Desaru is one of the favourite “playgrounds”, in Peninsular Malaysia, especially for S’poreans. The range of nature-oriented attractions, laid-back ambience, beach resorts and economical priced seafood certainly endears it to many. With the opening of the Sungai Johor Bridge, an expressway bridge across Johor River (in June 2011) on the Senai-Desaru Highway (E22). The previous 2+ hours drive on the old somewhat narrow & potentially dangerous road, have been shaved to about 1.5 hours on relatively smooth tarmac.. Sweet (^___^)
I had the opportunity to re-visit this “comfort” venue recently when I accompanied couple of my friends (we are photography buddies) for a day photographic trip. However, inclement weather curtailed our planned itineraries. We could not visit the crocodile farm or the Desaru Fruit Farm due to time constraint after the torrential rain subsided…but it was still a great day out… albeit wet. Another trip is probably in order… but in better weather, of course.
Directions to Desaru
Map – screen shoot of Google Map taken off iPhone
After crossing the Causeway and heading northwards in the direction of Kota Tinggi …Look out for the brown road directional signboard and look for the Desaru-Senai Highway.. and you will be on the correct direction …
Easy direction on the road… can’t get lost……this is the signboard in Johor Bahru town that you should look for after exiting the Malaysian Immigration Checkpoint at the Causeway.
You know you are on the right track when you see the slick and modern Sungai Johor Bridge (E22). You should reach this bridge after 45min -1 hour from Johor Bahru town..
Jade Garden Seafood Corner
The “natural” magnet of Pengerang at Sungai Rengit . When you see the Shell Petrol kiosk…you are near the famed Jade Garden Seafood Corner..made famous by S’pore celebrities..and of course it’s main draws are fresh and cheap seafood, especially their lobsters. There’s no pork dish on the menu, neither do they use lard…but the eatery is not halal certified. Horrendously crowded on weekends and public holidays. Should you start your drive from Singapore at 930-945am… you will reach this eatery just about lunch time.
The natural magnet of Pengerang… the succulent Rock Lobsters… Most if not all, make a bee line for this delicacy…
Local Pengerang Rock lobsters….
Fresh shellfish……delicious !
Non-seafood lovers will find solace in this stir-fried ostrich meat dish … you will finish the whole plate…
Vegans will love this deep-fried tofu dish… healthy !
The fried rice with shrimp was absolutely comfort food….
For local baked biscuits lovers… do stock up at this bakery shop..just steps away opposite the Jade Garden Seafood… you will love the freshness as it baked and sold on the spot…
Sg. Rengit has quite a few seafood eateries…just that the visibility of Jade Garden overshadows the rest in the vicinity…like this seafood diner…just steps away. To be honest, I actually did not even bother to look around at all during the previous trips here… perhaps I missed other gems ?
The next stop for natural attraction after lunch is quite usually the The Ostrich Farm..just couple of minutes drive away from Jade Garden Seafood…. Signboards are easily seen directing visitors to this venue. We had the luck to witness a day old ostrich chick just breaking out of its shell…
For city kids…seeing and touching a huge gigantic egg can be daunting… it’s so “unreal and scary”…
Confidence found….. an eye opener for a city kid…..By the way… one single Ostrich egg can feed 12 person ! That’s big !
An Ostrich egg can sustain a 130-140kg load without breaking !
Under the rain…the ostriches at the farm settled on the ground, with all feets and wings tucked in neatly….and get quiet and docile… the 1st time I observed such mannerism… awesome!
Ostrich cuisine… ostrich meat & ostrich egg omelette…. not bad really :-9″”
The message is clear… Ostrich meat is King !
Perhaps an Ostrich Shell lamp with hand-painted artwork for you…available at the farm souvenir shop.
Like to end this travel blog here….for those driving back to Singapore via the Tuas link… do make sure you have at least Rm40 in your Touch & Go card to cater to the many tolls gates… Look forward to doing a follow up blog in future with all attraction covered… Hope you enjoyed the sharing 🙂
P.S – All pictures in this blog is copyrighted to Jensen Chua. And all rights are reserved.
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