Pandan Beancurd In JB Gets Sold Out Within Hours Of Opening

You know a place is serious about what they do when they don’t even try to go viral — but still somehow do. That’s exactly what happened with Yamada Beancurd, a humble spot in Johor Bahru that’s quietly built a cult following for one thing: their pandan beancurd.

If you’re expecting some flashy dessert café with neon signs and Instagrammable corners, this isn’t it. Yamada is all business. A small storefront, tubs of soft, pandan-scented tofu, and a line that starts before the shutters go up.

So what makes this beancurd worth the early alarm?

First of all, the texture. It’s almost unreal. Silky, light, and just wobbly enough. It doesn’t break apart when scooped, but it melts in your mouth like a dream. The flavor? Subtle, clean, and gently sweet with that unmistakable aroma of pandan. It’s not the cloying, artificial pandan you get in supermarket desserts. This tastes like someone actually juiced the leaves fresh that morning—because they did.

And here’s a fun fact: Yamada isn’t Japanese. The founder, a Johor local, got the nickname “Yamada” back in school. It stuck. Years later, it became the name of the business. No sushi here—just beancurd that sells out so fast you’ll wonder if there’s a black market for it.

People have all kinds of theories about what gives it that ultra-smooth finish. One popular guess is that they use a touch of kanten (a type of seaweed gelatin) instead of the usual coagulant. It’s never been confirmed, of course. Yamada keeps the recipe close to the chest. But whatever they’re doing, it works.

What’s even cooler is that this whole thing started as a tiny roadside stall in Taman Pelangi. Locals knew it as the place with “the green tofu.” No signs, no branding — just tubs and word-of-mouth. And that’s how it grew. These days, it’s not uncommon to see someone walk away with ten tubs stacked in their arms, grinning like they’ve struck gold.

If you’re planning to visit, go early. Especially on weekends. It’s all walk-in, cash-only, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. No reservations. No restocks. Just a quiet little shop doing one thing really, really well.

Yamada Beancurd might not look like much from the outside—but the minute you take that first spoonful, you’ll get why the locals are obsessed.

Address: Jln Sri Pelangi 3, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim
Opening Hours: Wednesdays to Sundays, 6:00pm to 10:30pm