-The Historical City of Malacca, Malaysia
Eu Gene: Ok.. that's the Kota A Famosa in front of you and the St.Paul's church up the hill
Me: Ahh, I see. Let's go somewhere else...
... for more food, obviously.
3 days of *makan marathon. And I must agree with my host that 3 days is just too little to savour all that melaka has to offer. 3 cheers to eugene for making my 3 days stay there an unforgettable one.
Day 1: chicken rice balls. Pool. Satay. DoTA/CS. ikan bakar with sambal. DoTA/CS. roti john. SLeep
Day 2: "kon low" wantan mee with chilli oil. Mahkota Parade. Bee Bee's pineapple tarts. Daph's home. Sushi King. DoTA/CS. Satay Celup. Rest&Relax. Sotong&kangkung + cockles with "special sauce". DoTA
Day 3: Duck noodles ( not roast duck, but braised). "Pong piah" (pastry with sweet filling). Chai kueh. Rest,Relax,DoTA. Chendol. Eugene's fav Popiah. Assortment of malay kuih. Chinese dinner
There's so much flavour involved in the last 3 days that i think i will not be able to do justice to all of them by describing them here. You HAVE to go try them yourself! For myself, everyday was more of a matter of waiting for the next meal, thus explaining why there were so many DoTA sessions.
among those that are worthy of mention is, of course, satay celup. we(me, sengbeng, daphne & eugene) went to the BEST satay celup in melaka( capitol satay celup, can't remember where it is, i got chaffeured around town during my stay there..hehe). the concept is similar to "lok lok" in KL, where you cook food skewered on a wooden stick in a pot of hot clear broth. for satay celup, replace that broth with satay sauce - tastes soooo good! there's also a small serving of bread for you to soak it with the sauce and eat it. at the place where we ate, after you've eaten about 20+ sticks, then they will give you selected VIP items, usually the more exotic seafood.
The most memorable experience of all -Sotong&kangkung + cockles with "special sauce". it was supper time on thursday and eugene and i was really happy when he took me walking down this dark alley in between the antique buildings in the city - only to discover the sights and sounds of patrons happily opening the shells of cockles (boiled...but i think it's more like just blanched), then removing the flesh and dipping it in the SPECIAL SAUCE that tasted nothing but heavenly. it's a mix of prawn paste, sweet sauce(those you get when you eat yong tau foo), lime juice, chilli sauce, and peanuts. i personally do not fancy eating just cockles...but with that sauce, it's a really addictive delicacy. the excitement does not stop there - there's also this sotong & kangkung dish that eugene ordered for me. only one word to describe it - orgasmic. it's so so good! that's the single dish that i really really dig into. there's such a dish in kl too supposedly, but the one in melaka was done to perfection. and apart from the heavenly-tasting food, i really love the ambience and atmosphere at that place - a dark street with people eating off a really low table with waste containers in front for you to dispose the shells, the boss preparing the food in front of you, and there's a framed newspaper review of the stall hanging by the wall... the limited number of people there adds to the exclusivity of the stall - you either know the place or you don't.
Of course, there's also the satay i had during my first day in melaka. the sauce is sweeter than the normal peanut sauce you get when you eat satay kajang-style, as there's some fruit used to cook the sauce. there's also a pig's small intestines satay ( on top of the usual chicken, beef and pork satay). the combination of that satay, which tastes slightly salty-ish, with the sweet sauce - perfecto.
the best part of this trip is... i took ZERO photos! which meant that the food is just too good to resist. allow me to be selfish now, but isn't more exciting to see and taste it for yourself especially if it's for the first time?
i'm booked for my trip down to melaka again in a year's time. Definitely. Thanks eugene for being such a wonderful host!
