We arrived in Melaka at around 4 p.m. and checked into our hotel, Hotel Puri. It was a lovely place and the staff were friendly. We decided to take a walk along Jonker Street for a bit before heading back to the hotel for some rest before our dinner at Hoe Kee Chicken Rice [Across the road from Christ Church and The Stadhudys (pronounced Stat-House)]. Alas, it was not to be because when we got there, we were informed that Hoe Kee closes at 5 p.m. every day. We then settled for a meal at Peranakan Restaurant, opposite Hotel Puri.
The furnishings were rather quaint and charming.
Kangkong Belachan. This was alright.
Assam Pedas. This was nice, but I personally liked the next dish much better.
I love the taste of Ayam Buah Keluak, or specifically, Buah Keluak. Buah Keluak is a black nut originating from Indonesia and is highly poisonous. It has to be treated before consumption.
Oh yes, the meal cost about 40 Ringgit. This meal was inclusive of a glass of lime juice, two servings of rice, two extra pieces of buah keluak, and chili (2.50 Ringgit).
The next day, we had a delightful breakfast in the hotel before setting off to do some sightseeing. We forgot to bring along a bottle of water with us and got real thirsty after a while. Cendol (or what we know as Chendol) is among some of the more popular gastronomic delights of Peranakan (Chinese-Malay) origin.
We had a bowl of this at a stall/shop opposite Hoe Kee Chicken Rice and it was positively refreshing. The vendor was exceptionally friendly too. This was 2 Ringgit!
We finally managed to have a meal at this place. It may look tiny but the shop actually stretches all the way to the back and a lot of people eat there.
There was nothing to crow about the chicken, but we did enjoy eating the rice balls.
Though the rice was not as fragant, what made the difference was that they were smooth in texture (It was even smoother than sushi) and thus interesting to eat. We paid about 13 Ringgit for the meal.
Dinner was at a place called Restoran De Lisbon, at the Portugese Settlement. We thought it wouldn't serve good food because there was no one else but us and the crowd seemed to be gathering around the other eating place (hawker centre setting) in the area.
The fried noodles were a tad salty, but very palatable.
Call me a spelling Nazi but when we reached Melaka, I vowed never to eat at any outlet that misspelled "Curry Debal". There was one that spelled it as "Curry Deval" and another spelt it as "Curry Dable". Devil Curry is named so because it is supposed to be really spicy. It doesn't require the use of coconut milk like the other types of curry but relies on spices, onions, tomatoes and sometimes even potatoes to make it thicker. The dish served at this restaurant was alright. I was slightly disappointed because I feel that my mum makes a meaner curry.
The Otah was delish. The ones we find here tend to have too much lemak in them. I loved this because there were actually discerning chunks of fish meat in it.
The highlight of the evening had to be the Baked Fish. It was oh-so-umami! It looks like the typical BBQ-ed fish, but this was not dry at all. It had a creamy, soft texture and the sambal laid on it was heavenly. Wow. The four dishes and a glass of lime juice came up to about 60 Ringgit.
We had our breakfast at the hotel for the two days we were there. I love sunny side ups. I only wish that they had dark sauce to go along with it.
This bun was marvelous with butter. Point to note: This hotel serves really yummy breakfasts.
I had to say goodbye to Melaka and head home after this. Of course, this was not done without buying a lot of snacks and goodies which I'll be blogging about in time to come.
The Potato Croquette was yummy, but the best I've had so far was at Tampopo (Liang Court). Somehow, I find the sauce that is served with this one a tad too salty.
This place sells one of the freshest sashimi that Sushi Tei has to offer. Sadly, Uni (Sea Urchin) was sold out today.
The tempura served consisted of two prawns and a slice of sweet potato. I felt that the portion looked somewhat miserable.
I prefer Udon to Soba. This was smooth and the clear broth was soothing.
The highlight of the meal was definitely the Salt Ice Cream. It was unusual. We wondered if we could recreate this simply by mixing salt with vanilla ice-cream and then re-freezing it.
