Melaka - A trip down memory lane

This CNY, my family and I planned a trip down to Melaka. Not that we have not been there before, but we have not done so with the entire family. So, this time I managed to gather the entire family to go on this short escapade with me.


Seeing that I love to stay at hostels or B&B over hotels anytime, i chose to stay at this guest house called The Riverview Guest House.

Pic above: a shot of my sis, Sue Shan hanging out at the balcony

It is located at Lot 94 & 96, Jalan Kampung Pantai, adjacent to Lorong Hang Jebat and runs parallel to the famous Jonker street.

I guess staying in these budget or no-frill accommodations is something I've picked up when I was backpacking in Italy and Spain. It is great as very often, they come cheap (RM 25/per person/night), have more characters (this guest house has been listed as a UNESCO site) and you also get to mingle with the other guests for chats.

The guest house is also centrally located as all the interesting attractions are just a stone-throw away. The owners are very friendly, though they were surprise to see us and shared with us that they don't find many Malaysians staying at their guest house as they mostly receive international visitors, mainly backpackers. Beds are comfy with the occasional bed bugs, common toilets are clean, nice owners and a wonderful view of the river for relaxation.

Pic above: Picture perfect view of the Melaka river

Places of interests in Melaka are St. Paul's Church, The Famosa fort, and about 5 different museums. I did a refresher course in history after checking out the Melaka Sultanate Museum (RM 2 per person). Man, I realised that all my history lessons has been given back to my History teacher. Lets see whether I can recall what I have learnt during my visit to the Museum:

1. After witnessing a white mousedeer kicking a hunting dog off the river bank, Parameswara (who fled from Temasek after killing Temagi) decided to establish his administration here in Melaka. It is named after the tree where he sought shelter.
2. Bendahara is equivalent to the present day Prime Minister
3. Laksamana is equivalent to the present day Admiral
4. Temenggung is equivalent to the present day Chief Police Officer

Pic above: i am the envoy from the Ming Dynasty, having an audience with the Sultan ....hahhah

Everything else appeared fuzzy after that....well, I am never that good in history anyway.

This is the time of the year where everybody comes to Melaka, as the traffic was horrendous, especially along Jonker Street. Luckily, we stayed nearby and walked most of the time.

Pic above: Jonker Street @ night

Eating is never a problem in Melaka. Famous local cuisine usually include the famous Satay Celup (Capitol), Chicken rice balls (along Jonker Street), Cendol and Baba Laksa (Jonker88) and Asam Pedas fish.

Pic above: Laksa Baba, Asam Laksa & Cendol @ Jonker 88

Baba & Nyonya restaurants are also scattered around town. Must try foods are Ayam Ponteh and Ayam Keluak. Famous pubs include Geographer and Discovery.

But if you can, make your way to Batu Berendam as you can find some pretty good eats. These are the places where the locals go for their daily fixes of chicken rice balls (RM 3 per serving) and coconut pudding (RM 8 per coconut, serves 3). The coconut pudding is highly recommended. Hmmmm....i will try to see whether I can make this at home.

Pic above: Coconut pudding at Dragon Deluxe Restaurant, Bt Berendam

In the evening, a few rounds of card games followed before we called it a night.

Early the next day, when the rest of my family members went out for breakfast, I took the opportunity to lounge at the balcony of the guest house while sipping my cup of tea, overlooking the river (hence the name of the guest house). Ah, what bliss........

Will I come back to Melaka for a visit in the future?.....most defintely.....but not during CNY!

Diva - What to wear for first day of work after CNY

Diva - What to wear for first day of work after CNY

The best ice cream experience I ever had

The Best Ice Cream experience I ever had?…..mmmm lets just say that there was never a best experience but all ice cream occasions could be summed up as my best life experiences…..

I grew up on ice cream. Come to think of it, I still remember when I was just a little girl, my dad used to take me and my sister to this ice cream parlour located in SS2. The parlour was beautifully decorated and everything seems to be in pretty pink. From the colour of the walls, to the tables and chairs and even the countertops were all in pink hues!

Not only that, the owners liked to show the cartoon ‘The Pink Panther’ through a projector on the wall as we were enjoying our cup of ice cream. I also remembered that they loved to garnish the ice-cream with these little wooden-stick umbrellas which I collected and meticulously used when we were playing with our Barbie dolls. I really love my visits to that parlour as I feel that I am being cocooned in a whole new world filled with love and flurry animals. I believe that was when I started associating ice cream with all things nice.

As I grow up, everyday after school sessions ended, I love to buy ice-cream ‘potong’ from this uncle from the roadside for a mere 20 cents. It was artificially coloured and flavoured but still tasted good! Hey, what do we know then?.....cring cring cring….the sound of the bell from the ice vendor is here….hooray! Ice cream then was associated to a job well-done at school and I used that excuse to reward myself often.

When I was in my teens, ice cream buffets were the fads. People actually paid to have ‘All you can eat’ ice creams at the outlets and boy was it heaven. Flavours of ice creams also expanded from the common chocolates, vanilla, corn and strawberry to a variety of flavours ranging from butterscotch to cookies and creams. Ice creams then was associated to good fun with friends and also love for that special someone……

Now when I am more matured and subdue, health has become more important. Hence, I love to frequent the New Zealand Natural outlet from where I work for their fat-free versions of ice creams. Cookies and Cream is still my favourite choice and if I had a bad day at work, I can just lounge at the outlet with a New Zealand Natural brownie topped with ice cream. Ice cream to me is a healthy stress reliever. My husband is also a fan but he prefers the milk shakes from New Zealand Natural.

There you have it! My ice cream life experiences ………

Sound clip: Catastrophic Lexus crash

Sound clip: Catastrophic Lexus crash

Unintended acceleration had caused this Lexus crash. Four people were in the car when it crashed into a fiery fireball. This is a sound recording of their last moments: a male passenger's emergency call to the 911 hotline