Weekend in Malacca

Weekend in Malacca

WHAT is synonymous with road trips? Food hunts. And what is synonymous with Malaysia? Food – and each state has its own special cuisine.

On a weekend trip to Malacca recently, I decided to update myself on the tea-time treats available in this Unesco heritage-listed city. I found out that while there are many new establishments around, it’s good business as usual for three hawkers who have been plying their humble trade for decades.

Grandpa’s curry puff

After working as a sales clerk for years, Jean Tan decided to quit and take over her family’s curry puff business which was started by her grandfather, Tan Joo Chin, 40 years ago. The business was then run by her father, Tan Meng Ho. The curry puffs are huge and bursting with their curry and potato fillings. Tan also sells red bean and yam puffs. “My customers like the variety and the fact that the puffs are filling. Some even have them as a meal,” she says.

This writer can vouch for that. After having the red bean and yam puffs, which cost RM0.80 and RM1 respectively, I was puffed out. The red bean puff is sweet and the yam is savoury. Grandpa’s curry puffs are available at Restoran Yung Lai Siang along Jalan Bunga Raya Pantai, from 7am to 4pm.

Bukit China Soya Bean House

Spoiled for choice: There are 20 versions of tau fu fah at Bukit China Soya Bean House.

During previous trips to Malacca, I always headed for the original stall on Jalan Temenggong, which is manned by 70-year-old Tan Whi Hui. This third-generation business, which specialises in ginger juice tau fu fa, was passed down to him by his father 60 years ago. Many have raved about the smoothness of the soya bean curd served here, complemented by the homemade hot ginger juice.

Tan’s son, Jack, opened the first Bukit China Soya Bean House on Jalan Kota Laksamana 2/17 a year ago. He serves 20 versions of the tau fu fah and 100 types of dishes. A bowl of ginger tau fu fah at Tan’s stall costs RM2. The price at Jack’s Jalan Kota Laksamana outlet is RM2.20.

“The ginger juice takes hours to make and is a very tedious process,” says Jack’s wife, Shirley Ho. “It’s actually made at our small family factory nearby. The ginger has to be cleaned, peeled, sliced and refrigerated before it is boiled.”

The ginger juice is subtly pungent and does not drown out the smooth taste of the curd.

There’s also a Michael Jackson here. A mixture of soya bean milk and black cincau (grass jelly), a glass of this cold refreshing beverage can quench anyone’s thirst on a humid day.

Cendol Bukit China

Can you imagine yourself tucking into a nice, chilled serving of cendol by a cemetery? Eerie as it may sound, Mohd Zaid Abdullah’s stall still draws in the customers despite his location at Bukit China, which is the site of some 12,500 old graves. Mohd Zaid has been doing business at the same location for the past 22 years. “I open during the day from 10am to 6pm so there is nothing scary about eating here,” he says, laughing.

Mohd Zaid, 42, from Batu Berendam, not only sells cendol but also mee rebus, rojak and mee rojak. Each bowl of cendol costs RM1, which is obviously cheap.

Mohd Zaid keeps his stall, sited under a tree, clean. Most of the time, there is a good breeze there so customers can enjoy their cendol, or whatever food they have ordered, in comfort. Mohd Zaid says he took over the family business from his father. “It may seem a bit disturbing at first being near a cemetery but my customers are fine with it,” he says.

Ismail Malik, 52, a retiree who has been Mohd Zaid’s customer for years, says he enjoys the experience. “It’s quite funny when I tell my relatives and friends who are not from Malacca about eating near a cemetery. I have even brought some of them here. As long as the food is good, I have no qualms about the location,” he chuckles.

-Info courtesy of The Star-