Vegan Guide to Johor Bahru

Updated February 2024

Johor Bahru is the southernmost city in Malaysia and often overlooked by tourists and travellers alike, our Vegan Guide to Johor Bahru shows you where you can find tasty vegan and plant based food when you’re in town. Currently undergoing mass development and investment we believe Johor Bahru offers the perfect location for a night or two if you’re en route to Singapore; from the central business district of Johor Bahru to downtown Singapore takes little over an hour as long as you avoid peak times. Having visited a number of times since 2014, we now find ourselves based in Johor Bahru so watch this space for lots of updates to our vegan guide to Johor Bahru.

Vegan Restaurants in Johor Bahru

nomVnom

nomVnom
Twin Galaxy Residences
Jalan Dato Abdullah
80300 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 11.30am-10.30pm every day

We were excited to see this Singapore favourite open in Johor Bahru, especially as we now live here. We’ve visited nomVnom many times in Singapore and always loved their burgers, and we are happy to say that the Johor Bahru restaurant is also very good. The restaurant is designed well and provides a lovely place to chill, before and after enjoying your vegan meal. So far, we can’t get away from ordering the burgers (and the naughty but nice mushroom fritters) but there are plenty of Asian dishes, soups, noodles and even vegan pizzas to choose from. We are very happy to have nomVnom in our home town!

Caribbean Juice Bar

Caribbean Juice Bar
Sandy Beach
Puteri Harbour
79100 Iskandar Puteri
Johor

Opening Hours: 3pm-10pm every day, closes at 11pm at the weekend (closed Thursday)

What a find. Puteri Harbour is a very pleasant waterside development with multiple restaurants and bars. None of them really appeal, and none of them have vegan options. So when we found this little gem of a beach bar just 100m from the main development it felt like an imaginary oasis. But it’s 100% real, 100% vegan and 100% cool. Smoothie bowls, coffees and the most decadent vegan cheesecakes are alls served from this funky waterside beach bar. Well worth a visit, we love it there.

Pertubuhan Penganut Buddha Amitabha

Pertubuhan Penganut Buddha Amitabha
47 Jalan Permas 10/1
Permas Jaya
81750 Masai
Johor

Opening Hours: 8am-2pm and 5pm-7pm every day

This small Buddhist restaurant has a shrine for prayers and is open every day. They offer free vegan food and it’s really tasty. Every time we have visited they have made us feel very welcome and explained what was available. The food varies every day and they offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. You wash up your own dishes and cutlery after you’ve eaten, and on the way out you are welcome to make a donation for the food, but this is not compulsory.

Vegetarian Restaurants In Johor Bahru

Home Vege

Home Vege
Jalan Permas 10
Permas Jaya
Masai
81750 Johor

Opening Hours: 9am-3pm and 5am-9pm every day

This has fast become our favourite veggie spot in town as not only is the owner from Vietnam super friendly, but the restaurant is bright, welcoming and spotlessly clean which is always nice to see. And the food. Wow. We just love it. Favourites being the mapo tofu, the laksa and the satay, but we still have lots to try on the extensive menu so watch this space for updates!

BMS Organics

BMS Organics
Mid Valley Southkey

Opening Hours: 10am-8pm every day

We are huge fans of BMS Organics and their laksa remains one of the tastiest vegan laksa ever. A number of their branches including one at KLIA and another at Bandar Seri Alam in Johor Bahru have permanently closed, but this branch at the back of Village Grocer is most certainly open. Some dishes have egg so be sure to check with the staff, but what we you do order the soy milk laksa as it is simply outstanding and we’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve eaten it.

OK Vegetarian Food

OK Vegetarian Food
Jalan Bayan 31
Taman Megah Ria
Masai
81750 Johor

Opening Hours: 7.30am-3.30pm every day, closed Sunday

This is our favourite Chinese style veggie buffet in Johor, although not in the town centre it’s perfect for anyone staying to the east of the city. Family run and very welcoming, the buffet is packed with tofu, tempeh, mock meats and veggies. They have a good selection of jars and packets of all sorts of vegan ingredients that you can take home to cook with too. We’ve enjoyed every meal we’ve had here and would recommend it.

Hainan Village Malayan Kopitam

Hainan Village Malayan Kopitam
50 Jalan Austin Heights 8/7
Taman Mount Austin
81100 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 9am-9pm every day

We first visited their KL branch and were impressed, so we decided to check out their Johor outlet at Mount Austin. It was equally as good, if not better. There was a very helpful staff member who pointed out which dishes had egg, which made ordering easy. The chicken rendang and the sour and spicy tempeh are both excellent, which we enjoyed with nasi lemak. Also a very tasty fragrant garlic eggplant complimented our other two dishes perfectly. Very good and we will be back for sure.

Alfesco Vegetarian

Alfesco Vegetarian
52 Jalan Molek 2/2
Taman Molek
81100 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 9.30am-5.30pm every day, closed Sunday

One of the best Buddhist style vegetarian buffets in Johor, and great to know that all of the savoury dishes are egg free. They are also onion and garlic free but this didn’t stop them being packed with flavour. Our selection was carefully chosen and everything was very good, also great value for money at around 15rm for the plate. There were scones available but they had been glazed with egg. We expressed our sadness that we couldn’t eat them, only for Valerie (the owner) offer to bake vegan scones for us. We happily accepted and returned the next day to pick them up. They were delicious and for sure we will be back here again and again.

Yuan Wei Veggie House

Yuan Wei Veggie House
Taman Mega Ria
Masai
81750 Johor

Opening Hours: 7am-10pm every day

Local Chinese style veggie spot which has a buffet every morning but is also open in the evening which is unusual for this type of restaurant. It’s all about timing with the buffet, arrive too early and not everything is prepared, arrive too late and many items are finished. Excellent value and tasty food if you’re in the area.

JB Vegetarian

JB Vegetarian
Jalan Trus
Bandar Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru

Opening Times: 6am-3pm every day

We headed to this Chinese Malaysian vegetarian food stall to check it out en route to the border crossing, it’s only 5 minutes walk from the City Square immigration entrance so perfect before heading to Singapore. There were so many choices it was overwhelming with multiple curries, vegetables and mock meat to choose from. Everything was vegan with eggs available to add to your food extra, from what the friendly owner explained none of the dishes have egg inside (or onion for that matter due to the Buddhist nature of the food). All in all a very good buffet option where you can have your fill of traditional Buddhist Chinese Malaysian vegan food for just a couple of dollars…and they had vegan sausages too.

Noodle Face

Noodle Face
G8 Blok B Akademic Suite
Jalan Austin Heights Utama
Austin Heights
81100Johor Bahru

Opening Times: 11.30am-3.30pm and 5.30pm-8.30pm every day (closed Monday)

We visited the ‘Express’ outlet of the vegetarian restaurant in the City Square Mall which is now closed. The main restaurant of the same name is located at Austin Heights and we plan to visit soon. Many of the dishes included egg but this was clearly marked on the modern and concise menu. We loved the concept at the express outlet and look forward to visiting the main restaurant.

Annalakshmi

Annalakshmi
19 Jalan Depat
Johor Bahru

Opening Times: 11am-3pm Monday to Friday, closed at the weekend

Although situated a little way from the town centre this restaurant is well worth a visit. Delicious Indian vegetarian buffet with super friendly staff including Mr Krishnan who we had a very nice conversation with during our visit. It’s located in an old wooden house which is also home to ‘The Temple of Fine Arts’ where they teach traditional music and dance to students from 7 to 70 years old. The place has a lovely feel and is mainly run by volunteers, they operate a ‘pay as you wish’ policy for their food which is amazing considering how good it was. Worth checking out for sure.

Green Veg Garden

Green Veg Garden
12 Jalan Ngee Heng
Floor #05-08
Johor Bahru

Opening Times: 9am-2pm Monday to Friday

Chinese vegetarian food situated on the 5th floor food court in the same building as DoubleTree Johor Bahru. Simple but tasty selection of vegetables, tofu, rice and a soup for 6.50 MYR. Close to the border crossing for anyone heading to Singapore and perfect if you’re staying in the hotel.

i Vege

i Vege
16a Jalan Pingai
Taman Pelangi
Johor Bahru

Opening Times: 11am-3pm and 5pm-8.30pm closed Tuesday

This was the closest all vegan restaurant to where we were staying listed on Happy Cow. We arrived to find it closed despite the hours being correct, having jumped back in the taxi a staff member mysteriously appeared and opened up. Not sure how to describe the set up but it was a little strange with a feeling we were in someone’s living room despite a number of large tables set up in a restaurant style. A quick look at the menu and a chat with the staff highlighted that it clearly wasn’t all vegan (we’ve submitted an update to Happy Cow) but they were able to help us choose vegan dishes. We ordered braised tofu and vegetables with a sweet and sour soy meat fried rice and they were both just OK, we wouldn’t rush back but if you’re local to here then it might serve a purpose.

Vegan Friendly Restaurants in Johor Bahru

Cove Cafe Senibong

Cove Cafe Senibong
Senibong Cove Marina
81750 Masai
Johor

Opening Hours: midday-5.30pm every day

We currently live in Senibong where the lovely marina has multiple dining options, but nothing vegan. That is until now. We met with the lovely owner of this cute waterside cafe who was happy for us to help them create a selection of vegan options! They now have avo toast, cashew cream pasta and tempeh bagels, also delightful vegan cheesecake to pair with your soya milk latte. Excellent location, friendly staff and delicious vegan food, so happy to have these guys as neighbours…

Pin Ming Xuan Dim Sum

Pin Ming Xuan Dim Sum
Jalan Kota 3
Cahaya Kota Puteri
Masai
81750 Johor

Opening Hours: 8am-4pm every day, closed Tuesday

When a Cantonese dim sum restaurant opens in your ‘hood and you pop along in the remote hope that they can make something vegan for you. You know the feeling, unrealistic expectations but you of course live in hope. Well, these guys have surpassed those expectations as they have clearly labelled vegan options on the menu! Not many, but more than enough for a vegan dim sum fix. Don’t miss out on the ginkgo soup it’s got so much flavour, and the sweet sesame bean balls (can’t remember their name) are superb too.

Restoran Star Hadramout

Restoran Star Hadramout
3a Tebrau Hwy
Wadi Hana
80300 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 11am-2am every day

This has become an absolute favourite of ours and we visit regularly. This very popular Yemeni restaurant in the centre of town has a great atmosphere and the staff are very friendly. It’s been packed with locals every time we visit. Expect some of the best breads, hummus and falafel you’ve ever tasted, whilst the moussaka is packed with flavour and absolutely delicious. Our favourite bread is the traditional malawah which is layered, baked and sprinkled with sesame. Simply outstanding, we would visit just for the bread!

The Kittengi Authentic Indian

The Kittengi Authentic Indian
24 Jalan Serampang
Taman Tebrau Jaya
80400 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 11am-10pm every day

This is the Indian restaurant we have been looking for since we arrived in Johor Bahru. A selection of north and south indian dishes including the most delicious chick pea masala, dahl and gobi manchurian, which in our opinion is the perfect trio. Not only is the quality of food very good, but the staff understand what vegan means and were able to prepare dishes accordingly, whilst advising which dishes we couldn’t eat. Very good and highly recommended.

Bharat Curry House JB

Bharat Curry House JB
36 Jalan Tun Abdul Razak
80000 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 8am-8.30pm every day

Right in the centre of town, this authentic Indian has multiple veggie options, many of which are vegan. The staff are happy to help advise what you can eat. The banana leaf curry from the daily vegetarian buffet is plentiful, delicious and cheap. We love that they have tofu, tempeh and mock meats available too. The location isn’t ideal for us, but if it was we would visit here on a regular basis. If you are staying nearby, it is well worth a visit.

321 Cafe

321 Cafe
Senibong Cove
81750 Masai
Johor

Opening Hours: 7am-4pm every day, closed Sunday

We live in Senibong Cove and this local cafe is open every morning for both food and drinks. Freshly squeezed orange juice and local coffee are the order of the day when we visit, as are selecting some of the vegan friendly local Malaysian kuih. Sometimes they have other vegan options like stuffed tofu, but be sure to ask for help as many dishes have hidden non vegan ingredients. But if you want local coffee, juice and a snack, right next to the marina then this is a very good option.

Ikea

Ikea
Taman Desa Tebrau
81100 Johor Bahru

Opening Hours: 9.30am-10pm every day

Whilst Ikea is not where we would choose to go for our vegan food, now that we live in Johor Bahru we often visit Ikea to buy items for our home. So the fact that there is plenty of plant based food available is a huge bonus as it’s quick, easy and cheap. Some of it is pretty tasty too. The pasta and meatballs are a favourite, as is the plant based chicken salad. Order with caution as many of the plant based items are served with non plant based items, for example the mash is not vegan, nor are many of the sauces. They have tasty plant based curry puffs, and the soft serve ice cream is vegan, but the cone isn’t! So they are trying to be vegan friendly, but they still have a long way to go for us to dine there with confidence, we have to ask lots of questions every time we visit, and often the staff do not know the answer.

Empire Sushi

Empire Sushi
City Sqaure
Johor Bahru
(check website for other locations)

Opening Hours: 10am-10pm every day

Empire Sushi is a local chain of sushi restaurants that you will find in many of the shopping malls in Malaysia. They have limited vegan options but both the kappa maki and inari are both vegan, offering a simple and cheap vegan sushi fix when you’re out shopping. Or perfect for a takeaway lunch which you can pimp once your home, don’t forget your own takeaway containers or you’ll end up with lots of single use plastic.

Absolute Thai

Absolute Thai
Mid Valley Southkey
Johor Bahru
(check website for other locations)

Opening Hours: 10am-10pm every day

This local chain of Thai restaurants has a vegetarian menu available upon request with many nighter dishes being suitable for vegans. We tried the green curry which was packed with tofu and veggies. It had good spice levels and an authentic flavour, which is exactly what we were looking for. Very useful vegan option if you’re in one of the big malls where they seem to be located.

Vegan Friendly Luxury Hotels in Johor

One&Only Desaru Coast

One&Only Desaru Coast
Desaru Coast
81930 Johor

We have visited this ultra luxury resort on two occasions since living in Johor and it is simply sublime. Our first visit was to the Dior sponsored event where we enjoyed a specially prepared vegan meal as part of the invite only event at Ember Beach Club. When we returned it was to sample what the talented team are able to create for their vegan guests and we were suitably impressed. Multiple courses of nutritious and delicious plant based cuisine culminated in a dessert that looked like a fried egg. But please don’t let that put you off, this combination of coconut sago, passion fruit curd and mango sorbet was divine, one of the best desserts we’ve ever eaten. Wow.

The Westin Desaru Coast Resort

The Westin Desaru Coast Resort
Desaru Coast
81930 Bandar Penawar
Johor

Being just an hour from the city, this has been our ‘go to’ beach vacation option since moving to Johor Bahru. Located right on the beach, with the balconies of many of the rooms boasting stunning sea views, it offers the perfect escape from the city. We’ve enjoyed lots of tasty vegan food during our stays, but it takes a little effort as the standard menus do not have so many vegan options. However, they do have a vegan menu upon request and they are also happy to adapt existing dishes to make them vegan friendly. Trust us when we say it is well worth the “little effort” as the team are very capable of creating delicious plant based food for their vegan guests. For anyone with Marriott Bonvoy points, The Westin Desaru Coast Resort offers an excellent redemption option, especially on weekends when the cash price can be pretty high.

Renaissance Johor Bahru

Renaissance Johor Bahru
2 Jalan Permas 11
Bandar Baru Permas Jaya
Johor Bahru

Based on our stay in 2016, this luxury hotel in Johor Bahru which is part of the Marriott family of hotels and resorts was indeed vegan friendly. Now that we are based locally we plan to return and update this listing. It’s a little further away from the centre of town and the border for Singapore but Grab taxis are plentiful and very cheap. When we stayed, we let them know in advance (as we would always recommend) that we were both vegan and they assured us they had it all under control, we’re happy to say they certainly did with us enjoying tasty vegan food in both of their signature restaurants and in the club lounge.

DoubleTree Johor Bahru

DoubleTree Johor Bahru
12 Jalan Ngee Heng
Johor Bahru

Our last stay was in 2018 so we are unsure whether the vegan options that we enjoyed during previous stays are still available. During these stays, the staff team went out of their way to cater for us, arranging vegan food in the Exec Lounge and also showing us all of the options at breakfast in Makan Kitchen of which there were plenty. They were also happy to create a couple of dishes that were not on the buffet upon request. If you decide to stay here (remember it’s only an hour from the downtown Singapore) let them know in advance especially if you have lounge access, otherwise ask to speak to someone from the F&B team upon check in so they can arrange to help you at breakfast.

Vegan Shopping in Johor Bahru

There are plenty of options for vegan shopping in Johor Bahru, but it takes a little time to find what you are looking for. The large supermarkets all stock a variety of vegan and vegan friendly products, but stock changes and sometimes your favourite item is not available. We visit Village Grocer which seems to have the widest availability, but also make regular trips to branches of Jaya Grocer and Aeon to see what they have available. Make sure to check out Organicule for their organic superfood powders and supplements, Mushroom Lah for their insanely delicious mushroom rendang and the online supermarket Vegan District for a wide range of vegan products including our favourite products from Fry’s. And if you are in need of a quick oat milk coffee fix, head to your nearest 7-Eleven and grab a can of MAD coffee.

Other Vegan Guides to Johor Bahru

We found a few other articles about vegan and vegetarian food in Johor Bahru that might also be helpful:

Healthy Vegan Cafes in Johor Bahru by Johor Now
Modern Vegetarian Restaurants in Johor Bahru by Discover JB
Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Johor Bahru by Food Advisor

And of course, Happy Cow is your friend as a travelling vegan so here’s their Johor Bahru page.