Noodles @ Oriental Cafe, Jalan Tengkera, Malacca.

If you are up for some no frills, humble man gourmet, then this is it. And to me this is the ultimate noodle experience that Malacca can offer.

Look at the crowd!

Oriental Cafe has been a common checkpoint for me and my family for simple but satisfying "hi kiao mee" (fish cake noodles). Every hawker stall has it and so do most mall food courts. but no one could reach this point that Oriental Cafe has done. And swarmed with locals, this is a real find out of the tourist trappy zones. 

Time for lunch.

The main player, is of course, the noodles. And you can choose to have classic yellow, kuey teow, or rice noodles. And with that you can opt for soup or the dry version. The dry version is where it is at, as the place will load it with a variety of secret sauces. It is so secret that on one occasion where I asked if I can take a photo of the cooking area, the uncle behind the counter said that we can, except his arsenal of sauces. 

After a good mix. Check out that piece of friend pork lard I found!

And it is this combination of liquid gold that made things spectacular. When it arrives at your table, you need to mix it thoroughly as the sauces would sit at the bottom. One melded well, then dig in! On first slurp, a torrent of flavours, mostly pork lard, garlic and sweet soy will take hold. The noodles, being Malacca is very fresh and is not that usual alkali drenched yellow ones you get in the rest of the country. 

No better endorsement. 

The fish cakes are also really good and a condiment that compliments the dish.  Bean sprouts adds some crunch. The char siew, are not the best, but it does round up the dish and adds another element. However, like most of Malacca, prices are now on a high and a small bowl is now RM5. I remembered a time when it was RM3.50. but we all have to fall prey to the ravages of time. 

Loaded

There is more to this place than just noodles though, the popiah are quite good too. Loaded with stewed daikon and also flavoured with pork lard, it was a hand grenade of flavours. And a roll is RM3. I think it is pretty decent, although some colleagues beg to differ.

An old couple enjoying their lunch. 

Coffee here is pretty good too. It is called a cafe after all. A small cup of Kopi O is RM1.20. Also, unlike most places, this cafe opens from early morning till mid afternoon. So, rest assured that you can find food out here. Unlike most places in Malacca, which has some rigid time lines and open for certain meal times only. So this is a good breakfast and lunch spot. 

Spooky?

Also, on another point, the legendary haunted Oriental Cinema is just across the street. Not too sure, if it is really haunted or just an urban legend, as I have never seen anything supernatural when I passed by during my frequent use of Jalan Tengkera. Well, nothing is good enough for this kind of things I guess. 

The front kitchen counter. 

Want to avoid the tourist traps and get some good grub when you are in Malacca? This is a place I visit frequently and would do so again and again. Honest, simple and still relatively cheap, do put this place as a part of you "to-eat" list. If you are interested, the address is as follows:

71, Jalan Tengkera, Taman Kota Laksamana, 75200 Melaka

You cannot miss this sign.