Kakaktua Mersing - factsheet

Eating

We’ve compiled some of our favourite eating spots in Mersing town centre and nearby based on extensive local polling! Our informers know their stuff. The first section is split into meals and is walkable from KakakTua. We have also included a small selection of seaside eateries which you would probably want to drive over to if you’ve got a car. Otherwise speak to our guest rep and they can recommend you a local taxi.

Breakfast

Rasa Sayang just around the corner opens early (around 7am) and serves excellent roti prata. Try the roti kosong (plan Indian bread) with curry sauce and dhal or roti telur (Indian bread with an egg mixed in). Drink this with teh tarikh (sweet milky tea) or a kopi (sweet milky coffee). If you don’t want the sweet or milky order a teh’o or kopi’o. If you don’t want sugar say kosong. So a kopi’o kosong is a black plain coffee. If you want it cold just put “ice” on the end of your order. The owners speak English here so can help you out. Cash only.

Address: Rasa Sayang, Jalan Sulaiman, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Sri Mersing Cafe just 2 doors down from KakakTua, this is the oldest originally preserved coffee shop in town and so charming. They serve soft boiled eggs (traditional coffee shop style) with toast and tea or coffee. You can also order kaya toast (white toast, big slathers of butter and caramelised coconut jam). They also make excellent peanut cookies, and home-baked buns and tarts and at the back of the shop at breakfast time they have packets of nasi lemak (coconut rice with chilli sambal) or fried bee hoon (vermicelli) wrapped in banana leaf which you help yourself to. Auntie speaks enough English to help you out with orders. She’ll come and tot up your bill at the end of your meal. Cash only.

Address: Sri Mersing Cafe, 63, Jalan Sulaiman, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Restaurant Chin breakfast like a local on good wanton noodles whilst catching up on the latest news before the start of the day!

Address: Restaurant Chin, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia (the Google maps pin is correct)

Lunch

Calypso Café — cute café in Mersing town (open sides, no a/c) good for mee goreng mamak (dry fried yellow noodles), nasi Arab (rice Arab-style) and char kway teow (dried stir-fried rice noodles). If you’re craving a creamy spaghetti carbonara, this is your spot!

Address: Calypso Café, Jalan Ismail, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Loke Tien Yuen (樂天園酒家) — our favourite Chinese restaurant in town which has been there for generations — unfortunately they are currently temporarily closed. We’ll update this when they re-open. Excellent for fresh steamed fish, asian veggies (sambal kangkong, garlic kai lan), sweet and sour pork, steamed chicken, char siew (roast pork), sweet and sour pork and rice washed down with hot Chinese tea.

Address: Loke Tien Yuen, 55, Jalan Abu Bakar, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Rasa Sayang — We’re told the mutton at Rasa Sayang at lunchtime is very good (local favourite) and they also have Indian vegetarian food available which is of good quality. See address above.

Restaurant Chin — Chinese rice and mixed foods (you point at what you want to eat and your plate is served). See address above.

Tea Time

Auntie Elaine Soya Bean: Fairly new but popular addition to Mersing’s eats selling local sweets such as sweetened soya bean milk, tau foo fah (Chinese dessert made with very soft tofu eaten with a clear sweet syrup infused with ginger or pandan), cendol — pronounced “chendol” (iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup). Also recommended are the curry puffs and “fruit rojak”.

Address: 16, Jalan Abu Bakar, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Sri Mersing Cafe (2 doors down from KakakTua). Try their kopi and egg tarts! (see address and description above).

Dinner

Mersing Seafood — air conditioned Chinese restaurant serving seafood. Unfortunately no view but the food is really decent — try the BBQ’d or salted egg squid. Order steamed rice, veggies and Chinese dishes: the owner will be able to suggest what is good / fresh.

Address: Mersing Seafood Restaurant, No. 56, Jalan Ismail, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Ee Lo 一而海鲜餐厅 — simple Chinese coffee shop with no air conditioning. Open for lunch and dinner — they do good curry fish head, roast pork, duck, chicken rice, lemon checking and deep fried fermented beancurd with pork (nanru rou) - order with steamed rice.

Address: Ee Lo 23D, Jalan Abu Bakar, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Calypso Cafe — also opened for dinner with the same lunchtime menu. See above for the address.

Chicken Delight — Like a better version of KFC done Mersing-style — this institution has been in town more than 30 years. Don’t be put off by the dark glass outside and the fact you cannot see in. They do excellent fried chicken and kari mee (curry soup and yellow noodles don’t forget to ask for the “sambal” - chilli paste). The restaurant is closed and air conditioned so don’t expect views — people just come here to eat!

Address: 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia (google maps pin is accurate)

History 1948 Cafe and Bar — Mersing’s first and only bar / café. Cosy space upstairs in the town centre, serves beers and decent cheap pizzas and some other “Malaysian western meals”. Open space, no air conditioning.

Address: 10, Jalan Dato Mohd Ali, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

A little further afield (where you’d likley need A car)

Satay Nitar — satay with ocean views on the seafront over the river from KakakTua. This is a 1.2km walk from the guesthouse so walk or drive. They also sell typical local Malay fare alongside the satay such as mee goreng (fried noodles) and nasi goreng (Malay style fried rice). If you need the spice turned down you can always say “tak nak pedas”.

Address: Satay Nitar, pasar komuniti dan karavan PAKAR, Jalan Tanjung, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Satay Teluk Iskandar — some say this is the best satay in town, but there aren’t any sea views from the restaurant. Rumour has it that the royal family come here to buy their satay (the Sultan of Johor’s Mersing palace is down the road). This is a 5km drive south of town along the sea front.

Address: Satay Teluk Iskandar, Kampung Paya Tinggal, 86800 Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Dee Beach Tomyam Seafood Mersing / Brother Joe’s — Two different restaurants on the beach front just north of Satay Nitar. Both sell ikan bakar (banana leaf barbecued spicy fish), tom yam seafood and other Malay style seafood dishes just north of town along the seafront. We haven’t eaten here ourselves but they were suggested when we were looking for beachside seafood. To quote one Mersing local, “Brother Joe’s white tom yam is super delicious... And Dee Beach’s ikan bakar is super yummy”! We’ll update this review when we’ve tried.

Address: Dee Beach Tomyam Seafood Mersing ,No.3 Gerai MDMG, Kg.Sri Lalang, Mersing

Buying beer in mersing

Most of the Chinese Restaurants sell bottled local beers as well as at History 1948. For take-out beer there’s also 7 Eleven (on Jalan Sulaiman — up from KakakTua) or 99 SpeedMart (next to Auntie Elaine’s) good to take home and enjoy in the KakakTua courtyard.

exploring MERSING

Take a walk along the riverside and see the colourful fishing boats moored (one road up from Jalan Sulaiman) up past the main passenger jetty and keep heading north where you’ll reach the beach and seaside park. Lovely to take a stroll here in the evening which is a favourite spot for walking and jogging and families playing at the end of the day. Also a great spot if you’re an early riser and want to watch the sun rise over the islands to the east.

If you still have the energy when you get up to Mersing Hospital, cut inland and walk up to the main Mersing Mosque on Jalan Mesjid for great elevated sea views. The walk is uphill but you are just under 1km away from KakakTua when you arrive.

Another nice stroll is towards KFC (turn left out of KakakTua), cross the river on the main bridge and turn right alongside the river. You’ll find fruit stalls, goreng pisang (fried bananas) and kerupuk lekor sellers lining the riverfront. Keropok lekor or fish sausage is a traditional Malay fish cracker snack originating from the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. It is made from fish and sago flour and seasoned with salt and sugar. Walk past these and down to the seafront where there are stalls selling barbecued fish and other Malay foods (see Satay Nitar above).