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Melaka (or Melacca), the historical city. That was our destination last weekend. It was the Hari Raya holidays and a WL and I were headed south to attend a friend’s wedding at Tangkak, Johor. We decided to make it a two day trip with a stopover at Melaka. We’ve been there many times before and have established a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of sorts which includes a couple of places that we usually go to for lunch and dinner.

We made a move from KL at around 1pm and were expecting to be caught in heavy traffic on the highway due to the Raya exodus. Surprisingly, the road was somewhat clear. We covered the short distance in slightly under an hour, arriving at Melaka at 3pm. From there, it was straight to our hotel to check in.

The Baba House (Bed and Breakfast)
This wasn’t the first time that we’ve stayed at Baba House. WL’s sister recommended it to us when we came down the same way a year ago. The 3-storey establishment is located along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, which is parallel to Jonker Street (also known as Antiques Street or more recently Jalan Hang Jebat). There is a front and rear entrance. In the event that you’re driving, there are ample parking spaces around the back of the hotel.

Room rates range from RM89 (Single) to RM220 (Family). There is usually a promotional rate (or at least we’ve enjoyed the promotion the two occasions we were there) going from RM55 (Single) to RM178 (Family). Room rates are inclusive of tax and breakfast (for 1, 2 or 4 depending on the room type). Breakfast is a simple American breakfast consisting of toasts, scramble eggs, sausages, coffee and juice. WL mentioned that breakfast was RM5 per person and can be excluded from the room rates.

I called a week earlier to make reservations and managed to get a deluxe twin room at RM89. All rooms are air conditioned and have the same basic facilities; namely attached toilet, television, dresser and wardrobe. Beds come in the double and king size variety depending on the room. When I made the reservation by phone, the person on the other end told me that the room would be held for me until 3pm. Upon checking in, I was informed that the check out time was noon.

The Baba House
No. 125 - 127, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock,
75200 Malacca.
Tel: +606-281 1216, +606-281 2168, +606-284 8911
Fax: +606-281 1217
Website: Melaka.net (Babahouse)
E-mail: thebabahouse@pd.jaring.my

Dinner: Capitol Satay Celup (Satay Luk Luk or Satay Steamboat)
After moving our stuff into the hotel room, we lazed around, waiting for dinner time. When it came, we made a beeline for Capitol Satay, a restaurant serving satay celup. Satay celup is basically an assortment of raw and semi-cooked seafood, meats and vegetables on skewers that are dunked into a pot of bubbling thick spicy sauce (normally its boiling water but this is a special variety) that is similar to the aromatic satay sauce. There are actually three shops that serve this Melaka specialty along with numerous roadside stalls but Capitol Satay Celup is the best.

The restaurant is located along Lorong Bukit Cina and operation starts at 5.30pm daily (closed on Mondays). We arrived at around 6.30pm and the place was already packed with a long queue starting to gather outside. There are only a dozen tables, so do be early if you want to be seated quickly. We had to wait 15 minutes before a table was finally made available for us. Since we had a light lunch earlier, we were famished and dug in without much ceremony.

Prices are fairly reasonable. Each skewer costs RM0.50. Plates of ingredients range from RM1.20 to RM8.00 depending on the size of the serving. There are also large prawns available (not sure about the price though). All in, we had 22 skewers, a plate of wantan and a plate of chinese sausages. Inclusive of drinks, the bill came up to RM19.30 for two persons.

On a side note, on the back wall of the restaurant, there’s a picture and a quote proclaiming the world’s best stick licker to be an American dude who wolfed down 70 sticks and 2 plates of wantan. Anyone want to attempt to break this record?

Capitol Satay Celup
41, Lorong Bukit Cina,
75100 Melaka, Malaysia.
Tel: +606-283 5508
Operating Hours: Opens at 5.30pm, closed on Mondays

We followed up our binge with a walk along Jonker Street to help digest the food we had in our tummies. As usual, the place was packed with tourist and locals. We managed to walk the street from end to end before stopping for some cendol (RM2.50) at a place called “Only You - Food Products and Cafe” (Tel: +606-281 9005). The place is located down the street from the Geographer Cafe. The cendol was nice and cooling after the fiery dinner we had. On the plus side, it used real gula melaka and wasn’t too sweet. I’ve tasted better though.

We spent the night at The Baba House and woke up for breakfast at 10.30am. Just in time I might add, cause breakfast closes at 11am. After a quick shower and checkout, we walked the short distance to our lunch destination…

Lunch: Chop Chung Wah Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls
For some reason, we always come here. If its a day trip, we’ll drop by for lunch when we arrive in Melaka. If we spend the night, we’ll come by for lunch before we leave. This trip was no different. It is tauted to serve the Chicken Rice Balls in Melaka. Whether that is true or not, I don’t rightly know. However, having eaten in only one other restaurant that served Chicken Rice Balls, my limited exposure tells me that its true! HAHA!

True or not, there was once again a crowd when we arrived. The restaurant is the first corner shop at the Jalan Hang Jebat crossroads, immediately after the bridge and opposite Chung Khiaw Bank. We were fortunate enough to get a table at the back of the shop. We placed an order for two persons. The lady who took our order wasn’t very friendly.

When the food came, we found that the recommended ‘medium’ serving was too much for the two of us to finish. It was probably just nice for 3 persons. But since we’ve already ordered, we forced ourself to finish it. It was unfortunate that the chicken was cold and the rice luke warm. The food quality has definitely deteriorated over the years. Perhaps it is time to visit a different shop. WL’s parents mentioned that there was a better restaurant somewhere… we just don’t know the specific location…

Lunch including drinks at Chop Chung Wah totaled RM13.30.

Sorry, no address or contact number here.