Trying something new – #CoffeeO’Clock

The coffee-drinking culture has somehow evolved over the past few years. There is a growing rivalry with giant chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean from hipster cafes and local eateries. Perhaps it is due to the rise of KDrama and their Americano. Or maybe we’re all just yawning our way through our daily activities in need of a caffeine boost more regularly. Although Melaka is a small state, it also has its own coffee bubble waiting to be discovered by ….. me. So I am going to call my little coffee exploration project #CoffeeO’Clock.

So far, I have managed to enjoy coffee from a few outlets such as our beloved ZUS Coffee and 434 Kopitiam. My go-to choice is always a coffee latte from ZUS because I find Americano too strong for my taste buds. I was a tad adventurous end of December though and made a visit to Aniss Cafe.

ANISS Cafe

This cafe is located along the AMJ highway. I love the fact that it is easy to find parking and it is not crowded. To be fair, I did go there before lunch hour hence the patrons have not arrived. I ordered a cafe latte, a bowl of Laksa Johor and croffles for dessert. I took my time to devour my meal and felt at ease even though I was alone. The cafe music was pleasant. The aesthetics of the place was so bright, K- Dramaish and welcoming. The Laksa Johor was acceptable but the croffle is super delicious.

TED COFFEE

Earlier this month I had brunch at Ted’s Coffee. Its adverts often pop up on my newsfeed on Facebook. Hence, I was intrigued to give it a try. The interior of the cafe was painted in a very classic black. The place could do with more decorations and timely background music. It was a bit too quiet when I entered the cafe. The walls were empty with not much to look at and so I had to sink my thoughts into my phone. Here, I ordered a cafe latte and a croissant sandwich. I was dying for a croissant because Instagram made me do it. Ha ha ha. The croissant is too simple for cafe standards – it looked like something I could make at home if I had a croissant in the first place. Maybe they could create a special sauce or some form of ‘different’ cheese to go with it. I did not order desserts for this brunch because I was pressing for time. However, looking at their Facebook page, they do seem to have a variety on display.

Ted’s Coffee was mentioned briefly in this Youtube video of mine. It is admittingly quite a boring video. Ha ha ha.

I have searched for quite a few places to try their coffee for a few months to come. Maybe I will go to one every month or so. This is because I am still watching my calories. Despite the subtle body-shaming and sabotage, it is still a consistent effort on my part. Wish me luck.

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KHM Strawberry & Jam, BOH Sg Palas, Centrum

We had a list of places we’d like to go : Lavendar farm, Flora Park, Butterfly Park and the market. The market is a good place to buy sweet potatoes, jagung susu or jagung mutiara, strawberries, hybrid guava/apple fruit and boxes of local tea and chocolate. However, the rain kind of inhibited some of the mood, dampens the energy, plus the kids prefer food over anything else. Maybe we will go next time when we are on leave during a warmer season. Still, the visit was worthwhile and we did our best in the soaking weather.

KHM STRAWBERRY & JAM

This was an accidental place of interest. We used to enjoy going to AGRO Farm before but somehow we stumbled upon this place. So, we parked by the side of the road not knowing what to expect. It was a fruitful visit. Turns out people flock here for it’s scones and jam. I loved the citrus tea a lot. The kids enjoyed the strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce.

BOH SUNGAI PALAS

Despite opening a new cafe on the lower ground, there still isn’t enough place for everybody. We kind of missed out on having its selection of cakes with tea.

Perhaps I should try going to the other tea brand place, Cameron Valley. It also has a platform to take pictures of the tea plantation just like Sg Palas. Cameron Valley’s tea has flavours of which strawberry taste best.

Anyway, when we arrived at BOH Tea Centre, we endured the climb up to the place and I bought some specialized tea as a momento. I chose the hibiscus tea (spa-infusions) and two other flavours from the Seri Songket series: Green tea & Earl Grey + Tangerine tea.

CAMERON CENTRUM MALL

This was an impromptu destination. I mean, who would want to go to the mall when you have Cameron Highland tourist spots everywhere? But we did just that. We wanted to find lunch and hey hey hey.. the concourse was so lively with so many people and activities. My husband and I tried pani puri for the first time there. We tasted this bread thing from Rollney’s cause it is too much effort to go to Mahkota Parade for that in Melaka. Hahaha.. mengada.

Lunch was nasi campur and gosh it was amusing to see my daughter sitting beside her father, having the same gestures and such. My daughter merajuk for a while when we were there because she wanted those colourful hats that you could squeeze the ears – so Mr Husband bought it for her.

For dinner, we went to this area where there’s a lot of steamboat, shell outs and grills. Google for ‘adik Aisyah steamboat’ for the prime location. We had our steamboat at a different place than Adik Aisyah cause this AA place is so popular and the queue is so long.

Looking forward to more staycations in 2023. Tq Cameron Highlands 🤗

MOKTI’s

If you cannot have authentic Gula Apong ice cream in Sarawak, MOKTI’s is an equally good alternative to have in Semenanjung Malaysia. I tried a few other outlets that sell this gula along ice cream but they taste horrible. MOKTI’s ice cream is the best. Go for the original flavour.

I had mine at the Ayer Keroh branch. You can enjoy it there or have it in the car on the go. I do have to warn you that the cup doesn’t have a lid.

ZONE Hotels, Teluk Panglima Garang

It was an odd choice but I was glad I made it. We needed a place to stay overnight before we go to my sister’s house for Xmas brunch. Our usual staycation spots are Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. This time, I thought ‘why don’t we find somewhere else’. Agoda led me to this hotel, Zones Hotel.

It is a two-star hotel but with facilities good enough for a comfortable stay. There are water dispensers and an ironing board on both floors. Guests get complimentary drinks on arrival – packet drinks (iced lemon tea). I booked a premium quadruple cause the kids are getting bigger. A normal King is not going to fit all of us. since it is a premium, the price is of course on the premium side. I paid RM317.80 / night including tax. We have Free WIFI, a hot shower and the usual.

There was no breakfast included but there is a MAMAK downstairs. There are also loads of eating places just down the road within walking distance. I have to mention LAKSA BUMBUNG. It is now my favourite laksa. Costs RM7/bowl because of it’s telur sarang. The gravy is to die for!

QIDOT CAFE

This place is roughly 10 minutes away from the hotel. I made a reservation online for 4 people. It serves Western as well as local delicacies. I loved their grilled lamb. The kids loved to take photos there though. It’s very English and cute. Price-wise, my lamb grill was about RM37 which has two cuts, mashed potato on the side with salad. The salted egg croissant is RM11, and the pizza was RM24 with cake slices ranging from RM12 to RM15. You can browse through their menu by clicking on the link in their bio on Instagram.

Eating in Melaka 2022

GrabFood and FoodPanda have always been the ones we go to. Then the usual fast food outlets and pasar malam food of course. There wasn’t much stuff sold in our clinic’s Food Whatsapp Group that I wanted to try. So, let’s see where we ate as a family this year. A glimpse of it. Nothing extra special. Do not expect long, food blogger-ish reviews.

MAMAK FOOD : You can never go wrong with mamak food. My favourites to get recently is the tosai cause I liked the white, yoghurt sauce that comes with it. And the usual Neslo.
BAYVIEW HOTEL HI TEA BUFFET: It was one of those rare days when we felt like eating something at the hotel. The adults’ payment is RM 48/pax, children RM33/pax and senior citizens RM37/pax. There were a few grave reviews on the FB page but honestly, it is priced at less than RM50. I mean what do you expect, grilled lamb and steak? Of course lah tak.. the falafel and western dishes were delicious. sushi was a bit dry but mostly it was OK for a low-budget HI-Tea.
SAI KEE KOPI 434 MUAR (Melaka Branch): I accidentally ordered 2 glasses of its iced Hainan coffee and got a massive headache from it. It was an unusual mix of coffee and santan. Like omg.. I could die. We ordered mi bandung and kaya toast. The noodles were a bit too spicy for us. Both of us have a very low threshold for spicy food. The toilet was cute and very fashionable. Very Instagrammable but I didn’t take any pics of it.
NANDOS : This is a family favourite for its tender chicken and delicious sauces. I especially love the Garlic and wild Herbs sauce on my lemon chicken.
GPR All you can eat: Located in Kip Mall, Melaka. You can order as many times as you like at RM19.90/pax for food with an extra cost for drinks (unlimited). I feel that the charcoal burger was a menu worth ordering multiple times already. the Korean chicken was lovely too although the sauce was too heavy on the flavour side. Kind of salty. Delicious but salty.
GPR Food as well.
ME’NATE: Posh yet family-friendly. It was my first time ordering lamb quesadilla and it was delicious. The pizza too. In fact, everything was great. I have to admit. the food is mouth-watering.
MELANTAK : This is another place to go for Western cuisine. Like Me’nate, it’s got steak and stuff. The servers are robots. Which was cool. The kids loved it. I think I ordered something sizzling here.
TRULY TWO CAFE : Went here for my son’s birthday. It seems that they serve hot dishes too nowadays. which is a good move cause I can’t stand the all sweet, too-sweet dishes. I kind of stopped at the sight of glasses being plastered with chocolate and sweet sauces. I just can’t. Maybe other people can. The nachos were weird. It’s like they microwaved the whole thing cause the nachos underneath the cheese are not crunchy. the huge croissant was to die for and I loved the beef pepperoni pizza. However, I am on an ongoing diet. So, I really watched my portion.