Cafe-hopping in Singapore might burn a hole in your wallet, but at Johor Bahru, you get to leverage on the currency, and yes, that means you get to eat great food at 1/3 the price. On our recent trip, we had plans to visit Coffee Valley, but was disappointed that it was in the process of moving to Sutera Mall (update: they are opened now at Sutera Mall!). We decided to explore around the corner and found another gem - The Replacement instead (how apt, because it actually replaces one of our cafe-hopping location).
This dainty, modern cafe sits at a prominent spot in Jalan Dhoby (aka Jalan Cafe or Jalan Hipsters, just kidding) and features an exterior of clean white walls - now this is worth mentioning because buildings are generally old and torn down around the area. To start off, The Replacement is seriously, and I'm saying it with a serious face, seriously insta-worthy. OMG, damn it, just look at this.
For God's sake, get their Croque Madame (RM19.90) too. If you're a cheese lover, you'll totally dig this. Ham and cheese sandwiched covered with (more) cheesy bechamel sauce and topped with a sunny side-up? Hell yeah, I would definitely leave my diet plans back in Singapore.
Churros lovers - this is made for you (churros, RM12.90 ~ 16.90, depending on flavour), planned and crafted for you even before you are born. See, the thing is, God is good. He creates people, who created this magnificent dish - an equivalent of our Chinese you-tiao. And when you dip this dough sticks in chocolate sauce, you get a glimpse of heaven (and maybe God, and maybe, just maybe, He is munching on churros).
See, there is one thing that The Replacement did good. There are no menus with hundred-and-one items on it (they probably have around 10 types of mains), but the thing is, they did it good. Simply because you do not have to focus on creating a hundred-and-one food items with probably a thousand-and-one ingredients. The time was spent in creating and perfecting a few dishes, and that's what makes its food fantastic.
Bloody fantastic in fact, I will give them a standing ovulation right here, right now.
They do have specialty coffee on their menu once in a while, so do check their Facebook out for updates.
I shouldn't have write this post to give them more free advertising, because more people going = no space for limbeh to chill-out = need reservations = more expensive food (and sometimes becoming low-quality in the process). But I am Nomsaurus, with a mission to recommend good food to my readers, and I just felt the obligation to share with you this. Add The Replacement into your cafe-hopping list if you haven't, you will not regret it.
Just a friendly reminder in view of the recent Zika outbreak: If you're driving into JB, make sure that there are no mozzies in your car, the custom will send a swat team (ya know what I'm sayin', officials with mosquito swatters).
This post is originally published on 9/9/16.
The Replacement – Lodge & Kitchen
Daily: 10am to 10pm
33, 34 Jalan Dhoby
80000 Johor Bahru