Monday, July 23, 2007

Marvelous Malacca - Part 4 (Final)

(NON-HALAL POST)

On our last day in Malacca, we decided have wantan mee for breakfast. After hearing from me about the tasty noodles I had at Restoran Makanan & Minuman Wantan Mee (40, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) during my previous visit, we decided to pay a visit to this place again. I was truly looking forward to eating my chilli paste added wantan mee.
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However this time round, we were quite disappointed as the wantan noodles had too much of an alkaline taste to it this time round. I added lots of the chilli paste to mask the taste but the three of us couldn't finish our plate.I told the lady about this and she mention that it must be the batch of noodles supplied and I thought so too as I had really enjoyed the noodles my first time there back in September last year. Guess I will try it again the next time I'm in Malacca to see if things are back to their yummy state! Ha ha...

Walking around town after that for some souvenir shopping, it was soon time to check out of the hotel and lunch! There are not many Nyonya restaurants listed in food guides as they say the best Nyonya food would be those from cooked from home itself! There were quite a number of Nyonya restaurants located at Taman Melaka Raya though. Since Nyonya fare was what we wanted, we decided to take a drive there and settled for Bibik Neo Nyonya Restaurant (No. 6, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya - close on Mondays) as YSF said that it was quite good. Recovering from an unsatisfying breakfast encounter, we were not hungry but neither were we full. We decided to order just a few simple small size dishes.
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Simple mixed vegetables which I liked, not oily.
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YSF and I opted for two small bowl of Itik Tim (Duck and Salted Vegetable Soup) which I enjoyed but there weren't enough meat in it. Found this recipe online, maybe some of you would like to try it.
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Steamed Brinjal Ladiesfinger/Okras (thanks Joe! for pointing out the error) which YSF and TML finished on their own as I'm not a fan. This is something that can been done at home but I suppose the difference here is the chilli sauce dip that came with it. It's nice, I could drink it all up! Ha ha ha....
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Ayam Pongteh (Miso Soy Chicken). I felt that the meat weren't infused enough though the gravy was tasty. Biting into the chicken, the meat tasted normal. I preferred the potatoes!

Overall, my Nyonya food experience was just okay and tasted average. The dishes weren't oily though but since this was a restaurant, I guess I expected more in the taste department. An unsatisfying breakfast, an average lunch, we only hope things would get better at dinner time (a very early dinner!). Making our way back towards home, we pass through Seremban again and ended up at this place, Kedai Makanan Tow Kee (No. 94 Jalan Kepitan Tam Yeong, Seremban, Tel :06-7616638)
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YSF had wanted to eat this and made sure we did a pit stop here for an early dinner. Since both TML and I weren't familiar with Seremban, we gladly agreed as long as there's good food waiting :o).
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Selling Hakka Mee since 1930s, these handmade noodles were lovely. Cooked al-dente, I savoured each bite of it. There was a slight hint of alkaline taste to it but after I added some vinegar to it (vinegar from the pickled green chillies) together with lots of pickled green chillies, it wasn't a distracting factor anymore. I have this habit of adding vinegar (if it's available) to most noodles as I find that it makes certain food more appetising and "lighter" for tummy digestion (and noodles are one of those). The minced pork topping was lovely and the clear sauce was tasty though I found it a bit too oily for me. Must take note to ask for less oil the next time I get to eat here again.

With that, we made our way home...and to another short getaway in the near future! The three of us survived the trip and got to know each other more. We'll push our luck with future trips together again. Ha ha ha....Here's to Friendship and Friendship with Good Food!

Recaps : Part 3, Part 2, Part 1, Prologue


If I had to sum up Friendship in one word, it would be Comfort. ~ Adabella Radici


26 comments:

backStreetGluttons said...

with those super big chopsticks surely the taste would be affected lah. but the hakka one looks good. friendship is more than comfort u know. infact its something like nothing we know ...

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

brinjal looks green 1 meh??

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Wow, it's finally done! Hurray!! :-P Btw, hakka mee looks yummy. Feel like some right now. :-P

Precious Pea said...

The ducky soup looks good...those are radish right?

savante said...

Hey I know that wantan mee lady! It's at Heeren street!

Anonymous said...

I want that pair of looooong chopsticks ;p ...the Mee in the Hakka Mee looks like linguine ..I've done linguine with minced meat, then mixed with black vinegar before. Love it. I guess there should be less alkaline taste in linguine? ;p

Anonymous said...

Somehow, I'm not taunted by the pics... as I had noodles for the past few days!

Kenny Mah said...

I love that quote about friendship. I guess comfort is one of the best ways to put it. The same, I suppose, could be applied to love, that feeling of comfort, of finding your home, your sanctuary...

Eh, shouldn't I be commenting on the food instead? LOL

wmw said...

T. BSG : Chopsticks affects the taste ??? How lah? Yah, friendship is definitely more than comfort but if I had to pick only one word, comfort would be it :o)

Joe : Sorry, error! Have amended it. You weren't too sure yourself by asking whether brinjal looks green? Ha ha ha...

Lyrical L : Yay! It is (there's still Spain! Hahaha)! Yes, the hakka mee is good, not sure what's in the clear sauce.

Precious Pea : Yes, those are radish...but not enough meat leh.

savante : Hello there! Yes, that's the old street name for Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock! Could you ask her if the wantan mee still has that strong alkaline taste? If yes, she might have to change supplier. Oh maybe folks in Malacca itself like the noodles that way?

jackson : It's over (till next Malacca trip, hee hee)...

tigerfish : Oh yah, it does look like linguine...Mmm, vinegar! Yes, I would absolutely love to try that dish of yours! :o) I believe those long chopsticks are sold in retail. I've seen them before but can't recall where.

Jason : Noodles for past few days? No energy lah, young man like you..."YOU MUST HAVE RICE!" Free promo for KFC....hahaha!

Kenny : You're a lit blogger, so that's expected! LOL...

Kok said...

wmw,
that ladyfingers look so fresh. Unlike here, so short and not fresh. :D

Anonymous said...

Aiya I was in Melaka yesterday, shud have visited your blog then I would have known where to eat. We ate at Makko which was pretty good too.

Anonymous said...

Malacca has so many nice places to eat? I know she's famous for her chicken rice balls but mee?
It's nearly midnight for me. Big mistake coming here at this time. Starving now but can't eat....so I am going to bed hungry. :(

backStreetGluttons said...

overbig apparatus like that normally slows down the mixing process then nudles become abandoned & are left heterogenous. Thoz xcitement little bit more friendly than comfort ? then dun forgit freedom

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

hahaha both are my favourite vege lar..so cant tell them apart also..

Xiu Long Bao said...

The ladyboss should give u a wantan mee privileged member card. Wat a loyal fan!

MeiyeN said...

i love steamed lady fingers! i thought i only can have this simple vege at home.. didn't know that it's served outside! :D

p/s: yesterday night, we had "luk-luk" too but at a different stall! did you gals get caught in da rain? thank god we brought umbrellas!

Anonymous said...

Now that you say it, I feels like wanna have rice!

Tummythoz said...

Ono. This is so unlike your crave- me-to-death post. Sounds quite a disappointing eating day huh.

wonda said...

What's in the chilly sauce dip?

Unknown said...

i tried really nice pongteh in malacca..my fren happens to be a baba and his mum can cook reli good nyonya food..it beats those restaurants in malacca raya flat..

wmw said...

kok : Yah, the ladiesfingers were very fresh, at least that's what my friends said as I didn't try them :o)

firehorse : Wah, you going all over Malaysia but not PJ? Kat and I want to meet up with you leh...

judy : Actually Malacca famous for a lot of other things apart from Chic Rice Ball....

team bsg : Such explanation, this must be according to Team BSG theory and no one else :D

joe : Can't tell them apart??? Ha ha ha...they look very different wor. Can have error in typo but you seriously can't tell them apart?

wmw said...

xiu long bao : Ate there twice only woh, can't quality for loyalty card leh...

meiyen : I think even Peranakan House has the steam lady fingers...Yah, we didn't bring our umbrealla out but luckily the rain wasn't that heavy.

jason : Wah, my marketing so effective ah?

tummythoz : Yah, wasn't one of those usual days...but the day was saved by the Seremban Hakka Mee!

Wonda : It was just the usual red chilies, garlic and a bit of ginger, almost like chilli sauce for chicken rice.

kampungboycitygal : Like the food guide said, the best Nyonya dishes are in houses, home cooked!

SteamyKitchen said...

waaaah! look at those chopsticks! I could use a pair to stick in my hair!

sc said...

awww, sorry to hear about the average wantan mee. i went to the nyonya rest about 11 years ago, agreed, average food only. i prefer ole sayang, just across the road...

Anonymous said...

I can drink up chili sauce as well. :)

wmw said...

steamykitchen : You need a pair that loooonnnngggg? *Gasps

sc : Oh yes, it was that sort of day...the hakka mee in Seremban fared the best that day!

Lee Ping : Yup, when we meet up, we'll drink chill sauce to that! (meeting up, that is...) hahaha