LOVE LIFE, CHERISH MOMENTS

   Oh HELLO my dear readers! Happy Chinese New Year! Before i begin, i want to apologize for my lack of updates for a few weeks now. My external hard disk was corrupted and i lost all my precious data, photos and information and i did not have any backup! T.T I have tried to fix it, sent to so many shops and looked for so many IT experts but none of them could save it. I was so devastated and lost all my precious data for the past 2 years. Hence, i couldn't blog for you guys. I know this is no excuse, but now i'm back for good! After organizing some new pieces of entries, this Chinese New Year, i'll post up more interesting places and cafes for you to visit with your friends and family this festive season!

   Not long ago, i went for a road (food) trip with classmates to Melaka. Besides the usual Melaka's famous food, we went to a popular cafe in Jonker area--The Daily Fix Cafe, for some quick bites and drinks to quench our thirst.








   The Daily Fix is located behind a store which showcased local tourist souvenirs, off Jonker street. Similar to the heritage cafes in Penang, The Daily Fix adopted the concept of combination between classic and modern, offering sweaty and tired diners a relaxing and artistic space to unwind over a cup of drinks and small bites.

   We ordered a cup of hot cappucino, a glass of iced matcha with ice-cream and a slice of durian cake for sharing.

Hot Cappucino--RM 9

Iced Matcha Latte--RM 12

Durian Cake Butter cake covered with durian cream and gula melaka syrup

#flatlays

    For the starter, coffee was alright, strong, fragrant, rich and creamy, more on the nutty and fruity sides. The matcha latte was an interesting creation, with the addition of of matcha syrup and vanilla ice-cream, bringing up the sweetness level. Durian cake was the best find in The Daily Fix, with its spongy butter cake, topped with strong durian flavoured whipped cream, this dessert is to die for. No to mention the Melaka's signature gula melaka syrup to complete this wonderful dessert.

   Overall, The Daily Fix Cafe is indeed a great place to hang out and relax over some sweet bites and awesome drinks. The crowd was constantly full and staffs were incredibly friendly and helpful. I highly recommend you guys who are travelling to Melaka to try out this wonderful cafe in the future. Dont forget to drink plenty of water and exercise as you feast during this holiday season! Take care xoxo.

More Info~
Address: 55, Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street), Melaka
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedailyfixcafe/

   Good morning world!! Yesh, it's the time for #foodiehitstheroad series no. 3 issue! Yea, i know this series has been quite silent recently but fret not, today i'm gonna write about my one day trip to Melaka with Mr. J and share with you guys some of the awesome food we found that day! So enjoy!

1. Baba Charlie's Nyonya Kuih

   I know most of the tourists only visit the famous Jonker Street whenever they are in town but do you know that Melaka, like Penang and Singapore was a Peranakan settlement once upon a time? Peranakan is basically a mixed race between Malays and Chinese during the 17th Century. Nyonya refers to the female while Baba refers to the male. It is also because their multiple culture, they also cook some really delicious food and today i'm going to share with you one of the Peranakan's pride--Nyonya Kuih, aka their specialty desserts, cakes and sweets.




   Baba Charlie's Nyonya Kuih is one of the oldest, most renowned and popular nyonya kuih seller in town. Located in the inner alley of Jalan Tenggera, this place is not easy to find. It is a red hut, which stores their kitchen, shop and also home is tucked in Jalan Tenggera Pantai 2. It offers a wide range of nyonya kuih and you will definitely be spoilt for choices.

Different types of nyonya kuih sold here

   To purchase, just grab a basket at the entrance, pick whatever you like and pay outside at the cashier. I am always a fan of nyonya kuih that's why i was jumping up and down out of excitement. I chose my favourite ondeh-ondeh, kuih koo hitam, kuih dadar, apam balik kelapa, kuih abu sago, kuih lapis, pulut inti, kuih tepung manis ubi.

Total sweetness

Favourite: ondeh-ondeh Love the addition of sesame seed, gave a fragrant aftertaste

Kuih Koo Hitam

Kuih Dadar (pandan wrapped coconut & gula melaka) It would taste nicer if the skin were thinner

Apam Balik Kelapa Chinese pancake with coconut filling

Kuih Abu Sago

Kuih Lapis

Pulut inti

Kuih Tepung Manis Ubi

A little bit too sweet and too stiff to my liking

  Overall, i think Melaka's nyonya kuih is good but my favourite has got to be those from Penang because i personally prefer those with milder sweetness and softer consistency. Nevertheless, if you like to have plenty of choices this would be a good solution. 

Contact Info~
Website: http://nyonyacake.blogspot.com/
Address: 72, Jalan Tenggera Pantai 2, 75200 Melaka.
Business Hours: 10am-4pm

2. Mods Cafe, Jonker Walk

   As i cafe lover, i will try my best to visit at least one coffee house whenever i travel. This time around, we stumbled across Mods Cafe while finding our way in Jonker Walk. I have heard some good reviews about it online, so we just gave it a try.


   Mods Cafe is located along Jalan Tokong, within the Jonker Walk coverage. It is situated right opposite an Indian temple. Its specialty has got to be its mobile coffee bar which is set up inside a cute little Volkswagen van. When you step into this petite cafe, this orangey-flowery van will immediately catch your attention before you even find a little corner to squeeze your butt down. Jokes aside, this mobile coffee van actually operated around the town before Mods found a permanent shop to house their coffee. To remember the past, i guess they just move this van in?





   After we feasted our eyes with the complexity of this orange van, the waitress came up to us and ask for our orders. She insisted that each of us have to order at least a drink to secure a place in this cafe. No offense but what the hell? I mean what kind of policy is this? If you are a sincere business owner, you would welcome all your customers with open hand instead of reprimanding them from not wanting to order your way. What if i just want to have a drink and some desserts? I understand the worker just following orders and the owner might be afraid of people which will swarm its place just for resting. However, i still disagree with it and did not have a pleasant experience here due to this policy and also very negative service.

The simple menu on the wall

   Since we were 'advised' to order 2 drinks, we got ourselves a cup of Flat White and Iced Cappuccino.

Flat White--RM 10

Iced Cappuccino--RM 15

   Forget about the bitterness prior to this, even our coffee fell below the standard. My flat white was so bland and latte art was horrible. Correction: there wasn't any art at all, just a pour of milk over the espresso. Come on, even i as an amateur can do that at home with my Moconna coffee! The iced cappuccino was a step away from tasteless and should be name as chill cappuccino rather than iced because there was not a single ice cube seen. For the price we paid, i was utterly disappointed with the quality.




 
   Aside from the drinks, the decor here was still pleasant to the eyes. They fully utilized their tiny space to display several antics, souvenirs from all over the world and some of their favourite toys. It is something like their own art space, representing their own identity, rustic and everywhere. My visit to Mods was not as great as what i would expect it to be based on all the online reviews. Some still rated it as the best cafe in Melaka. To me, it was just an over ambitious and inexperience youngsters running a supposedly high potential business. I sincerely hope Mods will look upon their flaws and try to make some improvement here. I guess no luck for finding a great cafe in  my trip to Melaka, hopefully in the future the Melaka peeps can catch up to the Selangor trend and keep the cafe culture brewing! xoxo

Contact Info~
Address: 14, Jalan Tokong, Melaka
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modscafe

   Beautiful morning!! I was having this random craving for dessert, so why not start writing something about it, hopefully this will overcome the craving. (don't think so :/). Anyway, today i'm gonna blog about Nadeje Mile Crepe Cake in Melaka, which has gained its popularity in Malaysia over these few years.

   I believe, you, who has been reading my previous entries would know that i just got back from Melaka recently. I've gained so much until i feel guilty to eat anything. LOL. Melaka has been kind and generous to me. Well, i've heard so much about this place before i went there. Almost everyone who came back from Melaka will say: "hey, you should go to Jonker Street and NADEJE.". After tasting so many of mile crepe cake from other cafe and bakery, i HAVE to try the 'God of Mile Crepe'---NADEJE.

Nadeje @ Plaza Mahkota

    My friend told me that it's not supposed to be called NA.DE.JE, as the DE should be pronounced as silent. Hence, the correct way to pronounce this is: NA.JE. Nadeje is established since 2006. Till now, it already widen its territory across Melaka, having 3 branches, namely Plaza Mahkota, Mahkota Parade and Jaya 99. FYI, Nadeje is invading Petaling Jaya as well (thank God). They are going to open a brand new shop at Dataran 3 Two Square!! I can't wait to pay them a visit!

classy interior of Nadeje @ Mahkota Parade

CAKES!!!

   Nadeje offers not just mile crepe cake, but also a huge variety of special cakes and Nama Donuts. The mile crepe cake alone has more than 20 types, i can say that this is the biggest mile crepe supplier in Malaysia. We went to both their branches in Plaza Mahkota and Mahkota Parade, both were packed with people! You can imagine how good is their business. To my surprise, Nadeje is not just an ordinary cake shop chain, it's more like a bakery cafe, offering coffee, beverages and food as well. We ordered a few kind of mile crepe and they were all fantastic!!

from 12 o clock: strawberry, mango yogurt,  double chocolate, royal milk tea, original, green tea, praline lover, royal milk tea, chocolate stawberry, royal milk tea.

My humble opinion:
1. Strawberry: i like it cause the cream is not too sweet, and they gave us a generous amout of fresh slices of strawberry on top.
2. Mango yogurt: the essence of mango is very rich, along with some cream cheese texture, love it!
3. Double chocolate: erm, nothing special about this, just taste like a normal chocolate.
4. Royal milk tea: surprisingly, this taste a  lot like Chatime's milk tea!! Quite fragrant, not bad.
5. Original: this is my personal favourite! It is rich with light vanilla smell and love the mild sweetness from custard cream!!
6. Green tea: i find it ok, would be better if the matcha flavor is more intense.
7. Praline lover: like the double chocolate, nothing special, couldn't really taste the hazelnut.
8. Chocolate strawberry: this is much better than the double chocolate, at least the bitterness of chocolate is well contrasted by the help of straberry within.

   Pricing wise, it is fair, around RM9-10 per piece. The food and drinks wise, is considered average. The environment is good, service is excellent.

le cappuccino~

   Overall, i still find Nadeje awesome!! Though some of the flavors might need some improvement? Compared to mile crepe from The Twelve Cups, Penang, I would say, it is a tough call. LOL. You'll have to experience yourself to decide!! Ohh, a friendly reminder, if you wish to take away your mile crepe cake, you'll have to buy a nadeje bag from the shop along with ice packs. There is 2 types of bag: small and big. The big one costs around RM9. However, you can always reuse it. Sigh, in the end of this post, my cravings is still not fixed!! OK, gotta find something sweet to munch at. Till then, xoxo.
 

 Day 2~
   Early in the morning, Moi picked us up from our apartment and straight to  The Stadthuys Building of Melaka (i prefer calling it the red building). I couldn't believe that there was so many people already! After a short tour, we went for Melaka's famous Chicken Rice Balls at Chung Wah Restaurant, just opposite the Melaka River, beside Jonker Street. It was quite crowded but we still managed to find a seat. We then ordered a quarter chicken and 30 rice balls. This is actually just a normal chicken rice we eat elsewhere, but instead of a plate of rice, they serve it in 'balls'. The reason why i love the 'balls' here is because not only they were fragrant and smooth, rich in chicken oil, but the texture is fantastic as well!! You can put the whole rice ball in your mouth and chew it like a bubble gum. However, the chicken wasn't very special, i would say not bad.

Chicken..

The Famous Melaka Chicken Rice Ball!!! Yummm

it was only 10am..

   Next, we also went to the very popular makan spot in Melaka~Cendol 88. It is situated in one of the shop in Jonker Street: Jonker88. FYI, Melaka Cendol is famous for the incorporation of Gula Melaka/Palm Syrup in it. Gula Melaka is a type of sugar produced from the sap of cut flower buds of the coconut palm. Hence, it has a very unique and refreshing fragant with it. I've never try cendol from places other than Penang (it's a Penangnite's ego), but this cendol really surprised me. The shaved ice is so fine and delicate, gula melaka given is abundant and addicitive and adequate milk in it completely elevates the taste of gula melaka. I've also tried out their durian cendol and find it interesting and tasty as well.

Durian Cendol~

Original Baba Cendol...check out the stickiness of gula melaka

kind of reminds me of Penang~

   Before leaving, we did some simple shopping at Jonker Street. Then Moi brought us to A Famosa, a fort built by the Portuguese during their settlement here in Melaka. However, after more than 500 years standing proudly agaisnt the Straits of Malacca, most of the fort is gone, except for a small gate house, Porta de Santiago that is still remain standing. Well, the rest of the post will be some photos for you to enjoy. Melaka is really a small but colourful city with its amazing history, heritage and also great food and culture. Thanks to Moi again for everything in our trip to Melaka!!! xoxo

Staircase at the Stadthuys

le blogger~

Christ Church Melaka

with Jo In and Laine~

beautiful sky of Melaka

A Famosa

le blogger being all tourist-sy

St. Philip Church on top of A Famosa