Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Jonker 88 - the best dessert and nyonya asam laksa shop in Melaka

No doubt about it. If you are a dessert lover, esp a chendol lover, you cannot miss going to Jonker 88. I managed to snap a pic of the rather extensive menu while in the queue.

The pic below shows the dessert being prepared. Self-service all around so one is advised to have a friend go into the shop to secure seats first and have another friend queuing for the dessert.
Do not be deceived by the pic below of the interior of the shop which I took.At first, I wasn't sure if we had to queue first at the narrow entrance of the place for our dessert first before getting a seat but thankfully the heat forced me to enter the shop to see if I could get a table for my colleagues first so they didn't have to wait in the sun. And, every single blasted table was occupied with people standing around. Not a single spare table and I was desperate enough to unshamedly enlist the help of one of the servers to help me get a table.

Thankfully he pointed me to a table where the group of pp were about finishing their food and we managed to get a table. I queued outside for the dessert while another colleague queued outside for the laksa. The 5 desserts below, 2 bowls of baba chendol, 1 bowl of baba durian chendol, 1 bowl of EPC 8 precious chendol and 1 bowl of sago gula melaka cost RM13 only.

A close up pic of the famous baba chendol which is reputed to be the absolute best Baba chendol in Melaka. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. I am not a chendol fan so I have no basis of comparison. The dessert was quite sweet and should be eaten cold. As in, really cold with lots of ice (one can go back to the stall out front to ask for more ice in an empty bowl).

I have no idea what the E.P.C stands for but the dessert came with more ingredients than the baba chendol. Worth ordering? The Slog sits on the fence for the reasons mentioned above.

However, everyone agreed that the sago gula melaka (last item on the dessert list) was really good. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. Good stuff with the right amount of milk and sweetness.

Now, just opposite the dessert cart is the cart selling laksa and noodles. Both belong to Jonker 88 and are located at the front portion of the store. As mentioned, ideally you should go to Jonker 88 in a group of at least 3pax so 1 person can secure seats within the shop while 1 queues for dessert and the other queues for noodles. And believe me, the laksa from Jonker 88 is "solid" and should not be missed if one is there for dessert.

As we had just eaten at Hoe Kee and thankfully hadn't over-eaten, the 4 of us had capacity to share 2 bowls of laksa. First, the curry laksa. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Very thick curry gravy with fresh fish cake and noodles. If I hadn't have to share, I would have cleaned the bowl - and oh yes, I asked for more gravy and it was free :) Excellent hawker fare.

However, what stole the limelight was the dish below. The most delicious nyonya asam laksa that I've ever tasted my whole life, or rather, the 4 of us ever tasted in each of our lives. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. Just ORDER! I'll be most grateful to anyone reading my blog if he/she can tell me where one can find such laksa or laksa 3/4 as good as the one below - the gravy wasn't thin and sour but thick and just slightly sour. How's that for starters. I have to stop writing about this meal now or else I fear that I may find myself driving up to Melaka this weekend for more of this dish!

The Slog Reviews: 9/10 for the overall experience at Jonker88. All the staff, from those preparing the food outside and those helping within were friendly and obliging. Whatever we asked for, more ice, more gravy, was given with a smiling face and FOC. Jonker88 was a great ending to our Melaka road trip indeed and anyone going to Melaka should visit this restaurant at least once for its excellent food and service.

The restaurant details are:

88, Jalan Hang Jebat,75200, Melaka.

Operating hours: 10am to 6pm (8pm on weekends)

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