7 Spice Restaurant @ Johor Bahru, Johor

We were returning back from Singapore towards Kuala Lumpur and by the time we were done with the causeway, it was almost 5 pm. Having not had any lunch, we were literally starving. At first, we wanted to have a good Banana Leaf Rice meal but at this hour, it would be almost difficult to get fresh food. I have visited 7 Spice Restaurant a couple of years back and this place came to my mind and that was how we landed here. 

7 Spice Restaurant in Johor Bahru

When we arrived, at first glance, this place seemed like it was closed for renovations. But luckily, only their ground floor was under renovation and the first floor was open for business as usual. Being a weekend, there was literally not many cars and parking was easy. The menu here has a wide variety of dishes, both vegetarian and non vegetarian and their prices are quite reasonable. After having decided what we wanted to have, we then placed our orders with the waiter. 

Chapati @ RM 3.50 each & Romali Roti @ RM 6.50 each

Dhall Fry @ RM 11.00

Their Chapati was priced at RM 3.50 each. Obviously, it's not fair to compare these guys with day to day South Indian restaurants. I found their Chapati to be quite good. Not too thin and it was made using Atta Flour. My rating for this shall be 8/10. Romali Roti is another item that is not easily available nowadays and we were glad that they had them here. Priced at RM 6.50 each, it was surely quite satisfying taste wise and the texture was smooth. Again, one that I would rate at 8/10. Dhall Fry was priced at RM 11.00 and the portions were good. It was thick, sufficiently spiced and had a generous amount of ghee in it. I would rate this preparation at 8/10 as well. 

Gobi Masala @ RM 13.00

Chili Mushroom @ RM 15.00

Their Gobi Masala was really good. Thick spicy gravy accompanied the cauliflowers and the preparation was excellent. Similarly, their Chili Mushroom was good too. My rating for both dishes shall be 9/10. 

Masala Coffee @ RM 6.00

Their Masala Coffee was nice but I felt that they could have added more Masala. For me, it was still not as strong. Still, a good one to have after a sumptuous meal. We also had a cup of Masala Tea and that too was the same. Taste wise, I would rate both at 7/10. 

The Bill

7 Spice Restaurant is located along Jalan Bertingkat Skudai, Johor Bahru. The variety on their menu is excellent and they have a range of vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes that they offer. Decent prices and the food is good. A good South Indian restaurant to visit in Johor Bahru. 

Address: G-01, Block 5, Jalan Bertingkat Skudai, 80200 Johor Bahru, Johor.

Business Hours: 1100 - 2300 Daily

Restoran Kesavan @ Skudai, Johor

We were on the way to Singapore and it was about lunch time that we arrived in Skudai. I tried asking Mr. Google for some recommendations for a good place to have South Indian Banana Leaf Rice Meals and it pointed me to Restoran Kesavan. I did some check on this restaurant and it seems that all the reviews were good and so, here we are for lunch. 

Restoran Kesavan Located in Taman Universiti, Skudai

One good thing about this place is the convenience of parking. The restaurant was open in the sense that you could access from either side and that way, you could park on either street and still get access to the restaurant. It was about noon and the crowd at the restaurant seemed good. I even enjoyed the classic decoration with photographs of all the South Indian political leaders and film stars from the yesteryears. That was something that I have not seen in a long time in a Malaysian restaurant. 

Banana Leaf Rice Meal @ RM 6.00 Plus Mutton @ RM 6.00

Their Banana Leaf Rice Meal comes with three vegetables and free flow of curries. As always, I went for their Sambar and Chicken Curry. The usual Appalam, Pickles as well as Moor Milagai were there as well and the basic set was priced at RM 6.00 which I find to be very reasonable. I ordered a plate of mutton and that cost me RM 6.00 which again was very reasonable since the portion was really huge. 

Vegetables

Their vegetables were good, in fact very good and I totally enjoyed it. They were fresh, not overcooked and taste wise, they were generous with the spices. I would rate their veggies 9/10. 

Sambar

Chicken Curry

Both their Sambar as well as Chicken Kulambu were good. They were not diluted and made using a generous portion of spices and masala. Seldom we find such curries in Kuala Lumpur and both deserve a rating of 8/10. 

Rasam

Mutton Perattal

Their Rasam too was excellent. I loved the taste as it was very authentic. 9/10 would be my rating for their Rasam. The Mutton Perattal however could have been better. The portion versus price was good and they had clearly been generous with the spices. However, something just lacked and the meat itself was a little overdone. My rating for this shall be 6/10. 

If you happen to be in Skudai, Johor and looking for a good South Indian Banana Leaf Rice Meal, I would recommend Restoran Kesavan that is located in Taman Universiti. Excellent customer service, reasonable prices, easy access to parking and great vegetarian food. I did try their Mutton Perattal   and I felt that it could have been better. However, their vegetarian food was excellent. 

Address: Np. 74, Jalan Kebudayaan 1, Taman Universiti, 81300 Skudai, Johor.

Business Hours: 0600 - 0000 Daily

VG Mart Vegetarian Restaurant @ Nusajaya, Johor

We were searching for a good Chinese Vegetarian restaurant to have dinner in Johor Bahru and based on the recommendation given by a close friend of ours, we decided to drop by at VG Vegetarian Restaurant which is located on the Nusajaya side of town. 

The Restaurant Located Along Jalan Bestari 1/2

The restaurant wasn't too difficult to find and since we were coming from Educity, it took us approximately 20 minutes to reach our destination. However, parking can be a problem here and we had to go around in circles before finally finding a bay to park. The restaurant was quite simple in layout and the waiters were very helpful and speedy. In a matter of minutes we were done with our ordering. Their menu is a very elaborate one. Whether you're planning to have a simple meal like noodles or even multiple dishes, they have it all. 

Vegetarian Claypot Yee Mee @ RM 6.80

Vegetarian Yam Basket with Mock Dried Chili Chicken @ RM 19.00

Despite having quite a crowd, the dishes didn't take too long to arrive. In less than 10 minutes, our dishes started arriving one after another. The first one to arrive was the Vegetarian Claypot Yee Mee which was priced at RM 6.80 . The noodles were tasty despite not having egg in them and the broth had just the right flavours. Ingredients wise, they had added some mock fish cake as well. I would rate this dish at 8/10. The next dish that we tried was their Vegetarian Yam Basket with Dried Chili and Mock Chicken. This one was priced at RM 19.00  and I felt that the portions were huge. Even though it was the vegetarian version of this dish, never once did we feel like missing the original as it was really good. A dish that I would recommend and my rating for this shall be 9/10. 

Vegetarian Cantonese Kuey Teow & Noodles @ RM 7.50

Thai Sauce Beancurd @ RM 11.00

Their Cantonese Style Noodles (Yin Yong) was amazingly good. The noodles, Kuey Teow as well as the broth were excellent. This is the best Vegetarian Kung Fu Chow Noodles that I have tasted and it tasted so similar like the non vegetarian version. My rating for this shall be 10/10. A highly recommended dish. The last one that we tried this evening was their Thai Sauce Beancurd which was priced at RM 11.00 . Another good preparation that came with generous with the ingredients. The sauce, the topping and even the beancurd were excellent. My rating for this shall be 8/10. 

Bill

If you're looking for a good place to have Chinese Vegetarian food in Bandar Nusajaya, I would recommend VG Mart Vegetarian Restaurant. Based on the dishes that we had tried this evening, my top pick would be their Cantonese Style Noodles and the Yam Basket with Dried Chili and Mock Chicken. Besides the good food, prices are very reasonable as well. 

Address: No.1, Jalan Bestari 1/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor.

Business Hours: 1030 - 1500 & 1700 - 2200 Daily

The Spice Kitchen @ Johor Bahru, Johor

A couple of weeks back, I happened to be travelling to Singapore for work and on our return journey, due to the traffic congestion, we ended up crossing the causeway rather late. Both my friends and I had not had a single meal the entire day and we were starving. It was past 9.30 pm and many of the restaurants that I had looked up on Google were closing for the day at 10.00 pm . No way could we reach any one of those restaurants before that based on where we were. After some Googling, we finally came across this place that opens till 11.00 pm and Google Maps said that it would take us approximately half an hour to reach this restaurant and that leaves us with an hour for dinner. The contact details were also there and I had called to confirm this. Once done, we went over to this locality called Bukit Indah.

The Restaurant Along Jalan Indah 15, Taman  Bukit Indah

Dim Lights And Cosy Ambiance

Taman Bukit Indah seems like a very happening locality with lots of restaurants that open till late. Many hypermarkets in that area too and it seemed like there were a lot of student crowd as well. Probably there's a university not too far from here. This restaurant is located along Jalan Bukit Indah 15 and you can't miss the place. The restaurant occupies two or three units of shop lot and is brightly lit up with clear signage which is visible from afar. The place seemed to be romantically lighted up and had a very wonderful ambiance. Lots of staffs were seen and everyone seemed to be working in a specific order alongside the captain who was the one that was taking the orders. 

They have a very interesting line up of dishes ranging from North and South India. They do also have Chinese dishes but please note that these are the Indianised Chinese dishes similar to what you may find in India and has got no similarity with the Chinese dishes that you find in Malaysia. For the kind of set up, I was expecting the prices to be on the high side but it seemed very affordable. This way, they would not only attract working adults but students too. Ordering was a breeze and the Captain was a friendly chap who took his time to build a friendship with the customers. That's excellent customer service. 

Iced Water @ RM 0.50 per Glass

Plain Naan @ RM 4.99 each

Butter Naan @ RM 6.99 each

Due to the crowd, it did take a while for the food to arrive. We ordered one piece of Plain Naan and two pieces of Butter Naan. Their Plain Naan was bad to be honest and we did relate this to the Captain as well who went on to say that the Naan chef was rather new on the job. It was very dry, not properly toasted and it was like you would almost fracture your fingers trying to tear it. The texture was very coarse too. My rating for this shall be 5/10. Their Butter Naan was better. At least, this was made to be softer by the butter that had been applied. Still not a great one but way better than the earlier one. I would rate this latter one at 6/10. 

Crispy Chili Potato @ RM 13.99

This Crispy Chili Potato was an excellent dish. I do not know if this is a North Indian or South Indian dish or even if it's a fusion dish but it did taste awesome. The potatoes were fried to a crisp and topped with a sweet and spicy chili topping. I was just so addictive and good to go on it's own. My rating for this shall be 9/10. 

Paneer Butter Masala @ RM 16.99

Their Paneer Butter Masala was nice as well. It had the right flavours and they did not skimp on the ingredients. The gravy was thick as well and that went very well with the bread. Paneer was of a good quality too and that was evident from the taste. I shall rate this at 8/10. 

Kadai Vegetable @ RM 13.99

Their Kadai Vegetable was not that great actually. The blend of vegetables used were good but it did taste quite bland. A long way to go to reach the desired taste. My rating for this shall be 6/10. 

Bill For The Day

The Spice Kitchen is definitely a decent place to have your North or South Indian meal in Johor Bahru and another good thing about this place is that they are open till 11 pm daily. We tried a number of dishes, some were very good and some were just okay. Despite the mixed reviews, I would say that this place is worth visiting, especially for cross border travelers who are looking for a vegetarian meal when most places would have already closed for the day. Nevertheless, the ambiance is excellent and their prices are reasonable. 

Address: Jalan Indah 15, Taman Bukit Indah, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours: 1130 - 2300 Daily

Telephone: +607 237 3311

Cafe Toast 'n' Toast Kopitiam @ Danga Bay, Johor

Cafe Toast 'n' Toast had it's humble beginnings in Malacca and today they have a total of five branches, three in Malacca and two in Johor. I remember having read a write up in NST sometime back and it is by mere luck that I discovered their branch here in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru. This outlet is located along the same row as Tune Hotel Danga Bay and it is road fronting and hence, it is not difficult to find this place. During business hours, parking can be a little difficult though. 

Cafe Toast 'n' Toast in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru

A Little Write Up on Hainanese Cuisine

Interior of the Restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

I was here rather early, a little earlier than the usual lunch hour and when I was here, the place was almost empty. Come 12.30, the entire restaurant is filled with people working around this vicinity and it is buzzing. They have a decent size restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating areas. On one side of the wall, a number of write ups that have been published in the local newspapers are framed and put out for customers' viewing. The staffs were all Malays and they were really efficient. I liked the way one of their waitress was handling the crowd. She was really swift and she could remember who came first and who came later and attended to them accordingly. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

They have a brief yet comprehensive menu. It covers a great array of cuisines but they all come with a Hainanese touch. They offer Chinese, Hainanese, Western, Vegetarian, Malaysian, Malay and Terengganu Cuisine. It is sad that I am alone here today or else I would have been able to try out more dishes as they all look great. Having firmed my orders, I placed them with the waitress. 

Ice Lemon Tea @ RM 3.50

I would usually go for the Hainanese Coffee but since morning, I have already had four glasses of coffee and I just wanted to avoid it. As a result, I settled for the above Ice Lemon Tea. It comes at a price of RM 3.50 and it was just so so. I would only rate this drink at 6/10 .

Chicken Chop Stew @ RM 13.90

Closer Look at the Chicken

I have had Chicken Chop with a number of different sauces but this is the first time I am having it with vegetable stew. I must say that they have been able to deliver this dish in 15 minutes and that's great. This dish comes with a half of a Roasted Potato though I may have preferred more , some onions, baked carrots and a lovely sauce. The slice of Chicken is lightly breaded and fried to perfection. The coating is very light and that allows the juices from the chicken and the flavours from the stew to seep in. I am not saying that this dish was perfection but what I am saying is that this dish was nice and unique and that it is a result of great innovation. Overall I enjoyed this dish. It is definitely not the best Hainanese Chicken Chop that I have tried but it is good. I would rate this dish at 8.5/10 .

Other Outlets

On the whole for the price paid, I am happy with the service and the food. If you ask me if I would return to this place, yes I surely would. I am definitely eager to try their other dishes especially their toasts and Nasi Lemak. I do hope that I do get that opportunity and I shall surely publish another entry when I get a chance to visit them again. 

Address: G-16, Block 6, Danga Bay, Jalan Skudai, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 1800 Daily