Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory: This Bakery in Johor Bahru (Malaysia) Bakes the Fluffiest Banana Cake (Open Since 1919!)

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This article is part of the Johor Bahru Food Trip 2025 series.

There are three foods in Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia that really impressed me. The first is IT Roo Cafe’s Hainanese Chicken Chop, which is juicy and tender. It’s so good that I ate it twice during my first visit, and had my friends try this year (check out my review here).

The second is Kam Long Ah Zai’s Fish Head Curry. It has meaty fish head, creamy and spicy broth, and crisp vegetables. It’s a world of flavors and textures!

The third one is a dessert or snack, which is the famous Banana Cake of Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory.

Hiap Joo has been around since 1919 and currently owned by Lim Meng Chin. It was started by an Englishman, who sold the business to the Lim family in 1930. Lim’s father fully owned the business in 1960 and ran it until his death in 2003.

The business was only selling French and sandwich loaves back in 2003, and was on the brink of bankruptcy. But Lim’s son, Lim Toh Sian, thought of baking banana cakes and filled buns. This idea saved the business. Today, Malaysians and Singaporeans alike queue for its bestselling banana cakes.

Hiap Joo is also known for its century-old oven. They only use rubber or bakau (mangrove) wood.

I’m used to banana bread that is dense and dry. But Hiap Joo’s version is different because it’s fluffy and moist. In fact, it’s the fluffiest (and for me, the best) banana cake (they call it cake instead of bread) I have ever tried!

They also make buns that are filled with butter sugar, coconut, kaya, otak-otak (Southeast Asian fish paste), peanut, and red bean. We tried the Coconut Bun.

It has lots of shredded coconut sweetened with what I believe is gula melaka (palm sugar). It reminds me of the Filipino pan de coco but with juicier filling, I guess because of the molten palm sugar.

We’re supposed to try their Coffee Cake. But we always miss out on it because it’s only available in the morning (on Tuesday-Friday). So I’m hoping to try it when we return to JB!

Hands down, Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory bakes good breads, especially the fluffiest banana cake. It’s definitely worth queueing for. Needless to say, I highly recommend it to you!

Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory

Address: 13 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia | Operating Hours: Daily, 7:30AM-5PM | Contact No.: +60 7-223 1703