Planning a JB day trip? Here’s everything to see, eat and do at Pelangi Avenue

If you’re like most Singaporeans, you probably think of Johor Bahru’s City Square Mall, Mid Valley Southkey, KSL, or Mount Austin the moment you clear the Causeway. 

But these are a little basic by now.

Just eight minutes’ drive from KSL is the Pelangi area — specifically the Pelangi Avenue cluster — where Johoreans actually hang out. Built in 2025, this is where you’ll find newer cafes, beauty salons, hair studios and massage spots with seriously good Google ratings. 

If you’re looking for a fuss‑free, one‑stop spot where you can park your car/Grab once and spend the entire day there, you’ll love this area. Don’t forget to read about our guide to using the e-gate sysem for easy entry into JB.

Scroll on for my tried-and-tested JB Pelengi Avenue guide.

Feast on shiopans at BB Bakery

Every good day starts with carbs, and that means feasting on shio pans at BB Bakery. 

BB Bakery is impossible to miss — the entrance looks like a cartoon croissant theme park, and the moment you walk in, you get hit by this wave of buttery aroma that makes you question why you even bother eating in Singapore before coming. 

It’s not exactly cheap-cheap with one shio pan going for around 6.90 RM (S$2.20), but trust me, it’s worth it. If you need some coffee to go with your bread, you’d be glad to know that there’s also an array of drinks ranging from Americanos to lattes and strawberry matcha. A set of hot coffee and a freshly baked shio pan costs 10RM (S$3.20~). 

The only catch: it can get brutally warm if you dine in as seating is only available outside, so bring a portable fan and mentally prepare to sweat. My usual order is the cream cheese scallion and the sweet & salty shio pan, with a strawberry matcha. I’m warning you now: one bread is not enough. I easily crush two to three in one sitting.

Get a full-service facial for under SGD10 at Kimino Beauty

From this point on, you don’t have to take a Grab or drive anywhere else. Every activity mentioned from now onwards is clustered within the same area, so you can just keep circling the neighbourhood and hopping from one spot to the next.

A seven-minute drive away from BB Bakery sits Kimino Beauty, a facial salon that’s famous for their 19.90 RM (S$6.34) express facials. 

Inside the salon, the vibe is bright, clean and efficient — their whole concept is “rapid beauty”, which basically means you get a proper multi-step facial without sacrificing half your day to it. 

For less than S$7, you get a 30‑minute facial consisting of five steps: cleansing, eyebrow shaping, an ultra‑low temperature treatment to help tighten pores and brighten the skin, exfoliation, and a face mask. 

The best part is that the 19.90RM facial is their all‑year price, not a sneaky first‑timer promo, and they’re very upfront about the fact that there’s absolutely no hard‑selling. Kudos to them for actually letting their customers relax instead of mentally rehearsing ways to say ‘no’ at the counter. Oh, and they accept walk-ins too. 

Grab a coffee at Brooos & Co by JWC

The only logical thing to do on a sunny day is… drink something cold. Pelangi Avenue is generous with tea time options, and depending on your mood, you can go one of two ways: hit the big bubble tea names, or sit down for a slower coffee break at a cafe.

On the bubble tea front, you’ll find familiar names like Chagee in the area, pouring everything from white peach oolong teas and fruit teas shaken to death with ice. 

If you prefer coffee, pop into Brooos & Co by JWC. The cafe has that modern industrial, slightly moody third-wave coffeeshop vibe, and is a nice reset point. P.S: The vibe here changes completely at night. The space shifts from a chill cafe to something closer to a bar, with club-style music and alcohol on the menu, and I often see groups of Gen Z Johoreans hanging around.

For a mixture of bbt and snacks, head over to Fufootea, a uniquely Malaysian brand that’s known for its fresh fruit teas, playful limited-edition flavours and crunchy choux puffs that locals rave about online.

Enjoy a relaxing head spa at JY Head Care

One underrated thing about this cluster is how many hair salons are concentrated within a short radius — from simple wash-and-blow spots to trendier salons that can do Korean perms, bleaching and colour. Prices are generally much friendlier than in Singapore, so it’s a good place to finally take the plunge on that style you’ve been saving on Pintrest.

Our top recommendation here is JY Head Care (directly across the road from Brooos & Co by JWC), a 5-star rated hair spa that combines traditional Chinese techniques with modern scalp treatments, so you’re not just getting a basic wash but a full ritual with scalp scan, shampoo, slow head massage and water-based therapies that deep-clean and help with issues like oiliness, dandruff or hair fall.

Feast on Japanese, Korean BBQ, Taiwanese & More

Right opposite JY Head Care, you can find Japanese restaurants, Korean BBQ joints, Taiwanese cafes, local favourites, and dessert shops. It’s almost overwhelming how many makan options there are in such a compact grid, and I once spent 30 minutes deciding what to eat because everything just looks… So. Damn. Good.

If you’re in the mood for Korean BBQ, head over to Sae Ma Eul BBQ, which does proper charcoal grilling with marinated pork, chicken and all the usual banchan you’d expect from an authentic Korean place. The price of a buffet? Only 45RM (S$14.35) per person. 

For folks craving thick, heavenly slices of fresh sashimi, I’d totally recommend Osaka Japanese Cuisine. My family liked that restaurant so much, we have been there five times this year alone. 

For Taiwanese-style comfort food, check out Rare Cafe. With 4.7 stars on Google, they do an amazing lu rou fan (braised pork rice), noodles, fried chicken, milk tea and other classic Taiwanese dishes in a cosy, slightly artsy space.

The best part about all these dining options is that you don’t really need a fixed plan. You can slowly walk around, spot a place that looks busy (always a good sign) and just… go in. Everything is close enough that if one place is full, the next option is just 10 steps away.v

Go for a supermarket run at Pelangi Leisure Mall

Most people hit the supermarket first and then go play. I prefer the opposite: enjoy my day, eat my dinner, then swing by a mall near closing when the crowd has thinned out. 

Located less than 500m behind all the shops mentioned above, Pelangi Leisure Mall is undeniably dated — it’s got that slightly yellow lighting, old escalator, “I used to come here as a kid” aura — but the Giant inside is still a solid pit-stop for groceries. I have to admit, I enjoy doing slow, auntie-style walks in this mall, tossing biscuits into the trolley and telling myself it’s all “for the family” when I know full well it’s not.

Oh, and there’s also Mr DIY, so if you suddenly remember you need storage baskets, hooks, cleaning tools or trash bin liners, this is the time. 

Grab a massage to end the night

Once the groceries are safely in your car boot (assuming you drove), it’s time to reward yourself for all that “hard work” with a body massage. 

The area itself has a good mix of spas and massage centres ranging from Thai, Borneo and Chinese. This includes Palace Wellness, Tang Retreat Massage & Spa, Thai Odyssey, Master Tong Pelangi, Shin Reflexology and more. Simply walk around and you’ll be bound to find a spa that welcomes walk-ins. 

Top up your petrol tank and buy some epok epok snacks

The final ritual, of course, is petrol. (Though do take note that Singapore-registered vehicles are strictly prohibited from purchasing subsidized RON95 petrol in Malaysia. Vehicles leaving Singapore via the land checkpoints must also have their fuel tanks filled to at least the three-quarter mark if not you’ll risk a fine of up to $500).

From Sae Ma Eul BBQ, it’s literally a five-second drive to the nearby Shell station. It’s so close that walking will probably be faster. This is where you top up your tank (not RON95 please), consider a quick car wash and get some snacks for the drive home.

If you’re lucky, you might also find the 1RM (S$0.32) epok-epok shop open. It’s small, slightly greasy and absolutely perfect as a goodbye bite from JB. ‘Til next time!