Where to Eat in Eco Botanic? | Best Restaurants in Eco Botanic, Iskandar Johor
Eco Botanic is a new area for food enthusiasts, with lots of new eateries for your stomach to feast on. Today I’ll be sharing most of the restaurants available in the area!
I’ll just be dividing the food in accordance to budget. Basically low, medium and high budget restaurants - these are a bit subjective, but in general, there are these two different clusters of restaurants in the area (cheaper for students living in EduCity and more expensive for the people coming in from Singapore to take advantage of that exchange rate). Some of them are restaurants that I have talked about in more detail, so do feel free to click on them to get a longer opinion on those respective restaurants.
(DISCLAIMER: Working on a brand, spanking new edition of this page because there are just way too many new restaurants popping up in Eco Botanic, so do wait up for that!)
Budget Options
1. Kang Bee Hong Chicken Rice
Every food area kinda needs a chicken rice, and this place is no exception. Kang Bee Hong is a REALLY popular spot for students staying in EcoNest and International Student Village (EduCity) because it is within the confines of Eco Botanic, as well as the cheaper price of food offered here relative to everywhere else.
This is an air-conditioned place, serving up your usual assortment of chicken rice (char siew, siew yok, roasted & steamed chicken, etc.), as well as curry chicken rice, wantan mee and a few other dishes. DO REMEMBER to bring your student pass in order to get a 10% discount when dining here!
2. Lym Tea Eco Botanic
This is probably what I think is the cheapest restaurant in the whole area. Most main dishes are priced at RM6.90, including their popcorn chicken rice and their cai ma braised chicken rice, so if you’re looking for a deal, this is the place to go.
They’ve got Taiwanese style dishes, coupled with some bubble teas! The one thing I will say would be that the taste isn’t the best in the world, but for RM6.90, I don’t think anyone in the world can complain about eating here at all. A bit hard to find, but it is inside the EcoNest apartment row of shops itself. Just head into the row of shops inside, and you’ll be able to find it!
3. Toast House Eco Botanic
Basically going into a few Kopitiam style restaurants, and there is a pretty reasonable one in Toast House! They serve up all your usual dishes including a selection of fried rice dishes, nasi lemak, a lot of different noodles and of course, toast!
Their nasi lemak with fried chicken is RM7.90, and their yang chou fried rice comes in at a fairly comfortable RM8.90, so I feel that this place remains one of the cheaper options in the area. It is on the same row as Eco Fitness (a gym in the area) - towards the end of the row (find the row with Starbucks and Eco Fitness. NOT THE ONE WITH THE ALLEY) and you will find Toast House.
4. Toast & Toast Eco Botanic
Another toast restaurant almost on the direct lot behind Toast House would be Toast & Toast. In general, think about your usual Kopitiam menus with this place as well - but I think this restaurant has longer operating hours than Toast House. They’ve got an interesting dish in their santan-less curry chicken rice, so that could be very well worth a try for you guys!
Price-wise, I would say it is about RM15 per person (with drinks), as it is a little bit more pricey than Toast House, but I would say the quality is pretty much equal. Still a decent option for a quick and easy meal when you’re in the area.
5. Quu by Tea Garden
A really popular Johor restaurant would be Tea Garden, and they have a subdivision named Quu. It is located on the same row as Kang Bee Hong, right at the end of the row. I would say it is probably a more upmarket version of your normal kopitiams.
They have your usual nasi lemak, fried and soup noodles, as well as my personal favourite form Quu, their chicken baked rice! Their prices are still very affordable despite this, so I would say that this is still a really good option for students and people finding a good deal!
Middle Range
6. Shun Fa Bak Kut Teh
This, as well as Chat In is probably JUST ABOUT inside the middle range (between middle and cheap). I would say this is middle range, because this is a bit more expensive than your usual Bak Kut Teh stores out there. That being said, this place is still a pretty nice place to get Bak Kut Teh.
The soup is pretty nice, they have a lot of add-ons with the prices listed, so you know exactly what you’re paying for, and basically has a nice environment as well! Coupled with the fact that it is directly connected to La Strada Coffee, so you can basically order things from next door, means you can mix and match Chinese and Western food!
7. Chat in Eco Botanic
I would probably describe this as a more expensive version of Lym Tea. That being said, I think the food tastes better than the food provided at Lym Tea, with their popcorn chicken rice knocking Lym Tea’s out of the ball park.
They also have an assortment of fruit and milk based bubble tea drinks, so definitely feel free to try them out here! Their main focus would be Taiwanese style dishes with the twist of Malaysian flavours in their sambal sauces and it is definitely one of my favourite restaurants in the area!
8. Vanakam India
To be honest, I’m not 100% what the pricing is like here, but I would presume that this belongs either in the middle or high price kind of category. Vanakam India prides itself in providing a high class dining experience with a large menu.
They serve up lots of different dishes, including your usual suspects, such as cheese naan, tandoori chicken, ghobi mancuri and their crab masala seems quite popular, from exploration of the reviews on their Facebook page. In general, a lot of good reviews, so this is definitely one that I’m bookmarking for a try really soon!
9. Thai Three Mookata House
This is what I believe is the only buffet option in the area, so if you’re hungry, this is definitely the option! This is basically your steamboat meets barbecue restaurant, where it is pretty much all you can eat. Prices for dinner would be RM39.90 (not quite sure for lunch), but I would say it is definitely a pretty decent deal.
You have your usual soup vegetables coupled with a big selection of meets in their fridge. Drinks come part of the price, as well as your rice and noodles. The taste of the ingredients is pretty good, and if it helps, this is one of the rare places where I haven’t had difficulty in the bathroom the following day, so kudos to them XD.
(They have ice cream too!)
10. Lemon Tree Eco Botanic
A restaurant really similar in concept with Secret Recipe. To be fair, most of what I have to say is on my blog post on it, so do check it out by clicking the link above!
Pricier Restaurants
11. Manzanita Restaurant Eco Botanic
Probably one of the more specialised restaurants in the area, where I would personally recommend just sticking with desserts and the pastries they offer here. Definitely has the more upmarket feel when you walk in, and I would say the prices would definitely be a bit higher than a few of the other restaurants in the area.
There ARE food options, but as mentioned before the cakes and desserts are pretty much what you’re after when you come here!
12. Shiokara Japanese Restaurant
If you read my blog, a few of you guys might know that me and my girlfriend are big fans of this restaurant! I would say this is definitely one of the pricier restaurants in the area, but I personally think that price of this place is really worth it.
Definitely a more upmarket kind of restaurant the moment you step in (a bit more upmarket than your Sushi House, Kinsahi, etc.), and they have a fairly wide menu consisting of sushi rolls, udons and different rice dishes, so most of your Japanese food desires will be found here.
13. Yi Jia Taste
Could have come in the middle price or the high price category, but I would say that if you come with your family, this becomes one of the more expensive restaurants here. Your classic Chinese restaurant where you can call for dishes, but definitely with a high class feel to it.
Prices are just that big higher than a direct comparison in Delicious China. That being said, the quality is better here, and this is really one of those really nice places to bring for a nice, big family meal.
14. Coffee Valley
This is your good old coffee place, which serves up a lot more of your smaller brunch style dishes, but they also have a few pastas mixed into their menu. Definitely on the more pricier kind of side of things though.
They’ve got desserts such as waffles too!
15. La Strada Coffee
Similar in style to Coffee Valley, La Strada also offers a few food options on the menu that are Western in style. I would say menu-wise, it is probably a bit wider than what is offered at Coffee Valley, and you CAN order Bak Kut Teh from the connected store next door, so this could be what you want to go for if you can’t decide in your group what you want to eat.
A little bit more towards the expensive side (as with a lot of these type of Western cafes), so do keep that in mind!
Other Restaurants
So Eco Botanic is a really fast growing place, so I really can’t quite keep up with all of them. Here are the other restaurants in Eco Botanic that I haven’t quite had a chance to try just yet.
Ikar is a place selling fish paste noodle. It is a branch of the restaurant in Nusa Bestari, which I have reviewed. It is on the same row as Kang Bee Hong, so if you want to see my review of the Bukit Indah branch, you can click right here! You also have Universal Noodles, which is a similar style to Ikar.
You have Happily Ever After, which is in the similar category of all the toast restaurants, PiringMu Eco Botanic (same as the Bukit Indah one) which serves up Peranakan food - nyonya curry, inchi kabin (nyonya style fried chicken) and lots of other bits and pieces. (same row as Eco Fitness)
Another Indian restaurant on the same row as Eco Fitness, all the way at the back, next to Toast House (not Toast & Toast) is The Banana Leaf Kitchen Eco Botanic. It is actually from the makers of Spice Kitchen Bukit Indah (and Marco Polo), DCG. All I know is that they have some lunch buffet promotions at RM20 (member) or RM24 (non-member) on weekdays and RM27 (member) + RM31 (non-member) on weekends, so I guess it might be worth trying.
A newer one is the a cool hipster cafe in The Little Prince cafe (Le Petit Prince), which acts as a library and a cafe! Honestly it looks really pretty from the photos (I haven’t visited, but Instagram seems to indicate this is a really cool place).
I believe the Ying Ker Lou in Eco Botanic has officially closed down.