Johor: Day Trip to Kangkar Pulai Blue Lake

I'm back in action! Life has been rather happening and I forcefully stopped blogging for a while. Just got back from a work trip in Johor and I can't wait to share my experience and nice places that I found. The idea of sharing the nice places brought me back to this blog! 

I will start of with a hidden gem near Johor Bahru -- Kangkar Pulai blue lake! I wanted to visit this place since 2017 but it was closed at that time due to leptospirosis breakout at Gunung Pulai waterfall and also the land owner complained about the rubbish that was left on the trails. I was attracted by the stunning blue of the lake, which I would like to see it myself, if the colour is real or edited. 

On a Friday morning, I drove an hour from Simpang Renggam to Kangkar Pulai to search for this hidden gem with two of my colleagues! I studied a lot of blogs to check the location of the entrance. In fact, the entrance is searchable by Waze (search for Kangkar Pulai Lagoon) but I doubted myself a while when I reached. It doesn't really look like an entrance to a lagoon.

The rocky roads to walk towards the entrance of the blue lagoon

Basically, you will need to hike for about 10 minutes to reach the first viewpoint, which is the only hike that I did for this trip. I felt that this point is good enough for me to take good photos and sun was getting too hot that time. XD 

(Tips: Go earlier to avoid hot sun. I reached around 9.15am, which isn't too ideal)

This view definitely worth 10 minutes hike. Easy with good view!

The hike can be a bit steep. Just need to make sure you have a pair of shoes with good grips. My kampung adidas from Mr. DIY works pretty well! Thank goodness!

The blue lake was formed because of the iron ore quarry nearby. Copper sulphate is the mineral that is forming the blue colour. 

Yours truly with inappropriate outfit for hiking.

Never expect to hike during this work trip!

Life is too short! Don't wait and start exploring wonderful places now!

This is one of the landmark that you could confirm that you are walking towards the entrance. One of the blogs called it the "Big Tangki"

Tips: If you are unsure, look for cars and human beings! I confirmed that I was at the right place by noticing that there are a lot of cars stopping by the roadside. Then, we followed a couple who were also walking to the entrance. 

After hiking, it's time to search for good food! Yes, still need to feed the stomach although the hike was just 20 minutes in total with 1 hours plus of photo taking session. After googling, we found a stall that sells clam (la-la) noodles which seems quite interesting. The stall is located inside Restoran Atson. 

This looks like a fairly normal kopitiam. Can't wait to try local coffee here too!

I always like to try local coffees at local coffee shops as they usually surprise me.

Ta-daa!!! My fried noodle with clams (la-la) (RM7)

They served the noodles with very generous amount of clams. Yumssssss! 

The taste is satisfactory for me. =D The iced Cham (Coffee +Tea) that I ordered was decent.

This wrapped up my Kangkar Pulai blue lagoon exploration perfectly. 

Fed my eyes and cameras, then stomach! Weekend is always better if you do something different and indulge with good stuff. 

Address             : Restoran Aston
                                  1, Jalan Inang 1, Taman Nesa, Johor Bahru
Opening hours: 6am-1pm (closed on Thursdays)

Pontian: Restaurant Heng Heng and Kedai Kopi Keng Guan Hiong

Hello there! This would be my last post from Pontian. I am leaving this small town for good after 4 weeks here. As I was really bored, I explored a few food places around this area, including day trips to Batu Pahat and Johor Bharu (JB)! Unexpectedly but predictably, I've grown rounder after stranded here for weeks. Oopss!!

So tonight I am gonna share 2 famous restaurants in Pontian town, which can be found in other Pontian food blogs! These 2 places are apparently very famous, as I saw a lot of Singapore tourists there during my visit. 

#1 Restaurant Heng Heng (兴兴）

This restaurant is famous with its Wantan noodle, which is a specialty in Pontian too! In Pontian, they mainly serve Wantan noodle in ketchup, unless you request for soy sauce version. I requested for ketchup with a little spiciness. Really curious about the taste!

It's almost 2pm and there are still a lot of people here.

Apart from noodles, they also serve otak-otak for each table. They will count according to the amount that you consume later. It is around RM0.80-RM1 per piece. Sorry, my memory don't serve me well recently. I decided to try one and it is just so-so. 

The noodle is served!! It is typical Wantan noodle combination, with fishballs! How does it tastes? It's sweet but won't be too over as I requested for some chili to be added. Overall, it is fine. I still prefer my soy sauce Wantan noodle XD Good to try though! 

Can't really see the red colour in this photo. 

Address: 766, Jalan Parit Mesjid, Taman Anggerik, Pontian, Johor. (It is not too hard to locate! )

Opening hours: 9am-6pm (closed on Fridays)

#2 Kedai Kopi Keng Guan Hiong (琼源香)

I have been craving for good coffee and went to try out this famous coffee shop, which is quite near my hotel! I have read about the sourness of coffee in Pontian and feel really interested to try it out. To be honest, I am craving for a cup of Ipoh White Coffee now! How I miss Perak! Haha...

There's also a lot of people here! Why is it crowded everywhere I go??

Pontian: Joe Burger Station + Sri Delima BBQ & Steamboat + Pontian Seaside

Pontian, is a small town, located in southwest Johor. This district has 2 towns, which are Pontian Besar and Pontian Kechil (district capital, which means more happening place). After exploring, I realized that there are no malls or cinema here. So, it is time to explore something new during my free time!

Here's to share some of the food I've tried for dinner and my current favourite seaside.

#1 Joe Burger Station (halal)

This is a shop run by Malay family and it seems to be very famous! They have lots of tables by the road side and there are a lot of people dining in when we arrived. Apparently, a lot of food blogs recommend this place too! So we decided to try out. 

I was craving for Roti John for a while, so I decided to order that instead of burger. They serve noodles and western food here too! My other colleagues ordered chicken chop, burger and lekor. They are all really good! Or is it because I skipped lunch? =P

Roti John (RM6) -- The bread is slightly crispy! So good! I can imagine how good is their burger by having this. haha... I tried the lekor too and it is good too. A place worth trying if you are in Pontian.

#2 Sri Delima BBQ & Steamboat (halal)

To be honest, every night we have problem identifying what to eat for dinner. A colleague found a steamboat place which looks fairly decent and we decided to give it a try. It ended up just walking distance from our hotel and it is buffet style. RM22 per pax, with bottomless drink. Their choices are quite standard. One thing I like is they have satay! We can grill our own satay and there are two types of sauce - rempah (marinated with spices) or honey. Nonetheless, the satay is good! 

The environment is quite nice as they have indoor and outdoor setting. However, there are a lot of birds flying around and we were really worried while eating. Don't wish to have any additional "spices" in our food! XD Oh! Not to forget that they serve ice cream here too! That goes my diet mission in Johor. 

We have 2 types of soup - tom yam and clear soup. Save us from choosing which soup to order. 

#3 Pontian Seaside

It is located near terminal bus Pontian Kechil. Along this seaside, there are a lot of seafood restaurants, either Malay or Chinese. You can come for seafood hunt! To be honest, I haven't get to try any. So wait till I give a try then I'll share =)

Pontian: Kemangi Restaurant (Mee Gulung)

Hi all!! It's been a while since I update this blog. Have been going to different places for the past few months. Hong Kong trip, Kuantan working trip, and guess what, I am currently in Pontian (Johor)! Travel too much this year! Oopss.

Pontian is a small town in southern part of Johor. I will share more about this town in later post. Today, I would like to share about my visit to this restaurant called Kemangi Restaurant, which serves Mee Gulung.

What is Mee Gulung?? Sounds special right? Will show you in a bit.

Kemangi Restaurant is easily located as it is just by the main road side. It is a halal restaurant and they serve a variety of food! Fried rice, noodles, ayam penyet, tom yam, etc...  From a short review online, I noticed that they serve something special, which I never heard of -- Mee Gulung. It is noodles wrapped by omelette, served with sweet/spicy gravy (Kemangi version) or soup based (something like Mee Kung Fu)

I went there with my new colleague and ordered Mee Gulung Kemangi. Was really looking forward to try it out. =) The food was served really quickly! 

My first time trying this type of noodles! It was served with seafood and vege. This costs me RM7! Good deal, especially in such a restaurant with good environment. The taste is not too sweet nor spicy. Just nice and its very stomach-calming! Was really hungry before dinner XD