The Hidden Gems - Melacca Food Review Part 2

Nyonya Kuih – Ondeh-ondeh

We were on our way to the car park, when this simple and rundown-like shop caught our eye with the crowd that was standing outside. So we stopped to see what the hassle was about, yurns out that they were selling freshly made authentic ondeh-ondeh by Nyonya Babas. We asked if we could buy some, but they were so high on demand that they were sold out and we had to order and return later to collect them.

While waiting, I asked the man how they were made. He explained that you first have to roll the Gula Melaka into the glutinous rice dough, then you place them into the pot of boiling Pandan Leaves Water (picture below). Once they are ready, the dough balls will rise to the surface. Then, remove them from the heat and roll them into the salted grated coconut.

We managed to eat them fresh when it was still hot, tasting the chewiness and half-melted palm sugar that was oozing out. It was really a rare treat to find freshly made ones, cause usually its store bought and cold.

I also found out that Ondeh-ondeh, is actually “Onde-onde”, and also known as Buah Melaka by the Baba Nyonya-peranakan in Melaka, in Indonesia however it is called Klepon.

  

Final verdict: 8.5/10

Location: The first left turn, starting from the start of Jonker Street. (unfortunately I didn’t get down the name)

Capitol Satay Celup

Here’s the ultimate dish to try in Melacca. The one and only Satay Celup (satay fondue) in the whole of Malaysia (the original one of course). We were really lucky to have arrived a few minutes earlier before the restaurant was open and avoided the horrendous queue. The signs state that they open at 5pm (I heard it’s still open at 2am too), but in actual fact they open at 4.30pm, so I’d advice to be there around 4.10pm, or else the queue is pretty demoralizing and you might change your mind (like some I saw). We were second in line, and the restaurant was full within seconds.

      

So we were seated, and the soup base had to be placed in our stove, while it was coming to a boil, the satay sauce ingredients (above photo) have to be added into the soup, to make a thicker texture of the soon to be “sauce”. Normally, the satay sauce is made up of peanuts, sweet potato, sugar and chili. This however, couldn’t be too spicy nor too sweet, so it was a mild combination of both, but you still get the spicy yet sweet "peanuty" taste to it. Once it was ready, we were told to dig in.

You can head over to the self-service refrigerated counter, and pick any stick for only RM 0.90 (Approx SGD 0.40/EUR 0.20), but the other selection of plates, such as the Chinese sausages, Cheese stuffed tou-fu etc are a different price. Furthermore, if you are there at the right time, the boss would give each table an option of king prawns, mussels, scallops to each person at RM 0.90 as well! But you only get that one chance :p

It really is a different experience when your meat/vegetables, are dipped/cooked in satay sauce, my favourite were You Tiao, cockles, cheese sausages and Tao Pok!

After about 1.5 hours, and stuffing ourselves crazy, the bill was only RM 123 for 6 people, an average of RM20 per person (SGD 8/ EUR 5). Would definitely come back again if I drop by Melaka.

Final verdict: 9/10

Location: Capitol Satay Celup Restaurant, 41 Lorong Bukit Cina, 75100 Melaka, Malaysia
Tel: +606-2835508, +6012-2295505

Nadeje Mille Crepe Cakes

Nadeje Patisserie specializes in mille crêpe, a French cake made of many crêpe layers. “Mille” means “a thousand” in French, implying the many layers of crêpe used. My love for it was instantaneous! Since it’s actually a light cream base layered between the crepe, it literally melts in your mouth. You could even swallow it without chewing, I’m not kidding. It’s really heaven in your mouth, and you can even finish 2 cakes without hesitation.

We ordered 4 flavours: Original, Cheese, Tiramisu and Chocolate Strawberry. My personal favourite is cheese and original. I had Green Tea flavour to go (ice packs are provided at RM0.30), but I wasn’t much impressed by it as compared to the original flavour. The menu would also state which cakes had alcohol in them. Since the alcohol is not used for flavouring (you can’t taste it), I suspect it’s just used as an ingredient to keep the cake together.

Each cake is about RM9 – RM 10 (Approx SGD 4/ EUR 2.50), I think it’s slightly on the expensive side just based on the ingredients used, but you’re truly paying for the technique of making these exquisite cakes.

Final verdict: 9.5/10

Location: Either Melaka or Petaling Jaya

G-23,25 & 27 Jalan PM4, Plaza Mahkota, 75000 Malacca City, Malaysia.

B-01-01, Dataran 3 Two Square (Jalan 19/1, Seksyen 19), Petaling Jaya, Selangor 46300.

The Hidden Gems - Melacca Food Review Part 1

Malacca has always been my top favourite state in Malaysia due to their special political and cultural history. It’s also the only state in Malaysia to  have been colonized/influenced by the Dutch, Brits, Portuguese, Chinese and Malay. Thus, giving it a colorful taste to their cuisine, architecture and even language.

It all started out with the Baba Nyonya history, where it originated from Malacca, and later on these descendents moved to the other Chinese straits, such as Penang & Singapore when the British ruled. This cultural mix started when early Chinese traders started to take Malay women from Peninsular Malaya or Sumatra as wives or concubines. Consequently, the Baba Nyonya possessed a synergistic mix of Sino-Malay cultural traits. Not long later, Chinese men in Singapore and Penang were also supplied with slave wives of Bugis, Batak, and Balinese origin. The British tolerated the importation of slave wives since they improved the standard of living for the slaves and provided contentment to the male population.   

Baba Nyonya subscribed to Chinese beliefs: Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism. They celebrated the Lunar Chinese New Year, while adopting the customs of the land they settled in, as well as those of their colonial rulers. Moreover, from the Malay influence a unique "Nyonya" cuisine has developed using typical Malay spices, hence the unique cuisine of Chinese dishes (mostly Hokkien influence) with the touch of Malay spices.

 

The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba), is a dialect of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation. English has now replaced this as the main language spoken amongst the younger generation.

Peranakan culture has started to disappear in Malaysia and Singapore, resulting in the assimilation of Peranakans back into mainstream Chinese culture. Singapore classifies the Peranakans as ethnically Chinese, so they receive formal instruction in Mandarin Chinese as a second language (after English), instead of Malay. In Malaysia, the standardization of Malay (required for all ethnic groups), has led to a disappearance of the unique characteristics of Baba Malay.

So now let’s move on to the food. They aren’t particularly Baba Nyonya cuisine (I didn’t have the time to visit any), but at least you can’t find them anywhere else in Malaysia. Be prepared to queue.

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice & Asam Fish

This isn’t the best in Melacca, but it’s the second best. :p This restaurant is located at the start of Jonker street, and has a queue nonetheless, but I’m glad to say that the queue is still bearable as compared to the best chicken rice restaurant (which unfortunately I was not able to get the name of, maybe next time).

A whole steamed chicken was RM 34 (approx SGD 14/EUR 8). They were generous with their soya sauce and cucumber. The chicken was smooth and tender, not too dry, and the rice was fragrant. We weren’t able to order the Rice balls since it was sold out, but you should try it if you get the chance.

A big plate of Asam Fish (Tamarind Fish) was also RM 34 (approx SGD14/EUR 8). It wasn’t spicy, but sour enough. The Asam/Tamarind Fish paste is made with red chili, garlic, shallots, ginger, shrimp paste, tamarind pulp. I couldn’t taste much of the ginger in the fish and yet it wasn’t fishy. Thumbs up!

The restaurant has a very Chinese décor to it, with the wooden entrances and Chinese lettering on them. The service wasn't too shabby and fast, given that they were under-staffed. All in all, a good way to try the famous Chicken Rice without a long wait.

Final verdict: 8/10

Location: 4, 6, 8 Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat), 75200 Melacca.

Jonker 88 Chendol and Laksa

There's 2 stalls just outside the restaurant. On the right is your laksa queue, and on the left is your chendol. You need to queue (under the hot sun), order, and find a place to sit inside (if youre lucky).

We had the best selling Chendol – Baba Chendol (RM 3/SGD 1.2/ EUR 0.70). The Baba Chendol has sweetened Kidney Beans, Chendol (made from green pea and pandan leaves), Gula Melaka (palm sugar) and Santan (coconut milk). I have had many chendols in Kuala Lumpur, but none of them had the strong taste of the Gula Melaka and the fragrance of the Santan. It is advisable to crush the ice and mix all the ingredients well to get an even taste. If you don’t like it sweet, you could ask them to give you more shaved ice. 

      

Or if you love the Gula Melaka and Sagu a lot, I’d recommend trying the Sagu Gula Melaka (but it was too sweet for me). I’ve also heard the Durian Chendol is a hit! But I personally prefer eating Durian on its own fresh. =)

 

Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar)

Final verdict: 8.5/10

Moving on to the Laksa. There are 3 choices: Pure Curry, Pure Asam Laksa, or Curry Laksa. We ordered all 3 of them to try. And unfortunately, the Curry wasn’t as I expected, it was not thick enough. The Asam was ok, but I was hoping for some He Koh (Prawn paste), Fish and Mint leaves like the Penang style Asam Laksa. This however, only had the sour taste to it, but nothing more. What impressed me was the Curry Laksa, although it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but the you can actually taste the combination of both the Curry and Laksa (since we had the other 2 soup to try as well). But it would have been better if there was more Santan in all the soup base, making it thick and fragrant. 

Each bowl of either Curry, Laksa or Curry Laksa has chicken slices, tao pok (fried bean curd), fu chok (fried fish slices in soy skin) and a shrimp. You have the choice of noodles: bee hoon, yellow mee or laksa noodles.

Final verdict: 6.5/10  

Location: Jonker 88, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melacca. 

The Hanjan - Spicy Tuna

The Hanjan

Our typical Malaysian culture of “yam-cha” (literal translation: drinking tea, but it means going for drinks) after dinner or lunch; originally would include only mamak (Indian Muslims) road side stalls, or Chinese Kopitiams.

However, youngsters nowadays prefer a cleaner and more comfortable environment. Gone were the days, where we would crave for a Maggie Goreng (Friend instant noodles) or Teh O’ ice (Iced milk tea) or the ever so sinful Roti Canai (Prata). But deep down we still love them dearly, afterall we grew up on them.

So instead of heading to a café, my girlfriends decided to have Soju (Korean rice wine) after our Korean BBQ dinner at Sri Hartamas. Those of you who know me know that I don’t drink, but only if needed. Well, this time I know I was in safe hands, and my friend promised me I only needed to down one shot. =)

We ordered what seemed to be my friends’ favourite dish to go along with the Soju – Spicy Tuna. It was served on a hot plate with an abundance of spring onions on top. Before that my friends were talking about how spicy it was, so I was a bit scared I wouldn’t be able to take it. I bravely took up my chopsticks, and took a bit of the tuna and the spring onion and prayed I wouldn’t cry.

At first you’d taste the saltiness of the sauce, and then once you’ve downed it, the spiciness of it slowly lingers on your tongue, causing you the make that “sssss…aaaaahhh” sound like Rain does when he sings :p This slow yet exhilarating feeling is pretty addictive, you’d keep eating it until you feel that heat you get before you’re about to perspire, and you stop. If you can’t take the heat, the tip is to pick out the Chili Padi when you eat.

Then this is the time where you’ll munch on the other side dishes to cleanse your palate, and cool down. I like the fact that the side dishes had a good combination of blend flavours such as tofu, potato, bean sprouts to counter the spicy taste of the tuna. Neither one of us touched the kimchi and radish, since it was spicy and not advisable to add on to the excitement we were already having. But my favourite side dish of all was the freshly pan roasted peanuts with a sprinkle of salt, which just gives that “ummpphh” when I have it with the Tuna, or it could just be me – the peanut crazy lady.

The spring onion that goes along with the tuna really does bring out the taste of it, and at the same time reducing the “burn”. My friends thought that it helped cover the fishy taste of the tuna, but for me, I felt that the sauce was good enough to cover that.

The ambiance of the restaurant was great as well. You have the choice to sit at the open area, or occupy a cubicle. Although they aren’t sound proof walls, just a wooden partition, you get your own privacy in some way. As for us, we enjoyed just sitting in whatever position we desired, may it be as unglam as possible, who cares, we were all girls :p

The bill came about to a total of RM47.30 (approx SGD 19 & EUR 11) for the Spicy Tuna, a bottle of Soju and a can of Sprite. I would say it’s reasonable and definitely worth a try, if you’re the type who loves hunting for spicy food =)

Final Verdict: 7.5/10

*Not advisable for people who can’t take spicy food.  

Location: No. 8, Jalan 25/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, Sri Hartamas

*It's located upstairs, taking the lift/stairs is needed.