Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

If you haven’t ‘suffered’ through my Malacca 2012 travel chapter, then you ought to do so. At least, ‘give face’ lah … 😉

 More than 80 Years of Legacy – A spread of traditional Teochew dishes served with rice porridge at Long Fatt; a corner shop along Jalan Kampung Pantai, Melaka; next to a Buddhist temple

Always a pleasure to return to Malacca (spelled as Melaka in the local language); the historical capital of Malaysia, that we embarked on a half-baked plan of a food trip last weekend. Well, being one of the most visited tourist spot in the country, you don’t need to search high and low for information on Malacca anyway.

However, that being said, the previous Malacca travel chapters (2012 Food & Travel Guide & 2011 History. Diversity.Gastronomy Series) have all but centred upon the famous names; the establishments featured in media, guide books and come out tops in Google search and blog reviews.

 Still fueled by the passion to dish out that certain kind of warmth in his cooking; there’s just no stopping this man.

And thus, this excursion revolved around a handful of hidden gems; and places we have not thought of frequenting before. Let’s start with Long Fatt; an almost a century’s old outlet on the banks of Malacca river, serving traditional Teochew porridge for breakfast and lunch daily.

 Large enamel-coated platters of home-cooked dishes emanating aromatic whiffs of sumptuousness every morning at Long Fatt

 I first read about Long Fatt from Eating Asia’s post two years ago. A relatively unorthodox choice given the dozen other more captivating ones (read:tourist-friendly) in Malacca; from Nyonya cuisine to chicken rice balls, satay celup to Portuguese seafood, the review was like a breath of fresh air.

 Two of Long Fatt’s MUST-TRY dishes; the Asam Fish and Pickled Sour Vegetable Stew.

Arriving at a rather unforgiving peak lunch hour, we were lucky to find a table unoccupied, out of the half a dozen or so marble-top tables in the premise. The serving counter populated by a large number of colourful enamel-coated containers of freshly-cooked Teochew dishes; some continuously warmed over fire while others were already half-depleted no thanks to the eager Saturday crowd.

 The delicious homemade pork patty was very juicy, tender and darn addictive. Lightly seasoned and served over a scoop of soy sauce dressing. Not forgetting the signature Asam Fish; almost palm-sized ‘ikan selangat’ cooked for more than 10 hours over slow fire, doused in a fiery orange-red tamarind-based broth. The flavour was of a rather muted spicy and sour mix; unlike the more robust Asam pedas of Malacca. Still, it’s interesting how you can down the entire fish in one gulp; softened bones and all thanks to the extended/intense cooking method.

 The soft pumpkin stewed to almost of a pulpy consistency was fantastic as well. I generally dislike my pumpkins cooked to mushy texture; then routinely tossed in with a handful of dried shrimps. However, Long Fatt’s version with stalks of scallion deserves the praise for being simple yet hearty. The pickled sour vegetables was boiled to a very soft, almost melt-in-mouth texture; complementing the bland rice porridge to a tee. The stewed beancurd paled in comparison to the other more stellar dishes in this aspect.

 We wished that we could have sampled more dishes from the array of food on display; the braised pork, eggs and pig’s ears. Or even a salted egg or two. And the perfect snack to counter balance the simple porridge feast; crispy fried anchovies.

But this being the FIRST stop in the run, we had to exert some measure of control somehow.

 Long Fatt still retains the charm of a pre-war shophouse; at a corner of a row of similar premises bearing origins from the 30’s and prior

 “Let your hair down and Run with the Horses”

LONG FATT 
No. 15, Jalan Kampung Pantai
75200 Melaka
Business Hours : 8.30am – 3.00pm
Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Tel No : +6019-364 6682
GPS : 2.196909,102.249589

*Stay tuned for the next chapter – a second Teochew feast in Malacca; back to back!
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