Café Malacca

每當星馬菜癮起時，如果人在香港，那麼位於西環Hotel Jen的Cafe Malacca「馬來一菜館」就會是其中一家第一時間會浮現我腦海的正宗馬拉菜餐廳 :)這夜再訪，先以一客Rojak ($82)開開胃。我經常當這是星馬style沙律吃。濃黑色的'沙律醬'是檳城鹹蝦膏，配料每間店/檔都有自家配方。這裡的以爽口的蔬菜與水果如青芒、青瓜，及魷魚為主，味道複雜，鹹、甜與辣都兼備。一向大愛Penang assam laksa ($98)。這款亞參叻沙在檳城以外不太多機會遇上。不含椰奶的魚湯湯底，還加上羅望子、亞參果、南薑等熬製，配料有菠蘿、姜花、薄荷葉等，濃濃檳城風味～ 大家吃之前再按自己口味加入適量蝦醬調味，每嘆都齊集鹹、甜、鮮與酸辣，複雜又滋味，我每次來「馬拉一菜館」都必吃！另一道我很喜歡的菜式是Sambal balachan ladies' fingers ($72)。爽嫩的秋葵經馬拉盞參巴醬炒香，微微香辣，真惹味。此外，我們還點了Roti canai with dal curry ($68)，以lentils扁豆製成的咖喱豆香濃郁，香甜而不辣，與酥脆不油膩的馬來西亞薄餅很合拍。Klang bakut teh ($108)，馬來西亞巴生風格肉骨茶，配油條和白飯。湯頭鮮甜，藥材香而不過份濃烈。「馬來一菜館」甜品出色，尤其是榴蓮甜品，所以每次都提自己要為這裡的甜品預留quota。在吃榴蓮甜品前，先吃Kuih dadar ($45)，綠色的班蘭椰絲卷，外層的綠色班蘭薄餅軟滑而厚薄適中，卷著是由椰糖炒香的椰絲，吃起來濕軟香甜，椰香與班蘭香同樣誘人 :)「馬拉一菜館」的Musang king pudding ($68) 只是來到枱邊、仍未放上枱時，大家已經能聞到那榴蓮飄香。這貓山王榴蓮布甸做得質感相當細滑，榴蓮香濃郁，榴蓮迷不容錯過！這夜吃的另一款榴蓮甜品是新上市的榴蓮湯丸2吃 - 榴蓮薑汁湯丸拼炸榴蓮湯丸。榴蓮湯丸皮軟不黏牙，咬開是甜美香濃的榴蓮蓉，配著辣勁足的薑汁糖水，吃完渾身暖起來。而炸榴蓮湯丸，炸得香脆不油膩，榴蓮餡香濃滑溜。2款湯丸都做得相當出色，絕對會讓榴蓮迷吃得相當開心滿足的榴蓮甜品！…Read More

Cafe Malacca is a hotel restaurant at Traders Hotel by Shangri-la at West District offering authentic Malaysian Cuisine. Cafe Malacca was named after the Strates Malacca where traders from Middle East, India, China and Indonesia passed by and also brought in spices and cuisines to Malaysian as Early as in 18th Century. Influenced by a rich multicultural heritage of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian, the dishes offer at Cafe Malacca are diverse but keep very authentic.The restaurant is spacious with two compartments, where one compartment is in a more causal settings with long wooden tables and padded rectangle chairs; the other compartment is a more formal dining area with individual tables and chairs.The menu was extended where Malaysian, Singaporean, Indian dishes can be found, Western dishes were also provide to hotel guests in case they miss their home food. There is also a special menu on top of the al la carte menu right now which we picked some to try!Mutton SatayThe colourful mutton satay dish consists of 6 grilled mutton skewers, raw purple onions, cucumber and rice cake, served with sweet peanut butter satay sauce. Everything on the banana leaf were meant to go with the satay sauce. The mutton skewer did not have the gamey taste that I expected but was tender and aromatic with smokey aroma. I love the raw purple onion the most on the plate, soooooooo spicy!RojakA totally unknown dish to me, Rojak is a very Malaysian homey appetiser. This glossy brown sauced dish was actually seasonal fresh fruits, vegetables and Chinese cruller (Yao Tiao) mixed with a house made sauce of Malacca palm sugar and Penang shrimp paste. The dish was very sweet with strong shrimp paste taste and a hint of sesame taste. The first taste was kind of funny, but I got used to it soon. Not a bad dish but not my cup of tea.Singapore Otak-OtakThis flavourful dish is mashed pacu fish mixed with yellow ginger, wrapped and grilled in banana leaf. With a smooth and creamy texture, this dish is named Otak-Otak, sadly means brain in English because the Singaporean thinks it looks like brain... Anyway, the mashed pacu was extremely delicious and quite spicy in taste. Yum!Sambal Cabbage SproutsThe cabbage sprouts were supposed to be pretty spicy from a broth of sambas and red chili, but not really as it was overly watery. The flavour was not too strong either due to the same reason.Ipoh Bean SproutsThis fat looking bean sprouts is on the special menu and was imported directly from Ipoh, Malaysia. I have never tried Ipoh's bean sprouts before so I was very excited. The bean sprouts were fat, crisp and had good water content. Loved it!Penang Char Koay TeowThe Char Koay Teow is a signature Penang hawker dish that you can find easily on the street in Malaysia. The flat rice noodles were quite thin and were stir-fried with amazing aroma from the wok. It was crazily spicy and was mildly sweet from a mix of samba sauce and spices. The Chinese sausage made the dish much yummier!Penang Assam LaksaThis Singaporean Laksa was served in a coconutty fish broth, garnished with fresh pineapple, mint, cucumber, onion, ginger flower and black shrimp paste. The thick rice noodles was a bit soft in texture but we left it for a while before tasting it. The shrimp was big but too mushy in texture. The fish cake was delicious with a bouncy texture. The Tofu puff was fat with puffy body and slightly crispy crust. The bean sprouts were from Thailand and were crisp. The broth was tangy with a strong shrimp paste taste but was a bit too sweet for my liking.Nasi LemakThe Nasi Lemak is a traditional breakfast fond in Malaysia. The rice was made with coconut cream in a portion of 1:1, no water is used for cooking! The rice was creamy with a hint of coconut taste but slightly soggy. The fragrant rice was served with crispy fish, fried egg, chicken and samba sauce. The deep fried chicken had a crispy crust with savoury and tender inner. The dish was multi-textured with a mix of creamy rice, crispy fish, tangy chicken and bouncy egg, with the additional of samba sauce, the dish was delectable!Durian PuddingDurian is not everyone's thing but this Durian Pudding is a must try! The pudding was strongly fragranted with durian aroma and flavour. The pudding was smooth and bouncy. I love love love this!Kuih DadarThe Kuih Dadar is another great dessert at Cafe Malacca. The rolled pandan-flavoured crepe was filled with grated coconut and Malacca palm sugar. Moist and sweet fillings with chewy crepes, this dessert was another favourite of mine.Kaya ToastKaya toast is a traditional Singapore snack, the bread is usually pressed thin and toasted with a spread of kaya on it. The toast is similar at Cafe Malacca except the bread was not pressed before toasting. This result in softer texture toast but I like my crispy version.Crushed iceThe crushed ice is a off the menu item but you can request for it. The crushed ice was topped with a vanilla ice-cream with rose syrup and Sarsaparilla, below the crushed ice was homemade jelly, sweet corn and Attap Seeds. I do not really like the taste of Sarsaparilla, but the overall texture of this crushed ice was pretty good!I have tried lots of special traditional Singaporean & Malaysian dishes that I have never tried or even heard of before. I can see cafe Malacca does put a lot of effort in offering authentic food by making their own sauces and importing fresh ingredients directly from Malaysia etc. I would love to come back to try their Hainan Chicken Rice and But Kut Teh in the coming future.…Read More