MALACCA : Pork Satay at Kedai Satay Xiang Ji

For our first meal in Malacca, we went to Xiang Ji for Pork Satay. It was in my to-eat list and upon checking with the friendly staff at Jonker Boutique Hotel, we were informed that it was super near! The staff also suggested us to have lunch at Nancy's Kitchen and we did after our meal at Xiang Ji (which will be in another post)

The sun was shining really brightly and there was no sight of haze. Yippie! Was expecting a crowd at Xiang Ji but there wasn't and we almost missed it. But the other patrons ordered lots and lots of pork satay, it was rather shocking. With plans for round 2 lunch at Nancy's so we ordered 20 sticks to share.

 

The satay was grilled to perfection with minimal burnt and each stick was filled with pork and fats sandwiched in between. The satay sauce is different from the one we have in Singapore. It was slightly sour with pineapple bits. Boyfriend had some praises for the rice that was being served too. Will definitely recommend a visit if you are at Jonker Street and looking for somewhere with lesser people to have a quick meal of SATAY!

Kedai Satay Xiang Ji
50, Jalan Portugis
Melaka
Open 12pm - 5.30pm

MALACCA : Jonker Boutique Hotel

photo taken at night time

We decided on our trip about a month ahead and started looking for hotels because I realised some of the popular hotels are fully booked and I don't want to be left with no choice. My brother's friend recommended Jonker Boutique Hotel and we decided to email them for a Family Room which is not available on agoda. We chose this place because of the proximity to Jonker Street and also the private car park. The car park is rather secluded as we had to drive into a public car park before turning into the hotel's car park. We missed it the first time and did a tour of Jonker Street on the car.

Here we are! But we were still so doubtful cos I have been telling them "Our hotel is grey"

Getting our bags after confirming that it is our hotel

Jonker Boutique Cafe facing the Jonker Street

 

the backyard, with door leading to the hotel

at the lobby

 The staff was really friendly and knowledgeable. They were also very eager to help us in our trip by initiating to provide us with suggestions if we need to. And pointing out the restaurants that are nearby for us to consider. I actually wanted to just ask about Xiang Ji Pork Satay, but the lady at the reception actually help me look at the entire list and tell me good time to visit and how I can get to different places. We were also served really yummy lime juice during the quick check in. 

5 minutes later, we were on our way to our room. Room 109. The room is really spacious and clean. However, I will not recommend for young families or older people because of the steps you have to climb to get to level 1 and also the bathtub. If you look closely, you can see the wooden step at the bathroom. Going in and out of the bathtub is another mini-climb which I do not think is good for my parents. Luckily it is just the four of us this trip.

Jonker Boutique Hotel
No. 82-86 A&B, Jalan Tokong, Jonker Street,

What we eat in 24 hours : MALACCA

A few weeks back, I went on a 2D1N trip to Malacca cos my brother has been dying to drive there since forever. Definitely happy to tag along and help to research on all the yummy food places. We left the house at 8.15am to have breakfast nearby (can't bear the hunger) before leaving for Tuas checkpoint. Found ourselves in a mini jam that took us about an hour to clear Malaysia custom and off we go to MALACCA!

My bro borrowed a GPS from his friend which is absolutely helpful. We decided to stop at Macap R&R for a break and rewarded ourselves with Basking Robbin. After 30 minutes break, we continued our journey to Malacca. We stayed at Jonker Boutique Hotel and shared a Family Room which was clean, comfortable and big!

We left searching for food and didn't stop till the next day. Haha! Our hotel was a short walk to Kedai Satay Xiang Ji for some yummy pork satay. We also followed the hotel's recommendation to head to Nancy's Kitchen for some Peranakan food which gave us happy tummies! The walk down Jonker Walk continued and we stopped for dessert along the way with Taste Better One Bite Durian Puff and Jonker 88 for cendol!

It is time for more dessert as we make our way to Nadeje for the oh-so-famous Milli crepe before we embark on this unbelievable walking journey to Portuguese Settlement for our dinner. We decided to walk back because of the bad traffic at Portuguese Settlement and had to stop halfway at Starbucks for a rest and some coffee. Back at Jonker Street, we walked along the Night Market and took another break at our hotel lobby before walking to Restoran Ban Lee Siang at Jalan Ong Kim Wee for Satay Celup. It was pretty late (11.00pm) when we were there and there wasn't much selection left.

On Day 2 morning, we head out early for Dim Sum at Restoran Tim Sum Man Ting Siang at Jalan Ong Kim Wee as well. This time we drove and also made our way to BaBa Charlie to get some freshly made Nonya goodies. We did a round 2 walk at Jonker Street stopping for coffee at Rainforest Coffee Bean. Not forgetting to get some more durian puffs! We checked out at 12 and went for lunch at Ah Lang Bak Kuh Teh at Jalan Mutiara Melaka 2 which was conveniently on the way back to Singapore :) 

No doubt, we were stuffed from the trip but I still managed to meet up with my girlfriends at Eat Play Love Cafe (which I have wrote about in the previous entry). Can't wait to get down to write about individual eateries from Malacca. Do check back!
 

Eat Play Love Cafe

The latest meet up with the girls brought us to Eat Play Love Cafe at Aliwal Street. As I just came back from Malacca that late afternoon, I did not order any main for myself and shared some of theirs and the platter. The food is nothing spectacular but definitely child-friendly. I like the decoration of the cafe that exudes this warm and cosy old-school feel. The concept of the shop is rather interesting and inviting for young children.There were many small knick-knacks (childhood snacks and toys) available and crafting area for both children and adult. If I am not wrong, the crafting pricing for children has changed to $7.50 for an hour on weekend (probably because of the crowd). Isn't really cheap in my opinion as many of the materials are recycled or available cheaply in bulks. (speaking from a point of view of a early childhood educator. hee)

But I think it would be a nice place to visit with your child/children and friends with children.

It was a Sunday night and the cafe was 80% filled. We took a long time to order despite the very limited food choices. We ordered Waffles with Coconut Ice Cream, Platter (not captured), Tom Yum Soup, Green Curry with Rice (not captured) and Mac&Cheese (not captured). Very reasonable pricing but definitely not in my list of to visit place for Thai food. We also ordered a Horlick Tiramisu (NonnaHero, $17.50). Tiramisu Hero is now available at EatPlayLove Cafe in non-alcoholic version.

EatPlayLove Craft Cafe

28 Aliwal Street, #01-07
Singapore 199918


Open 12pm to 10pm Daily, Closed on Tuesdays
Kitchen closes 3pm to 6pm, except weekends & PH

Website:EatPlayLove