Jonker Street, Melaka

Was in Melaka recently for a day trip, to celebrate my 2 friend's birthday with, what else, but whole day of all expense paid eating! lucky lucky guys :p

Thanks Andrew for the fantastic transport, we really felt we were in a private coach tour to Melaka, very nice indeed! hehe

We reached Melaka in time for lunch, and our first stop was the famous chicken rice ball at Kedai Kopi Chung Wah. My first try of this shop was when I was 17 years old, my friend's father, a Malaccan, said that this was the only place he'll have the chicken rice balls. The first experience was unforgettable. And I've been back on my every visit to Melaka.

So yes, I was not surprise when I saw the queue when I was approaching the shop. But wait was short, we managed to get seats quite fast.

The rice balls and the chilli sauce.. Compact rice balls coated with chicken oil, i used to just take this with the chilli sauce and I would be satisfied. Alas, I was sorely disappointed as the rice balls lacked the fragrance and flavours that used to impressed me. So was the chilli; it's merely spicy and not fragrant anymore.

I was never impressed with the chicken they served there.. And yes, it's still mediocre.

Next was dessert at Jonker Dessert 88

Their famed cendol with sticky, caramelised gula melaka was a hot item in this shop. How can one miss it?

Still as yummy as the last I had it. A little bit on the sweeter side though..

We walked over to Donald & Lily..

Read that it has a killer nyonya laksa. WF said they're famous for the cendol too (the normal, non caramelised version). It was already nearing tea time and we were lucky to get the final 2 bowls of laksa. The waiter suggested us to try their other nyonya food (pongteh, assam fish etc), but we already had lunch and just wanted to snack here...

Looks absolutely gorgeous, this bowl was definitely sinful. The creamy, thick santanish soup was enticing and not overly rich. I usually don't take nyonya laksa as it's just too rich in flavours. But Donald & Lily's version was surprising smooth and goes down really well with all the fresh ingredients (juicy see ham included :p).

We had some Tau Kua Rojak

Francis said it was weird. So I tried. It was ok actually, warm bean curd, chopped cucumber and pineapple tossed with prawn sauce ala chee cheong fun style. I guess it's an acquired taste? I didn't find it terribly impressive though nearly every table has a plate of it.

Cendol to cool us down.. Too sweet, but the gula melaka was very fragrant.

Kedai Kopi Chung Wah

18, Jalan Hang Jebat ( beginning of Jonker walk) , 75200 Melaka.

Jonker Dessert 88 (Museum Cafe)

88, Jonker Walk, 75200 Melaka.

Donald & Lily

Back of Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (or back lane off Jalan Hang Jebat), 75200 Melaka.

Joo Hooi Cafe, Penang

After the sumptuous loh bak brunch, we went along Jalan Penang as Ryan had some errands to run..

And since we were parked so near Joo Hooi Cafe, it was inevitable that we sat down for some ice cold cendol and a bowl of assam laksa...

This old coffee shop oozes nostalgic charm like no other. Everything seems to be in the 1970s, except for the music which fills the air..well, that might be from the 40s to 60s..hehe

Some cendol for the sweet tooth.. The shaved ice, gula melaka syrup and creamy coconut milk combo does wonders to cool us down on a very hot afternoon.Very nice indeed. Oh, we did not managed to eat the very famous cendol stall that was located just outside of Joo Hooi Cafe. We thought we ordered from the stall, but after a while we realised that we had the cendol from the coffee shop as this bowl is larger. Not much difference actually.

The assam laksa..Not the best I've tried, but it was ok. The soup was thick with loads of fish and have it piping hot; it's quite satisfying.

Joo Hooi Cafe is located at the junction of Penang Road and Lebuh Kheng Khee. About 5 mins from Komtar building.