Restoran Aunty Lee, Malacca, Malaysia

Quite a long time ago, Chinese settlers and traders married the locals of Malaysia and gave birth to some pretty kickass fusion food known as "Peranakan" or "Nonya" cuisine. Malacca was the outpost for Chinese admiral Zhang He and as such an intermesh of Chinese settler influx and the local female population resulted in a rather strong Peranakan population. No trip to Malacca is really complete without some tasty Nonya food. We knew this place is good when there are only about six tables in the premise and they were turning away quite a few who didn't have the foresight to make a reservation.

When I was young, I didn't really appreciate the taste of petai (also known as smelly beans) that much but somehow I now tend to order this dish whenever I see it on the menu. These were fried with shrimp and a very tasty and spicy local chili gravy.

A fluffy omelette cooked with preserved shrimp was next. I was worried this would be too salty sinced it used preserved baby shrimp but thankfully it was extremely fragrant and flavored just right.

Nonya otak is vaguely described as a fish and coconut paste cake. The nonya variants always at least abit spicy compared to the Indonesian otaks. This was steamed instead of grilled but the rich coconut taste and chunks of fish were very welcomed indeed.

Chicken buah keluak is a spicy, sourish curry dish which is characterized by the usage of nuts from the Pangium edule or kepayang tree to produce a unique taste. The contents of the nuts are an acquired taste but I do enjoy digging it out with a teaspoon, mixing it with some gravy and stirring everything into freshly steamed rice.

Chicken pong teh is another classic Nonya dish and involves cooking the meat and mushrooms in a sweet brown bean paste. Since this joint is halal they used chicken instead of babi (pork). I'm still more used to babi pong teh though, as chicken tends to be a rather boring meat.

This nonya fried chicken was surprisingly very good. Apparently the chicken is coated in balacan (preserved dried shrimp) powder before being fried hence giving it a unique flavor which isn't as strong as the prawn paste fried chicken we get at all the Hong Kong Street outlets here. Still this was extremely crispy on the outside but still juicy and succulent within.

The assam squid was decent. Definitely not bad but nothing much to shout about either.

The green dish of the meal was stir-fried morning glory with garlic. Nice big chunks of fried garlic really gave this dish quite a flavor boost, not to mention a breath boost as well haha.

As a taste-test we decided to try their cendol and see how it stacked up against Jonker Desserts. I know this answer may seem politically correct but this was very good as well in its own right. It tasted more traditional than the one at Jonker but still very nice. I'm a big fan of cendol and I'll put Aunty Lee's and Jonker's on the same pedestal as the excellent one I had in Jakarta.

D

Wan Tan Mee, Malacca, Malaysia

At the risk of being arrested for the potential to cause dissension, I can't help but pose the question, "Why does wan tan mee tastes so much better in Malaysia than compared to Singapore?" This stall at the corner of Jonker Walk is run by three generations, grandma at the cooking helm, mother preparing the ingredients and daughter serving the plates. The daughter is already in her 40s so you know, for sure, this has to be good.

The noodles were cooked to al dante perfection and each strand was a single entity without any annoying clumping. The sauce had just the right balance of saltiness, sweetness and spiciness. Although the barbecued pork was decently above average, the wan tans were bursting with an extremely fragrant sesame flavor. Good stuff indeed.

The toast served here was abit of a let-down though. This was so scantily dressed with butter and coconut-egg jam that I was worried it would catch a cold even in this heat.

The soft-boiled egg was cooked to just the right finish though. A great way to slurp up some protein to round off an excellent breakfast.

D

Teo Soon Loong Chan, Malacca, Malaysia

Malacca has quite a significant Teochew population and Teo Soon Loong Chan was recommended to be one of the oldest and best Teochew restaurants in town. I knew I had hit culinary gold when I first saw the place. I mean, just take a look at this hardcore external decor! You know only kickass food can be found here.

The man himself, the 80 year old owner and chef showed us the spread of ingredients they had and we chose some for our dinner.

Whilst waiting for dinner to commence, I started snacking on the anchovies in this local chili sauce. They were getting quite addictive.

The first dish served was noodles and oysters in a thick black sauce.

Cooked with ample lard, each strand of noodle was fragrant and silky-smooth which paired up really nicely with the juicy and succulent oysters. The sauce was rich and thick without being gooey from overcompensated starch-thickening.

The braised duck was next. A pity they didn't have braised goose here but the duck was done pretty good as well. The meat still maintained a nice bite and the sauce had flavor without being too salty.

The obligatory vegetable dish was stewed cabbage with broccoli, mushrooms and Japanese abalone. The cabbage was stewed to a point where it just melts in your mouth. The use of dried scallops in the gravy complemented the abalone very well.

We decided to veer away from the typical Teochew steamed pomfret with tomatoes and preserved plums, and decided to try another highly recommended style. Although the fish was steamed just right, the unique part about this dish was the extremely delicious sauce which contained a mix of minced chicken breast and re-fried dried solefish.

Almost every table has one of these little porkers. The suckling pig was roasted very well indeed (perhaps even better than the one in Bangkok?) with most of the fat being melted off and leaving just a crisp layer of cracking and a thin layer of meat. I prefered the seasoning in this over the one at Nam Sing because it wasn't as sweet.

Which Teochew feast is complete without a serve of yam paste dessert? This place serves the dessert steamed together with the gingko nuts and pumpkin on the side.

Smooth, extremely aromatic but not too sweet, the yam paste and the perfectly steamed pumpkin and gingko nuts were indeed just the thing to end off this sweet meal!

Of course, the hot and thick Chinese tea right at the end dissolves all oil, fat and grease ingested hence making this meal a rather balanced one haha.

Although this meal was our priciest yet in Malacca, it was definitely worth every cent (or should I say sen?). Please make your reservations in advanced because this place does get packed. The earliest reservation they could give us was the 9pm slot.

D

Afternoon Tea, Malacca, Malaysia

At about three, we were feeling rather peckish and thought it appropriate to indulge in some afternoon tea. I didn't get the name or exact location of this Indian coffeeshop but there are quite a lot of them scattered across the old town. We started off with the onion roti canai. Crisp and fluffy without being too greasy this was a pretty good appetizer.

Maggi mee goreng was next. I love this dish and yes, I do confess that I love it partly because they've amalgamated two-words together. Stir-fried pre-cooked instant noodles with ample ghee and a squeeze of lime (it neutralizes all the oil haha), very yum.

We rounded up the meal with another well-done chicken murtabak and washed it all down with some creamy milk tea.

D

Sun May Hiong Satay House, Malacca, Malaysia

One thing good about Malacca is that it's small enough a town to be accessible but large enough to sustain a variety of good eateries.

One of the things to try in Malacca is well.. Malaccan satay. Sun May Hiong is supposedly the satay joint in town to hit and as the scent of charcoal embers grew stronger as we approached it, we knew we were in for a treat.

The concept of satay dining here is quite different from Singapore's. You basically sit down, order your drinks and the servers will just keep serving you a variety of satays as soon as they're done on the grill. When you're about done, you may signal them to stop. It's great, in that way, I don't have to wait for a batch to be cooked since you're always getting them fresh.

One thing that gave me a little surprise when I had my first taste was that the satays here are alot more savory than the ones in Singapore. They're more like savory kebabs, in fact the sweetish marinade is almost non-existent. The sauce however, was still sweet and had blended pineapple in it which provided a nice balance to the saltiness of the meats.

Besides the chicken and pork satays, they have a few other interesting ones such as small pig's intestines.

And pork liver satays. The best part about every skewer is that there's always a nice chunk of lard in it to impart that fragrance and juiciness in every bite.

D

Jonker Dessert, Malacca, Malaysia

As the hot Malaccan sun shone like a raygun down upon us, we knew it was time to chill and what better way is there to do so than with a bowl of ice-cold cendol? Jonker Desserts at 88 Jonker Walk is reputated to serve a pretty mean cendol so here we were.

The ice shavings here are so fine they have a texture similar to the first fresh snowflakes of Winter.

The durian cendol is basically the regular cendol with some durian puree poured on top. Although I tend to appreciate durian, somehow the flavor of the durian sort of adulterated the original cendol flavor.

We saw some people eating bowls of assam laksa so we ordered one as well. Is this similar to Penang laksa? It certainly wasn't the coconut curry based laksa that I'm used to. Nevertheless, the tangy flavor was quite refreshing.

In the end, I decided to order a bowl of regular cendol. Wow, this was pretty kickass. I was right about the durian overtones masking the purity of this traditional dessert. They use two types of gula malacca (unrefined coconut sugar) here, a thinner version as a base and thick gooey kind as a topping; simply heaven in a bowl.

Jonker Desserts also sort of doubles up as a museum for some antiques and knick-knacks and since I'm such a sucker for nostalgia and a good cendol, nothing beats slurping a cool bowl of cendol next to some charcoal-powered irons, a broken phone and some metal typewriter.

D

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball, Malacca, Malaysia

One perk about Singapore is that you can still enjoy the occasional roadtrip up to our (friendly?) neighbor Malaysia. Politics aside, Malaysia is a country rich in culture, heritage and of course delicious food. I can't even remember when was the last time I went on a driving holiday to Malaysia, I have vague memories of a kid peering out of the car window as our automobile traveled along the beaten coastal and village roads (the highways weren't even ready then). It seems almost surreal how quick time has gone by because that kid is now behind the wheel. Malacca was our destination of choice for this short Easter getaway. I picked up a few food tips from Malaysian foodies Boo and Babe in the City KL and planned an itinery revolving around good Malaccan grub.

First stop was Hoe Kee Chciken (sic) Rice Ball. This is similar to the Hainanese chicken rice that you get in Singapore except that the rice grains are rolled into nice bite-sized balls. Although the more famous establishment for chicken rice balls in Malacca is Chung Wah, this was actually recommended over Chung Wah by the locals.

One thing about packing rice grains into a ball is the tendency to over-compress the grains together and form a dense (hard) texture. Fortunately, these rice balls, although spherically packed, were still soft and fluffy, not to mention fragrant and tasty as well.

The chicken here had good texture. Although it didn't taste entirely organically farm-bred, it had a firmer bite and stronger flavor than the generic chickens one would get in Singapore. It was tender without being bloody as well. Not too shabby a start to a another round of overseas feasting.

D

Drink Weed Everyday...

I couldn't help it but chuckle abit when I saw this advertisement. Apparently, weed is good for your health now! I don't remember the route of administration being oral ingestion though, I always thought it was via inhalation heh.

D

PIZZA!

If you love pizza as much as I do, you'll understand why it's so difficult to not say pizza with a "!". Unfortunately the pizza scene in Singapore is rather sad. The generic ones are quite unpalatable and the semi-decent ones at the cafes and restaurants are severely overpriced. I do so miss the "Three large pizzas for 24.90" specials from Tonitalia's down at Thornlie. Sometimes, if you want things done right, you have to do it yourself. So I got down to making my own thin crust pizza. This recipe is another liberated trade "secret" from an upmarket Italian restaurant in town. Although you may use a bread maker or mixer to mix the pizza dough, I urge you to do it the hardcore hand-mixed way. It's alot of fun (not to mention quite a workout) plus a little elbow grease don't kill nobody.

Ingredients:
1. 2kg of Ikan Terbang or Double-O flour (if you can't find either just use a half-and-half of plain and bread flour)
2. 1 litre of water (or a little more)
3. 2g of yeast
4. 15g of sugar
5. 5g of honey
6. 125g of olive oil (or a little more)
7. 25g of salt
8. Pizza toppings
9. Pizza sauce

Method:
1. Warm up about 100ml of water and dissolve the sugar and honey in it. Put the yeast in and set it aside for 10-15minutes
2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl
3. When the yeast mixture is slightly bubbly, mix in some flour gradually until you form a little paste
4. Pour the rest of the flour out onto your baking slab (I used my marble tabletop) and form a ring of flour, place the yeast paste in the center
5. Gradually pour the water in the center and fold in the flour with your hands
6. Repeat this, occasionally mixing in the olive oil
7. Slowly knead the dough until you get a nice huge dough ball (all the gym work comes in handy when you're kneading a doughball which weighs slightly over 3kg)

8. Place the dough ball into a well-greased (with olive oil) bowl and cover with some cling wrap
9. Place in a warm area for about 45minutes

10. After about 45minutes, vent some anger by turning the dough ball around and punching it right in the middle
11. Leave it be for another 30minutes

12. Whilst the dough is rising, make use of the time to make your pizza sauce
a. Tomato paste
b. Dried rosemary, basil, oregano
c. White wine
d. Honey
Mix all the ingredients to taste and bring the sauce to a light boil for two to three minutes before switching it off to cool

13. There's still enough time to get your toppings ready. The great thing about making your own pizza is anything goes. You like peanut butter and anchovies on your pizza? No one is going to stop you haha.

14. Measure a 250g dough ball and roll it very thin (I like thin crusts), use additional plain flour to prevent it from sticking to your pin
15. It should be just enough to cover a standard Phoon Huat pizza pan (greased with olive oil) and be about 1-2mm thick
16. Spread the pizza sauce, followed by the cheeses, the toppings and yet more cheese (there is no need to blind-bake this crust)

17. Place it in an oven that has been preheated to its maximum temperature. It can never be hot enough, our home ovens aren't as powerful as the industrial or wood-fired ones
18. Let her bake till the crust is crisp and slightly brown, the cheese all oozing and melty and your appetite is almost uncontrollable haha

Although anything goes when it comes to toppings, I still like to have some distinct flavors. I present to you:

1. Al Funghi - Pizza sauce, porcini mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, smoked oysters, smoked mussels, Italian parmesan, smoked cheddar and mozzarella (these three cheeses will henceforth be known as just "cheese")


2. D's Special - There's quite a history behind this flavor. It's modelled after one of my favorite pizzas. Bacon, spicy German salami, smoked chorizo, cabanas, fresh pineapple, anchovies, honey-baked ham, garlic oil, chilli flakes, raw shallots, fresh tomato, pizza sauce and cheese

3. Hawaiian Breakfast - Bacon, honey-baked ham, chicken sausage, fresh pineapple, porcini mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, pizza sauce and cheese. An egg is cracked onto the center just before the pizza is about done in the oven

4. Barbecued Chicken - Barbecue sauce, shredded roast chicken, bacon, chicken sausage, porcini mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, onions, pizza sauce, cheese. Being the rebel that I am, I decided to deviate from the traditional round pizza and made this one rectangular instead (ok, truth is, I ran out of pizza pans haha)

Why do I love the D's Special so much? Besides its history and associated memories, there's simply this explosion of flavor when you bite into a slice, plus I really appreciate all the cured meats. There's also something about anchovies on pizza that's so nostalgic. A long time ago, anchovies were almost a staple in pizzas, then they became an option (at additional costs mind you) and now, you hardly find them at all!

D