Kko Kko Nara

Had dinner at Kko Kko Nara recently. Pretty good stuff, but the price might be a little the high side.

Red Grass

Nice drink, but I won't reveal the place you can find it, because they don't deserve publicity.

Fear Factor Kind of Food

Deep Fried Tarantulas

Deep Fried Crickets

Everything with Fries

The Girlfriend and I went on an "excursion" to the east during the weekend and came across "Everything with Fries". The curious taste buds ordered the Vanilla Mille Crepe and Garlic and Herbs Straight Cut Fries.

The place mat was simple, functional, minimalist and rather cool.

I liken the Vanilla Mille Crepe to a westernized tribute to kueh lapis. The vanilla cream sandwiched between the thin crepe oozed out invitingly at every bit of pressure applied on the top-most caramelized layer.

could hardly taste the Garlic and herbs though. More like some generic chilli flavoured powder with fries. Nice bite to every piece of the fries though.

Christmas Dinner at Dezato

It is always nice to find a small start up that serves good food. To put it simply, the food is as good as it looks, so good that I am reluctant to say anything more to improve their business to the point that it might compromise its quality.

Appetizer: Avocado & Shrimp + Grilled Baby Sardines

Sashimi: Salmon + Sweet Shrimp

Soup: Donbinmushi or Teapot clear soup with shrimp, mushroom and chicken

Grilled Dish: Grilled scallops with special cod's roe sauce + Yaki Tori + Grilled asparagus bacon roll + Grilled salmon with cheese

Main Course: Grilled Seafood with Special Miso Paste on Hoba Leaf

Main Course: Grilled Beef with Special Miso Paste on Hoba Leaf

Main Course: Seafood California Maki

Dessert: Cheese Mousse with Passion Fruit Jelly

You Char Kway

I like to think that pushcart hawkers give a place its character and charm. Especially so when the intended customers are the locals. I really enjoyed observing this hawker stall selling you char kway preparing its products. So I sought permission to take a few photos and then supported the little business in my own little way. The food was brilliant by the way. :)

Chendol Melaka

Once you've tried the chendol in Melaka, you wouldn't want to touch other versions. Chendol Melaka sets itself apart with the generous use of gula melaka which is that fragrant brown coconut sugar as well as the thick, undiluted coconut milk. Both ingredients are almost always diluted to the point of mediocrity elsewhere.

Especially for this stall in Jonker Walk, the gula melaka has the consistency of honey. It slowly runs down the little mountain of coconut milk drenched ice as its viscosity resists being absorbed. Best of all, it sticks to the spoon so that its fragrance can be savoured as it is licked off. The result is a little bowl of awesomeness that will leave you knowing you never want to go for chendol knockoffs.

Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls at Chop Chung Wah

The herd mentality is works pretty well in finding good food anywhere, in Asian countries at least. While in Melaka, I spotted an unassuming kopi-tiam that was filled with customers and had people queuing out in the open.

The herd mentality naturally suggests that there is something good there. So I went in for look...

The full house of customers can't be wrong, so I sat down to order what everybody else ordered...

Ok, so I wasn't exactly alone to have ordered 2 chickens. Anyway, I am here to talk about how different and good this chicken rice is from the Singaporean version.

Starting off with the chicken, the texture of the meat was a different firm, juicy and had that natural sweetness only found in free range chickens. There was significantly less fat under the skin too. The sauce drizzled all over the meat gave a nice fragrance of sesame oil to it.

The ping-pong ball-sized rice balls were heavenly. At first bite, it was literally a burst of flavors. There was an extra oomph that was distinctly from the chicken fat that went into the making of the rice. Plus, it was such a joy to eat them, I wish didn't have to limit myself from having one too many.

Overall, this is probably one of the best chicken rice ever.

On a side note, there is another chicken rice balls restaurant chain (with 2 branches) by the name of A'Famosa Chicken Rice Balls (or something like that) that's more atas. Heard they aren't as fantastic as expected according to some who have tried. So don't go for substitutes, go for Chung Wah!