Malaysia: Kedai Kopi Chung Wah

We lucked out our first day in Melaka, but the room we scored was only available for one night.  So the next day, CK and I woke up early to try to see if we could find a guesthouse with an opening that day. No such luck.

We did, however, spot this crazy line: 

The restaurant wasn't even open at the time.  We had no clue what the line was for.  What else was there to do except get in line?

Total no brainer.

When the restaurant opened, the line quickly filed in...only to stop two parties in front of us.  Dammit.  We could only watch the activity in the kitchen over the heads of those ahead of us:

We didn't have to wait too much longer before we were guided inside:

We soon figured out that Kedai Kopi Chung Wah serves one thing and one thing only.  Chicken rice balls.

Melaka is known for its chicken rice balls.  The only real difference between chicken rice balls and the traditional Hainanese chicken rice is, well, the rice balls:

CK and I were each brought a plate of five rice balls and a plate of sliced steamed chicken to share:

Milk tea was also a must:

Was it the best Hainanese chicken ever?  Not exactly.  But eating rice balls was certainly a novel experience.  The balls were packed really tight and had none of the fluffiness usually associated with rice.  Very...interesting.  You really can't leave Melaka without trying it.

You could probably skip the super long line though and go to one of the many other chicken rice ball restaurants in the area. And boy, are there many.

Since we couldn't find a place to stay for the second night, CK and I booked a bus ride out of Melaka to Kuala Lumpur that day.

A lesson to all of you who plan on visiting Melaka on a weekend: book ahead.


Kedai Kopi Chung Wah
18, Jalan Hang Jebat
75200 Melaka, Malaysia