MELAKA delicious eats are more than the usual spicy Asam Pedas, chicken rice balls and melt-in-your-mouth putu piring.
With that in mind, my family and I are all set to go on a mission to eat our way through the historic state, searching for the not-the-usual, atypical suspects.
Our weekend binge in Melaka starts early in the morning with a two-and-a-half hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. And the hunt begins right after we leave the Ayer Keroh Toll Plaza.
AUN SOON CONFECTIONERY
From the toll plaza, we drive for about 10 minutes before arriving at the doorsteps of Aun Soon Confectionery. From afar, the confectionery looks old with its dull red signboard and yellow letters. Upon nearing the decades-old shop, our noses pick up the scent of freshly-made pastries.
Its owner, Mr Eyok has been in the business for more than 30 years, baking his famous famous tau sar pheah, a type of rounded pastry with thin layers of flaky skin on the outside and stuffed with savoury green beans and fried shallots.
It must be one of those slow days when businesses are slow as Mr Eyok and his family only make a small batch of the pastry. He says usually business picks picks up over the weekend when families and daytrippers drop by to buy the tau sar pheah by the boxes.
But the sluggish traffic gives me more time to watch Mr Eyok at work. I enjoy watching him hand-rolling the pastries on a flat wood table whose surface has been smooth and shiny from all the years of being used.
He then attentively puts the green beans which have been cooked in fried shallots, salt and sugar, into the rolled pastry before putting them in the ovens. The friendly and chatty Mr Eyok who hails from Teluk Intan, Perak, takes pride in his handmade biscuits, which are sold out as soon as they are out of the ovens.
Before leaving his shop, his wife thrusts a couple of the still-warm tau sah pheah into my hands and tells me to eat them while they're still hot. The only thing missing is a cup of hot coffee. Ahh!
SATURDAY ICE CAFE
This little known kopitiam is a popular hangout place among the locals. From morning till late afternoon, Saturday Ice Cafe is teeming with locals from all walks of life enjoying a cuppa while tucking into small bites.
Located on Jalan Praya, this corner coffee shop is hard to miss: Shaded by a huge neem tree beside a road, the first thing you'll notice about this little cafe is the makeshift fried kway teow stall on the roadside.
This kopitiam is famous for its number of good eats. From dessert to simple comfort food like the meehoon kueh or pan mee, you name it, they have it.
My favourite is the putu piring from Poh Lai, made and steamed on the spot. It is made using rice flour and melted palm sugar. It takes a lot of patience and experience in order to churn out a good batch of this palm-size fluffy dessert.
A good putu piring should be soft and fluffy and breaks easily when you halve them using your fingers. Before serving, the putu piring is laid on top of a piece of banana leaf and a good spoonful of freshly-grated coconut is put on top.
Another must-have at the kopitiam is the southern-style fried kway teow. Unlike the northern version, this stall serves its with a dallop of sweet sauce on the side. The noodle is fried to perfection with the unmistakable "wok hei" aroma rising from the noodles.
This easy going kopitiam is also famous for its shaved ice, which comes in different varieties. From the handwritten menu, I settle for two: ABC with a huge scoop of vanilla and chocolate ice cream and iced peach with corns and atapchee (nipa fruit).
CHICKEN RICE BALLS AND COCONUT SHAKE
Everywhere you go in Melaka, you will come across one of Malaysian's staple food: Chicken rice. What sets the Malaccan version apart from the others is that, over here, the rice is served like a golf ball rather than the usual pile on a plate.
At the Mamee Jonker House on Jonker Street, the chefs at the restaurant shape the fluffy rice into a ball using a special machine to maintain its consistency. For a light eater, two rice balls are usually enough to satisfy your hunger pangs.
Of course, the star of this dish is none other than the chicken itself. We order the steamed and braised versions. I love the steamed version more as the meat is more succulent than the braised version. Oh, if you love sesame oil like I do, you'll like the steamed version.
For each bite of the chicken, I put on a generous amount of the garlic chilli and ginger sauce and everyone in the family agrees that this is one of the best chicken rice we ever had in Melaka.
With room for dessert, we drive out to Solok Kampung Bahagia in Klebang for the famous Klebang Coconut Shake. One of my local friends has advised me to go early and I find out why. There are significantly lesser crowd than in the late afternoon onwards.
With plenty of parking spots inside the compound, we leave our car nearest to the entrance. Settling for a table next to the cash register, we proceed to order from the counter. Another good thing to come early is that, you get to choose freshly-delivered small bites and snacks that line the counter.
Our drinks are served in no time, which we have to collect ourselves from the "drinks station". The coconut shake here is so yummy, especially with its scoop of vanilla ice cream on to the top - perfect for cooling down after the hearty chicken rice meal.
KLEBANG SAND DUNES
With a bit of time left before heading back to KL, we stop by the Klebang Sand Dunes, which is less than 10 minutes by car from the coconut shake place.
The scene at the Klebang Sand Dunes looks like a page torn off an Indiana Jones movies. It's barren except for a few sprigs of pine trees that grow on the dry sand and a couple of water catchment near it.
There is no proper signboard that says you've arrived at this infamous "desert", a popular spot among wedding photographers and photography enthusiasts. Judging from the number of cars that are parked beside the road, we decide to forge ahead and look for an entrance.
From afar, we spot a couple of concrete slabs with a "signage" that reads "pantai cantik" and an upward arrow that someone has hastily sprayed on it.
The sun is up against the clear blue sky with the occasional cool breeze from the nearby sea sweeping in.
Because it is located away from the city, the area surrounding the sand dunes is so quiet and peaceful. Occasionally, we can hear the cries of the white-bellied sea eagle emitting a high-pitched call as it circles the barren land in search of food.
Following the sign, we trek inwards, our shoes making crunching sound on the large stones and coarse sand. Wild flowers and weed grow in abundance along the path. The trek inside alone takes us about 20 minutes (about 2 km one way).
Up ahead, we spotted some photographers in action. Steering clear of their path, we walk eastward and before long, we've arrived at the sand dunes. Even from afar, the white tip of the sand dunes look like mini Sahara Desert.
The sand dunes look like little hills. It requires a bit of physical strength to climb to the top. However, once you're at the top, you'll be rewarded with the great expanse of unobstructed view of the Strait of Melaka The beauty of the coast stretches as far as the eyes can see.
When the weather becomes unbearably hot, we retrace our steps back to our car. After a quick rest, we bid the area, and Melaka, goodbye and head home.
Pictures by Loong Wai Ting