Selamat Hari Raya 2008

Tomorrow October 1, 2008 Malaysians celebrate the Hari Raya 1 Syawal AidilFitri. Wish everybody 'selamat Hari raya'.

The one thing that is synonymous with large scale celebration like Hari Raya, and Chinese New year, is the migration of people from the city to their hometown.

For a few days in a year, the roads in KL will be devoid of traffic, while the smaller towns will be jammed-packed with the return of the 'migrants'. The smaller towns are not built to cope with the massive population, so you can expect shortage of petrol (already in the news recently), long queue at the ATM machines when the returnees cashout their savings, long queue at the popular (and not so popular) food stalls. The air of festivity can be seen at the smaller towns , rather than in KL!

So join the crowd and see you in Melaka!

Malacca is one of the World Heritage Sites

Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has finally listed Malacca in the World Heritage List. Also included is George Town in Penang.

Malacca has a long history, going back to 600 or more years. It has been conquered by the Portuguese, Dutch and British for many years, and you can see their influence in the buildings around the town, mostly centred aound the Malacca river.


Read the Star's Unesco Accepts GeorgeTown and Malacca as World Heritage Site

The full list can be found in Eight new sites added to World Heritage List

Best Mee Goreng in Melaka

The best Mee Goreng (or Fried Mee in English) can be found next to my former school Methodist Girls School in Jalan Tengkera, Melaka. The stall is on the right side of the road leading to the Klebang beach. You wont's miss it if you go there in the morning before 11 am. The crowd will give you a clue to its popularity. Closed on Friday, and also during Puasa month.

This mee goreng stall is also featured in The Star Guide to Malaysian Street Food (yes, I bought my copy of the Street Food Guide, at, of all places, the Star booth at the recent Disney Live magic show in KL).

If you are in Melaka, don't miss Hassan's mee goreng. The yellow noodle is fried with taugeh (bean sprouts) and sambal. That's all. Simple ingredients. No prawn, or other embellishments.

Top up the mee goreng with fried egg (fried sunny side up, bull's eye style) and some more sambal. Also add a sprinkling of vinegar and black sauce from the bottle on the tables.

And because they serve only mee goreng, you don't have to place your order with the waiters. Just find an empty table, sit down and wait for the waiters to place the plate of mee goreng after it's cooked by Hassan. Hassan and his men have good memory - they know who comes first and will serve in that order.

Tip: you may want to ask for an extra plate for seconds.

People queueing up for the bull's eye egg below



Because of the speed they need to cook, the food gets 'plonked' onto the plate and may cause some messiness. Not fine dining, but you get good and cheap food.

Mee Goreng cost Rm 1.20 per plate.

P/s Down memory lane : Hassan's father used to sell his mee goreng on a kandar (a long bamboo stick on which he carried the kuali on one end and the mee on the other end) from house to house. He always stops by at my grandmother's house in Gajah Berang and we children will crowd round his stove watching him cook his mee goreng.

We have a name for the mee goreng - mee rot.

Where to find good food in Melaka

Good Melaka food , soft crab


Where to find good food in Melaka, Malaysia - 1.

Most times, my friends will ask me this question - where can I find good food in Melaka. As a Malaccan-born Nyonya, I have several favourite food spots that I frequent. I will start a series of food-reviews of good (and most often, cheap) food in Melaka/Malacca.

We'll start by giving you directions to Jalan Hang Jebat where most of the specialty food stalls are located.

Fancy a meal of fried soft-shell crab that's crispy and finger licking good? A complete meal of crab, oyster, chicken, pork and vegetables for 4 adults can be had for less than Rm 50.00. Very reasonable - when compared to prices for KL / PJ restaurants.

On April Fool's day, I went with my family to this quaint restaurant - Restaurant Sin Yin Hoe in Lorong Hang Jebat, Melaka. My earlier visit this year was in Feb 2007 during the Chinese New Year celebrations. Prices then and now, for the same dishes remain constant - meaning this restaurant did not hike its prices during the CNY celebrations, as most others would have.

This restaurant can accomodate about 8 tables inside, and about 4 more tables along the corridor. It's open from 5.30 pm to 12pm to cater for the dinner.

Directions to go there? Its near the Malacca River and Malacca clock tower.

Good Friday 2007

Christians all over the world will celebrate Good Friday on April 6, 2007. If you have never been to St Peter Church for Good Friday, then you should visit historical Melaka (Jalan Bendahara) and experience it yourself.

A little bit about St Peter's church: extracted from a review made in Yahoo Travel

St Peter's church was the primary location for congregations of Portuguese Catholics who had it constructed in 1710, during the period of Dutch rule. Now it qualifies as the oldest Catholic Church in Malaysia and still serves resident worshippers of the Catholic faith. They include descendants of the 600 men that Alfonso d'Albuquerque brought ashore after his conquest of Malacca. The existing bell in the belfry states the date and place of manufacture as 1608 - Goa, and was salvaged from an older church the Dutch had burned down. There is also an alabaster statue of the Lord Before The Resurrection.

What is different about Good friday in Melaka, is that this event is attended by non Christians as well.