Everyone knows that this is one of the most popular eating places in Melaka. I'd intended to bring my beloved boss there during our dept trip to Melaka in June this year but am glad that we didn't go because the wait and heat would have been too much for her. My beloved boss is made for the finer things in life and I wouldn't have her endure the long one and a half hour wait standing along the road in front of the restaurant. I say one and a half hour because the second time I went back to this restaurant (with my CEB this time), we waited exactly the same period as I had the last time when I was there with my 3 friends in July this year.
I should mention though that this time in November when I was there, I found a new restaurant just 2 doors down from this one which sells the same satay concept. Some people who grew tired after waiting for more than half an hour or so dropped out of the queue to eat there but for those who had a stouter heart and stronger resolve to have nothing but THE most famous satay in Melaka, we stayed firmly in line until we reached the entrance of the restaurant which looks like this below:
Upon being seated at the first empty available table, one is given a tray and allowed to go forth to the huge array of food laid out in the open refrigerator to heap one's tray with as much as food as one desires. It doesn't matter if there is 2 or 8 of you in a group - the first available table is yours so thumbs up for this equitable practice. We weren't made to share a table (though there were only 2 of us) but at the same time we were not allowed to jump queue ahead of those with much larger groups.
So, after one has chosen one's food - and the spread is wide - crabsticks, prawns, fishballs, meat, century eggs, tau kee, veg, the list just goes on and on - one returns to the table and find a pot of simmering brown curry-like liquid placed right smack in the center of the table.
When the liquid is bubbling, a server then pours in the crushed peanuts into the curry-like sauce and uses the laddle to mix the same to a thick consistency. The service by the servers is rather excellent I must say because every 10-15mins, they would come over and lift up your skewers of food and stir the mix to ensure that it is properly mixed.
And then, the feast begins with one dipping the various skewers of food one has chosen into the bubbling hot peanut sauce. Now, do not for an instance think that the black marks around the pot are just dirt stains. They aren't. We witnessed one table's pot of sauce catching fire literally so be very careful to keep your face away from the pot. It is quite inevitable though to get a few hot drops of sauce on one's hands while one's hand is near the bubbling liquid.
The 4 biggish prawns above are bonus items for each table that the server dishes out along with sotong and cuttlefish (We returned those as we didn't like them) - they aren't available at the open refrigerator and are way better than the prawns laid out there.
The Slog Reviews: 8/10 for the food and experience but be prepared for the long queue and the rather casual atmosphere of the place. No reservations are allowed unfortunately unless one is somebody important (the first time I was there I saw a table reserved and then filled with important rich looking men). Definitely worth at least one visit while at Melaka - the restaurant is a distance away from Jonker 88 and is located at Bukit Cina and only open from 5pm till midnight.
I should mention though that this time in November when I was there, I found a new restaurant just 2 doors down from this one which sells the same satay concept. Some people who grew tired after waiting for more than half an hour or so dropped out of the queue to eat there but for those who had a stouter heart and stronger resolve to have nothing but THE most famous satay in Melaka, we stayed firmly in line until we reached the entrance of the restaurant which looks like this below:
Upon being seated at the first empty available table, one is given a tray and allowed to go forth to the huge array of food laid out in the open refrigerator to heap one's tray with as much as food as one desires. It doesn't matter if there is 2 or 8 of you in a group - the first available table is yours so thumbs up for this equitable practice. We weren't made to share a table (though there were only 2 of us) but at the same time we were not allowed to jump queue ahead of those with much larger groups.
So, after one has chosen one's food - and the spread is wide - crabsticks, prawns, fishballs, meat, century eggs, tau kee, veg, the list just goes on and on - one returns to the table and find a pot of simmering brown curry-like liquid placed right smack in the center of the table.
When the liquid is bubbling, a server then pours in the crushed peanuts into the curry-like sauce and uses the laddle to mix the same to a thick consistency. The service by the servers is rather excellent I must say because every 10-15mins, they would come over and lift up your skewers of food and stir the mix to ensure that it is properly mixed.
And then, the feast begins with one dipping the various skewers of food one has chosen into the bubbling hot peanut sauce. Now, do not for an instance think that the black marks around the pot are just dirt stains. They aren't. We witnessed one table's pot of sauce catching fire literally so be very careful to keep your face away from the pot. It is quite inevitable though to get a few hot drops of sauce on one's hands while one's hand is near the bubbling liquid.
The 4 biggish prawns above are bonus items for each table that the server dishes out along with sotong and cuttlefish (We returned those as we didn't like them) - they aren't available at the open refrigerator and are way better than the prawns laid out there.
The Slog Reviews: 8/10 for the food and experience but be prepared for the long queue and the rather casual atmosphere of the place. No reservations are allowed unfortunately unless one is somebody important (the first time I was there I saw a table reserved and then filled with important rich looking men). Definitely worth at least one visit while at Melaka - the restaurant is a distance away from Jonker 88 and is located at Bukit Cina and only open from 5pm till midnight.
No comments:
Post a Comment