As we landed in Shanghai in mid-September, we thankfully missed the worst of the summer heat, when the temperature can soar as high as 40 degree Celsius. Now, the ambient air sits at a moderate 25-30 degrees; not cool enough to make climbing the famed Huangshan mountain easy, but warm enough such that we don’t yet need to encumber ourselves with extra layers during our trek. 

Shanghai is the closest international airport to Huangshan, but it still took us a couple of days to get there. We spent most of the first couple of days moving westward to Anhui, which allowed us to let us tour Hangzhou city opportunistically as we passed through. In Hangzhou, we cruised down the Beijing-Hangzhou canal, and visited the Xiangji Temple, a Buddhist temple that have been standing for over a thousand years. Several deities are worshipped here; and, perhaps most famously, it has a shrine dedicated to the God of Cookery. Wooden charms sway in the wind, each with a wish: some for health, for love, and for happiness. 

While in Hangzhou, we also went to the summit of 吴山 (Wu Mountain), for biscuits and a bowl of lotus broth at the tea shop overlooking the 西湖 (West Lake). The experience sounded more impressive than it is. As we left, I was walking alongside a young couple and their spunky child, who remarked cheekily “I know why it’s called Wu Mountain, it’s because there’s nothing to see here.” (Phonetically, Wu can be taken for another word that means “none”). Which perhaps is not that far off from the truth. 

Tunxi Old Street

It’s unmistakable that the China of the 1990s that I knew is truly well and gone. No longer will you walk into thick clouds of cigarette smoke as you enter restaurants and hotels, nor will you be shepherded into a building to spend half a day being hard-sold all manners of trinkets midway during your tour. The streets are all cleaned up; the horrid tourist centres have all been shut down; and, street crime had been virtually non-existent in the last twenty years. Solitary pedestrians walk the streets at night with no fear, and Bentleys pass our tour bus on the expressways. 

But luckily, one thing didn’t change. Walking into each restaurant, I spotted the customary (tourist) beverages on each table: one large bottle of coke (可口可乐) and 2 bottles of local beer. We usually swop out the soft drink for another beer, which we happily drink for every lunch and dinner. While in Hangzhou, we ate the region’s delicacies: 东坡肉 (Dong puo rou, braised pork belly) and 叫花鸡 (jiao hua ji, Beggars’ Chicken).  

Guess what else I found! (And ate some of it). Chicecream, the Chinese luxury ice cream that allegedly doesn’t melt.

But finally, we reached Anhui. With the height of its tallest mountain beyond 1800 metres, Huangshan is China’s tallest mountain range. From the base of the mountain, we first took a shutter bus service, and then switched to a cable car service to bring us deeper into the range across smaller peaks. There, deep in the mountains, lies a burgeoning tourist hot spot. The numerous trails span over 160 square kilometres. Eight mountainous resorts are contained within, each connected to one another through hours-long trek with spectacular scenery along the way. 

We dropped our bags off at Shilin Hotel, and then started our hike. The shortest circuit to the peak is still a good 4-hour walk. All in all, we took close to 20000 steps up and down the stone steps of the mountainside. The view is phenomenal, as promised. We caught the sunset from the mountaintop, watching the sky darken into a purplish hue as the evening mist shrouded the footpaths. 

Hongcun Village is perhaps the most photogenic location of the entire trip. It’s a UNESCO heritage, and has been a tourist attraction ever since the cult-classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed here. With its classical white walls and grey shingles, this village is one of the last remnants of the Huizhou-style architecture.

The view here is gorgeous, but being up in the mountains isn’t the sanctuary I thought it’ll be. Do not expect fresh mountainous air: the incense and cigarette hangs thick in the air along the temples. It’s a particularly wretched feeling to get out of breath after climbing a mountain, only to breathe in all the incense smoke. I couldn't get down from that mountain fast enough. 

Well met, Qiyun Mountain. Not a pleasure.

Traditional Melaka coffee at the Locahouz, alongside non-traditional burgers and sweet potato fries

Looking back at my old post to Malacca, I was surprised by how abrasive I sounded. It was written by someone truly young, with the judgmental attitude of someone who never have to deal with difficult people in a customer-facing role. Well, that's no longer true of me anymore, and I returned to Malacca older and perhaps a tad wiser.

Arriving at the Singapore-Malaysia border by 7am, we cleared both customs within half an hour. Our breakfast was at Da Shi Xi just past the border, a dim sum restaurant recommended by our driver. I was surprised that to hear that they were open for breakfast and slinging baskets of dim sum at 7am, and was more surprised that upon our arrival, the restaurant was already half-filled with locals. Roving waiters descended onto tables with trays of freshly made dim sum, and you picked and choose whatever you like. Other dishes such as xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) were made to order. While the skin of their xiaolongbao weren’t as delicate as those served in high-end xiaolongbao specialty restaurants, I was a big fan of how much soup their version contained and ordered more repeatedly over our meal. We also enjoyed their Portuguese egg tarts.

Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum

Coming to Malacca with my sisters’ kids gave me a chance to revisit the attractions and restaurants. We walked down the famous Jonker Street, and spent a pleasant hour at the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. It was the house of the wealthy Chan family, and had been refurbished into a museum. The ornate decorations displayed the wealth and privileges that they had enjoyed in the community (the way that they lived would have been impressive even today). Afterwards, we tried to get a table at the ever-popular coffeehouse The Daily Fix. Their signature gula melaka latte is an espresso-based drink that is rich, strong, and despite my concerns regarding most gula melaka drinks, the coffee was perfectly balanced in flavour and was not at all overpoweringly sweet. But on this Saturday afternoon, the crowd was formidable and we couldn’t get a table for all 16 of us. We instead had our caffeine fix at French Brown Viennoiserie. I hadn’t come to Malacca for lattes and French pastries, but we couldn’t resist a reprieve from the sun. I love their spacious, high-ceilinged concept, and the cafe could accommodate all of us easily. The technical expertise of the pastry team was on point, and we particularly enjoyed their Mont Blanc. We lingered after our coffee and pastries to avoid the worst of the afternoon sun, and some of us took the opportunity to visit Jonker 88 just two storefronts down the road, where we hastily scoffed down bowls of cendol on a bench by the wall. 

French Brown Viennoiserie

Walking through the alleyways surrounding Jonker Street brought us to East and West Rendezvous, a shophouse selling traditional Nyonya rice dumplings. I stopped in my tracks for a hot minute, where I was so taken by the appearance of their half-wrapped dumplings: white glutinous rice spliced with a cap of blue pea flower rice.

A Studio Ghibli moment

We went to the obligatory Dutch Square, Christ Church and Stadthuys in the morning one day, before the temperature of the day climbed. The flowers that day were in full bloom, in a bright red shade that compliments the surrounding buildings.  

You simply can’t go wrong eating at Nancy's Kitchen and at Amy Heritage Nyonya Cuisine. We ordered everything that looked and sounded good, and everything we ate was faultless. Nancy’s Kitchen dishes were delightful, though many of the dishes were on the spicier end of the spectrum.

Nancy's Kitchen

Amy Heritage was where I had the best Peranakan meal that I’ve had in my life. On the whole, the dishes over at Amy's were much less spicy. We let our Peranakan aunt take the wheel on the ordering, and her discerning tastes were all on point. Throughout the dinner, and well after the last dish had arrived, we were peering at the menu to see exactly what dishes she ordered in order for us recreate the magic in the bottle on our next visit.

We swooned over their delectable Kueh Pie Tee, served as an appetiser. The Udang Lemak Nenas is a special dish: fresh prawns and pineapple cooked in a delightful spiced coconut broth. And as my Peranakan aunt was adamant: this is NOT a curry. It’s a lemak, or coconut soup, flavoured with turmeric and other spices.  Whatever name you call it, it’s sweet, mild and not spicy in the least, and rich in the way that coconut broths are. Utterly fantastic. We also ordered the Ayam Pongteh (Chicken stew), the Ikan Gerang Asam (Spicy and Sour Fish Stew), and sambal kangkong, which were all standout dishes. And in another startling realisation on how much I’ve changed, I love Buah Keluak now, a dish that I could not stand the last time I had it. 

While in Malacca, we ended off every meal with cendol, a delightful way to cap a meal. Baba Ang, another good option for Peranakan food, makes some of the best cendol we have had. 

I don't say this lightly, and I mean it when I say that the best Chinese seafood restaurant that I have eaten in my life is at Tong Sheng Seafood. This was a restaurant that we went before in 2017, and this time around, we made time specially to return. They have since renovated, and the restaurant is air-conditioned now. Reservations are a must. We had their Cheese Prawn Beehoon, Horlicks Prawns (deshelled), Fried Squid with Salted Egg Sauce and Fresh Milk Crab. But the standout dish was the Roast Suckling Pork: it was the best version that I’ve had. Dipping it in sauce would have been a travesty, though the pineapple salad served alongside was simply an inspired pairing. I didn't know it until I looked it up, but Tong Sheng was voted to be one of Malaysia’s Top 15 Restaurants in 2022. We went back twice during this trip. 

During this return trip, I revised my opinion on the traditional pastries of Baba Charlie, and for the better. We had lunch there on our first day, which we do not recommend, but it gave me a second opportunity to sample their kueh. The star was the unassuming Rempah Udang. It's sticky chewy glutinous rice wrapped in pandan leaves and filled with ground shrimps. I was peeling off the pandan leaves as quickly as I could, to get to the bite-sized savoury little unami bombs. The ondeh-ondeh and the Kuih Dadar (Coconut Crepes) were satisfactory, containing fairly juicy sweetened coconut flakes. 

Rempah Udang

The KamCheng was a place that I really wanted to go, but try as I might, we just couldn’t make the dates work out. We went to Wild Coriander, another really popular destination with a queue forming within an hour if opening hours, but we might have gone in on a bad night because the food didn’t quite live up to the standards of the other restaurants that we tried. 

Other than the spicy food, Malacca's history had been pretty spicy too. There's intrigue, assassinations, coups, and perhaps most famous of all, its successful diplomacy with China. The Sultanate Palace Museum, The Flor de La Mar (Maritime Museum) and the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum collectively told a story about the rise of Malacca and of its Sultanate. It was only after its contact with China has been established in 1401 and trade routes established, had the Chinese come over and eventually marry into the Malay population, leading to the Baba and the Nyonya that we all know about today. The Sultanate itself was a short-lived affair, eventually falling to the European powers after a hundred-odd years, but the legacy of the early contact with Chinese traders had effects on the cultural landscape even today. 

The original palace was razed by the Portuguese when they overthrew the Sultanate in 1511, and the one standing today is a replica of how the original one would have looked during the Sultanate rule. The palace was built with wood, rather than stones, and was built on stilts, which was perhaps a reflection of the resources and challenges of the land during the time of the Sultanate.

The city planners of Malacca have a twisted sense of humour: the Sultanate Palace replica is now situated next to A Famosa (Porta de Santiago), a fortress built on a hill by the Portuguese to secure the region after their conquest. We spent our final evening in Malacca walking up the hill and looking at the remnants of the fort and down below, the replica of the Sultanate Palace. We stood on the hill, silhouettes in a setting sun, feeling the cool evening air wrap around the old ruins and flow through the passageways, bringing from the crumbling structures a cool touch of muskiness, of dust, and of the last reminders of a bygone era.

Lobster in broth, served at Super Lobster

Lobsters, Jade Garden Seafood

Our favourite restaurant was Jade Garden Seafood. Though it’s a bit on the pricier side, the food was so good that we went twice. My parents knew the restaurant from way back decades ago as a small (but popular) restaurant by the roadside. Over the years, it had grown into a restaurant and relocated itself next to the sea at the tip of the Desaru peninsula. (In fact, the J.G. Resort located next to the restaurant might have stood for Jade Garden too). Walking around the nearby harbour after our meal, we got great views of the setting sun.

Our trip at the start of June coincided with the start of the durian season. The durians found here were of the local variety, and not the typically renowned varieties like mao shan wang. Perhaps just like how the best Egyptian cottons that fetch the highest prices are sold in international markets rather than in Egypt, the best-quality durians seem to be exported than sold locally. But we certainly has our fill of durians at the fruit farm and from several roadside stalls selling durian out of lorries or rickety wooden carts.

We had a good stay in Westin Resort and made full use of their private beach, which was located just minutes away from our rooms. The fine sand was just as soft as I remembered - and can be brushed off your skin without leaving a coating. The resort is also entirely wheelchair and stroller friendly, and we had no trouble wheeling my grandma around the resort and down to the beach. The place was spotless, and was as clean and comfortable as any top hotel. Aside from one night where I was startled awake in my room by rambunctious toddlers running outside the hallway (the soundproofing could use some work), I had no complains about my stay.

When we first got arrived, we optimistically signed ourselves up for their 6.6km sunrise run, which was to be held on our second last day in Desaru. But when the day came around, none of us felt like attending. In fact, just the night before at 11pm, we were sitting in the hotel bar complaining about the upcoming run over our wine and beers, which should have been my first clue.

A gang of Rockets (anyone seen Guardians of the Galaxy 3 yet?)

The weather was sweltering hot, and the sun hung heavy in the sky, but at the Desaru Waterpark, we somehow didn’t mind so much. We tubed down the steep waterslides, drifted down their Lazy River and bobbed up and down their wave pool. We caught plenty of sun, and played to our hearts’ content. We left Desaru a little sunburnt, but happy and re-energised for the rest of the year ahead.