Anyone who has been to Malaysia will know that while Kuala Lumpur is shiny, apart from shopping and eating there’s not a hell of a lot to do there. We decided early on in our planning to hire a van to drive us around Malaysia, road trip style!

Day 2 – Where I remember how much I dislike monkeys

Our first stop of the day is the Mega Valley Mall (mega indeed), we’re here to pick up our car for the week. Knowing how many people we had in the group and how long we’d be driving we decide to go with a van for our travels. I remember arguing with Billy when trying to choose a car for the trip, often his primary argument was something along the lines of, “Bigger Minh, bigger!“. After a bit of a wait our van finally pulled up and looked like…

…um. Noticing the obvious dismay on our faces the staff are quick to assure us this isn’t our car, moments later a much shinier van pulled up and we are off! Driving in Malaysia is somewhat hair-raising, the white lines on the roads seem to be there primarily as a suggestion and red lights only deter drivers if they can’t see anyone coming in the opposite direction. Billy pulls the car to a stop at a set of lights having just missed the yellow, only to see the cars on either side of him zoom through the red. “I’ve gotten soft!” he proclaims, much to my amusement.

Our first stop of the day is the Batu Caves, but of course first – lunch.

Lunch – Klang Lek Bak Kut Teh

Despite our day’s agenda we’ve decided to head over to Klang first, there’s only one reason for us to head here – Klang Lek Bak Kut Teh. Supposedly the original and the best, it’s the only place we have in mind to try Bak Kut Teh and we’re undeterred by the detour. I’ve actually only ever tasted Bak Kut Teh once before, when Lex used a group of bloggers as his guinea pigs, as I eat this dish I’m mentally raising my cup to Lex for his fantastic effort.

The Soup Tea is rich in flavour, the dark colour a result of all the Chinese herbs and spices incorporated into the stock, the simmer time ensures that the meat while fatty is gloriously tender and fall apart in your mouth. We’re trying two varieties, the first being standard pork and the 2nd pork intestines.

Our table has been provided with its very own tea kettle that I love the old school look and feel of. The sheer size of the kettle means it’s an almost visible effort for Billy to lift and pour cups of tea for us all, but it doesn’t stop me from lusting after one myself.

Batu Caves

I’ve actually been to the Batu Caves before on my last trip to Malaysia in 2007, to be honest my clearest memories of that day are the 272 stairs leading up to the caves themselves, and… Monkeys. They’re fascinating to watch (from a distance), but I have no interest in getting up close and personal with them!

However before we have to contend with either, the skies have opened up and we’re running for shelter from the fantastically large water drops. There’s knowing that you’re traveling during monsoon season and actually experiencing being in the center of a thunderstorm! It’s actually somewhat terrifying at times but in a blink of an eye the storm is over, leaving only a water clogged courtyard and dozens of barefoot tourists wading through the water making their way towards the stairs.

I’d like to shoot whoever it was who said that it’s easier climb UPstairs than it is to go DOWNstairs. The stairs are no where as bad as the ones I experienced previously in the Blue Mountains but they definitely have me panting by the end. Kudos to the women who climbed these stairs in full Saris while carrying their shoes!

For all our hardships the caves are as gorgeous as I remember, a vast open space with  cliff facings going up so far I have to crane my neck back to see the skies. It’s an exhausting day and we’re happy to just settle back at the hotel before stopping over one last time at Jalan Alor for dinner.

Day 3 – In which much Chendol is consumed

With the van thoroughly tested on the previous day, we’re off on a longer day trip up to Melaka, known for its chicken rice balls and Chendol. I don’t know it now, but by the end of the day I’m going to wish that I’ve never even heard of Chendol!!

The drive is a relatively short one and we’ve reached the town center within an hour or so. Sightseeing is all and good but we know why we’re here, we quickly join the queue outside of Kedai Kopi Chung Wah, you know what they say – if there’s a line it must be good! The line moves briskly and the owner is soon shouting at us asking, “How many?!”.

Lunch – Kedai Kopi Chung Wah

From the outside the restaurant appears quite small, but moving inside it’s quickly apparent that it’s actually 2 connected larger rooms, we’re in the middle of the lunch rush and the tables are packed out with couples and families, everyone chowing down on the specialty, chicken rice balls and steamed chicken.

The rice balls have been made from a chicken stock rather than water, giving them a richer flavor. Helen and Billy aren’t fans of the rice balls, but I’m a little enamored of them finding the gummy mix a nice counterpoint to the chicken. Billy finally puts a finger on what he dislikes about the rice halfway through lunch, the rice balls just aren’t hot enough! Now that he’s mentioned it I’m consumed with thoughts of steaming hot rice balls with chicken… This is probably one of those restaurants supported more by its hype than its food, but it doesn’t stop the crowds from lining up.

Chendol Stop 1 – Famosa chicken rice ball

Given that lunch was only an hour ago, the other thing that could possibly drive us to to eat again would be the weather.  RAIN. It’s only day 3 of our trip and I’m beginning to see that this rain is going to be a regular thing for our day planning, with the majority of the tourist haunts in the area exposed to nature our only resorts are shopping, and eating. We’ve managed to shop ourselves out and promptly decide to try out some of this famous Nyonya Chendol we keep hearing about. Of course, being who we are it’s impossible to sit down in a restaurant without trying some other foods too.

I can’t resist BBQ pork on the best of days so despite my protesting stomach I go after the salty crackly pieces of pork. All of the serving sizes are bite sized and are obviously designed to be shared as part of a larger meal, making it perfect as a snack. It’s the first time I’ve tried and even heard of Otak Otak, I love the moulded bright orange look of the steamed cake and its spicy texture has me coming back for more.

The colour of the Yam Rice Balls on the menu has us intrigued and it’s added to our order. Despite the dark colouring the Yam gives the rice I find it hard to taste much of a difference between this ball and the ones we’ve had for lunch.

The first thing that strikes me when the Cendol comes out is the size of the dish. The icy desserts we’ve been devouring in KL are huge towers in comparison and I can’t help compare the sizes, all of my disgruntlement disappears at the first mouthful. The ice has been grounded into an almost powder like texture, melting away on our tongues, I’m eating quickly in case the cendol tendrils begin to freeze but soon realise that the texture of cendol is softer here and the powdery ice melts before it has a chance to freeze the cendol.

Chendol Stop 2 – No 1 Kopitiam Famous Authentic Nyonya Cendol

Running down the street we stumble across No 1 Kopitiam, at first I assume the signage is an idle boast but a quick google search shows that it’s actually the name of the shop! The shop itself is so narrow it’s a little bit of a struggle to actually get inside, the main seating area being a long table down the middle of the store. As I shuffle my way inside I’m dumbstruck by the sheer number of Coca-Cola paraphernalia littering the shelves of the shop.

It’s an amazing collection of… stuff. Coca-Cola bottles and cans, Malaysian tea cups, Mexican Wrestler dolls, old vases, I even spot a Orgasmatron tucked away into a vase (not what you think!). It turns out the owner of the store a tiny Nyonya woman, is the proud owner and collector of everything in the store. Before we can even blink 5 servings of cendol have been quickly dished out and served to us.

Moving away from the larger restaurants definitely has its advantages as the food is getting noticeably cheaper the smaller the stores get. The cendol served at No 1 is definitely milkier than the ones we’ve been eating so far, the white surface is hiding the red beans lurking below the surface and is best slurped up quickly before the mix becomes pure liquid. Billy chats to the owner as we eat, she’s a charming woman with amazingly fluent english who is obviously proud of her store. Even as we leave she’s shouting advice at us with the final word, ‘Check out my facebook page!’.

I am devastated that I cannot find her facebook page.

EDIT: The page has been found! Check it out!

Chendol Stop 3 – Tan Kim Hock

We’re finally moving away from Melaka town and end up at Tan Kim Hock, it’s a warehouse factory of sorts selling all types of fruits in various food forms. Billy’s taken us here to pick up a few things for his parents and I just find myself wandering up and down the aisles marveling at how many ways they’ve discovered to process banana. Of course, there are ulterior motives – Tan Kim Hock also serves Durian Cencol, even now I can remember Helen’s eyes lighting up.

My body refuses to go on… it has reached its saturation point. I do steal a bite from Billy’s bowl and it’s an anticlimax of sorts, the cendol simply tastes like… Cendol with a smothering of durian.

Dinner – Newton culture food village

One thing we’re all in agreement about at the end of the day is the fact that we’re simply too full to eat a conventional dinner, we’re actually in search of a famous restaurant but turn to a nearby food court when we discover the restaurant is closed. To make things easier we simply wander through the stands and buy a few dishes for the group to share, just a few mind you.

The chicken pieces have been individually wrapped in paper before frying, the result is crispy looking delicious paper… I’m tempted to try the paper but instead we gingerly unwrap the chicken before eating – the results are flavourful but somewhat dry to taste.

Billy and I are in a bit of a Mexican standoff when it comes to Oyster Omlettes. We’ve tried it a few times so far on the trip and it’s been served to us in a variety of ways, I prefer a thinner almost cripsy texture while Billy swears by the thicker clumpy version we’ve had tonight. Whatever your preference is, it’s a combo I find irresistible.

The cockles are so cheap we have to do a double take at the board to make sure we’ve gotten the price right. For 2RM they’ve been cooked fresh and served directly in the shell with lime and chili dipping sauce. The amount of work it takes to open each becomes a challenge and I’m pretty sure that by the end of the meal I was eating these just to prove that I had what it took to get them open!

Buy 10 get 1 free! It’s an offer we find impossible to resist.

The Otak Otak pieces are folded into their own individual banana leaves before being roasted on an open flame, the result is a leafy fragrant pile of leaves deposited on our table. They’re held together rather securely with staples but getting past the metal protectors reveals a spicy fishy interior.

Finally sated we get up to pile back into the car to head back to KL, despite my full stomach I can’t help but cast one more look back at the Curry Mee stand… My body is sweating but my stomach doesn’t know any better!

Supper – Kayu Nasi Kandar

You didn’t really think we were done did you? I’ll be honest, I did. LOL.

We’re on our way to Kuala Lumpur to meet up with one of Billy’s college friends, Christine. She’s living down in Petaling Jaya conveniently close to Kayu Nasi Kandar, the homeplace of Suze’s infamous 1m Roti Tisu adventure. There’s actually a lot more food ordered at supper (Banana Pancake, Noodles, Roti Canai), but my body is so tired that for once I have no compulsion to take photos of the food, shocking I know.

It’s crazy and mesmerising but all I can think is that there is a hell of a lot of roti coming toward our table. The sight is enough to jolt me out of my self-induced coma and soon I find myself picking at the huge cone on our table. It’s an interesting contrast to the ones I’ve had at Mamak, their Roti Tisu layers are a little thicker and are layered 3-4 times around the cone whereas the Malaysian ones are much thinner but more often are a single layered cone.

The condensed milk is running down the sides and soaking into the crisp layers… eating this roti is most likely the best way possible of finishing a hard day of sightseeing. 3 days down, 13 to go!

Check out the rest of the Malaysia Monday’s series here!

Klang Lek Bak Kut Teh
27, Jalan Teluk Pulai,
41100 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

Batu Caves
Sri Subramaniam Temple Kuala Lumpur

Kedai Kopi Chung Wah
18, Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Famosa chicken rice ball
21 Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Ph: 606-286 0120
Web: http://www.chickenriceball.com/

No 1 Kopitiam Famous Authentic Nyonya Cendol
No. 1 Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat),
75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Ph: 06-335 7443 / 013-680 4473

Tan Kim Hock
85, 87 & 89 Jalan Bendahara,
75100 Melaka, Malaysia

Newton culture food village
PT 499, Jln Merdeka,
Kaw. Bandar XLII,
75000 Melaka, Malaysia
Ph: 06-2820 448
Web: http://newtonmalacca.com/home.html

Kayu Nasi Kandar
64, Jalan SS2/10,
47300 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Ph : 03-7877 7745

Tagged with: malaysia mondays