While most of what we had for makan in our five day stay in Melaka was great, we had a small share of bad luck in Melaka. One of which was deserved – i.e. we walked right into the restaurant knowing it was going to serve mediocre food – but in another case, the stall was well-reviewed elsewhere in blogsphere but was a disappointment for us instead.
Fish Porridge @ Wang Food Court
Reviews for this fish porridge stall at Wang Food Court shows up on a couple of blog and foodie places online, and Ling marked it out as a must-check-out eating place when we were planning for the trip. The foodcourt is situated beside Hotel Grand Continental, which itself was just a short 5 minute from The Majestic. We popped by the foodcourt on our first day after checking into the hotel in the early afternoon, but most stalls at the foodcourt were closed, necessitating a return visit on the second day evening.
The stall offers a variety of fish-based fare. We both tried the fish porridge (MY$3.50 and upwards), and found it surprisingly nothing like what the reviews online raved. Ling was especially disappointed that the fish didn’t seem fresh and the soup base for the porridge was bland. I’m not normally a fan of fish-based porridges or soups, but frankly, even the fish soups in my school canteen taste better. Also, I wasn’t expecting stellar customer service, but even that seemed lacking. We both found the middle-age lady serving us unfriendly; her tone when taking our orders was curt and she snorted a loud “沒有” (“don’t have”) when we politely asked for an additional small serving bowl for Hannah.
Also; the fish slices had bones in them; so some caution is necessary if you’ve got young children with you.
Mei Sin Café
This café is also just very nearby The Majestic, and we dropped by for a quick lunch on day 4 on Saturday just before noon. We weren’t expecting much when Tripadvisor ranks this at #114 of #162 granted though that it’s just got one review to its name. The coffee shop was pretty packed with lunch-time crowds, so we were still a little hopeful. So, we ordered the char kway teow and wanton noodles. And the food was, well, still bland with the latter just a little more tasty than the char kway teow which needed a lot more black sweet sauce. Sigh.
At least the service was much better. The elderly gentleman whipping up the kway teow was friendly. This guy was a one-man show; cooking, serving, and collecting back used dishes all by himself. Interestingly, each plate of noodles was cooked separately. The aunties manning the wanton noodle stall were even warm, chatting with Hannah, and even obliging Ling’s request to cut the noodles up into smaller strips for our little girl.
On a different note; we picked up a couple of trays of pineapple tarts from Malacca Jonker Nonya Enterprise on our way to Pak Putra yesterday evening. The baker must be proud of her 100% homemade tarts, since her name is even included in the cover packaging. We’re going to try these when we’re back at home – and if they’re good, Ling’s probably gonna write up about it here.:)
Thanks for the sharing. The tips are really good!