cheesy centred with the crusty sourdough…couldn’t have it other way.

Brioche French Toast | A$17.5 were amazingly good, especially the crisp exterior and buttered centre. It goes along with crème brulee mascarpone, strawberries, pistachio praline, raspberry coulis and meringue. Overall I loved the sweet and sour balance together with the accompaniments that gave it more texture. It would be something worth looking forward to if you are dining here.

Besides the mains and good coffee, the bakery also sells artisan breads for take away. No wonder it’s known for its breads when all these are baked in-house using traditional techniques which comprises of organic flours and overnight fermentation.

For sweeter pastries, head over to their sister café, Bibelot, located next door. We were too full to stuff anymore food and we had activities lined up that day like shopping at the South Melbourne Market and attending Planetshakers service.

Address: Rear of 285-287 Coventry Street, South Melbourne 3205

Opening Hours:

Daily: 7.00am - 4.00pm

(Kitchen closed: weekdays: 3:00pm, weekends: 3.30pm)

Holiday Trading (28 Dec 2015 - 11 Jan 2016):

Daily: 8:00am - 3:00pm (kitchen closes at 2:30pm)

www.facebook.com/chezdre

Living up to their mantra, Melissa and Wesley aims to create and serve cakes that are made with quality ingredients and comes with a friendly price tag too. With that said, they try to move out of the fancy bakeries found in Singapore and craft a taste of their memories with a touch of elegance.

Cream and Custard café is located approximately five mintues away from Tiong Bahru station, exit B. Be prepared to bask away in the minimalist and cosy setting, and indulge with some freshly baked pastries. Note that the cakes are made in limited quantities each day, offering only five to six servings per cake flavour.

Why not start with the legendary cake which was first created by Black Star Pastry in Sydney, Australia. Just months ago, I had the chance to taste it and I got to say I fell deeply in love with it ever since (review on that will be up soon).

I was really hyped to try Cream and Custard’s rendition of the famous Strawberry Watermelon Cake | $6.8, keeping it light with two layers of almond dacquoise, fresh rose, whipped cream and watermelon. Finished it off with fresh strawberries, grapes, blueberries and rose petals atop. It came off a little disappointing as the bottom layer slides off the cake.

If I were to be compared it with Black Star’s, I'm sticking to the original for the reason that it is more refreshing and brings forth a hint of sweetness (sweeter watermelon maybe?). In addition, the layers of almond dacquoise are made to crisp unlike Cream and Custard’s. However, I would like to emphasise that this is my own opinion and there are people who have tried the original and still prefers Cream and Custard’s. If no comparison were to be made, I would say it’s quite well done and I won't mind coming back for more.

Next in the line up, we had Pure | $6.8 - made from a combination of lychee and passion fruit mousse cake. If you fancy a lighter taste, this would be for you. Followed by Sundae | $6.8 - a creamy mascarpone cheese mousse topped with a layer of strawberry mousse glazed and lastly covered with milk chocolate ganache. It tasted like a de-constructed cheesecake.

Featuring Melissa’s most recent recreation, The Black Ball | $9.8, it is inspired while she was traveling in London. This dessert involves you pouring their signature hot dark chocolate sauce over the dark chocolate sphere. Slowly revealing the passion fruit curd and 66% valrhona chocolate mousse layered intermittently with homemade crumble. An ideal dessert meant to please dark chocolate lovers.

Another proud creation, Triple Chocolate Devil | $6.8 (left) which consist of 66% valrhona dark chocolate mousse with a layer of melt-in-your-mouth raspberry jelly centres, and coated with 70% valrhona dark chocolate ganache infused with Belgium chocolate bailey’s glazed with glossy dark chocolate glaze. Don't forget to eat till the centre as the taste differs from your first bite.

Address: Block 46, Jalan Bukit Ho Swee, #01-894, Singapore 160046

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sat: 11:00am - 9:00pm

www.facebook.com/creamandcustardsg/

..Hosted Meal..

Atlas Coffeehouse is another venture by the team behind Assembly Coffee. Offering a different perspective from its sister company is the café theme, items served and a more spacious dining place. The widely loved décor be it interior or exterior, shouts charismatic. The coffeehouse is located on Duke’s Road, along Bukit Timah stretch which is walk-able from the nearest station, Botanic Gardens or you may choose to catch a bus.

For a group of four, we ordered 3 mains, a side and a sweet treat, which were directed on the recommended mains that received positive feedbacks. We visited on a busy Saturday and it took us approximately 10mins to get a table.

I was thrilled to see Cold Brew on the drinks menu, sadly it has limited stock and were sold out for the day hence we went ahead with Hot Chocolate | $5.0 and Flat White | $4.5. The coffee beans they use are from a blend of Brazilian and Guatemala beans called Two Degrees North Coffee Co, which has a smooth finish and leaves a subtle bitterness. My ideal cuppa!

There were only fries available on the sides menu, the Shoe String Fries | $8 and Shoe String Truffle Fries | $8.0. We went with the latter immediately and to our consensus we agreed that the fries were too salty but overall it’s not bad still.

The highly raved Creamy Mushrooms on Sourdough | $12.0 + Scrambled eggs | $3.0 - the scrambled egg by the side scored some brownie points with its buttery and semi-runny texture, it surely made the dish a more appetising one. Together with the addictive white wine creamy mushrooms served on toasted sourdough and capped with grated parmesan cheese.

Followed by Beef Brisket & Onions on Sourdough | $18.0, a dish made up of a combination of savoury and sweet with slow cooked beef brisket and caramelised onions, alongside the sourdough and a sunny egg. Couldn't say I'm fan of sourdough though.

Another not-to-be-missed dish, ATLAS Butterscotch Banana Pancake | $18.0 - their signature pancake is like a pancake up-size full of fluffiness and slight crisp on the outside, very different from the hotcakes found in other cafes. It is served with caramelised banana and house-made butterscotch and honey comb ice cream. Best of all, it doesn't get jerlat (it means the feeling of eating too much of it makes you sick in Malay). Although it state that it requires 20mins of waiting time, but it’s always a pleasant surprise when we got ours less than that.

All in all, the dishes are quite generous in quantity and would recommend sharing. I would love to stay longer if it wasn’t crowded, and the noise can get a little annoying too.

Atlas Coffeehouse: 6 Duke’s Road, Singapore 268886

Opening Hours:

Tue - Sun: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Closed on Mondays

www.facebook.com/atlascoffeehouse

This is a compilation of the many visits I've been to Old Hen and I would like to emphasis on 3 things you should try when you patronise. I'm sure the name, Old Hen Coffee Bar is no stranger, especially for those who café-hops. The quaint little café is located 3mins walk away from Farrer Park Station, Exit B. It has a minimalist interior of less than approx. 20 seating, consisting of high table, long table and even outdoor seating.

Firstly, the instagramable dessert, Panna Cotta | $6. It is made up of vanilla milk pudding, chocolate sauce and salted caramel popcorn. The milk pudding is really soft and smooth, almost to the kind where it will melt in your mouth. Plus with the salted caramel popcorn, it gives the extra crunch and the sweet and salty consistency.

Secondly, do not miss out on the Homemade Waffles | $10 which includes Greek yoghurt, apple compote, pistachios and salted caramel sauce. I had this twice and it didn't disappoint. The waffle leans towards the crisper texture, yet airy and light.

Lastly, I have to say I am a huge fan of their BOTTLED BREWS so do keep a look out during festive period where they will come up with infused brews. For instance, during this Chinese New Year they have the Valrhona Dark Cocoa Orange | $7 and Valrhona Dark Cocoa Peppermint | $7 during Christmas last year. Both were pretty splendid, as I personally think that the usual Valrhona Dark Cocoa (Velvet Brown) | $6.5 is a little too thick (very gao) for my liking, hence with the infused it’s a big thumbs up.

I would also recommend the Cold Brew Coffee | $6.5, the creamy smooth white coffee is my go-to nowadays instead of the hot cuppa, especially so in the hot and humid weather in Singapore. Alternatively, if you want something hot, go for Matcha Latte | $5 which in my opinion is one of the better matcha latte in the café scene.

Old Hen Coffee Bar

88 Rangoon Road, #01-03 Singapore 218374

Opening Hours:

Mon, Wed - Fri: 12:00pm - 10:00pm

Sat: 10:00am - 6:30pm

Sun: 10:00am - 10:00pm

Closed on Tuesdays. (L.O. for kitchen 30mins before closing)

www.facebook.com/oldhencoffee