D Joho - Noodles selection from Johor

This is the naughty part we did on Monday - eating close to midnight. So don't be surprise if we gain weight soon.

I came back from office hungry, and as usual, Mr D suggested the stalls near Metro bus depot at USJ 8. We normally eat at La Kasturi, but since it was closed, so Mr D suggested to eat at D Joho. We've never tried D Joho, so this is basically a trial session. 

D Joho basically sells many types of noodles - especially the one yg Johor based. Mee rebus, laksa Johor, mee kari, soto etc. Mr D opted for mee rebus while I just had the mee kari.

The above is Mr D's plate - not very nice he said, though it is edible. I tasted the gravy and thought it has some strange taste. It does has the dried prawn's taste, but I can't explain why the gravy tasted very strange. 

And this is my plate of mee kari. At a glance, it looks very similar to Mr D's mee rebus huh? Mr D thought we ordered the same thing. This mee kari has a full egg, full of shredded chicken and beef, with a generous amount of vegetables and bean sprout - which I like. But I don't like the taste of the gravy, too sweet to my liking. It doesn't taste like there's any chilli added, seriously, it is rather too sweet. 

So all in all, I probably will not order these 2 the next time. If ever we have to eat here, I probably will try their soto or laksa Johor next.

Ikan Bakar Umbai : NO!! to Gerai Kita Number 5

The night we were in Malacca, Mr D asked whether I want to go to Umbai for dinner. So after Maghrib we went to Umbai to find that famous ikan bakar. When we reached there, the place is already crowded. We didn't want to wait, so instead of going to the Parameswara, we chose whichever stall located nearer to the parking lot.

We entered stall no 5 - named Gerai Kita. That's after being persuaded by the owner / worker (I guess only lah haa). So we thought - OK, not bad, there are many people here, somebody must know what they are doing so it can't be that bad. So there we were, with the hope that the food will be superb, we went in.

 

The first dissappointment was when we were asked to sit at the table inside the stall - which is located very near to the place where they grilled the fish and the kitchen. We were practically stucked in the middle, in between grilling station and the kitchen. Can imagine? Wa wa wei... very uncomfortable - with the smoke and all. Gosh - they should seriously think of the logistic of the tables in it.

The fish selection is not much, but then again it looks fresh enough so we chose prawn and a small golden snapper. We chose butter prawn and "ikan tiga rasa", and added kangkung belacan as well. It's kind of too much for the two of us but it wasn't too bad because we didn't really eat rice that night.

 The first food served to us for the night was what supposed to be 'butter prawn'. But what was served in front of us was fried prawn in scrambled egg with overflowed butter. Since when the butter prawn looks like that ? It was a real disappointment. It wasn't even close to being butter prawn! And when our ikan tiga rasa arrived, I have no mood to take pictures already. Very disappointing. How tiga rasa supposed to taste? I can only taste chilli sauce in that dish.

Mr D said that we might as well ordered fried fish and fried prawn, that will definitely taste better since the seafood items loos fresh. Deep frying it could be a better option. It was the chef who ruined the taste. I can definitely cook better.

Hmm.. it is about time for the owner of this stall to think of searching for a better chef. The current one they have will not bring their business to the next level. Dissappointing!

Entertainment in the Middle of the City

Am left alone today. Mr D is flying to Hong Kong today with the children and will only be back on Sunday, 27th January. So I will be left alone for 4+ days. Have fun guys!

 Anyway, just wanted to share the interesting event we saw during our recent visit to Malacca. This is located very near to junction near The Stadthyus, on our way back to Holiday Inn. The picture might not be clear, but what I wanted to show is a group of youngsters playing drums of secessions on the wall by the drain near the main street. It was 6+pm then.

Very talented I must say. The coordination was good. The music was good. I wonder whether they have any serious involvement in music or they were just doing this for fun. But whatever it is, it is an entertainment to the city.

Holiday Inn Malacca

Our trip to Malacca recently was in conjunction with our 8th anniversary on 11th January. I didn't remember the date, initially I thought I just wanted to just get away from KL life and wanted to go somewhere nearby. It doesn't matter where, for as long as it is out of KL. So I told Mr D I wanted to go somewhere near and he agreed. Mr D did all the bookings and he booked Holiday Inn Malacca, located at Jln Syed Abd Aziz at the city centre. It wasn't until we reached Malacca that I realised he actually wanted it to be our anniversary relaxing weekend *love*. 

 Mr D opted for a seaview room, but what view you can get considering it is Malacca? So the above view was what we got from our bedroom window overlooking the straits of Malacca. Not much of a view huh? 

We were greeted by the reception, friendly looking and welcoming. Mr D paid RM350++ for the room, and the setback is that it excludes breakfast. We had to pay extra RM20++ per pax for the breakfast buffet. The reception however didn't really give us direction of where to find the lift, not that it is much of a problem to find, but what was lacking is that they didn't even explain that the room access card is needed to operate the lift. There's no clear direction of how to operate the lift in the lift either, except the slot to insert the access card which is located parallel to our hip level. They should put it at eye level so that it can be seen easier!!

The room is comfortable, the size is just nice for two. It has normal coffee / tea making facilities, some fruits prepared at the table and quite a complete toilet kit. Bathroom was also spacious and comfortable. The setback is the limited TV channels offered, and the fact that it doesn't offer Wi-Fi for free. Wi-Fi is only available at a fee, can't remember how much was it but which 4 star hotel charge for the use of internet nowadays? They should consider offering the service for free.

Buffet breakfast was served from 6am to 10am. We went down close to 8am and was quite satisfied with the buffet spread. It was just a normal buffet spread with local and western varieties, but the choices was wide enough. And what I love the most is the fact that it has a counter to serve you healthy drinks - you can choose from cucumber, tomato, carot etc, freshly prepared in front of you. Nice. 

All in all, I have not much complaint about the hotel, apart from the minor things which I think will not affect the stay that much. We spent quite some times in the hotel room and it was comfortable enough.

Malacca : The Commercialised Red Square

I guess all school children in Malaysia have a chance to visit this part of Bandar Hilir during their visit to Malacca. I remember my first time visiting this 'Dutch Square' or sometimes known as 'Red Square' in 1986 when I was in standard 4 in the school's 'rombongan cik kiah' to Malacca. I still remember the Christ Church and The Stadthuys next to it, all in red color. I still remember us lined up and marched by the road side from one part to another.

But what I could not remember is how crowded the place is. During our recent visit early this month, what I can see is the fact that this part of town is so crowded, full of tourists and full of stalls selling things. 

 Never mind the full of tourists part, it is a World Heritage site, what do you expect? It is supposed to attract tourists. But I think the local authority should consider to rearrange the city in such a way that the stalls are not located at the entrance to Stadthuys. It can be located nearby but not that near. Historical sites like this shouldn't be surrounded by stalls that way. It doesn't look like a historical site anymore with all those stalls around, it looks like a pasar malam - just another centre to buy souvenirs! And the lack of dustbins around is something to be considered by the local authority. People gathered in the middle of the square and throw bottles and tissues and such as they like. I practically became tukang kutip sampah during the recent visit, taking the rubbish I saw on the street to the nearest bin.

 I still love the square though. The Stadthuys, the Christ Church, the clock tower. Hopefully it will be preserved for years to come, for our future generation, to mark the Dutch's invasion at Tanah Melayu in 1641. It is said that The Stadthuys was built right after Dutch captured Tanah Melayu from the Portugese. They built this building after the destruction of the city during the fight between Dutch and Portugese, and became the residence of the Governor and served as the administration centre of the city. If I am not mistaken, Stadthyus itself means 'town hall' in dutch. It is said that it mirrors the 15th to 18th century town hall of the Frisian town in the Netherland.

It was the red to remember.. though it was the British who painted this building red from the original white color. And may the red preserved for our future generation many many many years to come.

Frozen Yogurt at Jonker Street

It was out of curiosity that me and Mr D went to Jonker Street during our recent visit to Melaka. We just wanted to see what's offered along the street. We've been to Malacca quite a number of times, but never thought to visit Jonker Street.

As we stayed at Holiday Inn, it was only about 1km walk from hotel to Jonker Street. We didn't drive but instead opt to take a relaxing walk. It was about 6:00pm when we reached Jonker Street so the hawkers were in the midst of setting up their stalls. 

 Mr D thought it is like Petaling Street hahaha. But that is because he was just looking at the hawkers stall around and the crowd. I think what is unique about Jonker Street is the variety of things we can find around, from antiques to local food to craft items to souvenir etc. 

We just walked along the street to see what is offered, nothing interest Mr D of course. But along the way we bought this frozen yogurt sold at one of the stalls . Mr D chose the mint flavor while I opt to have sour plum flavor. Mine was real goooooooooood, really, it was really good. So all I will remember about Jonker Street will be this - the best sour plum frozen yogurt ice cream !