Temper restaurant — Restaurant in Johor

My first visit to Johor Bahru during my recent trip to Malaysia was made even more memorable thanks to this incredible casual dining restaurant I came across!

It’s definitely tricky to find a good place in JB for a dining experience such as this one due to limited options so I was pleasantly surprised to find Temper. Temper is situated in an easy to find location so whether you’re a tourist or a local, you don’t need to be worried about getting lost. As I made my way inside the restaurant I was greeted by a pleasant and lively atmosphere as well as the restaurant’s friendly staff which provided me with fantastic service the entire day. While seating me at my table, the staff kindly explained their menu which had quite an impressive variety!

The first couple things I ordered were the Burnt Caesar Salad, and Cream Corn with Toast. The Caesar Salad had some beautifully fresh vegetables with a runny egg which were topped with a Caesar sauce and grated cheese served with croutons. The salad was fresh, high quality, and for such a simple dish, it was extremely delicious. Next, I had the Cream Corn with Toast where both the corn and the toast had a delicious and charred taste which really put its flavor on another level. The rich, and creamy corn also wasn’t overwhelming and was surprisingly light on the stomach so it made for the perfect meal to have just before my main dishes. The first Main Dish I ordered was the A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Sirloin. This steak was cooked expertly just as I wanted it, it had a nice sear on the outside and was tender and juicy on the inside which gave maximum flavor in each bite. After the wagyu, I was eager to try the Australian Black Angus Ribeyes which I saw being grilled over an open flame leaving a rich,smoky and delicious aroma behind. Served with their Signature Fagura Sauce made with Foie Gras, it gave the steak a nice buttery flavor, adding more depth on the already delicious piece of meat. The next dish I had was their Signature Char Siew Lamb Loin, which featured a Lamb Loin marinated in their signature Char Siew Sauce that was made up of various spices making sure that each part of the lamb is bursting with flavor. The sweetness of the lamb combined with the smokiness from the charcoal grill made sure that each bite I took, was packed with flavor.

Moving on from the steak, the next dish I had was the Dry Aged Duck Breast. The duck breast had a wonderful aroma and was not lacking in flavor at all as I could taste several different spices mixing into the meat beautifully. The duck was charcoal grilled which added on texture and crisp on its outside which gave the dish more character, and the taste of soy sauce gave it that little saltiness I was looking for. After the duck I decided to try their Jerk Chicken in House. This dish had an excellent crispy outside layer which was complemented well by the soft and juicy inside of the chicken, it was cooked perfectly and eating it with the Kombucha that I ordered which had a sweet and tart flavor made it much more enjoyable. It was one of the most enjoyable pieces of chicken I’ve had in a while! After indulging in so much meat I decided to have some fish. Their Golden Pomfret was the next dish I tried and it was absolutely incredible. The fish was slow grilled over an open flame giving it a beautiful tenderness to it and eating it with their ponzu sauce really completed the dish for me. The Bone Marrow Ragu Pasta and the Crab Meat Miso Pasta were the next dishes I tried. The Bone Marrow Ragu Pasta was visually stunning and it was easily one of the best dishes of the day. The last dish was the Crab Meat Miso Pasta. The flavor of the crab wasn’t overpowering and had a refreshing feel to it; a seemingly simple dish was the perfect dish to end my day on. They even have a private room upstairs in case you come with a group!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time here and will definitely recommend it...

Had a great experience at Temper because of the service staff there, shoutout to Laila for making our experience great and memorable

Reasons there is a -1 star: Do note that when you're coming here, be prepared to come early or not get what you want as their daily meat cuts are in limited quantity (some literally only has 1 single size portion) I sent my order for a 310g ribeye steak only for the waitress to U-turn in 10 seconds saying it got sold out right before i placed my order and my only other option was to get 440g and above cut steaks which is not possible for a single serving, so that was extremely disappointing

We ended up ordering a cut of 270 A5 Miyazaki Steak and 260g Black Angus Tenderlion (to replace the ribeye) Both are served with a coleslaw which tasted okay, and the Miyazaki came with additional charred vegetables, which I cannot comment on as I don't eat bell peppers. You have the option to top up with more sides at an additional cost which we skipped since we only had 2 pax.

Miyazaki was great and we ordered it in medium rare We were recommended to get the Ponzu sauce which was a really good pair as well. But the Tenderloin is medium was the biggest reason as to why i had to remove the one star. The meat was severely overcooked around the edges (basically well done) with the centre of the cut being closer to medium rare than medium. The Tenderloin really ruined the overall experience, which is sad because we never wanted it in the first place, but had to get a tenderloin to replace the Ribeye

Desserts were out of stock except the Brownie, which Laila so kindly offered for free as it was my Birthday Brownie had nuts and was served with a dollop of ice cream Nothing too special but would've definitely been a bummer for someone with nut allergies not to have any dessert for the night if the brownies was their only option

Overall, the experience was okay but the food and options could be a lot better

Total damage for 1x 270g A5 Miyazaki Steak 1x 260 Black Angus Tenderloin Steak 1x Coke Float 1x Complimentary Brownie

was about 750RM for 2 pax, so do be prepared to keep your wallets full Our reservation was at around 7pm, but many things were already sold out as mentioned above So maybe the plan is to come earlier Food was served pretty quick too Do consider coming with a bigger group as well as it seems like they have more big cuts than single portion cuts ( there was one of the meat options with only 550g and above cuts)

No comment on the seating though as we were sat right by the door, so the ambience was not good...

First, let me say open flame cooking is very tricky to get right but this place does it pretty well. My wife and I popped in for dinner on a Fri night without a reservation and luckily managed to get a seat, albeit on the second floor.

We ordered the Pomfret, eggplant and a fillet.

The fish was impeccable, perfect amount of char on the skin and flesh was moist, despite being such a thin fish. Incredibly difficult to get right but the chef did it so well. Paired with the ponzu sauce it was absolutely delicious.

Likewise the eggplant was superb. Perfectly seasoned, and amazingly juicy with gently charred skin that provided beautiful smokiness. The eggplant was topped with a combination of miso, spring onions and I believe a hint of ginger and citrus. Very well balanced and a must order.

The fillet was of good quality but honestly a tough candidate for open flame cooking. Open flame or bbq usually requires large format cuts with a thick fat cap to protect the meat for even cooking. Expectedly the exterior, though nicely grilled, was overcooked, while the centre was rare. It is much easier to prepare fillet in a pan, then finish in the oven, but I appreciate what the restaurant is trying to do here.

Lean meat like this is complemented well by the fagura sauce, which adds needed fat to the fillet. I think however that the wait staff should recommend sauce pairings. A rich sauce like this paired with a5 wagyu would be a disaster, whereas chimichurri would be perfect. Likewise chimichurri with a fillet does not work. I saw some customers complain about the meat being too rich or lean; probably wrong choice of sauce. Maybe the chef should just decide.

Another thing I think could be improved is explaining the source of the meat. The steak is pricey by Malaysian standards and I think the wait staff could spend some time talking about the provenance of the meat to elevate the experience a little more with some effort to storytell.

In terms of the environment, the second level is nice and private, though a little warm and dark. Mostly, I couldn't see what I was eating and would have liked a table lamp or similar.

For a casual dinner, we still enjoyed ourselves tremendously. The restaurant just needs a little more attention to detail and a touch more refinement to go from very...