Malaccan Satay Celup @ Ban Lee Siang Restaurant

Another local food known to dear Malacca is the Satay Celup.
I have been hearing of this for a long time, and the funniest thing is, I have not try it until my recent trip.

In Malacca, the satay celup is widely sold near the Pantai Klebang area; from what I've heard but my brother brought us to another shop near the town area.


We arrived at the shop before 5.30 pm and it was already packed with people!



My impression of Satay celup has always been similar to Penang's Lok Lok, but the Satay celup is slightly different.
Lok Lok is where you dip the seafood or skewer items into hot boiling water in the hotpot and then you fill your plates with thick peanut gravy to welcome the cooked food.

Satay celup here, on the other hand is the boiling gravy and the skewers are dipped in directly into the gravy which is boiling so that you can already consume the cooked stewer directly from the skewer!



When we go for Lok Lok, we are served the plates of food around the whole table and we are free to select as much as we can eat from the plates.




Satay celup, on the other hand, it is like buffet style where you select the seafood from the variety and place them on your tray and you MUST finish them; you can return whatever you cannot finish.



The gravy is spicy; and you can also order for white bread and cucumber slices to go with the gravy.


We ordered this refreshing drink of grass jelly with longan (RM1.30)


Frankly, if you were to ask me, I still prefer the cleaner style of Lok Lok (even though I am already not a big fan).
I felt that the Satay Celup looks messy and it was really spicy for me!


Well, anyway, that's what they meant by cultural differences and that's where we see uniqueness in the cuisines served in different locations.

A good experience nevertheless, although I do have reservations if I were to be asked to try again =)

Home-style Nyonya Food @ Donald & Lily's Corner, Malacca

Malacca is not only famed for her historical roots but also their local cuisines (which made sense why most go to Malacca for food trips).

One of the local cuisines unique to Malacca is the Peranakan cuisine.
Malacca is home to a myriad of mixed cultures as a result of intercultural marriages dating since the colonization period, creating its rich historical background.

Peranakan food is a unique type of cuisine originating from the Peranakan crowd which stemmed from the mixed marriage of the locals and the Chinese traders back then.
The unique and flavorful cuisine is found only in states of Penang, Malacca and also Singapore and yet the taste and style of the cuisines differ greatly due to the local influence and also the geographical location.
As time goes by, the Peranakan food is also fondly known as 'Nyonya food', probably due to the fact that the women (or known as Nyonyas) are the ones who prepare the food.

Malacca was fondly retained in my mind for the rich taste of the local Peranakan food, and I have been to a few restaurants serving the cuisine.
This time, my brother recommended a local shack run by a family; located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and is within walking distance from the famous Jonker's Walk.



Judging from the huge crowd in such a small place, I was expecting good food indefinitely! =)


I heard that this place was really famed for the food, and it seemed to be really proven with the amazing patrons who were willing to queue up outside the shack and on the road, and in patience too for their turn to taste the homecooked food.

We were fortunate enough to be able to secure a place in a short while; and my brother did his job in the ordering and recommending of the dishes or what to eat here.
Since it was after 2pm when we sat down, some of the favorite dishes had run out by then.

While waiting for our food, we ordered their Nyonya Cendol as well


The cendol was nothing to shout about, as I believe that there are much better cendol in Malacca and elsewhere.
The Cendol was rather diluted and the taste was rather uneven as well.

Rojak was definitely new to me; as Donald & Lily's version of rojak looked like a plate of Yong Tau Foo to me!

It was one of the must-orders there as every table had it and I have to say, that I was never a Rojak fan due to the shrimp paste, but this Rojak won my heart (and tummy too!)

Perhaps it was also due to the generous amount of Tau Kua (beancurd), which tasted really nice and tender by the way, and also fishballs and fish paste that were included as the ingredients of the Rojak, which was priced at RM4.
The gravy was different from the usual shrimp paste, and there was chili paste (or at least that's what I thought) in it too, creating a slight exciting spicy taste too.

Mee Siam was also another recommended dish here; and I must say the mee hoon was really unique in its sourish and slightly spicy taste.


We wanted to order Ayam Pongteh too; which, according to my brother, was one of their best dishes but it ran out.
We ordered their Assam Fish instead; which was also running out fast too!

The Assam fish comes with white rice and a serving of the vegetables of the day


The place was really bustling with people, and it was amazing how the food was served quite immediately too. Perhaps it was also due to the favorite dishes and the frequency of the repetitive dishes ordered.

However, one word of caution; be careful of the pricing and the total amount in the bill as there could be disrepancies.
After all, they are humans too, and in busy times, they may tend to overlook or confuse between one group with another.
The best is to keep the check on your own tab =)

Donald & Lily's was definitely a unique experience for me during this trip to Malacca =)

Malacca Road/Food Trip - Dim Sum @ Double L Restaurant

During the Christmas period, I joined my family on a day trip to revisit a place that holds very fond memories for us; Melaka @ Malacca.
Malacca is a well known state in Malaysia as the Historical City and has been awarded the Heritage status due to the conservation of the pre-war buildings and historic landmarks in the state by UNESCO.

My brother and I both studied there for a year and we have enjoyed the simplicity of the life in the historical city.

We have always wanted to go back; especially to the area near our varsity which is home to a lot of restaurants and cafes.
This time, my brother was the tour guide as he explored the city the most during his student days compared to me;)

Upon arrival at Melaka, we headed straight to this dim sum restaurant in Bukit Beruang which was quite crowded with students and families on that Sunday morning.






Most of the dim sum here were clearly stated on the notice board and generally priced at RM1.80 per plate (steamed, fried, and pao) with the exception of prawn-based dim sum.



We started with a good pot of Ti Kuan Yin tea

It is always a habit for dim-sum goers to have a pot of brewing Chinese tea as it was believed to drain the excessive heat and fats/oil from the food due to its natural properties.

We had quite a number and variety of dim sum as well, as it has been a long time since my spend-thrifty parents had dim sum too and we wanted them to enjoy during the trip too ;)

Steamed spare ribs


Chive dumplings with meat


Fish paste rolled with fried beancurd sheets


Minced pork rolled with seaweed skin


Traditional Siew Mai (this is always a must have to try in any new dim sum restaurant or if you are patronizing a dim sum restaurant for the first time)


Fish balls


Fried fish paste


Prawn dumplings ( I think this was priced at RM2.20-2.50)


Fish paste rolls


Besides the dim sum, we also had porridge, chee cheong fun and BBQ Pork Bun
Century egg porridge



Chee Cheong Fun


BBQ Pork bun (Char Siew Pow - also a must try whenever one goes for dim sum)



The food was good and service was prompt too, it was really a good place for dim sum in Malacca.
I am already missing the dim sum there =P