Johor Bahru Hawker Food: 16 Stalls for Kacang Pool, Curry Fish Head and Laksa
Johor Bahru hawker food is a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian-Muslim cooking. Johor Bahru (JB) is known for kacang pool (a spiced bean and minced beef stew), mee rebus, lontong kering, curry laksa, Hainanese coffee shops and old bakeries, and many of the best-known stalls are within walking distance of the Causeway checkpoint and JB Sentral.
This guide covers 16 stalls and food courts in the city centre, Larkin, Stulang, Skudai and Bukit Indah, each checked in October 2026 against food guides published in 2025 or 2026, Grab merchant listings or OpenStreetMap. Prices are in Malaysian Ringgit (RM). Each entry has a halal flag; most Chinese shops here are not halal-certified, so the halal and Muslim-run options are marked.
Langsung ke tempat (16)
- Restoran Hua Mui
- Hiap Joo Bakery
- Kam Long Ah Zai Curry Fish Head
- Restoran Ya Wang
- Restaurant Reaz Corner
- Warung Roti Canai Bukit Chagar
- Nasi Ayam Kee Chup
- Warung Saga
- Restoran Kacang Pool Haji
- Medan Selera Tepian Tebrau
- W.W. Laksa House
- Restoran Kak Kak
- Restoran Woon Kiang
- Din Kee Beef Noodle
- Kedai Masakan Itik Taika Huat
- Restoran Lai Kee
Sekilas
Johor Bahru hawker food near the Causeway
The old town around Jalan Trus, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Jalan Dhoby is 5 to 15 minutes' walk from the checkpoint and JB Sentral.
Restoran Hua Mui
Restoran Hua Mui is a Hainanese coffee shop on Jalan Trus that has been trading since 1946. Its best-known dish is the Hainanese fried chicken chop (RM21,90 in a February 2026 review), battered with crushed biscuits and served with potato wedges, slaw, grilled tomato and a bowl of brown mushroom sauce. The menu also runs to mee rebus and other local dishes; the same review lists butter kaya toast at RM3,20, nasi lemak and dry mee siam from RM12,90, Hainan curry chicken rice at RM13,90 and Hainan kopi from RM3.90.
The original shop is the corner unit with faded coral-red paint and a large white signboard, a few minutes' walk from JB Sentral and the Causeway checkpoint. Hua Mui now has branches around Johor Bahru (Mount Austin, Sutera Utama, Taman Universiti and others), but this is the one with the history. It is not halal-certified. Phone 07-224 7364.
Hiap Joo Bakery
Hiap Joo Bakery and Biscuit Factory has baked in a wood-fired oven on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee since 1919, and its banana cake is the thing most visitors queue for. A June 2026 food guide prices a box of 10 pieces at RM13, with butter cake and coffee cake at RM16 for 10 slices on Tuesday to Friday mornings only, plus old-school buns such as kaya and peanut. An earlier review also mentions buns filled with otak-otak (spiced fish paste).
There is often a queue, and the shop closes when everything is sold, so come in the morning. Opening hours differ between listings (a 2026 guide says daily from 7.30 am to 5 pm, while other listings show Monday to Saturday only), so check before a Sunday visit. Recent food guides describe it as halal-certified. Phone 07-223 1703.
Kam Long Ah Zai Curry Fish Head
Kam Long Ah Zai has served one dish, curry fish head in a claypot, since 1983. A September 2026 guide lists it at RM32 for a small pot, RM46 for a medium and RM62 for a large, cooked with cabbage, long beans and ladies' fingers and served with fried beancurd skin for dipping.
It is about five minutes' walk from Johor Bahru City Square, so it is often busy with day-trippers from Singapore at lunchtime. It is not halal-certified. Phone 016-752 8382. A second Kam Long shop operates in Permas Jaya.
Restoran Ya Wang
Restoran Ya Wang on Jalan Segget is known for herbal roast duck, served with a dark, rich herbal sauce. A March 2026 hawker guide prices roast duck from RM10 and notes that the shop is credited as the consultant behind the herbal roast duck of the Dian Xiao Er restaurant chain.
It is in the old town, a short walk from Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Hiap Joo Bakery, so it fits easily into a walking lunch. It is not halal-certified. Phone 07-224 8624.
Restaurant Reaz Corner
Reaz Corner is an Indian-Muslim restaurant on Jalan Dhoby that never closes, which makes it useful for an early breakfast before the Causeway queues or a late supper. It is best known for Bombay-style briyani: a 2026 guide paid RM13 for nasi briyani with tandoori chicken, curry and pickles, and also recommends the thick roti kaya.
Food guides list it as halal-certified. It is a few minutes' walk from JB Sentral and the checkpoint. Phone 013-744 0089.
Warung Roti Canai Bukit Chagar
This open-sided warung in Bukit Chagar is one of the cheapest breakfasts in Johor Bahru: plain roti canai costs RM1 and egg roti RM2, according to a March 2026 guide. It is self-service: queue to order, collect your roti and pay. Regulars also order the "bird's nest" roti, a plain roti fried with two sunny-side-up eggs.
It is about 10 minutes' walk from the Causeway checkpoint and opens only for breakfast, from 7 am to 11.30 am. Guides list it as halal-certified.
Nasi Ayam Kee Chup
Nasi Ayam Kee Chup is a newer lunch stop than most on this list, known for a crisp, house-marinated fried chicken leg served with chicken rice. A March 2026 guide lists a full plate at RM12, an extra chicken leg at RM8,90 and plain chicken rice at RM3.20.
It opens for lunch only, from 11 am to 4 pm, and closes on Tuesdays. It is listed as halal-certified. Phone 019-669 2133.
Malay breakfasts, laksa and grilled fish
These are 1,5 to 4 km from the old town, so take Grab or a taxi.
Warung Saga
Warung Saga has served Malay food on Jalan Mahmoodiah since 1986. It is known for lontong kering, a dry version of lontong found in Johor: compressed rice cakes in a peanut sambal, topped with stir-fried vegetables, tempeh and a large piece of chicken. Guides say it often sells out by 11 am, so come early.
A September 2026 guide also recommends the nasi ayam panggang (grilled chicken rice, RM14). It does not open on Friday mornings. It is listed as halal-certified and is about 1,5 km west of the old town, near the Mahmoodiah royal mausoleum.
Restoran Kacang Pool Haji
Kacang pool is a Johor breakfast dish: a thick, spiced bean stew with minced beef, onions and a fried egg, eaten with toasted bread. Restoran Kacang Pool Haji, near Larkin, is the name most often given for it. A September 2026 guide lists kacang pool daging at RM8, served with margarine toast, and an earlier review also recommends the lontong.
It is open from 7 am to midnight, so it works for supper as well as breakfast. There is no air-conditioning. Eatbook describes it as Muslim-friendly but not halal-certified. Phone 013-737 7997.
Medan Selera Tepian Tebrau
Medan Selera Tepian Tebrau is an open-air food court of about 30 fixed stalls under a long shed by the Straits of Johor. It is known for ikan bakar: fish such as stingray, sea bass and snapper grilled over charcoal with sambal. Stalls including Top One BBQ Seafood Ikan Bakar were taking delivery orders on Grab in October 2026.
Most stalls open in the afternoon and trade until late evening. Seafood is priced by size or weight, so agree the price before it is cooked. Stalls are mostly Malay-run; look for the halal sign at each one.
W.W. Laksa House
W.W. Laksa House has made curry laksa since the 1970s: a rich, slightly tangy coconut curry broth with fishcake, cockles and tau pok (fried beancurd puffs), with your choice of wonton noodles, yellow noodles, kway teow or rice vermicelli. A March 2026 guide prices a bowl from RM9.
This is the Chinese-style curry laksa that Johor Bahru families eat for breakfast, not the Malay laksa Johor made with spaghetti. It is about 3 km north-west of the old town, so go by Grab. It is not halal-certified. Phone 012-703 2263.
Taman Maju Jaya and Stulang
Restoran Kak Kak
Restoran Kak Kak is an old-school dim sum shop of about 40 years in Taman Maju Jaya, near Taman Pelangi. Plates are priced in three bands, from RM2,50, RM5,50 and RM11 before charges, according to a 2026 guide; favourites include char siew bao, har gao, siu mai, stuffed aubergine and egg tarts.
It opens at 6 am and closes at 1 pm (closed Tuesdays), and popular items sell out, so go early. Several dishes contain pork, and it is not halal-certified.
Restoran Woon Kiang
Woon Kiang is a street-side kway chap shop that opens from evening until the early hours. You choose your braised ingredients at the counter, such as duck meat (from RM10), pork belly (RM9) and offal (from RM9), and eat them with kway teow kia, very thin and silky rice noodles in a herbal broth.
It is in Stulang Laut, about 2,5 km north-east of the old town, and is a popular supper stop. A March 2026 guide gives opening hours from 5 pm and an August 2026 guide from 5.30 pm, both until 2.30 am. It is non-halal. Phone 07-220 0310.
Skudai and Bukit Indah
These are in the north-western suburbs, 12 to 15 km from the city centre. Go by car or Grab, and combine them with the Skudai night markets or the malls in Bukit Indah.
Din Kee Beef Noodle
Din Kee has made beef noodles in Bukit Indah since 2007, with a broth boiled for at least five hours each day. Choose your noodles, soup or dry, and the cuts you want: 2026 guides list bowls from RM11 for braised meat up to about RM18 for braised meat, tripe, tendon and fresh beef together.
The dry version with thick bee hoon and a thick beef gravy is the one guides recommend. Bukit Indah is in Iskandar Puteri, about 12 km west of the city centre, so combine it with a trip to the malls there. It is not halal-certified. Phone 016-736 1522.
Kedai Masakan Itik Taika Huat
Taika Huat started as a Teochew braised duck stall in 1973 and is still run by the same family, in an open shop under a zinc roof built around several large trees. Order braised duck meat, wings, webs or tongue with rice or dry kway teow; a March 2026 guide also recommends the braised pig's trotter.
Prices are not posted online, so ask the staff. It is in Sutera Utama, Skudai, about 12 km north-west of the city centre. It is non-halal. Phone 017-763 2188.
Restoran Lai Kee
Lai Kee makes its fishballs by hand every day from wolf herring (ikan parang) and salt, without flour. A March 2026 guide prices a bowl of fishball noodles at RM9, with fish cake, sliced pork, boiled fishballs and a fried fishball, in soup or dry with dark soy sauce and chilli.
It is in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA), Skudai, on the same row as the Wah Cai fried snack stand and the Siang Yong pastry shop, so you can make a morning of it. It is non-halal. Phone 019-715 9866.
Tips for eating hawker food in Johor Bahru
A morning near the checkpoint
Start with roti canai at Bukit Chagar (until 11.30 am) or breakfast at Hua Mui, buy banana cake at Hiap Joo before it sells out, then have curry fish head at Kam Long Ah Zai or herbal roast duck at Ya Wang for lunch. All four are within a 10-minute walk of each other.
Mee rebus, laksa Johor and otak-otak
Mee rebus (yellow noodles in a thick sweet potato and spice gravy) is sold at many Malay stalls; Mee Rebus Haji Wahid in Kampung Stulang Laut is the best-known name and was trading on Grab in October 2026, but we could not confirm its address and hours from a page we could read, so it is not listed. Laksa Johor, made with spaghetti in a fish gravy, is mostly home cooking and is easiest to find at Ramadan bazaars and at Malay stalls around Larkin. Otak-otak (grilled spiced fish paste in leaves) is sold at night markets such as the Monday market on Jalan Seladang.
Opening days
Many of these shops close one day a week: Kam Long Ah Zai on Monday, Kak Kak and Nasi Ayam Kee Chup on Tuesday, Ya Wang, W.W. Laksa and Lai Kee on Wednesday, and Din Kee on Thursday. Breakfast places often close by 1 pm or 2.30 pm, or earlier if they sell out.
Cash, halal food and getting around
Carry RM5 and RM10 notes; many stalls take DuitNow QR but few take foreign cards. Halal-certified options on this list are Reaz Corner, Bukit Chagar roti canai, Nasi Ayam Kee Chup, Warung Saga and (as listed by recent guides) Hiap Joo Bakery; Kacang Pool Haji is Muslim-run but not certified. The old-town stalls are walkable from the checkpoint; for Larkin, Kolam Air, Stulang, Skudai and Bukit Indah, use Grab.
Johor Bahru Hawker Food: Frequently Asked Questions
What food is Johor Bahru famous for?
Kacang pool, mee rebus, lontong kering, laksa Johor, otak-otak, curry laksa, curry fish head, Hainanese chicken chop and Hiap Joo banana cake. Many famous stalls are within walking distance of the Causeway checkpoint.
Where can I eat near the JB checkpoint?
Warung Roti Canai Bukit Chagar (breakfast only), Restoran Hua Mui on Jalan Trus, Hiap Joo Bakery on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Kam Long Ah Zai on Jalan Wong Ah Fook and the 24-hour Reaz Corner on Jalan Dhoby are all within a 15-minute walk.
Where can Muslim visitors eat hawker food in Johor Bahru?
Reaz Corner, Warung Roti Canai Bukit Chagar, Nasi Ayam Kee Chup and Warung Saga are listed as halal-certified, and recent guides list Hiap Joo Bakery as halal-certified too. Kacang Pool Haji is Muslim-run but not certified, and the Tepian Tebrau grilled fish stalls are mostly Malay-run.
Where can I eat late at night in JB?
Reaz Corner is open 24 hours, Kacang Pool Haji until midnight and Woon Kiang until about 2.30 am. Pasar Karat and other night markets also sell street food in the evening.
Do hawker stalls in Johor Bahru accept cards?
Most take cash, and many accept DuitNow QR from Malaysian banking apps. Foreign cards are rarely accepted at small stalls, so carry small ringgit notes.