Merdeka 2011 @ Melaka Day 2

Determined to have St Paul's Hill all to ourselves, we got up pretty early. Breakfast was courtesy of the hotel.

scrambled eggs with sausages and toast, couldn't ask for more:)

sumptuous breakfast by our simple standards

All fired up, off we went gallivanting..

hahaha.. at a crossroads, are we?

As hoped, apart from a few joggers we actually had St Paul's Hill all to ourselves..

our trip would not be complete..

.. without seeing him:)

having a breather after the climb up the hill..

We made our way down the hill, and (as always) snapped some photos of the A Famosa and its surroundings..

most photographed monument of all malacca?

erm.. its a cannon, not a ship my boy..

All tuckered out after the climb, we headed back to our favourite kopitiam (coffee shop) for more toast bread..

exams in a couple of weeks.. what, me worry?

buttered (not margarined) toast..

what can I say?

I was still sweating profusely after the morning exertions up the hill, and thought that a haircut might do the trick (free flowing sweat means easier evaporation?) so we asked around and was directed to a proper mens' barber shop.

what else, but the A Famosa barber shop.. hehe

apparently he's been featured in Malaysia Airlines' Going Places..

while the shop is featured on some world heritage website..

nothing beats a proper barber shop.. no hair salons for me!

We then made our way back to the hotel, but not before Cat snared herself some of her fav Nyonya Chang (pork in glutinous rice?)..

nyonya chang:)

We checked out before 12PM and headed to the portuguese settlements in Ujong Pasir for lunch. We'd normally dinner at the stall on the left (No. 8, De Costa Stall) but since only stall number 5 operates during lunchtime..

the sotong sambal was all chilli and nothing much else..

but we all agreed the buttered prawns were heavenly!

seconds?

Brendan and the last of his chicken wings..

We left Melaka town at 1:30PM and was safely home by 4:00PM. We later learnt that traffic on the very stretch of highway we were on earlier degraded to a crawl later that day with holidaymakers and revellers from the south heading back up north in droves.. phew!

Merdeka 2011 @ Melaka Day 1

Malaysia gained its independence on 31st August 1957, and we've celebrated Merdeka Day ever since. This year it coincided with Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid-Ul Fitr) and we had three days off. Being typically Malaysians, we took the opportunity to 'run away' from Kuala Lumpur to visit our spiritual home town of Melaka (Malacca).

We also hoped that this trip will help Brendan to unwind and get him rejuvenated for his big exams in a couple of weeks' time.

We left Kuala Lumpur at sunrise and reached Melaka a little after 9AM. We had already made reservations with The Baba House, a quaint little budget hotel just a stone's throw from Jonker Walk.

this photo says it all

patriotic malaccans!

Since we were only able to check-in in 5 hours' time, we parked our car at the hotel carpark and made our way to our fav kopitiam (coffee shop) for breakfast.

not sure if the signage is of the name of the shop

Brendan's suitably excited:)

Toast bread with butter (not margarine!)

digging in!

After breakfast, we walked along the river and noticed some boats passing by.

smiling sweetly.. not bad for 'not-morning' persons:)

Since it was still pretty early, we decided to go on a riverboat ride. Lo and behold, in conjunction with Merdeka Day tickets were at half price.. hooray!

Cat's hoping she doesn't get motion sickness..

life jackets everywhere, very reassuring!

how we would love to own one of these houses

riverview of St Francis

king of the world, eh?

the kind boatman:)

We later walked over to Dataran Pahlawan and plunked ourselves down at Starbucks for a breather and to make use of the free wifi (and air-cond!).

Rested, we then decided to take the panoramic bus that was supposed to take us on a tour of Melaka town. We've taken it before, and in those days it was actually a double decker bus with the roof off.

Huge disappointment.. The 'panoramic bus' is now little more than a minibus that shuttles passangers from town to the bus depot at Melaka Central!

The bus took us from Dataran Pahlawan to Bandar Hilir, then around Ujong Pasir before ending up near Jonker Walk. Having endured half an hour of being packed like sardines, we quickly hopped off and went about our merry way.

Cat soon spotted the A&Z stall near Jonker Walk that serves Brendan's fav (pale) wantan mee. That's where we had our lunch.

not exactly my thing, but for Brendan's sake..

pale wantan mee.. (some soysauce, please?)

By the time lunch was over, it was past 2PM and time to check-in to The Baba House. Gosh, we've been gallivanting for 5 hours straight. We got our luggage out of the car and rested up in our room.

meet Gwen, our humble ride (honk if you see us!)

We were supposed to rest up and enjoy some forty-winks, but woke up some 3 hours later!

We freshened up and made our way to the Newton Culture Food Village (beside Mahkota Parade) only be miserably let down. Forget the "Culture", its now a run-of-the-mill foodcourt run by a sole operator who employs Burmese cooks.

We made our way back to Jonker Walk and found this new nyonya restaurant in an alleyway..

its called Mama's Taste, I think..

I know its cheezy, but we couldn't help but pose with the menu:)

chicken curry rice for the boys, chicken rice for Cat..

The chicken curry rice was a bit bland, to be honest. Cat said the chicken rice was fine, though. Its reasonably priced, so we were not complaining especially after experiencing Nancy's Kitchen's over-inflated prices the last time (let's see how long you can last on Sing dollars alone, hah!)..

To the best of our knowledge, the Jonker Walk night market operates from 6PM till midnight, Fridays to Sundays only. So we were pleasantly surprised that the night market was granted approval to operate during the festive period. If only the same common sense would prevail in other municipalities.

So off went Cat & Brendan to shop around the night market while I parked myself at the Boutique Cafe (in front of the massive Mamee stage) to enjoy some Guiness Stout while music from the karaoke-ing blared on..

getting sloshed (hic!)..

We called it a night at about midnight..

Hari Raya @ Nana's

We were invited to a dear friend's open house this year for Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid-Ul Fitr). We've always looked forward to open houses hosted by our dear Razif (or Nana, as he is affectionately known) because it usually entails home-cooked dishes. His wife Kak Jah is one mean cooking machine!

Pictures do paint a thousand words..

Nana & daughter:)

free-range chicken curry, prawns cooked in sambal..

home cooked beriani rice:)

less snapping, more eating!

couldn't resist snapping the 'Ketupat'..

Kedai Makanan Yut Kee

Kedai Makanan Yut Kee

1, Jalan Kamunting off Jalan Dang Wangi

50100 Kuala Lumpur

+60326988108

Coordinates: 3.156446, 101.700416

Despite being in ridiculously close proximity, we hardly ever come here. For one thing, this shop does not represent what we stand for, which is 'the everyday food for the everyday man'. RM8 for a plate of fried tofu is a little steep by any stretch of the imagination.

The other thing is, we are put off by the type of clientele it attracts. You know, the loud/obnoxious/abrasive (cannot-wait-one) types.. typically from other states who are in town for a holiday. The types that think queing is something only the locals have to endure, and an act of courtesy beneath them.. who think driving expensive cars means double-parking is their inherent right and privilege.. and use slangs so fake it melts my ear wax.. I can go on and on..

And while I'm on the topic, I might as well have a go at my pet peeve. Fake slangs! Come on, the last time I checked the letter R is used only once when pronouncing 'The United States of America'. Dear Beng-Bengs & Lian-Lians, if you guys are pronouncing it this way, please stop:

'The - Uniterd - Startes - orf - Armerica'

And one more thing, how the heck can you screw up a simple word like 'us'. Heard an Ah Lian singing Bette Midler's 'From A Distance' recently.. she sang: 'God is watching urs, god is watching urs'.. Erm, me thinks God might have to look away in horror!

Okay, okay.. back to the topic at hand. Here are some photos from the shop.

Cat enduring an attack of the 'fake slangs'..

RM8 for fried tofu?

heavenly if one's on a diet..

if you're on a diet, order the chicken chop, you'll see why..

Cat seems to be enjoying her fried meehoon, though..

Selangor Mansion Tea Stall a.k.a. Abang Abu

Selangor Mansion Tea House

(also known as Al Amnah Tea Stall)

Flat Selangor Mansion

Jalan Bunus, City Centre

50100 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.151989, 101.697434

Selangor Mansion Tea House is the fancy name for our absolute fav Mamak hole-in-the-wall stall. Affectionately known among us as 'Abang Abu' (don't ask me why, its a long story), this has got to be our family's default mamak stall.

Located a stone's throw away from our condo, it is also along the way to Brendan's school. We have been patronizing this stall since we moved into our condo some 6 years ago, but for some reason we have neglected to mention it here (go figure!).

I know I'm probably being biased, but Abang Abu's teh tarik (pulled tea?) is the ABSOLUTE best in all of Mamakdom!

Chicken curry, poppadom & rice..

Brendan's staple diet since way back when!

someone can hardly wait!

Our fav hole-in-the-wall stall:)

and guess what? its open 24/7..

Doin' his thang:)

it draws a truly muti-racial crowd:)

Cat's default mamak fare..

she's got something for maggi mee..

I had chapatti with mutton curry.

If you're ever in the neighbourhood, be sure to pay this stall a visit even if its only for refreshments.. satisfaction guaranteed!