Desaru Johor Holiday: 3D 2N Weekend Escapade Day 2 and 3

Sunrise at Tiara Desaru Beach

One of the beautiful experience visiting the East Coast of Malaysia is that you get to experience the sunrise but the only setback is you have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to witness this spectacular sunrise.

We decided to try our luck and were at the beach at 6.00 am and only got the chance to witness it at around 640 am; no thanks to some cloud which was blocking the first ray. Nevertheless, it was worth the effort though as you can see from the camera shot.

After that, we had a simple breakfast by the Tiara Desaru beach, where we continue to enjoy the sea breeze and early morning sunlight to refresh our mind for a full day of activities.

After breakfast, we went to the Southern part of Desaru where there a number of mega tourists development going on like the Westin Desaru Resort, Aman Resort & Villas, Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast, and the Ocen Splash Water Park slated to be opened in 2018. We then proceeded to the newly opened The Els Club Desaru Coast - an Ernie Els designed 27-hole golf course.

Upon reaching the Golf Club, we were briefed on the facilities that this golf clubs offers.

This Golf course is a 27-hole championship course featuring 3 nine-hole courses being the Lakes, Coast, and Ridge.

The golf course also features a 45,000 square foot clubhouse with private function rooms, golf shop, locker rooms and 2 casual dining restaurants one of which is the 261 (Two-Six-One) which is record breaking PGA tour score that Ernie Els won at Mercedes Championship January 2003.

The golf club has also The Els Performance Golf Academy (first of its kind in Asia) which is a state of art centre of excellence.

Adults and juniors players are able to get an opportunity to learn the game the way it should be played adopting an individualised approach using the latest most up-to-date technology, diagnostic and teaching strategies.

After our golf course tour, we then headed to Teluk Sengat for lunch and to continue to our next destination.



Upon reaching Teluk Sengat, we had lunch at the Sengat Seafood Restaurant which serves Halal Chinese Seafood.

We started with the Cold Cuttle Fish (RM28.00)

followed by the Fried Chicken (RM28.00)

Steamed Red Snapper With Ginger (RM6.00 per 100g)

Fried Prawn With Butter (RM8.00 per 100g)

Chilli Crabs (RM8.50 Per 100g)



We find the costing of the lunch meal to be a tad more expensive considering it is near to the sea where an abundance of seafood is readily available.

After our lunch, we then proceeded to the Teluk Sengat Crocodile Farm (aka Desaru Crocodile Farm) which is a short drive from the Teluk Sengat Seafood Restaurant. This Crocodile Farm is not a commercial farm meaning the crocodiles here are not bred for its products like the meat and skin.

The owner of this Crocodile farms has a deep passion and loves for this reptile and wow to continue caring for his beloved reptiles.

Into its 3rd generation now, this Crocodile Farm (Sanctuary) is touted as one of the biggest Crocodile Farm in Malaysia with more than 1000 plus Live crocodiles in captivity.

The Crocodile Farm entrance ticket at RM8.00 per adults and are used to pay for the running expenses of the farm. It was explained that there are Crocodiles of different ages with the number of them exceeding up to 155 Years old in the farm.

The farm is very well organised and clean, one can also view the different type of handicapped crocodiles.

It was truly a very educational tour to understand the process of a raising these expensive reptiles.

After that, you can have a close encounter with the baby crocodile for some photo session and sleep therapy demo applied to the baby crocodile.

After our Crocodile Farm tour, we headed back to the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort water themed park for a splash-out.

One of the main attractions at this Lotus Desaru Water theme park is the Falling Coconut.

 the 500-meter Lazy River slides.



and the Lagoon Pool for you to laze around.

After our swim, our dinner was at the nearby Penawar Town which is the D'Bangkok Village restaurant where we try out some local Thai food.

We had the Thai Tom Yam Seafood which was a tad saltier and was also little oiler.



Next, we had the Sotong Goreng Tepong

while our Ikan Masak 3 Rasa was slightly over fried.



and finally the Telur Dadar. Nevertheless, as we were too hungry and tired, it didn't really matter much of the taste.

The next morning, after breakfast, we went to the last attraction which is the Desaru Ostrich Farm located near the southern tip of Johor.

Here we were brief in the setup and running of the Ostrich farm. We learned how to open an Ostrich Eggs which has a very low cholesterol level using power tools drill to penetrate into the 2mm eggs shell.

After that, we were briefed on the stages in which the Ostrich is brought up to maturity at 1.5 years old which is ready for the market.

We got to know that every Ostrich parts are fully utilised i.e from its meats, fats, eggs, skin, feathers and bones.

After our tour, we got to taste the Ostrich Eggs Omelette (RM10.00). Each egg can make up to 6 of this omelette.

Next is the Teppan Ostrich Meat fried with Onion. The Ostrich meat has a soft texture and non-gamey taste and fried with the Onions & garlic, it exudes out a flavourful taste that is even better than beef.

Overall it was a real experience to get up close and be able to learn so much about the biggest bird on earth.

After our Ostrich Farm visit, it was back to Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence, where we had a light lunch before bidding farewell to our gracious host.

Overall this trip to Desaru is very interesting, educational and memorable. It was a nice break from our hectic work schedule while enjoying some of the quiet moment at the beach and the good company of fellow travel mates.

Read About our part 1 Desaru Holiday here.

The Els Club Desaru Coast Address and Location Map


Sengat Seafood Restaurant Address and Location Map


Teluk Sengat Crocodile Farm Address and Location Map



Lotus Desaru Water Theme Park Address and Location Map


 Desaru Ostrich Farm Address and Location Map

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DESARU BEACH JOHOR HOLIDAY | 3D 2N Weekend Escapade Day 1

Picture courtesy of Lembaga Kemajuan Johor Tenggara

Desaru is a beach and resort area in Kota Tinggi District, Johor, Malaysia. It is located approximately 

88 kilometers east of Johor Bahru, facing the South China Sea. It is a very popular weekend escape for tourist from other states and Singapore who come to enjoy the attractive 25 km stretch of beaches and splendid golf courses.

Xplore Johor - Tourism Johor

+BestRestaurant ToEat was invited by the Tourism Johor to join in the Xplore Johor program to this beautiful resort town Desaru, Johor for a 3 days 2 nights (3D 2N) escapade to explore some of Desaru places of interest and Desaru attraction.

Picture Courtesy of Wikimedia

We started our exploration from the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MATIC) office in Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur early in the morning as we are scheduled to arrive at Desaru in time for lunch.



Our first destination is the Desaru Fruit Farm one of the popular tourist destination; as there are plenty to explore on this farm.

On arrival, after a wash down, we were served an array of juicy and sweet local fruits which is freshly harvested from the farm; are offered to us to eat as much (buffet style) as your heart desire.



The local fruits which include my favourite fruit i.e Jack Fruit,



Guava & Passion Fruit,



Pineapples,



Red and White Dragon Fruits



Jambu Air & Rambutan and more; are freshly cut and peel to serve to you. Too bad, it was the end of the Durian season, so we didn't get to eat the King of Fruit and Mangosteen from Johor.

For some of the other fruits, the farm has also preserved some of them, so you get to eat the preserved Kedondong, Mangoes, and Papayas.

After our fruit buffet, we were then served our lunch. The dishes here are very special; in that, most of the recipes for the dishes are using the farm fruits as one of its ingredient like our first dish which is the Fresh Papaya Chicken Soup With Tongkat Ali.

followed by the Assam Pedas Stingray With Passion Fruit Juice

Next, is the Deep Fried Squid with Red Dragon Fruit sauce.

As part of the Desaru Fruit Farm entrance fee (RM58.30 - Adult, RM50.90 - Child) which includes the fruit buffet, the set lunch; it also comes with a Fruit farm tour where you can experience and explore all the different fruit trees and its growing process which are explained during the tour on a specially crafted lorry.

Desaru Fruit Farm Tour 

We were delighted to have learned a lot about the planting and caring process of these fruit trees.

Dragon Fruit

The fruit farm has over 100 varieties of fruits and herbs that are planted in this 100 acres (45.5 hectares) fruit farm.

Pisang Seribu

Passion Fruit Juice, Roselle Juice, and Lime Juice

Halfway thru our tour, you can also enjoy a cooling Passion Fruit or Lime juice to soothe your throat on a hot day.

As part of the attraction at the fruit farm; it also has a mini zoo where you can get up close with the Rabbits, Ayam Serama, Goats, Turkeys, Goose, Pythons, and more.

Dirt Kart Ride

For a premium entrance ticket (RM72.10 - Adult & RM63.60 - Child), the farm also offers you a chance to drives the Dirt Kart. The difference here is the Go Kart in on a tarmac road while Dirt kart kicks out a lot of dirt and dust. Truly enjoy the experience; good thing it was a dry day so no dirt but end up eating dust.

After our fun stop at the Desaru Fruit Farm, it was time to check into our hotel. Our stay for the entire holiday is at the Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence located at Jalan Tanjong Lompat, Bandar Penawar, Desaru Johor - a service apartment home stay style which has a beautiful beach facing the South China Sea.

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At Tiara Desaru, there are 4 swimming pools where you can take a dip to relax your tired soul.

As our units are located on a block which is nearer to the beach, there is also a swimming pool for the residents in this block which offers a more private swim.

We had the single room apartment (RM190.00) which is quite like a suite as there is a spacious living room area where we can chill out or just watch the television before calling it a night.



there is also a small pantry area where you can do some light cooking.

For our rooms, it comes with a queen bed and is quite spacious on its own.

with an attached bathroom.

After unpacking, we decided to take a stroll around to check out some of the facilities available at Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence, the first is the Gym which faces the beach where you can work it out while enjoying the serene view of the beach.

Or if you decide to cycle around, you can rent one of the bicycles to leisurely check out the places.

For those that loves BBQ, there is numerous BBQ pit available inside the compound and on the beach hut facing the sea. Please arrange with the staff if you plan to have a BBQ.

After that, we decided to check out the famed Desaru beach; as there is no adjoining development, you can virtually have the entire beach which stretched to around 3 km all by yourself. It is this seclusion that makes city folks like us enjoy the quaint & tranquil moments to relax while enjoying the quiet moment and the sea breeze.

For dinner, we headed to the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort which offers a water theme park and beach activities where we had some specialty dishes crafted by its Penang born Chef Leong which includes his signature



Penang Rojak - who would have thought that you can eat such nice Penang Rojak in Desaru Johor.

followed by his creamy Authentic Seafood Tom Yam Kung

and his aroma filled Deep Fried Chicken with Lemon Grass.

Deep Fried Fish Dressed With Miang Kham Sauce (Daun Kodok)

Grilled Squid

and the flavourful Authentic Thai Chu Chi Prawns to finish our dinner with.

After our hearty dinner, it was time to go back to Tiara Desaru to have a good rest for the next day event. Catch our Day 2 adventure here.

Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence Video

Desaru Fruit Farm Address and Location



Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence Address and Location



Lotus Desaru Beach Resort Address and Location

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