Dulang Lima Cafe — Restaurant in Iskandar Puteri

Laksa Johor = RM10.50 Ais Kosong = RM0.80 No Service Charge

This Eatery look like a somewhat 1970s? Styled Malay Kampung Kopitiam. Its not Airconditioned but still feel Airy.

The Background Music they play are some Malay Soft/Slow Rock. Staffs are Friendly and keep to themselves.

Ais Kosong = RM0.80

This is basically just Plain Ice Water. Since I can't take any Sweetened Beverage and I didn't feel like drinking Kopi-O-Kosong again, I thought I'd just order this.

Hahaha if there is anything I learnt about eating Laksa Johor, its that having a Cup of Beverage is an Important Requirement because how quickly Jelak it can make you feel.

Laksa Johor = RM10.50

This is not my 1st Time Tasting Laksa Johor. If you have never tried this before, this is actually a Unique Type of Laksa that is Johor's Specialty. My first experience was at Mr Merah Cafe in Wadi Hana.

The Belacan Chilli Condiment

Served at a side of the Dish, this is Intensely Salty and a Sourish Tease. The Belacan-ness is Mild, Not Overly Strong and felt like just the right amount. The Spiciness doesn't hit you immediately, but slowly slowly intensifies on your Tongue.

For people who cannot take Spicy Foods, this "Slowly Rising" Spicy Level can be Unbearable and I would describe it as "Make your Ear Itchy type of Spicy" Hahaha Intense. This is a Good Solid Belacan Chilli.

The Laksa Johor itself is Beautifully Presented with Strips of Cucumber, Onions and Coriander piled up on top. Amount of Noodles feels Acceptable for the Price. There is No Protein because if you have eaten Laksa Johor, the Gravy itself IS the Protein.

Unlike Mr Merah Cafe, the Amount of Gravy is given here is a Standard Amount. You can't customize the Amount of Gravy you want. It has a Noticeably Watery Texture in Comparison. It still has the Unmistakeable Taste of Mashed Sardines/Mackeral and I like this version because it doesn't feel too thick and thus much Less Jelak.

I liked that the Cucumber and Onion Sliced occasionally shoots thru with a Fresh Veggie Crunch to further alleviate the Jelakness. Imagine eating Mee Rebus but with a More Watery More Sardine/Mackeral Based Type of Gravy that has a Hit of Sourness and some Veggie Crunch and you will get a Rough Idea how this Laksa Johor tastes like. Add on that Excellent Belacan Sambal for an Additional Earthy Sourish Spicy Kick.

Having said that, despite it not as jelak as the one at Mr Merah, this Dish can still be Jelak. But Alot of Elements in this, such as the Less Thicker Consistency, the Presence of Sourness and all the Veggie Crunch really helped alot in reducing the Jelakness and made it much more enjoyable to eat.

Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

At RM10.50 (S$3.20) this is a Very Much More Affordable Laksa Johor compared to Mr Merah RM22.00 (S$6.80) although to be fair, the latter is more of a Modern Airconditioned Cafe.

I personally prefer this version because I thought the Gravy wasn't too thick and felt less Jelak. Every Component was utilized very well in the Sole Attempt to reduce the Jelakness.

That said, I do like Mr Merah's Version which allowed More Customizability of the Gravy and you can put as Much or as Little as you want instead of a Standard Set Amount like this.

Laksa Johor is a Very Easily Jelak Dish especially if this is your 1st time trying it, so remember to order some sort of Beverage to wash it down if you need. What I am surprised is that this place doesn't have any Service Charge even though it looks so Nicely Renovated.

Overall a Nice Friendly Chill Malay Eatery with a Very Nice Authentic 马来风味. If you are in Taman Perling and craving for some Malay Foods or if you've have never eaten Laksa Johor before, I can recommend this one if you care to give it a try.

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We pax of 4 had lunch there today (Thursday) around 12.30pm and it was surprisingly not crowded.

They had had limited tables but the decorations was very nostalgic with antique items and vintage pictures. The ambience was relaxful with P Ramlee films being played on TV as background.

We ordered 2 dulang sets (lemak daging and patin tempoyak). Each of the set consisted another 2 fried dish of our choices (chicken, catfish etc), supplemented with ulam (salads), flavoured sauce of our choices (belacan, budu, cincalok) and 2 of rice. Each dulang costed us RM25 (for 2 pax).

We added fried Tempe and scrambled eggs and altogether with 4 drinks we were charged about RM94. We were not disappointed as the taste was above our expectation and beyond our satisfaction and it was so delicious it worth every cents we spent.

The service was pretty quick as opposed to majority of the reviews here saying it was too slow. Maybe luck was on our side.

We paid using Maybank QR Pay and it was hassle free. Did I tell you the premise was spotless clean? Yes it was, impressively! The parking area was ample (at least during our experience that time).

We will definitely be back soon enough.

Thank you. It is highly recommended for authentic traditional Malay...

Variety of local food to choose from. Place is clean though can improve a bit the lighting. Food that we ordered (asam pedas Siakap, daging tetel kari, etc) taste excellent - authentic traditional Malay food. Price reasonable. Parking a hassle. Recommended to come after lunch hour.

Thurs 26 Jan 2023. 3.30pm. Daging tetel masak gulai - prefer spicier gravy. Nevertheless taste good. No problem for kids and people who cannot stand spicy food. The only downside is some of the meat are hard so cannot be eaten unless you have strong teeth and willing to spend time chewing the meat. Stingray/Pari masak asam pedas - taste similar to masak gulai, not spicy at all. Very good. No problem for kids. Ikan Pekasam - bland. Cannot taste the salt. But good for those who are suffering from high blood pressure but craving for ikan pekasam. Lady Fingers fried - nice. Crunchy. Total bill for 2 person RM55. I expected the bill to be more than that. Overall a very decent lunch that easily can cater to 3...