Jalan - Jalan Cari Makan: Melaka,19th May 2007

Sharita's been in DDBI ( an exchange programme for 3 months from DDB Brainstorm,Jakarta ) for the last 2 months, and the furthest she's been anywhere is KL. All work and no play makes mummy Sharita a dull girl.

Saw Gin had a brilliant idea to bring us all down to Melaka to jalan-jalan cari makan. So off we went in Rocky ( Gin's suave Suzuki Swift ) and headed down south. 4 girls, with absolutely no clue how to get around Melaka town.


Starting the trip with Breakfast. It was meant to be a toilet stop, but we couldn't resist the hot steaming nasi lemak at the Nilai rest area. They were calling out to us!

I've always knew Melaka as a quaint historical town, but have never realised that she is so rich in culture, heritage and arty farty places, people & interesting cosy cafes. And, I've discovered that these places are opened by ex-advertising people!




Our first stop in Melaka, the orang utan man's shop_Charles cham. Sharita got her "i love chicken rice t-shirt" from this place. Then to Gee's clogs. Very nice handmade-handpainted clogs here. For some reason, Melakans love Bruce Lee. Mr Bruce's picture is everywhere.The paper cutting shop is just opposite Gees (looks like a scene from a beijing hutong eh?)

A tour around the Baba & Nyonya house, i learnt that the early settlers are really smart. They have security features and peep holes that even the alarm system at home now pales in comparison. They even have an icecream machine that looks like the ice kacang hand grinder. How cool is that! And, i just discovered that they use their fingers to eat ( okay i admit i suaku ).


The front of the Baba & Nyonya house. We're not allowed to take pictures inside. Sharita thought she felt a dark feeling inside one of the room. While she was sharing the story, I felt a little tug on my pants while we were chilling out at the cafe ( goose bumps?).



Fooling around at the cafe next door whilst waiting for the tour to start. Like my "tai -tai" pose??

FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD!

Melaka must have no 1 : Chicken rice balls, nice lotus peanut soup and assam fish.. yummy!Drown it with cool leong char.. burp! Anyone knows why it's in BALLS? Sharita's favourite Malaysian food is Chicken rice!


Melaka must have no 2 : Durian Cendol at Bibik House. You can get nice pineapple tarts here, freshly baked.

A full tummy, and aching legs, the ultimate pampering would be... a foot reflexology. And it's just across the street. I can't remember the name, but it has a Giant Foot as a sign board opposite Bibik House. The reflexologist were a bunch of ladies from China.

The reflexology session was really good. The moment the lady held my feet i was already in dream land. This pair of feet belongs to Wan Hoon.. all ready to be pampered.

Limau - Limau cafe was our next stop. Julie and Jo were raving about it when they came to Melaka last year.We decided to pop in. Very very pretty place. Beautiful art pieces and nice huge chandeliers. And fresh fruit juices of all sorts - cool & refreshing on a hot afternoon.




My Grape juice, Saw Gin's Nangka juice, Wan Hoon's Kiwi juice and Sharita's Lychee juice.

Wan Hoon and me High on juice!

At 6pm, we realised that we've brought Sharita all the way to Melaka but she's not seen the landmarks of Melaka and briefed on the history al tour! All we did was shop and eat. So under the light drizzle we hurried ourselves to the Dutch Square and the Fort. I'm still a little unclear about the history.




I was too busy looking at 2 kwai lou leng jai backpackers i stepped on my own slipper and it gave up on me.Boo hoo! Luckily we were already walking back to the car to head towards satay celup. I learnt that "lucu" is a slang for cute in Bahasa Indonesia.

Wan Hoon's ingenious idea of tying my slipper with her rubber band. The funky design is by mummy Sharita's skillful hands. With this new funky designer slipper, i was able to walk around with my rubber-band - funky slipper until i reached KL.

Last stop.. The trip won't be complete without going for the famous Satay Celup! About 70 sticks in total. It was See Hup Galore...

Melaka must have no 3 : Satay Celup. We went to the one behind HSBC bank. 3 rounds of getting lost and going in circles, if you plan to get there take the immediate turn after the Shell station, before HSBC.

Luckily i was dressed in my flowy shirt. At the end of the night, i felt 3 months preggars. My tummy was round and nice!

Places we missed, but will return for :
1. The Geographer, i would like to just sit down, people watch and indulge in afternoon beers. Hic!
2. Seafood at the Portuguese settlement. Someone needs to take me there, because I don't know the directions to that place.
3. There's a funky budget hotel, i think it's call hotel 21 on Jonker Street.

Next stop, we're planning to do Batu Caves and then Kuala Selangor Seafood! I've not been there, so it's going to be pretty exciting ( except for the long climbs... :P)