Guide to Johor Bahru Cafes Part II

Here's a continuation from the previous post (you can view it here)!  More cafes to visit across the border, but this time it's not within walking distance!! I'd recommend taking uber (go to somewhere with wifi first to get your uber) to avoid getting cheated by their taxis. As much as they claim it's by meter, most taxi drivers will quote you a price which is far more expensive!

Jalan Serampang

J.C. Café

J.C. Café is a super pretty cafe located above a bridal studio along Jalan Serampang! Yes, they serve up the cliche monster shakes - we ordered the devil banana chocolate milkshake for just a fraction of the price as compared to Singapore ($6.25)! For food, we had the Agio Olio and Salted egg pasta! Both were really good, tasted home cooked and fresh.

Total spent: RM 53.70 / SGD 17.90
52, Jalan Kelewang, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru, Malaysia 

Coffee Signature

Within walking distance from J.C. Café is Coffee Signature! It's a container concept cafe that is hard to be missed. I really love their all black theme, the aesthetics of this place is so rustic yet cosy (due to the space). I ordered their signature drink - Sweet Rain. 10/10 for the presentation of this drink but the candy floss really started "raining":

haha I was like "how am I going to drink this??' 

Step 1: Slowly dismantle cotton candy, hold on one hand

Step 2: wrap (a ton) of tissue paper around cup holder 

Step 3: drink tea

Total spent: RM 16.90 / SGD 5.70
52, Jalan Serampang, Taman Tebrau Jaya, 80400 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Taman Pelangi

Living Room Cafe

Came across this cafe literally by chance because we were intending to go to Headmost Cafe at Taman Pelangi but it was CLOSED DOWN ugh. Living Room cafe was just along that stretch so we decided to just give it a shot and the food and drinks turned out pretty decent! You have to try the Cereal Chicken Chop!

Total spent: RM 57.10 / SGD 19.20
G-03, Plaza Mentari, Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Jalan Dhoby (same area as the cafes mentioned in my first blog post)

Sangkaya - Nuts about coconuts!

Sangkaya - serving Bangkok style coconut ice cream! They have other flavours apart from coconut - Thai milk tea, chocolate coconut and matcha! All are pretty good and essential in the cray Johor heat ~.~

Total spent: RM 25.80 (1 set for RM 12.90 - 4 flavours of ice cream) / SGD 8.70 
14, Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000, Malaysia

Roost Cafe

Never stepped into Roost before because I always had the impression that they only serve salad and yogurt until I went to Jalan Dhoby at night (for the first time) and most of the stores were closed. We ordered their beef meat balls which was okay and their baked tomato egg and mushroom soup which was literally one of the best things I've ate! It was so good!! Their raspberry and passionfruit lemon tea was pretty nice as well (I like my iced teas shaken so theirs does the job).

Total spent: RM 48.60 / SGD 16.40
9, Jalan Dhoby, 80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Replacement Lodge & Kitchen

The best place to get your brunch fix! From the makers of Faculty of Caffeine, this is the cafes of all cafes. Perhaps the most instagrammed cafe in the area, Replacement hits the spot for everything - the ambience, food, coffee and price. Food was really good, you should try their Eggs Benedict and Croque Madame. Their cold pressed juices are lit as well!

Total spent: RM 16.90 - RM 26.90 / SGD 5.60 - SGD 9.06
33-34, Jalan Dhoby, 80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia 

Guide to Montigo Resort

Montigo is one of the most sought after resort in Batam. After visiting the resort for myself, I truly understood the hype! In this blogpost, I share about my experience and a brief outline about this amazing resort.

Booking the villa

Check everywhere! By everywhere I mean all websites and apps including Carousell. As I went during the off-peak period, prices were as low as $260 on the actual website. Thankfully for me, I bought the deal over from someone on Carousell for $250. As you can see from the above screenshot,  the person got it for $339... The price depreciated so much so just keep checking!

Getting to Montigo

Singapore is a 35 minutes ferry ride away from Batam! I bought our ferry tickets online via BatamFast for $46/pax. It's a standard pricing on the website but there are people selling it on Carousell for $40.30 but I had no time to collect so I scraped that idea. 

Note: 1) Take the ferry to Nongsa Ferry Terminal from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal 
2) Book early, they may not have all the timings available if you book last minute
3) If you're buying the tickets via third party (e.g. Carousell), timings have to be liaised with BatamFast directly

Montage also provides a shuttle service from Nongsa Ferry Terminal. All you have to do is email them your ferry and villa booking information and they will arrange accordingly. Upon arrival at the ferry terminal, there will be a Montigo Resorts booth directly at the exit. Proceed to tell them your name and they will direct you to the bus!

The Resort

The resort is big enough to spend 2 days 1 night in! 

Two statement pools in the resort (excluding the one in your private villa)! The first one is pictured above, right next to Tadd's.

The most photogenic spot of the resort: the jetty!

Restaurants

They have three key places for you to eat/chill at -

1) Tadd's

Tadd's is a casual all-day dining hub that serves Asian fusion dishes. This is also the place where you get your breakfast buffet!

1) Pantai

(Image from TripAdvisor)

Pantai serves Asian style seafood atop a jungle hill! The view is amazing and so is the food.

3) Tiigo

One of my favourite places to hang in the resort, Tiigo is a bar/beach club that serves grubs and cocktails. It also has a beautiful adult pool that is so picturesque!

The Villa

The three-storied villa is beautiful - it came with a private pool, two bedrooms, an open-concept bathroom and a rooftop terrace. I had one of the best sleeps and showers ever!

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All in all, the resort was amazing but what I like best about the resort is their amazing hospitality and service. I mentioned that it was my partner's birthday and immediately upon arrival, they pulled me to the side to tell me that they've already prepared a cake for him. They came to our villa with balloons, a guitar and the cake and sang the birthday song with such enthusiasm!

A huge shoutout to Winnie and her team, as well as Riyadi from Guest Relations. They made our stay so amazing and unforgettable!