Showing posts with label 品茶小味. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 品茶小味. Show all posts

Saturday, January 4, 2014

马六甲: 亚洲的阳台

  马六甲是马来西亚最古老的城市,它的历史记录了荣耀、愤怒与遗忘。这里拥有着独一无二的文化遗迹。这座城市宛如一位旧时的皇后,依然在游客耳边喃喃细数着昔日的荣光。
  老城区的街角经过了精心的修复,这些沿海的街道连接着印度洋和中国南海,如今这里充满着平静祥和的国际化气氛。
  在这座尚在沉睡的古老城市中,一轮细细的弯月装饰着赤道上的夜空,照耀着大红色的灯笼。白天的炎热还没有到来,星星渐次消失在了街道上空。伙计们在砧板上起劲儿地切着猪肉,另一些人则在给上千米长的肠衣灌水,昏暗中出现了第一批顾客。现在是马六甲早上6点,这座古老的城市一点点苏醒了。
  在不远的地方,一些印度教信徒用力地敲着钹、小鼓,吹着笛子,朝他们的寺庙走去,这里供奉的是维纳雅加(Vinayagar)—大象之神。在河的另一岸,一些太极师傅和他们的弟子在灯笼下已经静悄悄地开始了练习。他们流畅的动作立刻填充了街道空荡的气息,一招一式巧妙而充满力道:对于这些年长的太极师傅,在与万物的融洽、和谐中,他们开始了新的一天。
  红屋广场上的基督教堂,该教堂是荷兰人于1753年建造的,建造所用的红砖均来自荷兰。
  消失中的亚洲古貌
  "在马六甲生活的幸福之处就在于,我们总能在某个街角,找到在别处正在消失的古老的亚洲风貌,在这个被人遗忘的角落,古老的亚洲风貌悠然地展现在我们眼前。"历史和文学爱好者塞尔热·雅尔丹说道,他在马来西亚已经生活了27年。他和妻子经营了一家有格调的小旅店,每年都会接待一小批游客。这座漂亮的旅店并不怎么为导游所知,他们的旅店取名为"蜗牛",非常符合这座城市的形象—一个游走于时间之外的驿站。
  很难想象,这座平静的小城曾经是亚洲和东南亚最重要的商业港口之一。像迦太基和喀什一样,马六甲因其地理位置变得世界闻名,因为历史原因衰退下来。大海曾经为这座城市带来了财富,如今却向它转过身去。马六甲城位于同名的海峡岸边,地理位置得天独厚。位于连接印度洋和中国南海的航道的中央。该城始建于15世纪,从那时起,它见证了千帆而过,这些船只载着丝绸、瓷器、香料、象牙和鸦片……很快,它便引来了觊觎的目光。
  "猩猩之屋"(Orangutan)是艺术家查理·查姆的工作室,他是马来西亚新一代艺术家。
  在当时,葡萄牙外交官托梅·皮莱斯写道:"马六甲的主人扼住了威尼斯的喉咙。"马六甲的码头上满是缆绳、手拉车和做苦力的工人。阿拉伯人、古吉拉特人(印度民族之一)、波斯人、苏门答腊人和中国人在这里做着各种买卖,讲着混合的语言。1511年,葡萄牙人占领了马六甲苏丹国,加强了城中的防御工事,在城中建造了许多教堂。130年后,荷兰人掌控了这座城市,下令建造了许多砖石结构的房屋,至今城中还保留着荷兰建筑的风格。当时已经主宰了槟城和新加坡的英国人于1824年正式进驻马六甲,并且炸开了城墙。但是马六甲三角洲的泥沙淤积现象越来越严重,于是很快,马六甲最后的征服者抛弃了它,将主要力量集中在新加坡的发展上。新加坡,马六甲海峡的门闩。
  精巧的蜗牛旅店。
  土生华人的荣光
  萨姆塞特·毛姆在1920年代初时曾经来到马六甲,他在著作中这样描写这座城市:"这座古城充满着怀旧的忧伤,这种忧伤存在于所有昔日重要的城市中,而如今,它们只能生活在对逝去荣耀的追忆中。"事实上,这样的沧桑变迁,马六甲都经历过。在19世纪末,马六甲经历了最后一次腾飞:被称为"白色黄金"的三叶橡胶树引来了大批淘金者,让很多"马六甲巴巴"(Baba)(指出生在马六甲海峡、娶了马来西亚女人的中国人)很快变成了巨富。马六甲的街道坐落着这些土生华人富丽堂皇的别墅,这些住宅就是他们富足生活的最好的见证:彩色的方砖、狭窄但是有时深达60米的山墙,镶有大理石雕刻的厚重的家具、波西米亚水晶、穆拉诺玻璃。对于这些向往着西方的东方人来说,没有最好,只有更好。
  马六甲,曾经是同名海峡的"王后",如今它遥望着千帆而过,每年有70000艘油轮在外海经过。
  在马六甲旧城区,这样的别墅还有千余座,如今已被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。这片华人区有三个主干道,四条横向街道贯穿其中,期间还有数不清的小街小巷。在这里,我们可以发现最后一批中国移民谋生的各种职业:这边是热情的程先生,他加工传统棺材(呈船形),并制作殡葬用品;那边是李太太,她经营着一个酒窖,里面的白酒几乎都有上百年的历史,去她的商店里,还可以喝到某种不知名的酒,酒精度数甚至可以达到68度;在另一处,还有一个小饭店,在那里可以喝到马六甲城中最好的粥。这个小饭店是由一个养鸟爱好者开办的,在这里我们还会发现卖春卷的商人、一个榨椰汁的小贩、一个经营麻将馆的人、鞋匠师傅(鞋匠师傅为自己给小脚女人做的丝绸鞋感到非常自豪)、木制品雕刻师(师傅专门负责在传统的门槛上雕刻装饰花纹),还有画家、陶瓷器制作、珠宝匠,还有年轻一代的艺术家,他们对马六甲的未来和实力充满信心。从此,马六甲将向旅游业发展。
  大华酒店的一个套房,优雅又充满了殖民地风情。
  这是一座兼容并包的城市,其生活节奏与各种宗教能够相互契合。每天会听到五次穆安津(清真寺尖塔上报祈祷时间者)的祷告召唤,绿云观(马来西亚最古老的寺庙,建于1646年)会组织各种道教仪式,还有印度教仪式。城中的圣·弗朗索瓦·科扎维埃大教堂会举行弥撒,圣·保罗还会举行露天弥撒。夕阳西下之时,站在这些历史建筑上,我们可以越过古城低矮的砖瓦房顶,望到平静的海岸线和油轮(每年有7万艘油轮在此经过)。远处的航道上,油轮在波光粼粼的水面上穿行。事实上,这条航道危险重重,海底水流湍急,暗流汹涌,海道过于狭窄。这些船只匆匆而过,却不曾向马六甲城这座旧时的"海峡皇后"投来一丝关注的目光。
  在60年的时间里,围海造田导致大海倒退了1000米。"太阳吞噬了色彩。夜晚,在赭色的薄雾中,这些色彩又复苏了。潮湿的空气清洗了灰尘。"1936年,法国作家谷克多来此短暂停留时这样描写道。1650年前后,荷兰人建造了高大的市政大厅"荷兰红屋"(Stadthuys)。在荷兰红屋旁边,十几辆色彩鲜艳的三轮车一边播放着嘈杂的背景音乐,一边在等客人。在河岸边,巨大的蜥蜴懒洋洋地趴在热烘烘的石头上。一条小河安静地穿过这座并不平凡的城市。
  马六甲旅游资讯
  酒店住宿
  马六甲大华酒店(Majestic Malacca):这是马六甲最漂亮的一个酒店,充满了殖民地风情。这是吉隆坡大华酒店的另一个分店。酒店有52间客房,有非常舒适的水疗馆。

Original article from Zaker

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Chendol in Melaka – Donald & Lily, Makko, Jeta Groves, Nancy’s Kitchen & Justberrys

This list is based on the chendol(s) that I have personally sampled so far. Do feel free to recommend more by leaving your suggestions in the comment section of this post ! :)

My advice? Ignore all of them and just head over to Justberrys.
For the long story, read on.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************
I had wanted “Nyonya food” for lunch on this 2 days trip.
So the 1st day was at Makko; just because David, my partner for the trip insisted that Makko’s chendol is good.
But we were too early so we headed to Jeta Groves for a quick snack before lunch.
nyonya food lunch - restoran jeta groves

I have been here before years back and one of the dishes I enjoyed here was the Lontong. It didn’t disappoint; still as creamy and tasty. Served piping hot with a dollop of chilli if you’re looking for spice, it was a fulfilling plate with soft yet firm rice cubes and generous amount of vegetables and half an egg.
nyonya food lunch - restoran jeta groves-001
But it was the chendol that I had wanted David to try.
nyonya food lunch - restoran jeta groves-002
Verdict?
It wasn’t too bad. It’s difficult to beat the fine shaven ice from Justberrys and the gula melaka lacked the caramelized depth but still, it was good for its price (RM4 or thereabouts).
I love the small beans though on this day, the beans were still a bit hard inside as it wasn’t cooked through. A shame really.
The green chendol strips were a nice emerald green, translucent, smooth and fresh, not the mushy, dull green types which I abhor. Even the coconut milk was rich enough.
nyonya food lunch - restoran jeta groves-003
When Makko was finally open for business we shifted our widening asses over to the large air conditioned comfort of the spacious corner lot.
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Makko
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Makko-007
We ordered lunch for 3 pax and of course, a bowl of David’s chendol.
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Makko-003
Lunch was bad, and the same can be said for the chendol.
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Makko-001
Perhaps Makko thought thicker is better? This mould of coarsely shaven ice was drizzled with very, very thick gula melaka and coconut milk.
If you’re of opinion that thick gula melaka can’t go wrong, you’re very much mistaken. Besides having good ratio of creaminess from the coconut milk to the sweetness of the gula melaka, an ideal (for me at least) bowl of chendol should be rained with quality gula melaka; one that has a deep caramelized flavour, a tad smoky even and the unmistakable aroma of rich, dark molasses.
The gula melaka in this chendol was way diabetic-ally sweet, which was made me suspect that it was mixed with plenty of white sugar.
Well, if it’s of any consolation, the kidney beans were soft and the chendol strips were alright.
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Makko-002
The next day we had lunch at Nancy’s Kitchen on Jonker Street. It is pretty difficult to find pork Nyonya dishes as more and more outlets converted to being pork-free to cater to the commercial crowd. I thought that is rather silly, considering the fact that most Muslim (I think, correct me if I’m wrong) don’t patronize Nyonya food outlets as frequently anyways.
nyonya food melaka - nancy's kitchen
Anyhow since we are at a Nyonya food outlet we ordered a chendol to go with our meal.
nyonya food melaka - nancy's kitchen-007
I will always like my ice fine so you will be hearing that complaint a lot from me. But out of all the chendol(s) we have sampled on this trip, this was the worst.
Other than that, the coconut milk was rich and creamy, the gula melaka fragrant and the green chendol strips nice and fresh. They used small red beans which was cooked til soft so that’s a plus point.
nyonya food melaka - nancy's kitchen-006
Last stop before we left Melaka was Donald and Lily’s.
After all, since we are on a gluttony run, might as well go all the way right? :d
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Donald Lily Melaka-005
Donald & Lily’s chendol was actually pretty good.
The ice is still pretty coarse, but at least the gula melaka was thick, smoky and fragrant rather than just saccharin sweet. The chendol has a good consistency with both the coconut milk and gula melaka in balanced ratio. In addition to that, small sago shared the bowl with green chendol strips and small red beans.
nyonya food lunch - restoran nyonya Donald Lily Melaka-006
So that’s it for now.
I shall be heading to Melaka again soon. Meanwhile, leave a suggestion here if you have any food/place that you think I should try!
Also, does anyone know where to have a good authentic Nyonya meal? 

RESTORAN NYONYA MAKKO
123, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000 Melaka
Tel.: 06 – 284 0737
Lunch : 11.30am – 2.45pm
Dinner : 6.00pm – 9.30pm
Closed: Tuesday
Donald and Lily Restaurant
No 16 (Ground Floor),
Jalan KSB 1,
Taman Kota Shahbandar,
75200, Malacca
Jeta Groves
115, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000, Melaka, Malaysia
Justberrys Dessert House
No. 89, Jalan KL 3/8, Taman Kota Laksamana Sekysen 3,
75200 Melaka.

Original article: Click here

Friday, January 11, 2013

McCafe in Melaka

When I know McCafe is available in melaka,I was damn happy and just can't wait to go there and have a taste on the coffee since I'm a coffee addict. Finally,me and my wife headed to MITC today and we had tried our first drink there-'ice mocha'!!!


Actually McCafe does sell ordinary burgers like the usual Mc Donald,the only difference is that there is a counter at the corner that sell quality coffee and cakes. Cakes like cheese or blueberry are also available there. One slice is about rm9++. Is about the price of a secret recipe cake that is available at its nearby location also.

About the quality of the coffee here,frankly speaking I would still prefer Coffee Bean or Starbuck coffee,but in term of price and the environment,it's still worth for sitting down and have a relaxing tea time,surfing Internet with a cup of coffee here in a not so noisy environment if compared to the usual McD. ^^









Monday, June 18, 2012

Must eat food in Melaka


1.Satay Celup

A visit to Malacca will never be completed until you take a taste of the popular satay celup. The most popular satay celup in Melaka is Restaurant Capitol which located at Lorong Bukit Cina . But due to overwhelming and high demands, the price per stick is as high as 80 sen.


The alternative Satay Celup Restaurant i would like to recommend is Mc Quek's Satay Celup which is located in Jalan Parameswara, Bandar Hilir. For me, the taste not much difference from the one offered in Restaurant Capitol and the price is cheaper. You don even need to queue up like the one in Restaurant Capitol.

2. Chicken Rice Ball


The famous Hainan Chicken Rice shop located at the start of Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat) in Melaka town. The restaurant name is Chung Wah Coffee Shop. Chung Wah usually sells out before 3 to 4pm so its best to visit this place during breakfast or lunch time to avoid disappointment.


Alternatively, you may try the Huang Chang Chicken Rice Restaurant which located in Batu Berendam. They were more or less the same with slightly different style. Local people prefer to eat here because they do not need to queue up under the hot sun like the one in Jonker Street.


3.Taiwan mee /beef noodles


This stall located along Jalan Gajah Berang.

The soup is hot and spicy! For those who love spicy, worth trying. Special type of noodle, won't have else where. Fried beef is good!




4. Nyoya Food
Ole Sayang Restaurant at Melaka Raya, economic and tasty.


5. Jonker Street Cendol



Visiting Melaka wouldn’t be complete without having a bowl of icy cool cendol or ice kacang in Jonker 88 Museum Cafe. Agree? My personal favorite would be durian favour!!! 


6. Coconut Shake, Klebang





The shake is priced at RM1.50. One can opt for an additional scoop of ice cream on their shake for an additional RM0.50. There is a take away cost of RM0.20 for each cup. The shake is made by blending young coconut flesh and coconut water together with vanilla walls ice cream and ice to become a creamy, rich, thick smoothie like texture.



The texture of the shake was just perfect and you won't regret it. This coconut shake stall is located right beside the Caltex petrol station at Klebang, Malacca.



7. Nadeje Cafe @ Best ever layer cake






Nadeje Patisserie Cafe in Melaka serves a lot of food you’ll expect to find in a fusion restaurant but the menu has been eclipsed by their fabulous Mille crepes. Nadeje is famous for Mille crepes and a lot of people come in just to have that. Mille crepe is a popular French cake made of many layers of very thin pancakes sandwiching a sweet cream concoction.




For cheap and comfortable homestay in Melaka:
http://yonghup.blogspot.com/2011/06/homestay-in-melaka.html

Sunday, November 27, 2011

San Shu Gong (三叔公)@Jonker Street

San Shu Gong (三叔公) is a local delicacy shop in Jonker Street, Melaka.







Lao Qian Ice Cafe

Lao Qian Ice Cafe is located inside San Shu Gong and sells local snacks and drinks such as cendol, coffee and tea.



Durian Cendol

RM5.80 is the price. Although the packaging for the Durian Cendol was all that fancy, there was really nothing to shout about on the taste.I personally think that the other old shop at the same street offered better taste than this.

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