10 Things to Eat in JB Near the RTS Link (2026)

When the RTS Link opens (targeted end 2026 / Jan 2027), Bukit Chagar station will land you next to JB Sentral — walking distance from some of the best-value eating in Malaysia. Until then, the same distances work for KTM Shuttle Tebrau and bus crossers, because the station sits by the CIQ. This list is pulled from our full JB food guide: ten verified spots, from five-minute breakfasts to a seafood feast worth a Grab ride. Prices in RM; hours change, so go early and check ahead.

The walkable essentials

1. Warung Roti Canai Bukit Chagar — the first breakfast off the train

The closest famous eat to the future RTS station: a roadside warung that has spent 20-plus years feeding JB–SG commuters. Roti canai from RM1.50 with dhal, curry or sambal; the Roti Sarang Burung (“bird's nest” roti with two sunny-side eggs) is the order to beat, with beef rendang and nasi lemak backing it up. Breakfast-only, roughly 6–11am — go before 9:30am. Halal. Full details →

2. Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory — the banana cake queue

JB's most iconic takeaway: a 1919 charcoal-oven bakery on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee whose wood-fired banana cake Singaporeans cross the border for. Sold by the loaf (~RM10–13), still warm if you time it right, with otak-otak and curried potato buns (RM2–4) as the supporting cast. It sells out by early afternoon, and rest-day reports conflict — the safe play is Tuesday–Saturday morning, 12–15 minutes on foot from the station. Pork-free, not certified. Full details →

3. Kam Long Ah Zai Curry Fish Head — JB's most famous single dish

Thirty-plus years of curry fish head pilgrims at 74 Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 8–10 minutes' walk from the station. The pot is rich and lemak without being too spicy; add fried beancurd skin, and one pot feeds 2–3 at RM25–45 per head. Lunch-only (daily 8am–4pm) and it sells out, so expect a queue. Non-halal. Full details →

4. Restoran Hua Mui — the 1946 breakfast institution

The original JB breakfast: a Hainanese kopitiam on Jalan Trus doing fried chicken chop, charcoal kaya-butter toast, soft-boiled eggs and kopi since 1946. Aim for the upstairs verandah seats, and go early — Saturday queues hit ~20 minutes by 9:30am, and 2025 reviews note rising waits, so off-peak is your friend. RM6–25 per head, ~12 minutes' walk. Full details →

5. Salahuddin Bakery — RM2 curry puffs

A 1930s wood-fired Indian-Muslim bakery in the Jalan Dhoby area: giant flaky Bengali curry puffs — Karipap Chicken at RM2.50, mutton or potato at RM2 — plus wood-fired bread and coconut buns. RM2–8 covers you, making it the best cheap halal snack near the CIQ. Open roughly Saturday–Thursday; closed Fridays, and the puffs sell out early. Full details →

6. Restoran Ya Wang — herbal roast duck

JB's pioneer herbal roast duck at 28 Jalan Segget, 10–15 minutes' walk away. The gravy is built on angelica and “Ten Wonder Herbs”; char siew, roast pork and herbal chicken soup round out a legit local-delicacy lunch from ~RM15. Daytime only (~8am–6pm, no dinner) and — the classic day-tripper mistake — CLOSED WEDNESDAYS. Older listings showing 44 Jalan Segget are outdated. Non-halal. Full details →

7. IT Roo Café — the “best chicken chop” claimant

The Star's “Best Chicken Chop in Malaysia” (2003) comes out of this 1950s café at 17 Jalan Dhoby — grilled or crispy, black pepper or mushroom sauce, RM14–25. Sit under the big tree in the al fresco yard and don't skip the wedges. Long listed as halal-certified — re-verify the cert if that's strict for you. Open daily 10am–9:30pm, ~12 minutes' walk. Full details →

Worth the ride (or the late night)

8. Medan Selera Meldrum Walk — the supper street

JB's central supper street: an open-air hawker lane off Jalan Meldrum, 10–12 minutes' walk, doing fried oyster omelette, satay, char kway teow, nasi lemak, dim sum and roti canai from late afternoon till late night at RM10–15 a head. It's the classic plastic-stool crawl and the ideal last meal before a late crossing. Cash only; stalls are mixed (satay and nasi lemak Muslim-run; CKT and oyster omelette non-halal). Full details →

9. Restoran Woon Kiang — kway teow kia, the Johor specialty

Kway teow kia is a Johor specialty you can't get in Singapore — silky flat rice noodles in a light herbal broth with braised duck and pork offal (RM9/plate; noodles from RM2.50). Woon Kiang, going since the 1930s, is the heritage name for it, running daily 5pm–2:30am in Stulang Laut, about 10 minutes by Grab (~4 km). RM15–30 per head; non-halal. Full details →

10. Restoran Todak (Orang Asli) — the sunset seafood feast

The splurge: a kelong-style waterfront seafood feast at Kampung Teluk Jawa, Masai — live-tank crabs, prawns and clams cooked to order in sambal and salted-egg styles, with a sunset view over the straits. Roughly RM40–80 a head (a 6-pax feast was reported at ~RM339 in May 2025), which Singaporeans swear beats SG prices. Halal, pork-free. About 20–25 minutes by Grab (~15 km) — time it for sunset. Full details →

Good to know before you go

Three habits make a JB food day smoother. First, bring cash in small notes — hawker lanes and heritage bakeries are still cash-first even where QR payment exists. Second, plan around the two sell-out clocks: Hiap Joo's banana cake is usually gone by early afternoon, and Kam Long serves lunch only until the pot runs dry, so do both before 2pm. Third, treat halal status as per-stall, not per-street — we've tagged every entry above, and a single lane can mix Muslim-run satay with non-halal char kway teow. Full hours, prices and directions are on each linked page.

The classic RTS eating day

String it together like this: roti canai breakfast at Bukit Chagar → walk to Hiap Joo before the banana cake sells out → curry fish head lunch at Kam Long → heritage-street kopitiam or cafe hop (Hua Mui, or the air-con Roast & Coffee opposite Hiap Joo) → supper at Meldrum Walk before the last train. Everything on this list — plus six more spots — is in the full JB food guide, and the SG side of the border has its own line-up in the Singapore food guide. Planning the rest of the day? Our things-to-do directory covers malls, massages, cafes and night markets near the RTS.