Lemon Tree Restaurant at Melodies Garden, Johor Bahru
The owner - Mr Jeffery Bong said he surveyed the area before starting his restaurant and like the trees in front of the shop lot very much. And because of the trees stories, he named the restaurant as 'Lemon Tree', a popular song which was famous by Fools Garden, released on the year 1995 and became a major international hit in 1996.
Lemon Tree Restaurant at Tmn Melodies
The setting of the restaurant is simple and cozy, with retro ambience. The warm lighting made the guests feel comfort while dining in the restaurant...
The simple interior deco of Lemon Tree Restaurant
The area is well ventilated and I like to view through the old photos (the owner's collection) on the wall...the Elvis, Beatles and other famous artist from the 60s & 70s...
Our first appetizer was Tuna Bruchetta Cheese Bread.
Tuna Bruchetta Cheese Bread
The piece of bread evenly covered by tuna and nicely wrapped with cheese, the slice of cucumber and baby tomato provided extra refreshment to the appetizer, these Bruchetta were nice!
After the appetizers, each of us have a homemade mushroom soup served by the restaurant.
Homemade mushroom soup by Lemon Tree Restaurant
The flavorful mushroom soup was nice, creamy, but not starchy, I can taste the mushroom started from the beginning till the end...the bowl of mushroom soup was just nice for a person.
Next, there were two 12" pizzas were served. Tropical Hawaiian and Island Seafood Pizza.
Tropical Hawaiian pizza by Lemon Tree Restaurant
Island Seafood pizza
The both cheesy pizzas were topped with a large mount of fresh ingredients, pineapples, cucumbers, hams, tunas, prawns and many more! You have to taste it yourself. I would prefer the Hawaiian pizza because of the fruits, but...that would very much depends on the individual taste bud.
The Mixed Fruits Salad was the following dish...kind of like the foods arrangement by the owner - Jefferey Bong, because the refreshing fruits salad was served after the large amount of cheese loaded into our stomach...:)
Mixed fruits salad
The fruits salad was prepared with the fresh fruits, and don't forget the special dressing by the Chef Jeffery, therefore it definitely cool us down for the 'part 1' foods session...
After a short break, the 'part 2' began with 2 spaghetti, appeared on the table quietly...
The Spaghetti Hawaiian and Spaghetti Seafood Alio-Olio.
Spaghetti Hawaiian
Spaghetti Seafood Alio-Olio
Both spaghetti were delicious! The Spaghetti Hawaiian was served with hams and with sweet sauce, and the Spaghetti Seafood served with lots of seafood...especially the big prawns. We like the taste of the both spaghetti.
Before the we could finish the spaghetti, the New Zealand Air Frown Rib-eye presented!
New Zealand Air Frown Rib-eye steak
The steak served in the medium well doneness and the black pepper sauce was separated, which give a choice for those who like the original beef taste and those who like with the sauce.
The a bit char grilled steak was succulent, it could be better if serve in medium rare with the taste of meat juice...but this is my personal preference and it may not suitable for all of us, well arrange by the Chef! You will be surprise by the reasonable price of this steak, find out yourself! :)
The medium well doneness New Zealand Rib-eye at Lemon Tree Restaurant
The Chef did serve some of the local delicacies on the following after having such a nice western cuisine, that were the popular Lemon Tree Special Fried Rice and the Mee Mamak.
Special Fried Rice
Mee Mamak
As I recalled, the Lemon Tree restaurant caught my attention few years ago from some of my friends comments on their nice and simple fried rice, as a fried rice lover...I was a bit late to try out but never regret on it!
The fried rice was fragrance and yummy, served on the perfect moist level and never too dry to enjoy it! The plate of fried rice served together with a fried chicken wing, ham, cheese, fried egg and the sauce. It can be a filling dish for lunch or dinner.
According to the Chef...the combination of fried rice was a advise from a regular customer who visit the restaurant 3 times a week, the customer requested to has more stuffs beside the fried rice and Chef Jeffery 'tailored made' the dish as what he need, surprisingly the dish sell very well from the kitchen...that's the reason Jeffery named it The Special Fried Rice of Lemon Tree Restaurant!
The Mee Mamak was an enhanced version from the local mee goreng where easily available in most of the mamak shop. But the Lemon Tree's version was slightly different, it topped up with many veggie and fried to the perfect taste...which mean not too sweet or salty. It was an eye opening for me to taste the mee mamak in the western food restaurant.
After all the scrumptious meal for the dinner, the lovely desserts surfaced...
The special edition of Tiramisu and the Chocolate Lava.
I'm not a dessert person but the desserts on that evening 'seduced' me too much! Haha!
The Tiramisu
The Tiramisu was made in 3 types of coffee and with the unique cheese cream. The Wow factor was on the first bite! Not overly sweet (as peoples are more health conscious nowadays), and it was a surprise for me!
The Dark Chocolate Lava cake
The chocolate lava cake was made from the pure 70% of dark chocolate, it won't be overly sweet...no worries! And the so called 'Lava' will not ooze from the cake once you cut it due to the high density of the chocolate cake.
I believe the two desserts above will easily drive the girls crazy! It will become the favorite for the desserts lover!
We were satisfied for the dishes served by the restaurant that evening. Especially with the reasonable prices. The prices for the dishes above are within RM5.50 and RM49.00.
Lemon Tree Restaurant had expanded their dining area to the next door. According to Jeffery, the new wing is cater for private function or catering services, 20-30 persons.
The Chef - Mr Jeffery Bong was a executive chef of one of the 5 stars hotel in Singapore, he decided to came back Johor Bahru to start his own business 11 years ago. He wanted to serve his customers with the quality foods and a reasonable price, in fact...it's a good news for the western food lover in Johor Bahru. The restaurant had been through more than a decade, and Jeffery continue to provide the best cuisine to his customers from day 1 till now...
Do drop by the Lemon Tree Restaurant if you are happen in Taman Melodies area, I believe you will find what you like!
Lemon Tree Restaurant
18, Jalan Bedara,
Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.
Tel : +607-335 5688
18, Jalan Bedara,
Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru.
Tel : +607-335 5688
Business hour : 12pm - 11pm (Close on Monday)
GPS Coordinates : N1.49135 E103.76201
Location map of Lemon Tree Restaurant at Melodies Garden, Johor Bahru.
