San Shu Gong

Address: Jonker Street, Jalan Hang Jebat, Malacca

Phone: 6-06-281-3118

I don't usually go to Tan Kim Hock or San Shu Gong when I'm back in Malacca because it seems to be targeting tourist business with all the snack gifts sold in the shop. But I have a reason to go back there again next time, for its Durian chendol. The ice coffee at San Shu Gong was also very satistfying. The bottle came with an ice block at the bottom and they pour the coffee in right before serving. Definitely better and cheaper than the coffee I get in New York!

The famous Durian Chendol - doesn't look very presentable, but taste pretty good. If you like durian, this will be your favorite durian dessert.

We were told the San Shu Gong was opened recently in Malacca by the heirs of the Tan Kim Hock business family. It took up the entire corner building of what used to be the Chung Kiaw Bank building right below the bridge nearby Stadhuys.

Gan: Something has been bothering me during this recent trip back home. Lately, there's been an influx of tourism investments and a lot of all these new businesses have sprout up all over Malacca. Maybe it's the World Heritage prestige or maybe it's something else. Prosperity can be a double edge sword. It is always easier to lax and makes mistake into habit when the end goal is too easily obtained. One loss customer from a bad service or product can be replaced with many more willing customers. Fame and prosperity allows you that. We hope the heritage continues to be well preserved and not sacrificed in the process.

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Balls

Hainanese Cuisine

Address: 4, 6, 8 Jalan Hang Jebat, Malacca

Phone: 6-06-283-4751

Hainanese chicken rice, despite its name, was not a dish from Hainan, China, but instead was created by Hainanese immigrants in Malaysia and Singapore. This dish can be found in many places in Malaysia, but Malacca's version is different because the rice is shaped into ping pong size balls and served with sliced chicken. It can be argued that the main focus of the meal is the chicken rice, and not necessary the chicken meat itself. Gan will always reminisce his childhood school days when he would get half a dozen chicken rice balls in a plastic to go and fill it up with the always essential condiment of special blend of chilli sauce with some thick and light soy sauce. He claims it's the last dish he would like to have if he ever were given the choice before he meet his maker!

There are two places in Malacca that are famous for its chicken rice balls as long as I can remember - Hoe Kee and its rival store across the street call Chung Wah. Most locals go to Hoe Kee for its chicken rice balls and Chung Wah for its chicken. But to me, both are equally good, so I'll go to whichever that has a shorter line.

(Top) Chicken Rice Balls (Bottom) Hainanese style chicken and chicken gizzards

Chung Wah Chicken Rice Balls shop, Hoe Kee's long time competitor located just across the street. Check out the line outside despite the 90 over degree temperature! It wraps around the building to the bridge.

Fried Oyster Omelette

Teoh Chew Cuisine

Address: Medan Makan Boon Leong, Jalan Bunga Raya, Malacca

Open Nightly

Growing up, this was my favorite place in Malacca for midnight snacks. I didn't realize this is actually a popular Teoh Chew dish until recently. I have tried Taiwan's oyster omelette in NYC as well as Taipei, and I think this oyster omelette beats all the oyster omelette in the world. The Taiwanese version of "Oh-Ah-Chien" is much more starchy with heavy focus on undercooked tapioca flour and runny egg, with its huge dollop of sweet tasting chilli sauce. This Malaccan version is well cooked so you can really taste the fiery fire burnt smell (wok hei). It tastes best when eaten with owner home made dipping chili sauce on the side. One secret which is well known with the locals. It tastes even better when left in fridge overnight, and re-stir-fried with oil the next day and mixed in with rice. Dehydrating the dish gets you a stronger flavor and taste - see, the dehydration method in changing the character of the food (not just for preservation) can be applied to good effect here. :-)

Bibik Neo Nyonya Restaurant

Peranakan Food

Address: No.6 Ground Floor, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya, Malacca

Phone: 6-06-281-7054

Peranakan are Chinese who came to Malacca in the 15th-16th century and they've created a unique Peranakan or Straits Chinese culture, where the customs, food and descendants are products of cross racial marriages with local Malays. These Straits Chinese descendants are called Baba (men) and Nyonya (women) and their cuisine is known as Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya food. Chinese food are mainly mild in flavor, outside of the famously spicy Sichuan food or heavily spiced Xinjiang food. You can see the influence of the South-East Malay spices in the Baba-Nyonya food. A lot of them are spicy or even strongly flavored. Sourcing of local ingredients or re-adjusting the flavor profile of the immigrants original dishes into local palate will always produce a unique blend of new cuisine. This is why we are so proud of our heritage in Malacca, due to the richness of its history, including food. Kangkung Belacan, Buddhist Delight, Ayam Ponteh, Ayam Buah Keluak, Assam Fish are some of the popular peranakan dishes. There are a number of peranakan restaurants in Malacca but the more famous ones are Bibik Neo, Ole Sayang, Nancy's Kitchen and Mrs. Lee. But my all time favorite peranakan food is still my good friend Ai Poh's mom's cooking. Compared to Penang's peranakan food, Malacca's more home cook style, and also has more Malay influence. But definitely satisfying!

clockwise from top: shrimp masak lemak (pineapple curry base), ayam pongteh (black bean sauce), cincaluk omelette (cincaluk is a local Malacca tiny shrimp), top hat

clockwise from top: shrimp masak lemak, ayam pongteh, cincaluk omelette, top hat, deep fried fish with sambal, kangkung belacan (shrimp paste), nyonya chap chai (nyonya style buddhist delight), ayam buah keluak

Malaysia Food Tour 2009 Overview

We have been talking about doing a Malaysia Food Tour for years and it finally happened last month. For an entire week last month, the yaokuis launched a massive, well planned (almost) and non stop gastronomy tour, hitting four main Malaysia food cities- Malacca, Kuala Lumpur (KL)/Petaling Jaya(PJ) and Penang. Malacca is Gan and my hometown so we were in charge of the food itinerary there, while Nick Choo aka Chef Nick was supposed to be our food guide in KL/PJ, and Nan showed us some of her favorite food in Penang.

What really inspired this gastronomy tour in our own country was actually Tony Bourdain's No Reservation episode on Malaysia. Although Tony almost always hit the best eating spots in many cities, we thought he didn't get to experience the true Malaysian cuisine (not just Malay cuisine, Tony) during his trip to Malaysia. Perhaps he didn't have the right people showing him around (chef Wan, bull testicles soup, really?) I don't know. We did toy with the idea of inviting Tony Bourdain to join us in our Malaysia food tour, but I'm not sure if he would have agreed to participate.

First stop, Malacca. Based on our discussions with friends from other Malaysian cities, it seems like there are certain food such as satay babi, chicken rice balls, durian chendol, (Malacca style) taiwanese pork chop noodles, malaccan nyonya, oyster omelette and satay celup that are unique to Malacca, so we made them the "must eat" places during our stop there. But with so much food to try and so little time, and with some popular restaurants closed during the weekends, we only managed to check out a handful of places. So no satay celup, bukit rambai chendol, teoh chew porridge etc for my visiting friends. But I'm glad they enjoyed satay babi and oysters omelette as much as we did!

Next stop, KL/PJ. The food itinerary in KL/PJ consists of Ah Wah Hokkien Mee, Village Park Nasi Lemak, Pantai Seafood, Sage Restaurant, You Ai Seafood curry mee and Greenview restaurant. KL/PJ's food tour was interesting, mainly because our food tour guide Chef Nick was not with us the whole time, so coordinating what to eat and when to eat was a little challenging. But to be fair, we did cause Nick to miss his hot date(s) and made him wait for almost an hour at Ah Wah restaurant on our first night there. For that reason Nick, we forgive you for being MIA since then!

Thankfully, I was able to recall some of the really good places my brother in law brought us to the last time we visited, so I took over Nick's responsibility and organized the food tour instead. One of our favorite restaurants in KL/PJ area turned out to be Greenview restaurant; it's the kind of restaurant where you can just order any dish and they are all impressive! Salted egg crab, ribs, steamed fish, fried noodles, anything!

On our way up to Penang, we did a pit stop in Ipoh, a city famous for many things ie hometown of movie star Michelle Yeoh, birthtown of white coffee, a city famous for its Ipoh Nga Choi Kai (bean sprout & chicken dish) and Ipoh Hor Fun (Ipoh chicken noodles soup). It was in Ipoh (specifically in Sin Yin Loong Coffee shop) where we had the best kaya toast and the best coffee.

Final stop in Malaysia, Penang - the food capital of Malaysia, the city where you get the best char kuay teow and where assam laksa and shrimp noodles originated. It was Gan's first time visiting the Pearl of the Orient, and he really loved it. Since we were also in Penang to attend a friend's wedding, we didn't get to try as many places as we've planned. But under Nan's guidance, we did manage to eat some really awesome food over there; We went to the famous Heng Huat Char Kuay Teow, Teochew chendol, Perut Rumah nyonya restaurant, Mee Sotong etc. If you love char kuay teow, you must try Heng Huat's at Lorong Selamat. It will blow your socks off -- super chunky fried lards + jumbo shrimp cooked at really hot wok (so hot that the cook has to wear a pair of goggles while cooking) = out of this world char kuay teow.

If you have tried Malaysian food in New York City or somewhere else and you love it, you must make a trip to Malaysia at least once to check out the real deal. And if you are a chef, eating in Malaysia will only inspire you, expand your sense of taste and expose you to food that you never knew existed! Look at what Malaysia has done to/for Zak Pellacio! Fatty Crab!

What I absolutely love about eating in Malaysia is the fact that the food vendors are very specialized where they serve only a few dishes that they cook really well. Because of that, I can always count on getting the best and freshest food prepared daily at almost everywhere, and at a price I'll never find in New York City. I'm already missing the food back home!