CRIZ BON APPETITE

Savoring The Best All Over Town…

Archive for the ‘malacca’ Category

PALM SUGAR CENDOL AT BIBIK HOUSE IN MALACCA

Posted by crizlai On June - 4 - 2012

Malacca (locally known as Melaka) is well known for many Peranakan cuisine. During the “A Date with Bloggers in Melaka 2012” event organized by 1asiafoodguide.com and bestmelakaguide.com recently, a few of us managed to squeeze out some time to explore some of the nice cuisine outlets surrounding the Jonker Walk area. One of the most loved items was the Malacca Cendol. Compared to the Penang version which would use brown sugar, Malacca Cendol would use their famed local product – the Gula Melaka, a palm sugar which has a unique thick, rich, aromatic and natural sweetness. As we approached Bibik House, the buttery aroma coming from their daily baked pineapple tarts drew our attentions but that was not our target as we had quite many earlier on. What attracted us was the signage showing the Bibik House Cendol with durian. It would be great to try them out to compare with what we have in Penang.

BIBIKHOUSE01

As the weather in Malacca was crazily hot on that day, we had decided to try out just the plain Cendol (RM4.00nett) instead of the Durian Cendol (RM5.00nett) which would only come with an additional topping of a caramel-like durian paste. Having durians in the system on a humid day with lack of rest would surely be seeking for trouble to be down with illness, right? Haha! Anyway, the bowl of Malacca Cendol was amazingly rich in taste and flavors. It had a separate serving of cendol, a screwpine flavor infused green pea flour made delicacy. The finely shaved ice combined with the creaminess of the thick coconut milk and palm sugar sweetness was heaven, except it could be rather sweet for some health conscious consumers. Hidden within the “ice mountain” were some combinations of sweetened azuki and kidney beans.

BIBIKHOUSE02

Overall, I felt that the dessert was over rated in term of pricing. Maybe this dessert was sold at a commercialized tourist spot area but that does not mean that it should be charged at such an exaggerated pricing, worst still in a non air-conditioned and posh premises? A bowl of Malacca Cendol would cost almost twice the price of a decent bowl of the Penang Cendol (RM2.00-RM2.50 at roadside stalls). Moreover, what made me curious was the separate serving of cendol in a mini plastic sauce container. Are they trying to control the amount served by charging more for extra orders? You won’t get such a practice in Penang at all as you can always request for some reasonable amount added in without extra charges. On top of that, the cendol here lacked the firm texture. They were too soft to my liking as I would presume that the amount of lye water (sodium hydroxide – NaOH) added was not adjustable to the al dente bites that they should have. An extra charge of RM0.50 would be imposed for each takeaway in a plastic container. Regardless the comparison of pricing, I personally still prefer the ones served in Penang. Other famous outlets with super crazy long queues would be at Jonker 88 and QQ Ice further down the road.

If you are coming from Jalan Kubu entrance into Jonker Walk, you will see the Tamil Methodist Church on your left. Walk into the road next to the church (Jalan Tokong) until you see a “Y” junction (JalanTukang Emas/Jalan Hang Jebat). There’s a stage with an arch “Welcome to Jonker Walk” on your right. Walk into Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Walk) and you’ll see Bibik House on your right.

BIBIKHOUSEMAP

Name: BIBIK NYONYA @ MALACCA (MELAKA)
Address: 129 Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia.
Contact: 606-288 3919
Business Hours: 9.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 2.197842, 102.245287

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

 

Malacca (locally known as Melaka) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 7 July 2008 together with George Town, the capital of Penang, as one of the world’s heritage cities. Malacca, being the oldest city with more than 600 years of history in Malaysia, has many remnants from the past which would bring back many nostalgic and colorful memories of the heydays. Heritage buildings, monuments, culture, tradition, food and beverages found in the historical city have their own uniqueness, not found in other parts of Malaysia. Jonker Gallery, with 1 wholesale and 4 retail outlets, scattered around the famed Jonker Walk (Jalan Hang Jebat), has brought about that mesmerizing moments for the locals and tourists with their wide range of products. Their latest product was something that has dated back as far as the colonial days – the 60’s Cocktails. It’s a non alcoholic fruit tea with a concoction of France’s imported black tea plus permitted fruit flavors. The beverages came in 4 flavors – Apple+Lemon, Apple+Peach, Apple+Passion and Apple+Guava, each selling at RM4.00nett per bottles at all their outlets.

JONKERGALLERY01

We were glad that the beverages were introduced to us when we were in Malacca to attend the “A Date with Bloggers in Melaka 2012” event. The well chilled beverages surely did cool us down on such a humid weather. However, they are local products that would only be available in Malacca. Hard luck!

JONKERGALLERY02

Amongst the 4 choices available, the 60’s Cocktail – Apple+Lemon was unanimously voted by us as the most favorite beverage. The concoction of the apple and lemon juices in a mildly sweetened black tea extract beverage had the best of cider plus citrus flavors. They were simply refreshing and complemented each other real well especially when chilled properly.

JONKERGALLERY03

The 60’s Cocktail – Apple+Passion was fine. The sweetness of the added passion fruit went well with the apple. The combination of flavors just lingered in my mouth for quite awhile.

JONKERGALLERY04

The 60’s Cocktail – Apple+Peach was good but I personally felt that the peach had an overpowering flavor over the apple’s mild sweetness. It tasted almost like the instant Peach Tea without the presence of apple.

JONKERGALLERY05

The 60’s Cocktail – Apple+Guava was also good if you are fine with a strong “Kiwi+Strawberry” ripen guava taste. Just like the 60’s Cocktail – Apple+Peach, the apple mild taste basically got lost in the strong guava flavors.

JONKERGALLERY06

Still not convinced? Well, some of those KL participants fell in love with the beverages and bought home many 8-in-a-pack beverages. You can select whichever flavors you like upon availability.

JONKERGALLERY07

Overall, these 4 beverages still excel better than some of the beverage products I have tested on the market. The main selling point would be on the right sweetness for the general consumptions and the “twist & drink” feature on the bottles.

Click to enlarge the map larger for a clearer view of all the Jonker Gallery outlets.

JONKERGALLERYMAP

Name: JONKER GALLERY @ MALACCA (MELAKA)
Address: No 64, Jalan Tokong, 75200 Melaka.
Contact: 606-286 9840
Website: http://jonkergallery.com.my/

Jonker Gallery (Artistic & Fashionable Apparel) – Retail
No 11, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka.

Jonker Gallery (Souvenirs & Ladies Accessories) – Retail
No 20, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka.

Jonker Gallery (Casual Apparel & Casual Footwear) – Retail
No 29B Jalan Hang Kasturi, 75200 Melaka.

Jonker Gallery (Ethnic Apparel) – Retail
No 51, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka.

Jonker Gallery (Souvenirs, Ladies and Men Apparel) – Wholesale
No 64, Jalan Tokong, 75200 Melaka.

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 4/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

 

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs