AEON Mall Tebrau City — Attraction in Johor

As a vegetarian visitor, exploring shopping malls in a new country can sometimes feel like a culinary scavenger hunt. AEON Mall Tebrau City in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, however, proved to be a pleasantly surprising and comprehensive destination. Its vastness and variety, coupled with a commendable effort to include diverse dining options, definitely earn it a solid four-star rating from my vegetarian perspective. The sheer size of AEON Mall Tebrau City is impressive. It's a sprawling complex, well-designed with spacious walkways and a logical layout that makes navigation relatively easy despite its scale. The ambiance is vibrant and modern, a hub of activity with shoppers bustling about, families enjoying outings, and friends gathering. It's clearly a popular spot for locals, which is always a good sign. The mall offers everything from fashion and electronics to a large supermarket (the AEON Department Store itself, which is fantastic for Browse local produce and packaged goods). For a vegetarian, the food options were more diverse than I initially anticipated. While there isn't a dedicated, large-scale pure vegetarian Indian restaurant like some malls might have, the variety across different cuisines truly stood out. I found several places that either had explicit vegetarian sections or were very accommodating to modifications. My go-to proved to be Kinsahi, a Japanese restaurant. I was delighted to find they have a separate vegetarian menu, which included clear vegan options like vegan eel sushi, vegetable tempura, and miso soup. I thoroughly enjoyed their vegetarian shoyu ramen set and some delicious vegetarian gyoza. It's not common to find such a dedicated vegetarian offering at a Japanese restaurant in a mall, so this was a huge plus. Beyond Kinsahi, the mall's food courts and numerous smaller eateries offered several choices. You can often find stalls specializing in local Malaysian dishes that can be made vegetarian upon request (like nasi goreng or mee goreng with no meat), or simple vegetable stir-fries with rice. I also spotted places like Sanook Kitchen, which, while serving meat, had marked vegan and vegetarian items on their menu. Even cafes like Kuu By Tea Garden offered soy-based drinks and traditional desserts that are vegetarian. For snacks, there were plenty of options like fresh fruit juice stalls, bakeries with vegetarian pastries, and popular chains like J.Co Donuts & Coffee. The overall cleanliness of the food areas was good, and the service was typically efficient and polite, characteristic of mall dining. Why not a perfect five stars? While the vegetarian options are plentiful, they sometimes require a bit of searching or asking for modifications. A dedicated, larger vegetarian restaurant (perhaps an Indian or purely plant-based eatery) would make the experience even more seamless. Also, like many large malls, during peak hours, the sheer volume of people can make dining a bit hectic. Lastly, while the food was good and satisfying, it didn't always reach the heights of truly exceptional or innovative vegetarian cuisine that you might find in dedicated standalone restaurants outside the mall. Nevertheless, AEON Mall Tebrau City is a very strong contender for a comprehensive shopping and dining experience, even for vegetarians. It provides ample choice, a comfortable environment, and some genuinely good food, making it a highly recommended visit when you're in...

Mall is great. New, toilets are clean but we had a terrible encounter here with these unbelievable parents. Sounded like Singaporeans.

My husband and child were walking around in Uniqlo when they turned a corner and were faced with this ill-mannered child making faces and SPITTING SALIVA. His disgusting saliva of course got onto them so my husband just said “HEY”. To our shock, the boy ran back to his mum, said god knows what, and his mum told my husband that if there was anything he should speak to her instead and not to her son.

My husband then related the story to me so I walked over to check out who the ill-mannered child was. To our greater shock, the father then started to harass us with ridiculous statements like “kids will be kids” and that we could have spoken nicely to them. The audacity to expect people to be nice when their son has done something wrong and disgusting and when no apology was even given.

The father grew sheepish when we told him they didn’t even apologise for the act and then he quickly walked away after we confronted him with facts. We didn’t even scold the child so where was the alleged nastiness?

If you cannot manage or discipline your own kids, then be prepared for others to do so. Best part is we didn’t even scold the boy. If you don’t want strangers to fault or chide your child, then maybe watch your child. Both parents were busy on their phones, letting their kid run amok spitting saliva everywhere. Not even a word of apology even and the audacity to self victimize. BEWARE OF THIS FAMILY.

If you have the guts to harass people in public for no good reason, then be prepared...

Bookshop Experience

I visited Aeon Tebrau to explore their latest bookshop, Tsutaya, and was impressed by its design and atmosphere. The bookshop features floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and ambient lighting tailored to different genres. Fiction books are displayed in darker, moodier sections, while non-fiction books are housed in brightly lit, serious areas. In addition to books, the store offers various trinkets and items for sale, such as fragrances and figurines. However, the books are generally pricier compared to other stores, where the same titles are available at lower rates.

Dining Options

The mall boasts a wide variety of eateries, ranging from eclectic cafes on the ground floor to Korean-style fast food outlets on level 3. The dining options are so diverse that it was difficult to decide where to eat during our first visit.

Shopping and Entertainment

Aeon Tebrau caters to a wide audience with its array of stores and activities. For children, there’s an indoor playground they will surely enjoy. Shoppers can explore brand-name outlets like Under Armour and School, as well as home improvement stores like SSF Home, which offers prices comparable to IKEA but with potentially better deals.

Accessibility and Comfort

The mall is quite large, so visitors travelling with elderly family members should plan for short breaks. Fortunately, there are plenty of benches and sitting areas scattered throughout the mall, making it easy for loved ones to...