Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Monster Makan in Malacca
Singapore/Malacca Tues 13 Dec
Foodies will do anything to seek out good eating places wherever they may be. That’s why Margaret and I were up bright and early to catch the morning coach to Malacca. Starting from Golden Mile Complex at Beach road, we were driven into Malaysia via the second link at Tuas and made one pit stop halfway. It was already 1.30 pm when we got to Renaissance Hotel. Aside from a fairly substantial breakfast we had not eaten for six hours and half an hour later we emerged from the hotel ready to munch our way around Malacca!
Our gnawing hunger drove us into the nearest eatery which happened to be Bulldog Café at 145 Jalan Bendahara, just round the corner from the hotel. A converted old terrace house, the café has an open and spacious feel to it as a result of an air-well and a high ceiling. A koi pond lies at the bottom of the air-well and the interior is filled with assorted memorabilia - framed newspaper pages from 1951 and 1954, Japanese 'banana' notes (issued during the occupation of Malaya), an ancient typewriter, a rusty fan and a bicycle hanging from the ceiling over the bar. Most perplexing of all was a free standing solid elongated box with a metal dome top studded with circular controls and gauges. We were told that it was a hair curler used by beauty salons. The café offers a mixture of Nonya, Western, Chinese, Thai and Japanese dishes. This eclectic menu and the lack of customers raised suspicions that variety had been substituted for quality so we opted for light snacks to be safe. However, the popiah and kueh pai tee pleasantly surprised our taste buds and we decided to come back later in the evening to soak in the retro-ambience and sample the other Nonya dishes.
With the edge taken off our hunger we headed to Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonkers) for chicken rice balls. Not to be greedy we shared one plate between us. I thought the rice balls were yummy but found the chicken ordinary. It was only 3.30pm so we wandered around the antique and gift shops in the area for a while before returning to the hotel. Just outside the hotel at the opposite end from Bulldog Café was a coffee shop that served roti canai. Since it was already 5.30 pm and we were planning on an early dinner I restrained myself to one plain canai accompanied by teh halia to wash it down. The canai was delightfully light and fluffy whilst the ginger tea was not overly sweet. We sat there until 6.15 pm and then went straight to Bulldog Café. This time we picked the chap chai, pongteh chicken, and ikan goreng with chilli. The latter two were outstanding; the pongteh for its delicious gravy and the lightly fried fish for its tender flesh (and lots of chilli to go with it). For dessert we shared ice cendol. It came in a small octagonal-ridged bowl that immediately caught Margaret's attention. Plus one coffee and a beer the total cost of the meal for the two of us was just under RM 30.00.
Foodies will do anything to seek out good eating places wherever they may be. That’s why Margaret and I were up bright and early to catch the morning coach to Malacca. Starting from Golden Mile Complex at Beach road, we were driven into Malaysia via the second link at Tuas and made one pit stop halfway. It was already 1.30 pm when we got to Renaissance Hotel. Aside from a fairly substantial breakfast we had not eaten for six hours and half an hour later we emerged from the hotel ready to munch our way around Malacca!
Our gnawing hunger drove us into the nearest eatery which happened to be Bulldog Café at 145 Jalan Bendahara, just round the corner from the hotel. A converted old terrace house, the café has an open and spacious feel to it as a result of an air-well and a high ceiling. A koi pond lies at the bottom of the air-well and the interior is filled with assorted memorabilia - framed newspaper pages from 1951 and 1954, Japanese 'banana' notes (issued during the occupation of Malaya), an ancient typewriter, a rusty fan and a bicycle hanging from the ceiling over the bar. Most perplexing of all was a free standing solid elongated box with a metal dome top studded with circular controls and gauges. We were told that it was a hair curler used by beauty salons. The café offers a mixture of Nonya, Western, Chinese, Thai and Japanese dishes. This eclectic menu and the lack of customers raised suspicions that variety had been substituted for quality so we opted for light snacks to be safe. However, the popiah and kueh pai tee pleasantly surprised our taste buds and we decided to come back later in the evening to soak in the retro-ambience and sample the other Nonya dishes.
With the edge taken off our hunger we headed to Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonkers) for chicken rice balls. Not to be greedy we shared one plate between us. I thought the rice balls were yummy but found the chicken ordinary. It was only 3.30pm so we wandered around the antique and gift shops in the area for a while before returning to the hotel. Just outside the hotel at the opposite end from Bulldog Café was a coffee shop that served roti canai. Since it was already 5.30 pm and we were planning on an early dinner I restrained myself to one plain canai accompanied by teh halia to wash it down. The canai was delightfully light and fluffy whilst the ginger tea was not overly sweet. We sat there until 6.15 pm and then went straight to Bulldog Café. This time we picked the chap chai, pongteh chicken, and ikan goreng with chilli. The latter two were outstanding; the pongteh for its delicious gravy and the lightly fried fish for its tender flesh (and lots of chilli to go with it). For dessert we shared ice cendol. It came in a small octagonal-ridged bowl that immediately caught Margaret's attention. Plus one coffee and a beer the total cost of the meal for the two of us was just under RM 30.00.
// posted by Speedy @ 10:57 pm 
