Gastronomic Adventure in Malacca ... And Other Things ... (Part 2)

(Click here for Part 1)

We woke up late on Day 2 and decided to have chicken rice ball for brunch.

By making a headstart at 11.00am, we thought we could beat the crowd and secure a table.

But to our amazement, there was already a queue in the first kopitiam we went to. Come on people ... I'm sure there's more to life than queing up for balls at 11.00am.

So we moved on to the next kopitiam and thankfully it was not crowded yet.

Chicken Rice Ball

Malacca is the birthplace of the chicken rice ball. But I'm not sure if it has expanded to other states. What makes it different from the usual chicken rice you get elsewhere, is that the rice comes in a ball shape. That's all.

Service was fast but the meal was average. The steamed chicken contained layers of fat which I had to painstakingly remove, and the rice was not fresh. I think the Ipoh Chicken Rice on Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya is so much tastier.

No wonder the queue was at the other kopitiam and not here.

Next, we crossed the street to have Nyonya Cendol.

Nyonya Cendol

Look how different the consistency is compared to the Cendol Jam Besar we had the day before. But price also different lah. It costs RM2.00 for a bowl of Nyonya Cendol compared to RM1.50 for a bowl of Cendol Jam Besar.

While enjoying the cendol, it rained cats and dogs that we had to wait till the rain subsided.

Rain, rain go away ...

When the downpour turned into a drizzle, we continued walking and came to Hotel Puri.

The building used to be the home of philantropist and rubber plantation owner, Tan Kim Seng. He was a third generation Straits Chinese born in Malacca in the 1800s.

After undergoing extensive renovation, the place was reopened in the late 90s as Hotel Puri.

If you go to Malacca, don't forget to visit the hotel, even if you're not a paying guest.

Hotel Puri is a museum on it's own with its traditional interiors and deco. Makes me feel like I'm back in Malacca in the 1800s.

An open airwell is a common feature in most traditional Malaccan houses, just like this airwell in Hotel Puri.

A few doors away from Hotel Puri is Jehan Chan Art Gallery.

We spoke to Jehan's friendly daughter who takes care of the gallery. She told us that the length of some of the houses on Heeran Street could reach 220 ft!

That explains why Hotel Puri looks small from the outside, but it's super long on the inside.

Because the length of Jehan Art Gallery is so long, it would take Jehan's daughter (didn't get her name) a few minutes to put down whatever she's doing and walk to the front to open the door whenever there are visitors. By that time, most visitors would think there's no one home and they would leave.

After that informative conversation, we walked to the back of the houses to see the length from outside. Trust me, the houses are long indeed.

While walking, it started raining cats and dogs again. We ran into Geographer Cafe to chill while waiting for the rain to stop.

The cafe was the location of a few scenes from the movie Summer Holiday which starred Sammi Cheng and Ritchie Ren. As such, the movie was playing on the LCD screens in a loop, like some sort of promotion lah.

So we sat down, ordered drinks and watched the movie.

The rain didn't stop. It drizzled and then it poured. Over and over it was like that.

Since we were stuck there, we ordered sandwiches, fries and more drinks, and watched the movie again and again.

Before the start of the 4th round of Summer Holiday (yes, the rain lasted that long), thankfully the rain became a drizzle.

So we ran in the rain to Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall so that we would be in a sheltered place from the irritating rain that never ends.

To kill time, I suggested we watch Avatar at GSC but the timing was not right. So we watched Bodyguards & Assassins - my first ever Chinese movie in the cinema.

Go watch it. It's good except for the part when Donnie Yuen's character stands in the way of a charging horse to prevent the bad fella from pursuing Dr Sun Yat Sen. It was a total illogical, bullshit scene.

After the movie we walked back to Jonker Walk for the night market.

First thing we did was whack dinner.

I had decided earlier I want to eat radish cake, and thankfully the hawker was selling that day.

Dishing out radish cake

Radish cake = Delicious!

For dessert, Angie and I shared a serving of muah chi.

Muah chi. Don't know what's the English name. Some things in life you just can't explain in English.

Then we did a bit of shopping and I bought these:

Earring stand for RM30.00. Bloody cheap, but must bargain.

RM5.00 for 3 pairs of earring. Cheapest I've seen in Malaysia!

I must have pineapple tarts and teh-teh sar whenever I visit Malacca.

If not for the rain, my gastronomic adventure in Malacca would have been perfect; because when it comes to travel, hot and sunny is anytime better than raining cats and dogs.