A Date With Bloggers@Malacca 2012

ECL at Uncle Keong dessert shop

My husband and I drove up to Malacca in the early morning hours of 19 May (Saturday) for a bloggers' event. It has been several years since I last visited this fabulous city.

Malacca was declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO on 7 July 2008. I am fascinated by its heritage buildings, cultural enclaves, places of worship and its wide selection of yummy cuisines.

Group photo with the management of Perfect Food Manufacturing

After arriving at Malacca Sentral, we were chauffeured to Julie's Biscuit Factory by Jee Shen. We were taken on a tour of their humongous manufacturing premises and treated to a buffet lunch.

ECL stayed here.

We checked into our accommodation after lunch. We stayed at Sayang-Sayang Youth Hostel @Riverside. Initially I was in shock when I opened the door to my room. Used to staying in at least 3-star hotels with attached bathrooms on my travels, I wanted to check into a nearby hotel but hubby persuaded me to rough it out and appreciate the backpacker experience.

I should be thankful to Kent Lee, the young boss of Sayang-Sayang Youth Hostel. He sacrificed his earnings on a busy Saturday to provide accommodation for 40 plus people. My hubby and I are getting old and have aching knees, the climbing up and down of the stairs to the loft is a task.
Queuing to use the toilet gets a little tricky for us, because we older folks have a problem holding our bladders. :P Still, I want to thank Kent for his generosity.

In the evening, we attended the opening ceremony of A Date With Bloggers at Melaka 2012 located at Mahkota Parade.

ECL chatting with witty Datuk Wira Latiff Tamby Chik, Chairman of Malacca State Tourism, Culture and Heritage 

and Dr Yee Kok Wah.

After the ceremony, we stopped by Jonker Street to soak in the night market atmosphere. It was an extremely humid night, we returned to the hostel for a much needed bath and I immediately dozed off the moment I hit the pillow.

We had breakfast at the awe-inspiring Cheng Ho Cultural Museum where a free guided tour was offered to us.

Traditional Hainanese dishes prepared with love by the Women's Wing of Malacca Hainan Association.

We proceeded to Malacca Hainan Association after our museum tour. The hospitable ladies from the Women's Wing were busy cooking up a feast for us. I was getting hungrier as each dish was placed on a table for us to take photos. 

We learnt how to shaped the famous Hainanese chicken rice balls, taught by two lady seniors.

Love the authentic Nyonya food prepared by Mdm Lucy Wee of Anak Nyonya Restaurant.

Talented Mr Low K.P. of Mei Zhong Yuan Confectionery Sdn Bhd gave us a hands-on demonstration of his delicous Sun Cake with durian or coffee filling. Later in the afternoon, we went to his shop to buy his famous snacks.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam joined the bloggers for lunch at Malacca Hainan Association.

We took a walk along Jonker Street after our lunch to buy some souvenirs for our friends and colleagues in Singapore. Some bloggers left early for home.

Within a short span of 24 hours, many of us have become friends who were sharing and looking after one another. It was wonderful meeting these beautiful people from Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.    

Before we bade our farewells and headed for home, we had our last group photo at Kota A'Farmosa.

ECL gives the thumbs-up for Lim Kang Xiang (left) and Steven Tan (right)

Special thanks to these two well-brought-up, adorable young men who gave their best efforts to make our trip a memorable and enjoyable one. They did a good job despite being first time organisers of such a event. I will always cherish the memories of this trip.

I would also like to thank their friends who came to help out in this event. They are a bunch of truly remarkable young people to hang out with. *Applause*

Thanks to all the sponsors who made our trip in Malacca a memorable one. I went to Malacca carrying one luggage bag but came home laden with bags of goodies and lots of heartwarming stories.

Niceties over, the reviews will begin in my next post. :D