There are plenty of Indian shops in Johor Bahru city and they are located not far from the Custom and Immigration Building ( CIQ ). If you care to walk, it takes about 15 minutes to reach the stretch of road leading to the Arulmigu Raja Mariamman Devasthanam Temple. Before you arrive at the Indian temple, you would have passed by an old cinema which features Indian movies from Bollywood. The name of the cinema is called Pawagam Broadway and it looks old and worn out. But I guess it provides cheap entertainment to many foreign Indian workers in Johor Bahru. You can see many Indians hanging around the cinema, parks and along the stretch of Indian shops especially on the weekends which probably are their day off.
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Indian Shops in Johor Bahru
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If you are keen in buying spices, flowers, perfumes, incense, costume jewelry, beverages, or organic soaps and oils, then you should make a trip to these Indian shops. They sell a wide variety of products from India; and these products are not found in your modern supermarket or malls. There are also a couple of Indian beauty salons that offers facial and body scrubs and other beauty treatments for the ladies. I guess the prices of the beauty treatment over here would be much cheaper comparing it to Singapore And if you are hungry, don’t worry as there are plenty of Indian restaurants and coffee shops around. As I was there, the main entrance of the Arulmigu Raja Mariamman Devasthanam Temple was under renovation; and the main gate leading to the temple was closed. Besides the variety of Indian shops, you can also see street vendors plying their wares on the pavements. But some of these street vendors are unable to communicate in English but they do speak the Malay language. It is good to learn a few conversation sentences in Malay language if you are visiting Malaysia, as I find it very useful. I normally speak the Malay language to the street vendors and older folks who are either Malay or Indian.
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Indian Shops in Johor Bahru
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If you are going out to try Indian food, my recommendation are Indian Vegetarian Thali, Roti prata, Curry Fish Head, Mee and Nasi Goreng and also their special Ginger Tea. There are so many variety of Indian food to choose and they fall mainly into two categories – the Northern and Southern Indian food. So what to try first will depend on what is your preference. My friend loved the Indian Mutton Soup ( Soup Kambing ) but I must say that though it is delicious, it is also very high in cholesterol. The wonderful thing about eating Indian food in these food outlets in Johor Bahru is that the prices are very reasonable – definitely it will not burn a hole in your pocket.
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Indian Street Vendor in Johor Bahru
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I have also written a blog on the Indian Community in Johor Bahru, if you are keen to read it, just follow the link below:-
My friend was asking me whether there is any shop I know where he can buy cheap leather belts. I told him that there are many shops in Johor Bahru that are selling beautiful and colorful belts at cheap prices. Many of the malls in Johor Bahru have shops selling leather belts from the prices of about RM$20 to as high as RM$150 and more. For those belts that are price at RM$20/- a piece, it is normally very dull in design and colors. After visiting the malls, he told me that the selection of belts he saw were not what he wanted and it was rather expensive. He wanted a belt that was trendy, branded ( never mind if it was imitation or pirated ) and cheap. He told me he saw his friend wearing a belt with the Superman -’S’ logo and he wanted something like this.
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Stall in Johor Bahru selling Cheap Leather Belts
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After all the nagging from him I finally understand what he wanted. I told him that we have to get out of the mall and go to the street to find his ideal belts. He seems to be puzzled but I told him to simply follow me. We walked out of the mall and crossed the road. After walking for about 5 minutes on the pavement under the hot afternoon sun, we reached the kiosk of a street vendor that sells leather belts, wallets and handbags. Suddenly I saw my friend face glowed with delight and was smiling happily, so this place should be paradise for him. There are many leather belts on display on the make shift table. I saw the belts with the steel buckle with the logos of Adidas, Levis, Nike, Superman, Batman and many more. However these are imitation leather belts and surprisingly you can find them selling everywhere in the streets of Johor Bahru. Imitation leather handbags and wallets are also commonly available here. I am sure the local authorities in Johor Bahru are aware of it but perhaps this is not their top priority list; which should be reducing street crimes. Anyway, fighting product piracy in Johor Bahru may be difficult for the local police here, as they lacked the manpower and resources. Furthermore, Johor Bahru is indeed a big state in Malaysia; and is dependent on tourist dollars from visitors of many countries who make short trips here, especially tourists coming from Singapore.
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Many stalls in Johor Bahru selling cheap leather belts & fashion accessories
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My friend bought 3 belts and seems to be extremely happy with his purchase. The price of the belt is about RM$18 – $25 which is very cheap if you convert the Malaysian ringgit to Singapore dollars; and even cheaper if you convert it to American dollars. As we walked along the streets, there are vendors selling imitation haversacks, leather bags, caps, T-shirt and fashion accessories. My friend told me that in future this would be the place for him to shop rather than at the shopping mall. As for me, I normally shop at the shopping malls even though the prices may be more expensive than the street vendors. I guess the street vendors will still attract many shoppers especially tourists who are keen in their products – which is imitation products at cheap prices.
For more information/photos/blogs/videos about Johor Bahru Malaysia and Singapore, please go to our website by following the link below: -
There is a Wanton Noodle stall at Meldrum Walk in Johor Bahru which is worth visiting. It is located at the old coffee shop called the 123 Kedai Kopi which is opposite the Meldrum hotel. The wanton noodle stall is situated in the front row of the coffee shop on the right hand corner and it is a small stall manned by 2 middle age Chinese women. I was there at about 11 am on a weekday and there are many empty seats available outside the coffee shop. Normally for these old coffee shops in Johor Bahru, the ventilation is bad if you sit inside these coffee shops; which means it is warm and stuffy if you sit inside.
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Wanton Noodle
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The wanton noodle that was served came in quite a small bowl filled with yellow noodles, fried wanton and slices of barbecue pork which is the Char Siew. I like the yellow noodle made by this stall as it taste light, soft and firm. The char siew – barbecue pork taste good and the meat is lean. And the fried wanton is very crispy and fresh. I had also placed an order of Shui Jiao soup which is basically boiled meat dumplings served in a clear soup. The first thing I noticed was the bowl – it was chipped. Personally I feel that the stall holders shall not served food in chipped porcelain bowl, but perhaps this was deem acceptable in an old coffee shop in Johor Bahru. I tasted the Shui Jiao and felt that the skin was thin and smooth and there was plenty of meat stuffed into each of the Shui Jiao. For those people who enjoy eating lots of meat, then they will definitely loved it. For myself, I would prefer Shui Jao that has the combination of pork, shrimp, vegetables and ideally mushrooms in it. So this Shui Jiao that I have tasted was not my preferred choice.
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Shui Jiao Soup
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The wanton noodle and Shui Jiao cost about US$3.50 combined, which is very reasonable. However if I am going to patronize this wanton noodle stall again in the future, my order will be tailored more towards the wanton noodle. I love the wanton noodle and would skip the Shui Jiao. Perhaps I would order a bowl of wanton noodle and a plate of fried wanton on my next trip to this stall. I had also ordered a can of coke which cost RM$2/= which I thought was slightly expensive; if you compared it to a cup of home made barley which normally cost RM$1 to 1-30/. Maybe Coke is expensive in Malaysia, but it is still my preferred cold drink.
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Wanton Noodle in Johor Bahru
For more information/photos/blogs/videos on Johor Bahru Malaysia and Singapore, you can visit our website by following on the link below:-
I was in Johor Bahru CIQ ( Custom & Immigration ) on a late Sunday morning at 11.30 am and surprisingly the queue at the Immigration hall was not very crowded. So I was out of the Johor Bahru CIQ building in less than 15 minutes. As I was walking, I felt very hungry as I took a light breakfast in the morning. I was deciding on what to eat for my lunch and was browsing at the food outlets in City Square which is just opposite the Customs and Immigration Building. Then I decided to walk to Meldrum Walk to check out the Yong Tau Foo stall which located in the old coffee shop. The walk from City Square Mall to Meldrum Walk takes about 5 minutes.
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I was happy to see that the Yong Tau Foo stall was still opened and in fact the coffee shop was very crowded. It was hard to find a place to seat but I just went ahead and ordered my food first. After selecting the ingredients from the Yong Tau Foo stall, I found an empty seat inside the coffee shop – sharing the table with an old man who was having porridge. My first impression of the coffee shop was that this place was old, worn out and looked dirty. I think there was no renovation done ever since this coffee shop was opened for business many years ago. I saw there was a chicken rice stall selling Hainanese Chicken Rice. The chickens hanging at the stall looked delicious; perhaps I will order it on my next trip here. I ordered a hot home made barley drink for US$0.30 cents which was cheap.
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Yong Tau Foo sold at Meldrum Walk
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My food finally arrived and I paid the old man US$3-40 for the Yong Tau Foo with 3 slices of Chee Cheong Fun which is in fact Chinese rice sheet or rolls. The Yong Tau Foo is a popular food that is eaten by the Chinese and it consists of many ingredients that you can select and thereafter it will be served cooked with chili and sweet sauce. The Chee Cheong Fun and Yong Tau Foo that was served to me was filled with curry, chili and sweet sauce combined. Initially I thought that with so many type of sauces combined, it could have a strange taste, but I made the right choice – it taste good. In particular the fried bean stick, Tau foo ( bean cake ), bitter gourd and fried You Tiao ( Chinese fried bread stick ) were very delicious. As for the Chee Cheong Fun or Chinese rice sheet, it tasted good but not really fantastic. Now I know why there were so many people ordering Yong Tau Foo from this stall, it is really cheap and good. The food that I ordered was good for serving of 2 persons and if you are ordering it for the serving of one person, I think it will cost less than US$2.50.
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Yong Tau Foo
I enjoy the meal of Yong Tau Foo from this stall along Meldrum Walk. The only thing I do not like was the worn out condition of this coffee shop. But if you are there during the weekday, it would be less crowded and there would be probably be empty seats outside the coffee shop which is along the pavement. I have decided that my next meal here would either be the Chicken Rice or Wanton Noodle where I saw so many people also ordering food from these 2 stall holders. I have also written a blog on the Roast Duck Noodle just opposite this old coffee shop along Meldrum Walk. If you are keen in reading about the Roast Duck Noodle shop, just follow the link below:-
If you are in Little India, try to make a trip to the Mustafa Centre which is located at 145 Syed Alwi Road. It is about 10 to 15 minutes walk from the Farrer Park MRT. Many people in Singapore are familiar with the Mustafa name. It has branded itself as a store with cheap prices and a wide range of merchandise. One of the distinct advantage is that you can go there at anytime during the day or night; because it is open 24 hours. My suggestion is not to go there during the weekends because that is when the store is extremely crowded; and it can be quite uncomfortable squeezing yourself with so many people.
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Store is situated at Little India
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Personally I rarely do my shopping at Mustafa. I will visit this store when I am already in Little India. Shopping at Mustafa Centre does not guarantee that you will get the cheapest prices for the things you want to buy. In fact, there are many products that you can buy them cheaper elsewhere. The advantage of going to Mustafa Centre is because you can get almost anything under one roof. So be a smart shopper. Know what you want and the prices of the products that you intend to buy. Thereafter, go to Mustafa Centre and compare the prices of the products that you wish to purchase. If it is just a slight difference in prices, then you can simply buy from them. I see lots of Indian tourists buying electronic products there. I do not know whether it is much cheaper than stores like Courts or Best Denki.
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Mustafa Center - at Little India
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Mustafa Centre is in the news lately for fire safety violations made by the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Now the store has put in place certain safety measures, to comply with the requirements from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, in order to continue to run its business. There is now a quota system for people going into the store in order to manage and control overcrowding; and also to ensure no obstruction to its fire exit doors. Perhaps Mustafa Centre should consider opening up another branch in Little India or in another suburban location in Singapore. Besides this, the store should improve on the quality of staff working there. There are workers who are not properly trained to handle queries from customers and some are indifferent when you approach them. Perhaps the mentality is this – ” all the products are already there on display, so please do help yourself.” Another point to make is that many of the merchandise were simply stack up in a rather untidy manner. I wish that the store could look into the proper display of all their merchandise; so that it will definitely enhance the shopping experience for the shoppers.
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Mustafa Center sells almost everything you need.
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The currency exchange counter at Mustafa Centre offers very competitive exchange rates as compared to other counters that I have seen in other malls. So it is a good place to change your foreign currencies into Singapore Dollars. There is also a small cafeteria outside the store. But I felt that it was too crowded and rather cramped. Anyway, there are many other food outlets around Mustafa Centre, so it is not a problem. Getting a taxi can also be a problem during peak hours and weekends. But this is a problem that many shopping malls are also facing besides Mustafa Centre.
For more information/photos/ videos about Singapore and Johor Bahru, you can follow the link below to our website : -
I wanted to visit the new mall that is beside the Farrer Park MRT called the City Square Mall. Farrer Park MRT is along the North East line and it is located at the end of the Serangoon Road or Little India. Once I arrived at the Farrer Park MRT, I managed to locate the City Square Mall quite easily, guided by the signage at the MRT station.
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City Square Mall
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The City Square Mall gives me the first impression of being new and spacious. Outside the mall, there is a small playground cum garden. I saw a sculpture which is supposed to be a representation of nature; but frankly I do not know what it is even as I try to figure it out by looking at it for a while. I think the park outside the mall looks nice but hopefully the management could plant more trees to provide shade for this garden. As I was standing in the park observing the environment around it, I saw a tall building a distance away – it was the Park Royal Hotel. I think to walk to this hotel would take about 10 minutes from this mall.
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There are 5 levels of shops
This mall has five levels of retail stores and 2 basements. There are in fact plenty of shops for you to browse and walk throughout the day. There are also food court and many food outlets here. Metro department store is also here. I enjoy shopping at Metro, because the store offers a good range of merchandise at very reasonable prices. Other anchor tenants include Best Denki and Popular Book store. But the interesting part of City Square is that there are many other small retail outlets that I have never seen before in other malls. These small outlets sell a very wide range of products as well as services.
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Playground and Park at City Square Mall
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I noticed that the City Square Mall is not crowded during the weekdays. I was there during lunch hour on Tuesday. The food court was not packed with office workers or shoppers. Perhaps it could be due to the competition from other food outlets in the mall as well as food outlets nearby. After all you can find many small restaurants in Little India. I normally avoid a mall if it is jam packed with people, an example would be Tampines Mall during the weekends. Both are suburban malls, but the City Square Mall beat Tampines Mall for its wide corridors, walkways and spaciousness. However, I do hope that the management could provide comfortable seats around the mall for shoppers to rest their feet without having to patronize a food outlet. Many couples with young kids and elderly folks would love to see more seats provided in the mall. But the problem is that many owners of malls refused to do so. Why? Perhaps the management of malls feel that when you are tired, you should go to any food outlet and order a drink and then you get to rest. Or simply put, you must pay to rest. I think this is STUPID. Malls should look at their business as providing a comfortable and rewarding experience for their customers.
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Food Court at City Square Mall
For information, photos, videos and blogs on Singapore and Johor Bahru, please visit our site at the link below: -
Most of the time when I eat Indian food, the choices are mainly Roti prata ( Indian crispy fried bread ) or Mee goreng ( fried noodles in tomato and chili sauce ). It is not because there are limited choices in Indian meal; but because the two meals mentioned are widely available in Singapore and Malaysia. There are other meals that are delicious as well, such as Indian chicken or fish head curry, Indian rice ( nasi goreng ), Kambing soup ( mutton soup ) and so on. The Indian food that are served in Malaysia and Singapore are also mainly halal; which effectively means that it is also suitable for Muslims as well.
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Served in an Indian Restaurant in Little India Singapore
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I wanted to try something different besides the usual. So I went to a Indian Vegetarian restaurant in Little India in Singapore for lunch with a lady friend. When we were there, I noticed that the tables were already half filled with customers. I placed my order which is the North and South Indian Thali meals. Frankly I do not know what to expect but I am prepared to try new menu. The cost of each Indian Thali meal is about US$6/- excluding drinks. There are many different types of beverages that you can choose – from Indian coffee/tea to Coke and Sprite or fruit juices. Alternatively you can just go for plain water which is free.
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When our Thali meals arrived, I was taken surprise by the size of the meal. It was served in a large round tray with small steel bowls of curry gravy, vegetable, yogurt and other gravy which I have no idea what it is. The main distinction between the 2 Thali is the yellow and white rice and the different gravy that are served in each individual bowls. There is the usual chapati, which is bread Indian style, dhal and chili paste. I saw Indians sitting at the next table eating chapati with their hands, effortlessly breaking it into small pieces, dipping it onto the bowl of gravy and eating it. For me, it takes two hands to break the bread into small pieces. The curry gravy taste delicious, the mashed vegetables tasted bland – adding a little salt or soya sauce would be nice. I do not like yogurt, but I took the opportunity to try it as well. It is not so creamy as some of the yogurt that I have tasted. It had a sour and sweet taste. The white rice tasted slightly dry as compared to the Chinese rice that I normally eat. It is with less moisture and not so tasty. The yellow rice has a firm and nice aroma taste. I prefer the yellow rice as compared to the white rice.
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The Thali meal stretches your taste buds. It has everything in it – hot, sour, sweet, sweet and sour, bitter and bland. And the serving is generous. I simply could not finish my meal. In fact, I could only finished half of what was served to me. But the 5 Indian customers that was seated on the next table could easily finished off their Thali meals and two of them are ladies. My suggestion is that if you are going to have Thali for lunch, perhaps you could skip having your breakfast. Interestingly my friend and I are the only 2 non Indians in this restaurant at that time.
I think if the restaurant could add fruits to the Thali meal it would be perfect. Perhaps a bowl of water melon with some papayas would be nice. Also besides the vegetables, perhaps the restaurant could include some mushrooms as well. Mushrooms make a good compliment in any meal. Although the Thali is a very popular meal among the Indians and non Indians, personally it will not be one of my favorite meal. I still liked the Indian Roti prata – crispy fried bread served with hot Indian fish or mutton curry.
On my next trip to Little India, I will try some other Indian food there. Perhaps it will be Indian Fish head curry or their fried chicken. For more photos of food and places of interest in Singapore and Johor Bahru, visit my website at the link below: -
I was at Marina Barrage during the early evening. But when I reached there, I saw heavy dark clouds hovering above the sky. Soon there was lightning streaking across the dark sky; followed by a loud thunder. I was walking towards the bridge and wanted to take some photos of coming thunderstorm at Marina Barrage; then I could hear a loud blasting sirens and then guard stopped me from walking to the bridge. I asked the guard “why?”. He told me that the sirens was meant to inform people of the danger of lightning and to quickly clear away from the bridge. Seconds later, the rain fell, the strong winds and lightning followed, this has given me an opportunity to see another side of the Marina Barrage – being attacked by the thunderstorm.
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After an hour later, the thunderstorm subsided. The guards told us that we were still not allowed to walk outside until the clearance has been given to do so. Later I heard an announcement that the flood gates will be opening soon. I thought how lucky I was been able to witness the opening of the flood gates to clear away the excess water from the reservoir into the sea. One flood gate was opened and minutes later followed by the opening of the second flood gate. Lots of water from the dam was been flushed out into the sea. It is very interesting to see how fast the water from the dam can be removed into the sea with the opening of flood gates.
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I notice that there were only a handful of visitors to the Marina Barrage during the night on a weekday. Also there are no food kiosks available if you are hungry or need to buy a cup of coffee/tea. So do bring along some light food and drinks if you intend to stay there for an hour or two. Night time at the Marina Barrage is quiet, relaxing and beautiful. It is just like a beautiful park with fountains everywhere. I saw some youths had brought along kites and ground sheet – perhaps preparing for a picnic; but unfortunately the heavy rain had caused the green grass garden to be soaking wet. If you are going to visit the Marina Barrage in the day, it can be very hot on a sunny day. I have written a blog on the Marina Barrage during my day visit, you find follow the link here – Marina Barrage During the Day
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For more information/photos of Marina Barrage and interesting places in Singapore and Johor Bahru which I have visited, you can follow the link below -
There is a shopping mall in Chinatown Singapore which is approximately 40 years old. It was built in the 1970s and it is called the People’s Park Complex. During the period of the 1970s – 80s, the People Park Complex was a hot shopping mall and was overwhelming popular with the shoppers and visitors. The unique feature about this mall is that it is not just a shopping mall, but also has an office building and an apartment block; so it was a mixed development.
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Even though the People’s Park Complex is now an old dame, it still managed to attract lots of shoppers and visitors daily. It is not a specialty mall but in contrast it is a place where shoppers can find anything and everything. There are many individual shops that sells items like electronics, leather goods, watches, jeweleries, food, pawn shops, travel agencies, Chinese artifacts and medicines; and even countless number of massage shops on top level. My recommendation is the Overseas Emporium which is on the 2nd level. It is like a department store that sells many traditional Chinese products such as Chinese medicine, artifacts, food, clothes, etc. I will always make a point to visit the Overseas Emporium whenever I am in People’s Park Complex. There are many small food kiosks on the ground level situated right outside the complex. I normally browse through each food stall to try out the food that I have not eaten before.
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Located in Chinatown Singapore
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Behind the People’s Park Complex is the food center where you can find many food stalls selling different variety of food. The problem here is that you are not given the choice to choose where you like to sit unlike the hawker centers. This pose a problem if you want to sit at one area on the left and order food from another stall in another area. But I guess you just have to bear with it if you want to have your meal there. There is another department store that is worth visiting and it is the OG Department Store. It is located opposite the People’s Park Complex and the food center. If you are not sure, just ask anyone for direction. The OG Department store is well known in Chinatown and it sells a wide variety of merchandise ranging from clothes, toys, toiletries, food to cookware.
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Wide variety of merchandise and shops
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So the People’s Park Complex is in fact a center of activities for shoppers going to Chinatown. From there, you can move on to other malls or even the Chinatown streets itself. It is all within walking distance. I have took photos of the People’s Park Complex and a video as well. To view the photos, you can follow the link below and go the the photo gallery: -
I took a day off today to visit an unique temple in Chinatown. It is called the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum and for those interested in visiting this temple, the full address is as follows: - 288 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058840. If you are in Chinatown, go to Chinatown Complex and the temple is just opposite the front entrance of Chinatown Complex. Between the 2 buildings is a wide open space – it is a contrast of an old and worn out building which is the Chinatown Complex and this new and beautiful temple which is the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
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At that time, I saw lots of people and students outside this temple. There were buses parked near the temple which ferries the students and tourists here. So the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple must be one of the tourist attraction and educational site in Singapore. I was there in the Thursday morning at about 11-30 am and I see more students and tourists than devotees that come to this temple to pray. One of the rules of this temple is that you must be in appropriate attire before you can enter this temple. This means no bare back or micro skirt or shorts. Secondly, you are not allow to bring any pets or non vegetarian food into this temple. In my opinion, these rules are reasonable, because respect must be given when it is due.
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Beautiful Rooftop
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My first impression of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is that it is artistic, grand and beautiful. There are many Buddhas and artifacts in this temple, so rightfully this temple is also a living Museum for those who want to learn about Buddhism and Chinese arts. The temple has a few levels in which visitors can visit and admire the artworks and artifacts. For those looking for explanation or wanting to learn more, there are signages that are in English that give information about the particular item that you are viewing. I guess if you are someone who has a keen interest in Buddhism, arts and culture, then this is definitely the place to visit.
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Beautiful Display of Buddha and Many Artifacts
Among all the attractions in Chinatown, this temple gives me the greatest satisfaction and this is the real deal. Even if you are in Singapore on a tight schedule, don’t missed it if you are here. I have put up photos of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in my website and you can follow the link below:-
By the way, the temple has its own website which is self-explanatory about its function, the layout of the temple, artifacts, etc. However the images that are in their website are small and seems to look rather insignificant. When I was in the temple, I was truly amazed by the beauty of this place. The website link of the temple is as follows:-
