Soil JB

With the pandemic almost behind us, many Singaporeans are starting to resume their weekend travels back into Johor Bahru for their Cafe-hopping hobby. With over 2 years of not exploring JB, there are many new cafes opened in different areas that are worth a visit

Located in the Eco Spring Labs area, the exterior of Soil reminisces of a cottage house in a small quaint European town. Consistent with their theme, the building is highly decorated with plants and native greenery so from afar, the building has a mystery aura of an abandoned building

Once inside, the cafe is decorated in a modern industrial chic style with concrete and a mix of wood and cushion rattan chairs. One of the attractions of the cafe is its artisan bakes which are supplied daily by The Atlas Bakery

As we arrived pretty early, the selection of bakes was quite substantial and we went with a couple of their popular items like the plain croissant, almond croissant and cinnamon doughnut. The bakes were buttery and flakey with soft and fluffy insides

I also ordered the smoked salmon open sandwich, which was plated in a pretty manner yet very messy to eat as the ingredients started falling off when you bit into the bread. The bread is also dry and tough and the sandwich was lacking in dressing so it was a dry open sandwich although the ingredients were fresh and crunchy

The other item we ordered was the tamago sando which is basically an egg mayonnaise sandwich that cannot really go wrong. The eggs were creamy with chunks of egg white so you get a nice texture biting into the sandwich

For beverages, we ordered the yuzu summer, mocha and latte which were all generally ok but nothing too spectacular. For the price, I do find the serving glass a bit too small

Overall, the cafe was aesthetic and comfortable for chilling or working during the least crowded time as the surrounding greenery is quite tranquil and calming. The food and drinks were at best passable although the bakes were noticeably the best on the menu

Address: Unit SL009, Spring Lab, Lot A (GF, Jalan Ekoflora Utama, Taman Ekoflora, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Operating hours: 9 am to 6 pm