vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
With GPS Coordinates
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.
Restoran Yap Chuan Bak Kut Teh @ Puchong Utama
Sep 6th
I used to feel Yap Beng at Equine Park prepares better Bak Kut Teh even though they are actually a branch of Yap Chuan at Puchong. But a revisit to both after three years changed my mind, now it’s the other way round. Yap Chuan seems to be able to maintain the standards better while Yap Beng’s has dipped more and more over the years.
My taste buds have changed over the years too. I used to prefer Bak Kut Teh with dark stock that has strong herbal taste, probably because that is the only style available from where I come from (Penang) And Yap Beng’s is exactly like that, which explained my fondness towards them in the past.
But now I like those light colored ones with an even flavor of sweetness and herbs, liven up by suitable amount of Chinese wine. While Yap Chuan’s style is not exactly the one I described, it is still good enough in its own way. RM20 for a ‘dai guat’ (big bone) portion.
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.
The Perfect Chicken Rice @ Restoran Chai Hong, Seremban
Aug 28th
When you think of Seremban’s delicacies usually Hakka Mee, Grilled Crab, Siew Pau and Beef Noodle are the ones that come into mind first. Never would I have expected to find a high standard Chicken Rice at Restoran Chai Hong. Then I got to know from a reader that this restaurant is also known as the ‘Diamond Chicken Rice’ to the locals due to the expensiveness. To get here, simply follow the road leading to the town’s police station and you will see the coffee shop on your right immediately after the coffin shops.
According to the signboard Chai Hong is actually serving Teo Chew style steamed chicken rice along with Ipoh bean sprouts. Don’t ask me how different it is from the Hainanese chicken rice though because I have no idea lol. And I actually got to know this chicken rice from my colleague who is from Seremban. He vaguely described Chai Hong’s chicken rice as the best in town but slow in service and a lot more expensive than the rest.
