.....times of refreshing.....

I seldom drive down to downtown JB but since my wifey needed to send her sister to UTC Kotaraya, we decided to have lunch around JB old town centre. As usual, it was congested with traffic and with the hot weather, we decided to go to somewhere with air-cond. My kid introduced us this cafe called Ehhe Art Cafe where he got to know from an older friend in his badminton class. It looks like another old shophouse from outside but I love the nostalgic feeling inside, and with air-cond.

The side of the cafe and I love the mural paintings.

The sign-board at the entrance

Inside the cafe, it was crowded!

Another view, it looks like we are dining at an old dilapidated house.

There's really a crowd there!

You may noticing what is this horse-head! Well, it's a table where the 'body' of the rattan horse helps holds the glass table.

I thought of having Hainanese Chicken chop at nearby Hua Mui Restaurant but it was really a hot day and there's no air-cond there, thus I settled for the chicken chop here , with an ice coffee. Both are not bad.

My Hainanese Chicken chop ... quite yummy! :)

And my ice coffee, kinda bitter though it looks milky.

Seated facing me, my kid nowadays really know how to enjoy life and good food!

After our lunch, we just strolled around nearby the cafe. I always like the idea that the JB authorities are refurbishing this place into cafes, tourism attractions and museum.

Another cafe next to it.

More kopitiams and hawker food opposite

Hot JB!

The red house - famous for nyonya kuih but I didn't get it this time round. Maybe next time.

So, that's a short walk down memory lane but with refurbishing buildings! Ehhe Art Cafe is located at - Address: 145, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.

Oh ...if you noticed a silence from me lately from my blog, well,  I am actually taking a break from blogging as well as wanted to spend my free time on other stuffs. I have been very busy with work lately as well as my other personal tasks and thus, I thought its a good idea to switch off a while. I had a busy weekend too, starting from taking a half day leave last Friday to renew my passport in UTC JB, attended my little princess kindy graduation concert (how time flies.... phew...), attended church as usual, ran some errands, shop for my coming trip in December and etc.

Anyway, I did had quite a good time last Friday alone while at UTC, JB to renew my passport. Oh, I must compliment the UTC initiative as it provided folks like me to renew my passport on a Friday afternoon. Though it took me almost 4 hours to settle my travel document, I find that it's bearable as it's a Friday where it's a non-working day in JB. At least, I got my passport renewed! While waiting to collect my passport, I spent around 2 hours shopping around at City Square as well as walked around the Deepavali carnival in JB.

It was so happening at JB's Little India

Lots of stalls temporary setup for the festival!

Its was kinda jam too!

 While waiting for my little princess concert last Sunday, we had a pleasant lunch at Lavender's HQ, called the L' Table. The menu is very different from those of Lavender Bistro and it's also costlier. However, I love the ambiance over there, it was quiet and relax as well as they provided good service!

The L' Table

My kid had a Miso type of Pasta ... can't remember the name ...

A Salmon Pasta for my wifey

A Cheedar Ham and Cheese Sandwich for me

And an Earl Grey Tea pot for all of us

The Bakery ... located at the ground floor where pastry and breads are sold here

A place for folks to have coffee and pastry only

It was a nice weekend and looking forward to a great week! :)

Crowded but I like their nostalgic decor... which I guess it's being like that for decades!

This is really an old 'authentic' kopitiam ... unlike those modern ones which trying to be 'nostalgic'. No air cond..no fancy design.... it's like a time warp there.

Finally my glass of ice kopi ... the kopi really 'kau' (thick). I had two cups!!

My kaya toast which I shared with my kid

And , that's my brunch ... a Hainanese chicken chop. It's very delicious and I don't mind going there again!

They have a branch near Sutera Mall, which is much comfortable but I guess nothing beats the original. And, this place is halal too where there were many Malays and Indians having their lunch there. After that,  we took a walk down memory lane in JB old town. Its becoming like Jonker Street there but I didn't take many pixs there.  I will try to share some pixs of the town area if I go there again. :)

The herbal or paper wrap chicken

Other than the chicken, we ordered mostly simple and soft food like the below. It's also good for the children to have something easily digestible.

Long beans cooked with meat

I love their bean sprout...yummy

And this is especially for me - Japanese tofu with mushrooms.

My appetite is back but hope I can maintained the weight that I have lost! LOL...

There were many Toastbox franchises in Singapore which I have visited but somehow, this branch in Taman Johor Jaya really looks special, and I really like their nostalgic design and historical decorative items. Painted in its corporate white color, the place really looks special and pleasant. I never felt so comfortable here.

Painted in pure white with nice and nostalgic decorative items

It's so relaxing here! Quiet and clean.

They really put some effort in decorating the place

I had their nasi lemak chicken rendang and I must said the chicken rendang was very good. It's marinated deliciously and I almost mixed the rice with the rendang instead of the gravy given for the nasi lemak.

Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang for me

Fish ball noodles for wifey

Most importantly, must have their coffee. :)

I find that their coffee is not as 'milky' compared to those that I tried in Singapore. It's thicker and aromatic and I always love this type of Hainanese roasted coffee. That gave me a good Saturday lunch.

It's really been a long while since I patronised Sedap Corner restaurants in JB. They have a lot of branches all over in JB at popular shopping malls. I especially love their nyonya kuih which never fails me everytime I savoured it.

My favourite - Pulut Inti, Peanut Mochi and Bingka Durian. This is the first time I tried the Bingka Durian and it turns to be very delicious!

My wifey shared this Oriental Fried Rice with my kid. The chicken was nicely marinated but then, the meat was a little bit hard.

I had my favourite Penang Char Kway Teow. It's still good!

Not forgetting my cup of hot nescafe to end the meal :)

The Aeon Permas Jaya branch

I will go back there again to enjoy the nyonya kuihs. :)

I think I found a better place for coffee. Located at the new stretch of shops in Taman Molek, the cafe seems hidden from the main street. The cafe was large, clean and pleasant as well as the aroma of coffee fills the entire cafe once you stepped in. There were also three pretty waitresses cum coffee makers there, which is a good reason for me to go back there. :P

Nice, beautiful cafe

Since it was lunch and my kids were still in tuition, my wife and I decided to have some bites here. We ordered something light which are ciabattas as well as each one of us got a cup of coffee. I preferred cappuccino as usual while my wife got a cup of latte.

My cup of cappuccino

 The cappuccino was really good as it was smooth and it was very balance between creamer and coffee. The scent was strong too. There were some cappuccino which are too 'milky' while some tasted like freshly brewed coffee. This one is really great.

My ciabatta - Ham and cheese

Latte - looks the same but it's a bigger cup.

 Overall, I think their coffee are better than those famous coffee outlets in the malls. Anyway, will return and try more. By the way, here's the address -  Just Want Coffee, Jalan Molek 1/5c,Taman Molek, JB.

Since it was the school holidays, I fulfilled my promise to my kid to bring him and his sis to JB's two biggest kiddy friendly theme parks (again), Legoland and Little Big Club on last Friday and Saturday. Well, glad to see his happy and delighted face while leaving for the theme parks. I can't blame him cos he had a tough schooling and tuition period. Well, nowadays, the kids were really poor thing, unlike my time, where study or no study during primary school doesn't really matter....hahaha... It  was quite tiring, as my wifey and I spent almost two full days walking around at the theme park. These were really lots of exercise for us!

 

Had a rendang nasi lemak first before leaving.... this lunch packs lots of energy and cholesterol and uric acid....etc.. :P

Reach Little Big Club in Nusajaya and pose with Chicken barn  at Lat's gallery

One of the rides at Little Big Club ..my little princess's favourite! As for me, I am lucky I  don't need Panadol to counter the 'dizziness'

Reminds me of my childhood....

Watched Barney and friends live....

Playing pingu sliding game

 It was a crowded Legoland the next day compare to the Little Big Club where there were almost no queues for all the rides. We even repeat our rides at Little Big Club but it was a different story at Legoland. There were lots of tourists of different nationalities and it was long queue everywhere. I still prefers going on a normal weekend unlike the school holidays.

His favourite ride!

Miniland ..... up and below

The just 'completed' Menara Maybank...

Posing with a Lego-man...

With an annual pass, my kid will be going again with his mom while I at work next week. And, I guess he can enjoy more rides with lesser folks as Singapore is not on school holidays yet. :)