Kingtu Restaurant Satay Celup | Melaka

Everytime you visit Melaka, the famous food that people will recommend is the Satay Celup! And everytime you request for Satay Celup, you will either end up in Capitol or Ban Lee Siang which are the famous one and had the longest queue you were ever want to join. So this time, we found a Satay Celup shop which is equally famous but somewhere out of the Melaka town. You wont have to queue like crazy or pay like crazy. You just have to relax and enjoy your food, plus it is an air-conditional shop, no worry on sweating while eating.

Just for your info. for those who haven't try Satay Celup before, it is a type of raw or semi-raw ingredients (ie. meat, seafood, vegetables and etc...) on skewers and you boil it into a big pot of satay sauce. It is very similar like steamboat, but the soup is substitute with satay sauce.

All the ingredients will be placed inside the fridge near to the entrance, you will need to get a big metal plate and place all the food you will like to eat. Every table will be installed a pot of boiling satay sauce in the middle of the table to boil your ingredients.

You will dunk your ingredients inside the boiling satay sauce and wait for it to cook. And there it is your Satay Celup!

I personally like this place, although it is a bit far from the town but if you are driving, I would recommend to come here. As you will save your time on queueing and eating in a crowded and noisy place. This place give you more space and even better ambience to chit chat with your friends. The satay sauce is nice, comparable with the other famous outlet, plus the price is only RM0.70 per stick regardless any ingredients. At least by end of the day, we still able to save our pocket getting a big hole.

Kingtu Restaurant Satay Celup

9, Jalan CU 4,

Taman Cheng Utama, 75250 Melaka

Contact No.: 012-6068805

P/S: You can use Waze to type in the restaurant name to find the place.

Nancy's Kitchen | Malacca

During the trip to Malacca, we visited another Nyonya Restaurant near our hotel. Normally during the lunch and dinner hour, you can see long queue outside the restaurant. But that day, we went around 5pm just before the dinner crowd start. The place located opposite the Cheng Ho Residence, walking distance to Jonker street.

Since we just had tea break somewhere else, we decided to have some light snack as our dinner. We order its ala carte instead of main dishes.

Popiah (Spring Roll)-RM3.00 (per roll)

I love to have popiah wherever I go, can't resist this too. Thickness of the popiah skin is just right with lots of filling wrap inside, very nice I would said however it is a bit spicy as it added some chilli paste. Recommended to order!

Top Hat (Pai Tee)-RM 4.80 (5 cones per serving)

My second favourite Nyonya snack is this! They are indeed good in making the top hat cones, very crispy and crunchy. The filling they are using is exactly the same as the Popiah filing but in a different way of  serving. The popiah filling doesn't blend well on Pai Tee, I prefer the filling to be finer and dry in order to taste it in a crispy way.

Pork Fried with Bean Curd Skin (Ngoh Hiang)-RM 6.00 (small)

This dish very similar to the Hokkien's Lo Bak, however the taste of the Ngoh Hiang is not flavour enough. I still prefer the Penang's Lo Bak over this.

Nyonya Laksa-RM6.00

Nyonya Laksa here is very similar to the KL curry mee. The noodle that they are using is the normal yellow mee and bihun, not the transparent laksa noodle. The taste of the laksa is too similar to curry mee, if it is a curry mee, I would said it is comparable. 

 Nyonya Fried Rice Sambal Belacan- RM6.00(small)

This is the last thing we would ever order as we always think fried rice is a common dish that every household can cook. We ordered this because hubby want to have rice. But this change our perception and gave all of us a surprise. It turn out to be pretty good and in fact delicious! Although it is a bit spicy but the rice smell so good with the anchovy on top. It looks like Kampung fried rice but taste so much better. Must Try! 

After trying their Appetizer and Ala Carte, I seriously will come back again for their main dishes. I guess this is also the reason why long queueing and people keep coming back again.

Nancy's Kitchen

Jalan Hang Lekir

Off Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock

Melaka, Malaysia

Tel : 06 2836099

Restaurant Nyonya Makko | Melaka

I visited this place previously with customer few months ago and decided to re-visit this place again since we are craving for Nyoya Food. There are a few Nyoya restaurants along the Melaka Raya, you will see lots of tourist bus stopping by the road side. Another tourist spot I must say, basically the one I review previously-Cottage Spices and this place weren't that many of tourists. From the big signboard display outside the shop with photo of the 90 years old founder cum owner, you just can't miss the shop when you pass by.

Pong Teh Chicken- RM22.00

The taste of this dish is just average. Nothing to shout about and quite disappointed actually. Pong Teh chicken is one of the famous dish among the Peranakan dishes, if you are a Nyoya, you should know how to cook this dish.

Paku Sambal Belacan- RM 12.00

Nothing much to say about the vegetable. Taste wise is fine. Normally you can only find this type of vegetables in Nyoya or Thai restaurant. It is always best to be cook in sambal belacan and nothing else. 

Omelette with Cincalok-RM 12.00

Cincalok is a famous Melaka food where you will see people selling it in a bottle for around RM3-4. It can be cook in many ways but one of the easy and famous dish is the cincalok omelette. All waitress from each Nyoya restaurant will recommend you to order this. Cincalok itself already carried salty taste. It really depends on the cooking style, some may make it a little too salty because of the way the handle the cincalok, some can be really delicious. For this dish, we feel it is a bit too salty.

Sotong Goreng Kunyit- RM15.00

We ordered the fried calamari with turmeric which is recommended by the waitress. Since we always have the normal fried calamari, we were thinking why not try some new style. But it doesn't turnout as we thought it would be. The calamari is soggy and nothing smell of turmeric except the colour, it is better to order our normal way I guess. 

Assam Pedas Fish (Seasonal Price)- RM 56.00

Not bad for the Assam Pedas Fish except it wasn't that spicy as we thought it is. The size of the fish is just nice for 5 of us, however it can be better on the Assam gravy. The taste of the sauce is mild, nothing too spicy or too sour, commented by others is that nothing like assam pedas.

Overall the food is just average, wasn't up to our standard for Nyonya food. The price was slightly lower than Cottage Spices but taste wise is incomparable. For my personally view, I will prefer Cottage Spices more than Makko. The advantage is the capacity of space is much more bigger than Cottage Spices, more comfortable when dine in.

Restoran Nyonya Makko
123, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Merdaka Raya,
75000 Melaka
Email: makkonyonya@hotmail.com
Tel: 06-2840737
Business Hour: 11.30am-2.45pm, 6pm-9.30pm (Closed on Tuesday)

Best Cendol in Melaka | East & West Rendezvous

Every time we came to Malacca, we never miss to try their local dessert-Cendol. Every time different place, we search high and low, up and down for the best Cendol but never found one. I always thought maybe we are too picky?

Last trip to Malacca, my brother's friend introduce him to a place where the best Cendol lies. It is located nearby Jonker Street. Just walk along the small alley between the "San Shu Gong" shop and Chung Wah Chicken rice, where you can see the entrance to Hard Rock Cafe's car park, pass by the Orang Utan's T-shirt shop and this little shop will be on your right not too far off.

At first glance it doesn't say much, but we were really in for a surprise this time...

Our main purpose of why we are here: Cendol Melaka!

Cendol-RM 3.50 per bowl

I must state this upfront: my man thinks that this is the best Cendol he has ever tasted in his life so far. Although there's no fancy ingredients like ice cream, cashew nuts or mixed fruits (Who the heck puts mixed fruits in Cendol?!?! My man certainly has some weird imagination........), this Cendol proves that the time-tested traditional recipe is still the king in our local shaved ice desserts. The gula Melaka is however on the sweet side, but thats what makes it absolutely stunning and keeps us craving for more. My man subsequently ordered a second helping and finished it up even faster!

Besides, we also ordered the traditional dumplings, also known as "Nyonya Ba-chang". This is made to be slightly different from the normal Hokkien dumpling  as the filling in the center is minced meat and tastes somewhat like the filling in char-siu buns, not the usual chunky meat, mushroom and nuts you would find during dumpling festivals.

Nyonya Ba-chang-RM 5.50

It tastes absolutely delicious, a must try item even if you don't regularly eat dumplings. We loved it so much that we decided to bring a few of them back home. The store owner said that the dumplings can be kept for a few days at room temperature, and even longer if we put it in the fridge.

For what it's worth, places like these are becoming rarer nowadays. I can't help but recall that many commercialized dessert shops often leave me a little disappointed out the door; it has been a long time since I last left a shop feeling this satisfied and still crave for even more. I'll definitely make sure to visit this shop every time we come to Malacca in the future!

East & West Rendezvous

60, Lorong Hang Jebat, 

75200 Melaka.

Tel.: 016-634 6283 (Grace Tan)

Chicken Floss Tou Sar Kok | Jing Yuan Biscuit and Bakery, Melaka

In Penang, we have famous Tau Sar Piah; In Seremban, we have famous Seremban Siew Pau. What about Malacca? Well, Malacca also have its famous biscuit. Other than the pineapple tart,  it is call the Chicken Floss Tau Sar Kok. 

Let me introduce to you today an old shop selling what is famous for. Jing Yuan Biscuit and Bakery is an old shop running the business for many years now. If you are not local patron, you will hardly know this place but it is well-known among the Singaporean. Weird.. A Must Visit shop if you are in Malacca!

Jing Yuan sell a wide range of biscuit in the shop but what I want to introduce is the Chicken Floss Tou Sar Kok. No one leave the shop without a packet of it. Here is a photo of the Tou Sar Kok.

One packet- 5 Pieces for RM4.50 

From the photo above you can see there is a layer of chicken floss on top of the tou sar. First bite on the outer layer is crunchy, inner texture of the tou sar is soft and smooth. No worry on the sweetness, it is perfectly fine. You will regret for not trying it. I personally think this is better than the normal Tau Sar Piah. I just can't have enough of it.

Jing Yuan Biscuit And Bakery

No:45-D, Jalan Ong Kim Wee,

75300 Melaka.

H/P: 012-712 7905

Cottage Spices Nyonya Restaurant | Melaka

A famous place for Nyoya food that is recommeded by my Malacca friend. This place quite near to Mahkota Parade but need a 5 mins drive from there. Here is the map to the place. I always like Nyoya food although my house always cook those dishes. Nyoya food have similarity to Malay food but using Chinese way of cooking.

A simple one page menu was given, choices are not a lot but at least it cover most of the Nyoya dishes.

We arrived quite early around 6.20pm but the place already packed. Luckily we managed to have the last table. The place is small, fit less than 10 tables in the restaurant. Do come early to get a place.

Cendol-RM 3.50

The presentation of the cendol was not tempting at all compare to the menu's photo however the taste was good. The potion was small with little ice on top. Can't they be more generous to give more ice, how much can it cost?

Ikan Cili Garam-RM 32

We both love this the most. The fish was deep fried with salt cover all over it but the taste is just nice not too salty. We loved the crispy outer skin with juicy flesh inside, not oily at all. However, look at the price! With that small piece of fried fish, I can actually have a whole fish elsewhere but worth a try.

Otak-Otak-RM 12

The otak-otak is normal, nothing to shout about. It is not those banana leaf otak-otak that we usually had in Nyonya restaurant. Another common otak-otak we can find in KL.

Kangkung Belacan-RM 12

Cincalok Egg-RM 11

Fried egg with the Malacca Cincalok. I always like cincalok cook with fried egg because cincalok itself is salty , frying with egg will save you from putting any salt or soy sauce and remain it natural taste. :)

Overall, we had 4 dishes, 2 drink and 1 dessert and it cost us RM83 for two people, averagely RM 40 per person. It is a bit pricy if you ask me. In addition the bill came with a 5% service charge. For my opinion, it is worth a try if you are a first timer. I guess I have to find another Nyoya food in Malacca again.

Cottage Spices

171, Taman Melaka Raya,

75000 Melaka

Tel: 06-2835040

www.cottagespices.com.my

Chung Wah Chicken Rice Ball | Melaka

If you visited Malacca before you know that one of the famous food is the chicken rice ball. Due to the demand, there are a lot of outlets now selling chicken rice ball around Jonker street. So which outlet should I visit to get the best out of the best? It really depends on personally preference. Last time I used to have breakfast at Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant, but when I went recently it closed in the morning. So, I decided to have a try on the recently famous chicken rice in town which is the Chung Wah Chicken Rice. It is located at the end of the Jonker street, near to the Red House Malacca. 

I went around 9.15 am, look at the crowd! Everyone was queueing outside the coffee shop. The line is not short but it is fast. It took me around 30 mins to get a seat. The shop owner has narrowed the entrance to control the crowd from rushing into the shop. Everyone is require to queue for their turn, even you want to order take away. 

Once you are assigned a seat, just wait for your food to be served. Dishes will be served according to the number of pax. You do not have a menu to choose the food you want except for drinks. You are not allow to add any additional chicken except for rice ball. Basically, you don't have a say if you choose to dine here.

There will be 5 chicken rice ball for each person. Although the rice ball look small, but it is quite filing when you eat together with the chicken. The rice is not as fragrant as authentic Hainan chicken rice, it feel like ordinary rice except it is sticky and oily. 

The chicken will be served according to number of pax as well. For example: half chicken for 2 people and whole chicken for 4 people. It looks a lot at first for 2 people, however when you started to eat, you will find that they are actually using small kampung chicken to cook. The portion is just nice for two people with 5 rice balls each. Taste wise of the chicken is not bad, very strong sesame oil. All chicken is pre-prepared, they just chop and add soy sauce and sesame oil on top of the chicken. However what I do not like about the chicken is the presentation. The skill of chopping the chicken is bad, from what I understand there is a specific skill to chop the chicken so you won't have bone chips attached to the meat. Just be careful when eat the chicken, as you might accidentally get cut by the bones.

Overall the taste is fine and the service is fast, we paid around RM 26 (incl. drinks) for 2 people. The drawbacks are long queue and no say on the food choice.

Kedai Kopi Chung Wah

18, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Open Daily: 7:30 am to 3:00 pm

Malacca Trip

Just finished uploaded all the photos in facebook, it is time for blogging about the trip now. We went there on the Raya day. We started our trip early in the morning but half way there, we got some problem on one of my friend's car so we have to return and get another car again. So, the real time we departed to Malacca was 12pm and it had started to jam all the way till Malacca.

Then, the first place we went was to find food to eat(everyone hungry), went to Hoe Kee's Chicken Rice Shop but the queue was damn long same to Chung Wah Chicken Rice Shop.T.T So we decided to go to Newton, there was crowded too but at least have place to sit. The place is under renovation so there are about 5 stalls only.

We went to Mahkota Parade to get some air-con, the weather was hot there. We heard there is a branch of Nadeje for delicious crepe cake but unfortunately when we arrived there, the cakes have been sold out. Luckily we have ws's senior to show us to another branch opposite Mahkota Parade to buy. We were unable to dine-in because the place was packed so we eat while we walked to Jonker street.

After Jonker street, we went to have our dinner which was 10pm and the Ban Siang Lee satay celup Restaurant was still crowded so we decided to go to the next shop for satay celup. It is called Old Village Satay Celup Restaurant. The price is RM0.60 for a stick. The taste was not bad but every stick contain very small portion compare to Ban Siang Lee.

Next morning, we went to have breakfast in Hoe Kee's Chicken Rice Shop. We reach there about 9am but luckily we are the 3rd person to line up. "Gosh...eat chicken rice also want to lined-up" my mom will sure said this if she saw us. I still like the chicken a lot compare to others(no smell). We can't get the chance to taste the Asam Fish because it is not sold in the morning.

Then we went to Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum. It costs RM8 for adult and RM4 for children. We are not allow to take photos in the Museum so I got the outside look only.

Then we went to have a ride on the Malacca River Cruise. It cots RM10 for adult. It took about 40-50 minutes ride if i'm not mistaken. I still think it is worth of money to go on this ride. I got to see different places around Malacca that cant see through driving. I still prefer to go on the day although many prefer night because of the lighting at night. In the day, I can see all the painting on the houses.

Next, The Menara Taming Sari. We pay RM10 for showing MyCard. Without MyCard will be RM20 and RM10 for children. 7 minutes for the ride. We got to see whole Malacca from the top, it is better to go on day rather than night because you will get to see the view clearer.

Lunch at Baba Low's. The place is located at Jln Tengkera. After Tengkera Mosque,turn right into the lane, the place will be at your left under a big mango tree.

Mee Siam (Good)

Nyonya laksa (looks like Curry Mee)-very good

Next, we went to have Pan Mee.Some shop lots opposite Menara Taming Sari, the same row as Nadeje. I didn't get to know the shop name but the pan mee is nice.

At night, we went back to Portugese Settlement to have seafood. We choose stall 4, restaurant 88. Food was okay, 5/10 not very bad but not very good also. Total we pay RM144 for 7 persons for having crabs, lala, fish,vege and sotong.

Famous Mango juice, taste sour and sweet, help to trickle our nerve when we 1st taste it. The left side with a big uncle head is the original Mango Juice located at stall 10. The right side is prepared by an aunty at stall 1, the Mango Juice tasteless at all.

Third day, we went to Yong Moh Kopitiam to have Dim Sum for breakfast. They are famous with the big pau. It is located at Jalan Tukang Emas, opposite road of Jonker street. The Big Pau is half the size of Big Pau in KL and cost RM2. I like the taste of Char Sau Pau (RM1) better than the Big Pau. In case you never know, the char sau pau is also half the size of the normal one. So small that one person can eat 3 of it.

Big Pau

Small Pau

On the way back to KL, we stopped by Seremban to buy some Seremban Siew Pau. A great journey we have this time. Hope we can organise another trip in the near future before everyone graduate. :)