vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Snack / Dessert
Inexpensive yet satisfying titbits
胜香园 Sing Heung Yuen Tea Restaurant @ Central, Hong Kong
Sep 14th
This is Central, the central business district of Hong Kong. Tucked among the super high-rise buildings are a mix of modern and old restaurants – with some even being Hong Kong’s oldest. Busy in the day and relatively quiet at night, you will definitely step foot here if you plan to visit The Peak or have a drink at Lan Kwai Fong. Our objective here? To have tea break at the most famous Hong Kong style tea restaurant, none other than Sing Heung Yuen.
Since there are already countless hawker and mamak stalls in Malaysia, something like Sing Heung Yuen is already very common for us. Part of the reason why Sing Heung Yuen is so popular is due to the fact that they are one of the few ‘Dai Pai Dong‘ in Hong Kong that is still standing. Most roadside eateries have moved into shoplots over the years, making this traditional type of restaurants a rare sight. And I don’t think I am alone, Sing Heung Yuen actually reminds me of Penang’s Toh Soon Cafe.
When you are eating in Hong Kong and especially at establishments like this, it is best to expect the worst service and attitude from the staff. So even if you got treated with a unhappy looking face, at least you seen it coming. That being said, the menu here is quite simple and consists of mostly toasts, a couple of macaroni and noodles and complete with drinks you would expect from a coffee shop.
Back Alley Siham, Lala, Snail & Cuttlefish @ Tong Bee’s Stall, Off Jalan Bunga Raya, Melaka
Sep 13th
Eating at the cockles stalls in a back alley off Jalan Bunga Raya is an experience you won’t forget.
Think about this: you’re seated on tiny stools arranged between drains and while eating those half-cooked and still bloody cockles, motorcycles constantly ride past behind you – just inches away from knocking you off. So for those who are not as adventurous or place high priority on food hygiene when eating out, this is obviously not the thing for you. I am not going to lie, I had my reservations before coming here but I am glad I did it. It is not that bad after all.
Basically there are two stalls here, each endorsed by different celebrity/newspaper/tv show. One of them is Capitol, featured in 8tv’s HoChak before. I heard Captiol is not bad but it is also said that their dipping sauce is somewhat lacking the ooomph when compared to their neighbor’s.
Capitol’s neighbor is none other than Tong Bee, the original proprietor of this business for over 40 years and it has been recommended by Singapore celebrities, Ah Xian and such. Tong Bee’s Stall had a humble beginning before they enjoyed the current popularity. It was said that the uncle who started this food business was initially a taxi driver. But he lost one of his arm in an accident hence had to look for an alternative source of income, which is this.
48 Hours of Melaka Food, the not so Touristy Guide
Aug 31st
I spent my last weekend in Melaka searching high and low for good food that I did not manage to try in my last trip. Honestly, when I read back the trip I had almost three years ago I find it very touristy feel. So this time my aim is to those I missed and those not-so-famous places that are equally good, if not better. This will be an executive summary of my 3 days 2 nights trip, short but concise – focused mainly on food and some side activities, hopefully it will be helpful if you are visiting Melaka soon.
By the way, due to the Hari Raya and National Day holidays there are long queues in almost all the famous makan places like Chung Wah Chicken Rice, Capitol Satay Celup, Jalan Bunga Raya Fried Oyster just to name a few and waiting time could exceed 1 hour easily. Tourist influx has definitely surged and Melaka feels different too after on-going developments over the years.
If you didn’t know, I spent a year completing my pre-U courses in MMU Melaka. That time there was a nice duck mee around Bukit Beruang‘s food court, which I only knew after SL told me. Three years ago we were not able to locate the restaurant because apparently they have shifted. This time, we found it. Taste wise it exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds, the closest thing I could think of that taste almost the same is Mamee’s instant duck noodle. Imagine that but with authentic duck flavor and meat instead, very recommended. Price: RM4
Currently the duck mee can be found at Chia Yean Coffee Shop near the Medan Selera Bukit Beruang, GPS Coordinates: N2 14.779 E102 16.489
Next, Aunty Koh’s cendol at Bukit Rambai. It was a long drive past the beach and paddy fields but man was it worth it. Unlike other cendol in Melaka that relies heavily on sweet Gula Melaka for the distintive taste, Aunty Koh emphasizes on coconut milk instead. What you will get here is the milkiest cendol with the purest coconut milk taste. This, in my book is the BEST cendol ever. Besides cendol Aunty Koh also sells Tai Bak, some sort of tong sui that taste like tong yuen but comes in long shredded slices instead. RM3.50 for a big bowl of cendol.
Aunty Koh cendol is open during weekends only from 12pm till finish. Come early to avoid disappointments and expect a lot of self-service here. GPS Coordinates: N2 14.804 E102 11.516
On the way back to town from Bukit Rambai you will surely go pass Pantai Klebang and here you should try Klebang Original Coconut Shake. A normal cup costs only RM1.50 but for an extra 50 cents you get the special version with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Not bad but the blended ice is not fine enough resulting in some annoying bits here and there.
Lucky Hong Kong Dessert (發記甜品) @ Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara
Aug 23rd
In less than 10 days I will be going to Hong Kong for a 5-day trip. While planning for the itinerary, Lucky Dessert fell into the radar of the dessert shop we have shortlisted to try. Then I suddenly remembered that this Lucky Dessert actually has a branch in Malaysia at Sunway Giza Mall. During their grand opening last year I was invited to sample their desserts and give my comments. However, due to my ‘no invitational meals’ policy I gave that a miss. And since Lucky Dessert already has a branch here I guess there’s no point going all the way to Hong Kong for it right? For me, in case they are good then I might want to try the original thing in Hong Kong for comparison sake. Else I will just cross them off my list.
When you glance through the menu you will find the desserts here are not THAT expensive compared to My Honeymoon or Tim Pun Gor Gor. But when you see the desserts’ portion you will feel the price is actually just standard – maybe even more expensive than its peers. For example a portion of Mango Roll (芒果糯米卷) has two small slices priced at RM6 as opposed to My Honeymoon’s RM9 for almost double the portion. Worst still, the mango used for the dessert was not sweet and didn’t even have any mango flavor to begin with.
