Marvelous Malacca - Part 3

I had managed to catch an episode of Taste With Jason on the AEC Channel on Astro (thank goodness there were subtitles!) a few months ago. In that episode Jason (the show host, not our Ipoh Mali!) was in Malacca and the highlight was on this man and his wife who runs a stall in the lane at the side of Jalan Bunga Raya (next to Madam King's departmental stall).

I was mesmerised by the story of how he started the business over 30 years ago. Initially business was not that good and he kept trying to improve the taste of the sauces which he prepares himself. Different sauces were made for different dishes; cockles, sotong kangkung, beancurd skin, century egg, tofu, fish balls and other shellfish. Fast forward to present day, his stall is still in the lane but with endless patrons from one generation to another!

Since I was in Malacca, I told myself that I would definitely have to try the food here. Roping in enthusiastic YSF and reluctant TML, we made our way there after packing the popiah. Knowing well beforehand that the stall is in a dark narrow back lane and that we would have to be sitting on little wooden stools close to the ground, we bravely stepped into the lane. There was another stall offering the same fare further into the lane and ample lighting along the lane. I had expected it to be a lot worse and on seeing this, told myself "Hey, this is doable!". Looking at the area around me, I felt that I had taken a step back into time.

Open from 7pm till 11pm, closed on Sundays

We were surprised to see people sitting on plastic stools and eating on plastic tables at first. Then we realised that business was just too good and that they had to add these on top of their usual seating arrangement. As we wanted to get into the thick of the action, we wanted to sit on the wooden stools and were lucky that there were seats available right in front of the man himself, Mr Khoo.

Each plate gets Mr Khoo's personal attention, putting the right amount of sauces to ensure that each plate served would be relished by his customers (checkout that kerosene lamp and the Taste With Jason poster on the top left corner! There are also framed articles about his stall adorning the wall).

See that empty red wooden stool? That is where I sat. There will be the occasional motorbikes traveling through this lane and it would almost grazed our backs!

As I sat and ate in front of Mr Khoo, I chatted with him. He let me try each sauce separately on its own and even the top grade sesame seed oil. He uses the freshest ingredients for the preparation of the sauces and all food stuff are top grade too.

His family and relatives help out at the stall too. Note the little plate of sauces with crushed nuts, those are for the cockles and other fare like siput sawah (snails), kepah and kijing (mussels).

There are plastic buckets along the table where customers can throw the shell (and other stuff?) into after eating. YSF had the cockles and she said it was very fresh and when eaten with the sauce, it was THE BEST!

A mixture of some plum sauce with calamansi juice, chili and a range of other stuff made this the best plate of sotong kangkung (cuttlefish & morning glory vegetable) I've ever eaten!

The beancurd skin (foo pei) order came with a mixture of prawn paste and other sauces that made me a fan of Mr Khoo! Ha ha ha....Truly wonderful stuff!

Let's just say, to eat here, one would have to discard all hygiene rules and just simply enjoy the food. For the faint hearted who find it hard to walk into this lane, you will miss out on the great food. For the brave ones like us, we were rewarded with one of the best tasting food (thanks to the exquisite sauces and fresh ingredients) ever! As we left, Mr Khoo said goodbye and I told him that I will be surely visiting him again the next time I'm in Malacca!


To be continued .... Last day in Malacca