Wahbiang Melaka Trip (Blog by Felicia)

BLOG BY FELICIA. VLOG BY ELKAN (31st Dec 2016)

Wahbiang have been planning for many years (at least 10 years!) to go for an overseas trip together. But it was never fulfilled due to work and family commitment. Timing was an issue as we needed to plan way before for applying leaves and making sure our kids could join us too. And we also needed to make sure it fits everyone’s budget.

Finally during Sam’s birthday gathering, just a comment from Joanne who missed the chendol in Melaka, we decided we should just all go to Melaka! With a long weekend, favourable currency exchange for Malaysia Ringgit, and such a nearby destination, it was the perfect short getaway. We were all planning to have lots of yummy food. There were requests for chendol, Peranakan food, chicken rice balls, Hokkien mee, wonton noodles, chilli crab, etc. Basically it was all about food!

Gareth, Sam and Lionnel came alone with no kids, no hassle. Joanne, Karen, me and our two boys, Alston and Elkan. Thanks to Sam who gave us a morning call at 5:48am which was way too early for a 9:15am coach. He was really excited about this trip!

Many travelers were taking the coaches to Malaysia. There were almost 1-2 coaches arriving at the deport every 15 minutes. Our coach was delayed. By the time we cleared the long queues at both the customs, it was already 12 noon. We were all very hungry by then and it made us look forward to our dinner! Gareth was drooling at the thought of food.

Finally, we arrived at Melaka at around 4:30pm. After checking in and dropping our bags, we headed out to find the dinner place (Restoran Tong Sheng) which was very popular in Melaka. Indeed, there was already a queue by the time we made our way there. From the Singlish we picked up from the conversations around us, it was obvious that the queue was mostly made up of Singaporeans. So typical to see Singaporeans in long queues especially for great food! And we were part of it too. Haha… 😀

It was a long one hour queue before we could get our seats. Our tummies were rumbling, our legs were sore and tired, and the boys were bored waiting. But the spirits were high! We had in mind what we wanted to eat, mostly imagining the satisfaction after this mouth-watering meal. I must say the food was really tasty, especially the cheese bee hoon with prawns and the dark soya sauce hokkien mee. The otah with steamed egg and fried sotong were our favourites too. We were so bloated after the heavy dinner but it was satisfying! Especially the bill was way below what we expected. Worth coming back again, definitely.

After such a heavy meal we still couldn’t resist the temptation of desserts…. we had to have waffles with chocolate, chocolate molten cake, hot chocolate drinks, coffees and teas. Simply sinful!

The next day, most of us got up early for breakfast at the hotel. The food was good but we were still hoping to get out for more local food. Unfortunately, Gareth was not feeling too well. He was disappointed that he couldn’t seem to eat too much now. So much food, not enough time to digest. His mind wanted… But he’s stomach didn’t allow! We had to give him a boo as he was the one who excited us with plans to eat, eat & eat!

Right after breakfast, we took a stroll to Jonker Street. Surprisingly, the weather was quite cooling and windy too. The azure blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds and the trees swayed gently. Very unlikely to be so pleasant. Usually it was very hot and humid in Melaka. We were definitely enjoying the good weather. As we arrived at our destination, we see long queues at the chendol hawker stall by the river and the chicken rice balls. The street was busy and bustling with food vendors and the colourful trishaws.

Our first stop – wonton mee. At 12 noon, they have already sold out their noodles! Thankfully the stall aunite said she could buy some kuay teoh from the neighbouring stall if we were ok with that. We were more than happy. The wontons were very yummy!

Next stop – Chendol. This chendol stall was what brought us here on this trip. Joanne was looking forward to it. As usual, there were long queues in the shophouse. We managed to get a small table and ordered 4 bowls to share. Standard not as good as before, probably due to the overwhelming orders from the customers. Some of the diners had to stand outside the shophouse to eat.

Along the way back, we were still munching Nonya kueh, Chinese cookies, cheese tarts and egg tarts. Bought lots of goodies for our families back home.

After a long day of walking and eating, time to rest. While some of us went for a massage, Lionnel & me bought the boys back to the hotel for a relaxing swim. The boys had lots of fun at the pool and in the hotel room too. Sorry Auntie Karen they destroyed your whole bathroom 😛

Dinner time! My Melaka Auntie recommended a more home-cooked style dining place to us. It was a small shophouse near a bridge over the Melaka river. Very friendly folks. The elderly lady boss was very kind to help us save cost, afraid that we might over ordered our food. A boy who looks barely 12 years old was helping serving dishes to us. Needless to say, our boys are so fortunate.

The oyster omelette was not up to expectation as it was a slightly different style from our Singapore version. But the rest of the dishes are very good. The boys loved the dark soya sauce hokkien mee. The steam pomfret was very fresh. Another happy meal for our tummies with couple glasses of beer for Sam, Joanne, Karen & Lionnel. Unfortunately, Gareth was starting to feel unwell again. He was feeling heaty and feverish. But he was still determined to have his Corny Dog and root beer at A&W after dinner! Way to go! Buuuuurp…..

And yes, we all did had a quick meal at A&W. We were so full that we had to walk around the mall to help with the digestion. We took a long walk across the mall and went to a snack store and bought more goodies for the folks back home. After that Sam spotted a Bak Kut Teh store and suggested we go for it. But we were too full, so we decided to add that into the next day’s food itinerary.

It was indeed challenging to have a hotel breakfast and Bak Kut Teh and a Peranakan lunch, as planned before we board the Coach that travels back to Singapore at 2:30pm. We managed the first 2 but had to forgo the Peranakan lunch as there was a long queue and we didn’t have that much time left. So we headed back to our hotel for a simple meal at the cafe. Bought lots of egg tarts and bread for the long journey. Afraid there might be long queues at the customs again. But thankfully, it was a smooth ride back home and no traffic jams or queues too!

By now, Gareth is feeling much better after a good night’s rest. And since we returned back to Singapore early, he suggested that we should have dinner before we go home. Haha… not letting go any chance for a good meal! And we were happy to have Charlie, Lusia, Jacob & Christy join us for dinner! It was another nice steamboat meal. Feels like a Lunar New Year dinner.

Such a joyful and fun food trip! Thanks for all the spontaneous response and fun jokes we had throughout the trip. We missed our other Wahbiang friends. Looking forward to another trip soon! Enjoy the Video! 😛