Kota Tinggi, a laid-back district at Johor's eastern edge, has an unlikely food pilgrimage site: a roadside apam balik stall on Jalan Mawai that has held its price at RM4 a piece while customers drive in from towns an hour or more away.

The stall is a family operation now run by second-generation owner Mohd Shahrizal Supri, 41, and his wife Nelta Efrida Zulfadhli, 37, who joined the business in 2009. Everything is made from scratch on site each day — the flour batter is mixed fresh, and the sweet corn is prepared in-house rather than tipped from a can. That refusal to cut corners is part of why the stall has stayed busy since 2007, when it started with just five kilogrammes of flour a day.

Today it goes through 50 to 55kg of flour daily during holiday season, with regular-day sales between RM2,000 and RM2,500 and roughly RM4,500 when Malaysian school holidays hit. On one occasion when the stall went viral online, takings reached RM6,000 in a single day — and the shutters came down by 2pm because everything had sold out.

The menu has moved with the times. The original flavour remains the top seller, but Nutella and a Japanese-style version filled with red bean paste follow close behind, with pistachio, matcha, peanut butter and Lotus Biscoff rounding out the line-up. Regulars reportedly travel from Skudai, Kulai, Simpang Renggam and even Mersing for a fix.

What's striking is the pricing philosophy. While ingredient costs have climbed, the family has kept the original at RM4, reasoning that high sales volume keeps the margin healthy. Nelta Efrida says there are no plans to raise prices for now. The couple also runs a second branch in Kota Tinggi town, but their focus is on growing reach through TikTok rather than opening more outlets — protecting consistency at the original stall. They hope to hire more staff and start accepting wedding orders next year.

For travellers, this is exactly the kind of detour that makes a Johor road trip memorable. Kota Tinggi sits east of Johor Bahru and is better known for its waterfall and as a stop en route to the Desaru coast, so pairing a morning at the falls with an apam balik lunch is an easy add-on. Turn up early: operations start around 9.30am, the last order is at 4pm, and a sell-out can close things down by mid-afternoon. Bring cash, bring an appetite, and consider ordering a few flavours to compare — at these prices, you can afford to.