There are several good restaurants on the bottom level of the Danga City Mall in downtown Johor Bahru. One of my favorites is JB Station Kopitiam. I have had at least 5 meals at JB Station Kopitiam, all have been excellent (and they have been under RM 10). A kopitiam is a traditional breakfast and coffee shop found in Southeast Asia. The word is a concatenation of the Malay word for coffee and the Hokkien dialect word for shop.

JB Station Kopitiam at Danga City Mall in Johor Bahru by John Hunter

I still don’t know the names of lots of Malaysian food, so one nice thing about JB Station is they have photos so I can find a picture of something that looks interesting. A decent number of restaurants do that, however, at the same time, a large number have no menu at all (especially the outdoor stalls, but also some indoor restaurants). I am not completely sure but I think the photo shows my order of Mee Bandung (a dish originating in Johor).

Mee Bandung, is a cuisine originally consisted of only noodles and eggs in soup made of the mixture of chilli, onion, spices, shrimp paste and dried shrimp. Over time the Mee Bandung recipe had been added to with the addition of shrimp, meat, fish cakes and vegetables. One thing I have noticed is the small Malaysian restaurants have a full or half hard boiled or fried egg on top of many dishes.

The lime juice is freshly squeezed and quite good.

Mee Bandun and lime juice from JB Station Kopitiam

Related: Sala Huddin Bakery, Johor Bahru – The Village Briyani Cafe – Bus to Jusco in Permas Jaya – Popular Used English Bookstore in Johor Bahru

I have never really liked eating outside so I do like that Danga City mall has these restaurants inside. This meal was RM 10. I also, always leave a tip (at the various places here when I eat) but they often point out that I left money on the table. I figure in another few weeks they will understand this funny guy just leaves tips here (who can figure out what these white guys are thinking). I just figure the staff here could use tips even more than those at places where it is more expected and I can afford it. It is one small way I can give a bit more back to Malaysia while I stay here.

Some of the other choices in the Danga City Mall food court area

The mall probably has about 8 restaurants food court area and 8 others throughout the mall.

View an interactive version of the map.