Cheekiemonkies: Singapore Parenting & Lifestyle Blog: Melaka Road Trip with Buddies Cheekie Monkies

(Daddy blogs)

One trip that the monkies always look forward every year without fail is the one that involves their buddies. The adults, on the other hand, have been sorely missing the yummy food that Melaka has to offer since our road trip last year. So yes, it was a no-brainer for all of us when it came to our destination of choice.

Only problem was, our choice accommodation - Courtyard @ Heeren - which we had faithfully stayed in our previous three visits to Meleka was full. Luckily for us though, the same people behind Courtyard @ Heeren had recently opened a new lodging for large families.

The Courtyard Serviced Residence is a double-storey house with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Located 700m away from the original Courtyard @ Heeren - and Jonker Street too - the lodging is also a few minutes drive to the Mahkota Parade and Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Malls.

The house is fully air-conditioned, and includes a dining area, kitchen equipped with microwave oven, refrigerator, kettle, toaster and cutlery, washing machine as well as daily housekeeping service. Oh, and the most important things of all (at least to us adults), Free WIFI throughout the house!

The entire house was huge, with the four rooms clean and neat. For the kids though, I guess the most important bit of the house was the fact that they could be in each other company's whenever we are back in our accommodation, as opposed to separate rooms in a hotel.

In terms of security, there is CCTV surveillance at both the front porch and back of the house. We stayed there for 2 nights and we didn't feel overly unsafe so I guess it is safe to say that all of us loved our accommodation. In fact, we have all agreed that we will all stay here again on our next road trip to Melaka!

And what is a visit to Melaka without all the scrumptious food?

Back in March when the wifey and I headed to Melaka for a 1-night getaway minus the kids for our 10-year Wedding Anniversary celebration, we had the liberty to suss out some of the awesome makan places. So this time around, we played tour guides and revisited these food places... which I have no complaints really, since I have been craving to go back ever since my last visit!

Restoran Aunty Lee is a small and humble Peranakan eatery located some 20-30 minutes drive away from Melaka's historic centre at Ujong Pasir. But don't be fooled by its simple and homely decor, its food packs a really good punch.

We already knew how good the Ayam Buah Keluak, Ikan Bilis Sambal Petai and Mutton Curry were during our last visit. So we just had to have them again, plus we got the chance to savour more outstanding dishes, like the Cincalok Omelette and Ayam Limau Purut (or Nonya Chicken Curry with Lime).

Thumbs-up from the kiddos too, I reckon.

For dinner, we headed to a rather dingy-looking and nondescript hole-in-the-wall eating place located just behind the bustling Jonker Street.

Again, do not be fooled by its appearance as Teo Soon Loong Chan Teochew Seafood Restaurant houses one of the best orh-nee I have ever tasted. Other must-try food include the signature Oyster Noodles, Braised Pork with Bittergourd, Ngoh Hiang and Chicken Cutlet. We ordered the latter with the kids in mind, but it tasted so heavenly that the adults ate most of that dish in the end! Oops.

The vicinity around our accommodation also contains a wide variety of food options, and one of them was this steamboat place behind our stay called V Love Hot Pot. Erm yes, they even have a Facebook page!

Okay, so the main selling point here is its price: RM23.80 for Adults and RM11.90 for Children. That's like S$9.30 and S$4.70 for adults and children respectively! For an all-you-can-eat steamboat buffet!!! It's crazily cheap if you ask me... and that probably explained why we finished our dinner past 10pm. Heh.

Besides the raw food items - which included crabs, prawns, clams and mussels and are all placed in an air-conditioned room - there is also a hot food section with rice, bee hoon, chicken wings, nuggets and the usual fried food, as well as ice cream and jelly for desserts.

With all the eating and shopping done in Melaka over 3D2N, it was the turn of the children to have some fun of their home next. And what better way to conclude our road trip than with a visit to LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort?

Throw a 1-night stay at LEGOAND Hotel Malaysia, and rest assured every single one of them screamed themselves hoarse. In a good way of course.

The monkies chose to stay in the Adventure Themed room this time around, as we have previously role-played as Pirates during our last stay there.

I don't think there is a need for me to say how much fun this bunch of buddies had at LEGOLAND Malaysia... except for the fact that we were all keeping a close eye on the entire group this time around, especially since this time last year, Ayd got lost in LEGOLAND Malaysia!

Thankfully though, nothing that heart-stopping in nature happened. And everyone had the time of their lives whizzing through the rides at the theme park.