My Life has Just Begun: Malacca, Gastronomical Adventure yet again! (27-28 Mar10)
It is once again back to Malacca!
Difference this time was a drive-in on Baby Blue, which Dad himself couldn't believe that it could make it (that far), but it did!!
Watching it cruised through the rain, alongside fellow motor-mates and under the scorching sun, it made us proud by clocking in almost 500km in total without making a single bit of fuss!
The ride was accompanied by a mini karaoke session, munching on snacks and enjoying the beautiful scenic view of mountains and forests.
We reached Malacca by evening and besides having "fill Baby Blue to the brim" on our must-do list, "fill our tummies" was top on that list. We parked Baby Blue along the side streets and headed straight to our first stop.
Dinner @Capitol Satay
A similar form to the 'Luk Luk' (or Steamboat on Skewers), commonly found in Malaysia, Hong Kong and other parts of S.E.A., except of course, the dip is in satay sauce.
As one of the recommendations on his fave book, Lonely Planet, we knew we had to give this place a try when there was already a long queue at past 5pm when we got there (P.S. the place is opened at 5pm). Fortunately, the queue moved rather quickly and we were ushered to our seats after a half an hour wait. A decent selection of food items on satay sticks were displayed at their chiller - 0.80RM/stick, but that was not what got me fascinated. It was the thick pot of satay sauce that the waitress brought to our table. It was a full pot of satay sauce, compared to the tiny bowls of satay sauce that comes with your satays in SG! She then carried a ladle-full of crushed peanuts and stired it into the sauce - added texture and taste!
Watching her stir the mixture was enough to make me salivate.
Despite the crowd, we were thankful that we had a big table (probably able to take 6pax) to ourselves and we did not have to share the satay dip with others. Also, the waitresses would make frequent visits to your table to help stir the thick mixture and ensuring that you get the peanuts that had settled to the bottom. Good service!
Breakfast @ Cyclamen Cottage
This beautiful cottage preserved the 1937 colonial architecture, thanks to a great owner who is a fervent collector of antiques, particularly of the Peranakan culture. Clean and well equipped with basic facilities, this place started operation only a few month ago, a rather good deal for a budget hostel stay.
One down-side, it is a distance away (30mins walk) from the main city centre, most people who stayed here drove. The front yard was transformed into a car garage by the time we reached the place, we were lucky to find a slot for Baby Blue despite having full occupancy for the night - all SG cars, we were surprised.
Breakfast was provided just like any homestay, pretty decent.
There were coffee/tea, toasts and butter/kaya, sausages, eggs, nasi lemak and nyonya kuehs. We loved the kaya.
I adore the rustic design of the dining area. We took our time for breakfast, enjoying the homey and pleasant atmosphere that we could hardly find in the city nowadays.
After breakfast, the friendly owner offered to give us a tour of his home that houses all his collection. It was actually one of the 3 units of the Cottage that he owns. His collection was impressive and it was almost as good as walking into a mini Peranakan museum.
He explained that Peranakans or Straits Chinese had a very rich and intriguing culture, which he had spent almost 30years researching and collecting. Being able to assimilate into the native culture, Peranakans carry a combination of Malay and Chinese influence in their attire and possessions.
They were a fairly rich group in the 19th century and early 20th century, and were fond of silver and ivory.
Chewing on betel nuts folded in betel leaves was a favourite past-time for Peranakans, especially the women (Nyonyas). It was also ceremonially used in weddings as well.
Peranakans are good cooks, not surprising that even stacked tins for packing dishes had intricate designs.
Certainly a treat to both the eye and the palette.
Congkak, a traditional Malay game
Know what this is? It's a baby's feeding bottle!
Lunch @ Jonker 88
Yes, I've blogged about this place before!
But being in Malacca, how could I missed not having my beloved Chendol!
We also decided to try their 2 popular kinds of Laksa - Nyonya Assam Laksa (sour and spicy broth with added chunks of tuna fish) and the Baba Laksa (spicy broth with coconut milk). Both laksas were good, but the Baba Laksa was no different from the laksa you can find in Singapore. Nyonya Assam Laksa wins. We teared and sniffed while sipping every bit of it.
2nd Lunch @ Hoe Kee Chicken Rice
It was 4pm and we just caught a movie at Dataran mall. There was still time, we thought,and without giving our stomach a chance to respond, we headed down to Jonker Street again to see what we can find.
We chanced upon this stall at the entrance of Jonker and thought we should just give this a try. It was only after doing a google search now that I realised this place is one of the more popular stall for good chicken rice! We loved the succulent chicken and riceballs that were not too mashed or sticky. Compared to Chung Wah (the stall we had before), Hoe Kee wins.
Dinner @JB
We just had lunch but it was 8pm and we were hungry again after the long drive.
Before checking out at Tuas checkpoint, we had our final meal for the day at a foodstall closeby. It was a place where most Singaporeans spent their last ringgits before heading home. We shared a Nasi Goreng Pattaya (fried rice folded in fried eggs) and teh-tariks. The wait at this particular stall was almost 45mins and just as we were about to get frustrated with the lady at the stall for taking their time (they cooked 1 serving at a time!), she held the big wok upside down to get the rice-filled egg nicely on the serving plate without breaking it and I thought that was amusing! You'll never see this in Singapore, hawkers would normally scoop the folded egg, never lifting the entire huge wok upside down! The large serving and tasty Nasi Goreng Pattaya well compensated for our lost time.
Tummies filled, Baby Blue filled, we had a great weekend.
Malacca is a charming little town and is generally safe compared to other states in Malaysia.
Watching it cruised through the rain, alongside fellow motor-mates and under the scorching sun, it made us proud by clocking in almost 500km in total without making a single bit of fuss!
The ride was accompanied by a mini karaoke session, munching on snacks and enjoying the beautiful scenic view of mountains and forests.
We reached Malacca by evening and besides having "fill Baby Blue to the brim" on our must-do list, "fill our tummies" was top on that list. We parked Baby Blue along the side streets and headed straight to our first stop.
Dinner @Capitol Satay
A similar form to the 'Luk Luk' (or Steamboat on Skewers), commonly found in Malaysia, Hong Kong and other parts of S.E.A., except of course, the dip is in satay sauce.
As one of the recommendations on his fave book, Lonely Planet, we knew we had to give this place a try when there was already a long queue at past 5pm when we got there (P.S. the place is opened at 5pm). Fortunately, the queue moved rather quickly and we were ushered to our seats after a half an hour wait. A decent selection of food items on satay sticks were displayed at their chiller - 0.80RM/stick, but that was not what got me fascinated. It was the thick pot of satay sauce that the waitress brought to our table. It was a full pot of satay sauce, compared to the tiny bowls of satay sauce that comes with your satays in SG! She then carried a ladle-full of crushed peanuts and stired it into the sauce - added texture and taste!
Watching her stir the mixture was enough to make me salivate.
Despite the crowd, we were thankful that we had a big table (probably able to take 6pax) to ourselves and we did not have to share the satay dip with others. Also, the waitresses would make frequent visits to your table to help stir the thick mixture and ensuring that you get the peanuts that had settled to the bottom. Good service!
Breakfast @ Cyclamen Cottage
This beautiful cottage preserved the 1937 colonial architecture, thanks to a great owner who is a fervent collector of antiques, particularly of the Peranakan culture. Clean and well equipped with basic facilities, this place started operation only a few month ago, a rather good deal for a budget hostel stay.
One down-side, it is a distance away (30mins walk) from the main city centre, most people who stayed here drove. The front yard was transformed into a car garage by the time we reached the place, we were lucky to find a slot for Baby Blue despite having full occupancy for the night - all SG cars, we were surprised.
Breakfast was provided just like any homestay, pretty decent.
There were coffee/tea, toasts and butter/kaya, sausages, eggs, nasi lemak and nyonya kuehs. We loved the kaya.
I adore the rustic design of the dining area. We took our time for breakfast, enjoying the homey and pleasant atmosphere that we could hardly find in the city nowadays.
After breakfast, the friendly owner offered to give us a tour of his home that houses all his collection. It was actually one of the 3 units of the Cottage that he owns. His collection was impressive and it was almost as good as walking into a mini Peranakan museum.He explained that Peranakans or Straits Chinese had a very rich and intriguing culture, which he had spent almost 30years researching and collecting. Being able to assimilate into the native culture, Peranakans carry a combination of Malay and Chinese influence in their attire and possessions.
They were a fairly rich group in the 19th century and early 20th century, and were fond of silver and ivory.
Chewing on betel nuts folded in betel leaves was a favourite past-time for Peranakans, especially the women (Nyonyas). It was also ceremonially used in weddings as well.
Peranakans are good cooks, not surprising that even stacked tins for packing dishes had intricate designs.
Certainly a treat to both the eye and the palette.
Congkak, a traditional Malay game
Know what this is? It's a baby's feeding bottle!
Lunch @ Jonker 88
Yes, I've blogged about this place before!
But being in Malacca, how could I missed not having my beloved Chendol!
We also decided to try their 2 popular kinds of Laksa - Nyonya Assam Laksa (sour and spicy broth with added chunks of tuna fish) and the Baba Laksa (spicy broth with coconut milk). Both laksas were good, but the Baba Laksa was no different from the laksa you can find in Singapore. Nyonya Assam Laksa wins. We teared and sniffed while sipping every bit of it.
2nd Lunch @ Hoe Kee Chicken Rice
It was 4pm and we just caught a movie at Dataran mall. There was still time, we thought,and without giving our stomach a chance to respond, we headed down to Jonker Street again to see what we can find.
We chanced upon this stall at the entrance of Jonker and thought we should just give this a try. It was only after doing a google search now that I realised this place is one of the more popular stall for good chicken rice! We loved the succulent chicken and riceballs that were not too mashed or sticky. Compared to Chung Wah (the stall we had before), Hoe Kee wins.
Dinner @JB
We just had lunch but it was 8pm and we were hungry again after the long drive.
Before checking out at Tuas checkpoint, we had our final meal for the day at a foodstall closeby. It was a place where most Singaporeans spent their last ringgits before heading home. We shared a Nasi Goreng Pattaya (fried rice folded in fried eggs) and teh-tariks. The wait at this particular stall was almost 45mins and just as we were about to get frustrated with the lady at the stall for taking their time (they cooked 1 serving at a time!), she held the big wok upside down to get the rice-filled egg nicely on the serving plate without breaking it and I thought that was amusing! You'll never see this in Singapore, hawkers would normally scoop the folded egg, never lifting the entire huge wok upside down! The large serving and tasty Nasi Goreng Pattaya well compensated for our lost time.
Tummies filled, Baby Blue filled, we had a great weekend.
Malacca is a charming little town and is generally safe compared to other states in Malaysia.
(Extracted from hallofus-c.blogspot.com)
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posted by ZeeVinCeZ at 4:00 PM
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