Tom Amari Johor Bahru’s Junior Suite was our base for a 3D2N Johor Bahru Staycation! Thanks to the great folks at Amari Johor Bahru, we got the opportunity to stay at the well-located Amari JB for easy access to all the attractions in Johor Bahru! In this post, we’ll show you what we did during this staycation at Johor Bahru!
Amari Johor Bahru Staycation Day 1
If you have read our day trip to Johor Bahru City Square, we described the method to reach Johor Bahru in the shortest possible time. However, this time, due to the school holiday period, we were stuck at the Malaysian customs for close to 2 hours! Hence, to reward ourselves, we started the day with a refreshing cup of Gong Cha (貢茶) at JB City Square. 🙂
A cup of Earl Grey Milk Tea with pearl and jelly costs RM8.90 which translates to $3. This is about 20 to 30 percent cheaper than that in Singapore. Hence, when we’re in City Square, it is definitely one of our pit stops to freshen ourselves. After getting our drink from Gong Cha, we took a 5 minutes walk to Hua Mui (華美) restaurant to try out the famous Hainan Chicken Chop in JB! To reach Hua Mui (華美) Restoran, exit from JB City Square, turn left and head along Jalan Wong Ah Fook until you see a bridge across the road. Cross the bridge and head towards the corner of Jalan Trus and Jalan Dhoby.
As we were already delayed at customs, we only ordered the signature Hainanese Chicken Chop as well as the Hua Mui Noodles…
We were glad that we ordered the chicken chop at Hua Mui. It was tender and juicy with a buttery taste to the batter. At RM15.90, it was quite reasonably priced. However, for the noodles, it was too yeasty for our liking. Ingredients wise, there were only a few slices of chicken and vegetables. Definitely not recommended to have the noodles at Hua Mui (華美) Restaurant.
Address of Hua Mui (華美) Restoran: 131, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours of Hua Mui (華美) Restoran: 8:30am to 6pm (Closed on Sundays)
Staycation at Amari Johor Bahru Junior Suite
Located conveniently opposite Komtar JBCC, there are 2 ways to get to Amari Johor Bahru Hotel once you’ve crossed the road to Zenith Mall…
Next to Morganfield’s there is a lift up to Amaya Food Gallery at Level 6. It is the in-house restaurant of Amari JB Hotel. After walking through the restaurant, you’ll arrive at the lobby. The second way to reach Amari Hotel JB is to walk through Zenith Mall. Following the signs, you’ll arrive at the concierge of Amari Johor. From there, you can take a lift up to level 6 to the lobby of the hotel.
As we were staying at the Junior Suite of Amari Johor Bahru, we were led to the Executive Lounge at level 20 for our check-in. After some refreshments, we were checked-in to our room at level 15 where we were pleasantly surprised…
The room was so spacious! There was a huge king sized bed, large bathroom (complete with vanity sinks and rain shower/bathtub) as well as an unparalleled view of the JB city skyline! Do check out our post for the complete review of Amari Johor Bahru Junior Suite. We also took the opportunity to have a dip at the swimming pool and visit the facilities around the hotel…
When you stay at the Executive Club, Junior Suite or One Bedroom Suite of Amari Johor Bahru, you’ll have exclusive access to the Executive Lounge. Hence, we were able to check out the cocktail hour at the Executive Lounge held daily from 5pm to 7pm…
For dinner (so soon?!), we tried out the Buffet Dinner at Amari Johor Bahru’s signature restaurant – Amaya Food Gallery.
Amaya Food Gallery takes on the concept of local foods and interactive live cooking where guests are able to see how their food are prepared. For us, the local foods such as nasi briyani and roast duck were firm favourites. The freshly shucked oysters were pretty good as well. To top things off, the live band was amazing! The contemporary pop songs (and happy birthday songs) made the atmosphere that much more lively. After the sumptuous meal, we turned in for the evening to rejuvenate for an exciting day on day 2 of our JB staycation!
Staycation at Amari Johor Bahru Day 2
On day 2 of our staycation in Johor Bahru, we woke up to an amazing sunrise from our Junior Suite at Amari Johor Bahru…
After washing up, we headed to Amaya Food Gallery for our breakfast. As expected, the local food selections of prata, rendang and nasi lemak were delicious!
Next up, shopping and movies at City Square Johor Bahru!
There are actually so many things to do in Johor Bahru. Just at JB City Square, you can go for a karaoke session, do a laser battle, shop and catch a movie (at half price!). We caught Murder on the Orient Express this time and really enjoyed the surprising outcome at the end of the movie. If you’re watching a movie at City Square JB, remember to have the popcorn set at RM11.90 for the large popcorn and drinks. 3 times cheaper than in SG! :O
At RM25.20, we had a small curry fish head and 2 small portions of rice. Given the generous portion of curry and vegetables, we left Kam Long Curry Fish Head Restaurant with a full stomach. Taste wise, the curry was good but a little on the watery and salty side. The fish on the other hand was perfect. Fresh, sweet and tasty. Probably cause of the constant flow of patrons to the restaurant. After the meal, we had a short rest in our room before doing the full coverage of the cocktail hours of Amari Johor Bahru’s Executive Lounge…
After visiting 2 nights of cocktail hours at the Executive Lounge of Amari JB, we realized that the food selection actually changes. Moreover, the alcoholic selection was pretty extensive, ranging from beers to wines and even sake! Amari Johor Bahru Hotel definitely has one of the best variety of food and drinks for an Executive Lounge’s cocktail hour. *Thumbs Up!*
As the evening winded down, we headed over to Breeze Spa for a relaxing massage treatment. We were pleasantly surprised by the skill and professionalism of our masseuse at Breeze Spa. Our “Dreamy” and “Rejuvenated” mood massages definitely left us in those moods. Tom actually dozed off during part of the massage and drooled involuntarily! Goes to show the level of relaxation that the massage at Breeze Spa Amari Johor Bahru Hotel offers.
Johor Bahru Staycation at Amari Hotel Day 3
On day 3, we woke up to a sumptuous breakfast at the Executive Lounge of Amari JB Hotel. This morning, we tried the ala carte menu and ordered Eggs Royale as well as the Banana French Toast…
Eggs Royale had a wonderful fusion of flavours from the mushrooms and onions on top of a toasty bread. On the local selection, we loooved the Fried Kway Teow. Reminded us of the standards of Penang Char Kway Teow – without travelling to Penang. We ended our 3D2N JB staycation by exploring the cafe scene of Jalan Dhoby and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.
As we were still pretty early, many cafes were still not opened at 9am – eventhough Google says they would be open. This was the 2nd time that Google’s Opening Hours were wrong. Nonetheless, we were able to drop by Kafe Culture Street for some toasts…
Didn’t particularly like the taste of the Kaya. Tasted a little diluted. However, the peanut almond toast not only looked good but tasted great as well. Can’t go wrong with peanut butter 😉 After sharing the set, we headed upstairs where you’ll be able to enjoy some exhibits put up by the cafe. As it was not air-conditioned, it was a little stuffy and hot during our walk through. Interesting artwork nonetheless…
After our first stop at Kafe Culture Street, Flower in the Window Cafe was now open!
During this visit, we tried the pita bread (RM22) and matcha latte (RM15.90). We realized that the mains were of similar numerical value as that in Singapore (ie probably 22SGD for a similar item) but the drinks were as expensive as SG. Taste wise, they were average, no “wow” factor there. But given the “old school” feel to the cafe, we can understand why millennials would come back to this cafe again. One thing that left an impression was that the wifi password was “talktoyourfriends”. An interesting way to remind patrons to enjoy the company of your friends.
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With that, we ended our 3D2N staycation in Johor Bahru. We checked out at 2pm, bought our mandatory kueh kueh at Nonya Leaf (5 pieces for RM5?!) and left for home. The entire journey back only took 1.5 hours. Oh, if you’re at the Malaysia Custom, do remember that you can take either 950 or 170x SBS bus to the Singapore Customs. We actually just missed 950 at berth 20 and learnt (by observing other passengers) that you could cross the bus bay and board the 170x at berth 3. This saved us a little bit of time as well. We hope you have enjoyed our Johor Bahru Staycation coverage. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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