[New] Pastel-hued café in JB☕

For a café that opened barely two months ago in end Apr 2022, The Lightwood has already chalked up an impressive IG footprint with 100+ posts. Without IG, it would be hard for anyone to serendipitously "stumble" upon this café as its location in Kampung Bahru (not related to SG's Kampung Bahru), though situated in relative proximity to CIQ, is a veritable "kampung" and not an area that Singaporeans would ordinarily visit.

the signboard bearing the opening hours of the café

The sprawling café compounds places the faith of its entire existence on a single pastel-green doorway – blink and you will miss it. Entering this doorway, you will find a flight of stairs leading down to a garden.

entrance to The Lightwood

The Lightwood's garden reminds me somewhat of Keijometo's garden, as the ground is covered with small rocks, with rectangular slabs of concrete serving as footpaths. For those curious about the namesake MUES, the answer lies at the end of the garden – a black truck with the words "MUES" boldly adorning it in white. This truck used be a food truck dishing out Sourdough bread and coffee. Although the food truck is no longer in use since the expansion into a full-fledged café, it now serves as a decorative piece and as a stoic reminder of the café's humble roots.

the garden with the MUES food truck taking centre stage

Customers who manage to traverse this short obstacle course of stairs plus rocky garden are eventually rewarded with the actual entrance to the café.

the actual entrance to the café

Maintaining consistency with the colour scheme of the exterior, the interior of the café is likewise decked out in the same pastel-green hues.

the tabletop where the bread display and espresso machine are located

A small glass display on the tabletop showcases a couple of homemade Sourdough breads that had propelled the café to fame – namely Country Sourdough (RM16+), Sourdough Focaccia (RM16+), and Sourdough Banana Muffin (RM7+).

take your pick from a range of Sourdough breads

The Lightwood's interior is not expansive like Founder's Cafe, nor does it possess many nooks and crannies like Keijometo. On the contrary the entire café can be taken in at one glance. The Lightwood's USP though is that apart from being green-coloured, it also adopts green practices by allowing natural sunlight to stream in from the glass ceiling above and through the vertical windows at the side, obliterating the need for lights.

natural lighting from the ceiling above and the vertical windows at the sides

The most instagrammable part of the café is arguably the far-right end of the café where a trifecta of bricks, plants, and mirror serves as the perfect backdrop for food photography or portrait shots, whichever one's poison is.

arguably the most instagrammable part of the café

The espresso machine used by The Lightwood is La Marzocco, though of a much smaller model than those used by most cafés. A very decent flatwhite (RM13.20nett) was served in a bright yellow cup.

Flatwhite (RM13.20nett)

The food at The Lightwood is no ordinary brunch fare like those at other cafés, but the more "atas" type of mains found in restaurants. Correspondingly, prices of the food here are also somewhat higher than at other cafés.

First up was the Beef Goulash (RM41.80nett), served in a claypot together with a few slices of their signature Country Sourdough. Having tried Goulash in Eastern European countries, I was expecting a stew-like consistency, but this one reminded me more of beef rendang. This is not a complaint though, just an observation. The Goulash here was very thick and flavourful, and went perfectly well with the accompanying Country Sourdough. In fact, the Sourdough itself was so good that it threatened to outshine the protagonist instead of playing second fiddle. As someone who has baked my own Sourdoughs and therefore in a position to judge, I was truly impressed by both the texture and the flavour of this Sourdough. I was in fact very tempted to buy home a loaf of the Sourdough, but the sheer size of the bread plus the fact that I was taking public transport served as sufficient deterrence to my temptations.

Beef Goulash (RM41.80nett)

My own dish was the Duck Confit (RM41.80nett) which was very competently executed too, with its crispy skin and juicy meat, and a side of mango to provide a sweet-&-sour contrast against the savoury duck. Though I must admit that I was secretly hankering for some slices of Country Sourdough on my plate too =p

Duck Confit (RM41.80nett)

The Lightwood is truly a hidden gem, with its aesthetics, coffee, bread and food all receiving a resounding tick for me. My only regret is that we didn't have the luxury of time to slowly savour the food and the surroundings, as we had to rush off to catch Jurassic World Dominion. But I certainly see myself returning to try its other mains, and to lay my hands on that loaf of Country Sourdough!

The Lightwood by MUES

18k Basement, Jalan Abdul Samad, Kampung Bahru, 80100 Johor Bahru

Mon, Wed-Sun 8.30am-6pm