Japanese Cuisine

Japanese food is one of my favourite and will never ever get enough of it. Yes I can have it everyday without getting sick of it. My family share this same passion and we will enjoy it whenever we can.


In Malacca I guess the best Japanese restaurant is Kampachi in the Equatorial Hotel ...... I think it is the only true Japanese restaurant in Malacca. There was a Japanese owned ramen restaurant but it did not last long. Another is teppanyaki style and is locally owned ...... the food is very much localised but it is still OK.


Our favourite at the moment is Kampachi especially their Sunday lunch buffet. The spread is great and it is a great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon by having breakfast, lunch and dinner all together at a leisurely pace. Shall we pig out??

BURRRP!!!

Taking Shape

Day by day, inch by inch with sheer determination the weeds were removed by hand even though the memory of the agony suffered from the sciatica was still very fresh in my mind. Every evening depending on the condition of my poor back and butt, I had to decide whether to make use of bare hands, sickle or hoe. Heavy machinery ....err... I mean lawn mower was a no no at that time cause starting it after such a long time in a state of inactivity was no easy matter.

Bare hands is the most relaxed because I can either sit on a stool or the ground ....... set back, creepy crawly can craw up you know where, bitten by bugs and if not careful poke by mimosa weeds in the butt ....... ouch!! ouch!! Sickle can cut very quickly and close to the ground ........ set back, to much movement either in a crouching or squatting position which is quite taxing on the back. The hoe is great for removing weeds at the root level but it is taxing on the waist and butt.

Brrup!! brrup!! after four or five times I was still unable to get the lawn mower started ........ oh my poor back!! My back was much better last week so I thought it was time to bring in the "heavy mean machinery" aka the lawn mower to get more done. Hmmm!! changed the spark plug and brrrup!! pup!! pop! One more time and it came to life again hungry for weeds.

I did suffer some consequences the next day but lucky for me it rained that evening and I was spared the agony of deciding to do or not to do. It had been raining of and on so my progress was slowed down a little. Got an okra, a couple of brinjals and a lime planted and they are all doing very well. The mini farm is really getting back into shape now and I am looking forward to be able to start planting leafy veggies real soon.

Me.......I am getting out of shape with lots of aches everywhere and lots of extra weight to carry around ..... hehehe!!!

"Satay Celup"

"Satay Celup" is a unique dish that is only available in Malacca City as far as I know. "Satay" many says it is from the Hokkien word meaning three pieces of goodies on a stick roasted and "celup" is Malay for dip or something like that. Japanese also have goodies on a stick like "yakitori" which is also roasted and "satay" in Malaysia is a commonly known dish of roasted meat on a stick. "Satay celup" well there is no roasting at all but lots of boiling, some even refer to it as a volcanic meal due to the likeness of the boiling gravy to boiling lava.

My first taste of "satay celup" was when I was in secondary school and they were located just behind the Cathay cinema build across the Malacca River. The one that I can remember very well is Kingtu. Eating there was an experience itself with the stinking river underneath you. It was really a very popular place for a snack after a movie and it was quite pack on weekends. I was not a real fan of "satay celup" then because "satay celup" was always almost equals to diarrhea for. Some basic requirement was required to eat "satay celup" at that time, a sharp eye and highly sensitive sense to smell so as to avoid stale food or a stomach of steel. I had neither and had to gain experience the hard way.

If my memory does not fail me I think there were two way of eating "satay celup", express and leisurely. Express was stand up at the counter and dip into a common pot of sauce and leisurely was to sit down like nowadays but the sauce was never changed.

Recently I had been enjoying "satay celup" on a few occasions in the most popular shop which is Capitol Satay. A new pot of sauce is provided for every new customers and the food is not stale because I did not suffer any consequences......hehe!! There are a couple more of these "satay celup" shops and I was told that they were OK too. "Satay Celup" anyone?