JB Buy: Salahuddin Bakery Traditional Pastries @ Jalan Tan Hiok Nee

Tuck in one corner along an adjacent street from Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk in Bandar Johor Bahru, a little rustic shop with olden-day steel folding door stands oddly out of place among rows of modern cafes and restaurants. Most people may mistaken the shop for a warehouse due to its appearance if not for a little vintage signboard above the folding door that says "Salahuddin Bakery".

Standing inside the bakery, it seems like time had stopped since 1937 — the year when it started business. It is not easy to see something modern in this very traditional bakery. Apart from breads, coconut buns and cakes that are wood-fired in an old oven at the back of the shop, a wide range of traditional pastries are also freshly made at the bakery daily.

When the bakery opens for business in the morning, all baker's confection will be neatly laid out on a long table. Apart from whole loaf of breads, they have coconut buns, kaya buns, muffins, curry puffs, cream rolls and varieties of cake too. Anyone who steps into the bakery will be spoilt for choice. Most amazing of all, they are very cheap.

The most recommended pastries by many websites are karipap ayam (chicken curry puff), karipap kambing (mutton curry puff) and karipap sardines, each costing only RM2.50 each. Karipaps with potatoes are also available at RM2 each.

Karipap is a kind of "curry puff" but is triangular in shape and has layered crust that is flaky and carries an aroma of Indian spices. The chicken puff contained chicken with potato curry and the mutton puff contains minced mutton instead of chicken — personally, I like the mutton puffs. Sardine-filled karipaps have original crust and not spiced so as not to affect the taste of the sardines.

A large loaf of Salahuddin's freshly-baked, old-school soft bread costs just RM2.50. I like traditional breads with that freshly-roasted aroma and pure bread taste.

Other goodies that I have also tried include coconut buns, cream rolls, banana cakes, vanilla cakes, etc, from multiple visits — almost every time when I was in Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk unless the bakery was closed or sold out.

When in Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk, don't forget to drop by Salahuddin Bakery and check out what they have in store. Salahuddin Bakery's karipaps, sweet pastries, bread and coconut buns are popular and usually sold out by around mid-day.

Address:

Salahuddin Bakery

26, Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:

9:30am to 6pm | Closed on Friday

Next: Hua Mui (华美茶餐室) Hainanese Chicken Chop @ Jalan Tan Hiok Nee