After taking a break for nearly, a week, here's another post on one of my favourite haunts in Melaka: Nadeje Cake House! For every trip to Melaka, I will never fail to stop by this cake house for a slice of cake, no matter how stuffed I am. In fact, actually, I will protect my tea time just for this cake.
The reason why I'm excited over this cake is that it used to be novel in Melaka - you can't find it in Singapore! Now the concept is more widespread and you can indeed enjoy a slice of this cake in Singapore, or even Kuala Lumpur. However, it's rather expensive in Singapore (the last I heard, a cafe in Sunset Way is selling it for SGD7.00 per slice, and for a small slice); the Kuala Lumpur version wasn't that tasty either.
What is about this Mille Crepe cake that I'm so excited about?
A picture speaks louder than words:
What! It's just a cake right? Nothing special...
However, if you look closely, it's not cake! If you are smart enough (which I would expect all readers of my blog to be), the name of this cake is Mille Crepe = Thousand Layer Crepe. If you look closely enough, you can see that it's made of up tons of crepe stacked together with cream in between. Imagine the amount of work to prepare this 'cake'! Every layer of crepe has to be painstakingly made to begin with, then the baker has to to stack every layer one by one, and apply the cream in between. It's a lot of work; and I admire the baker who has to put it so much effort to create this masterpiece.
As you eat it, you can really taste the effort of this masterpiece cake, that makes this cake so admirable. For so much work, the cake is quite worth its price, that's why on weekends, you'll get long queues of young people lining up for the cake outside the cafe.
Anyway, so where is it?
We used to visit the branch at Dahtaran Palawan, top level; but the top level is currently undergoing renovation, and we could not find it! Luckily, I remembered they had another branch (it's their HQ branch) at Plaza Mahkota, a 20 minute walk, but the problem is that I've never been there before! I've never even been into Plaza Mahkota!
Regardless, we ventured into the unknown and crossed the road to Plaza Mahkota to search for Nadeje. Call us crazy, but we need to get our Mille Crepe fix in Melaka, regardless the cost!
As I stepped into Plaza Mahkota, I was shocked to find that Plaza Mahkota is not a shopping mall per se, but rows of shops (credits to Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/LocationPhotos-g306997-d557917-Seri_Costa_Hotel_Resort-Melaka_Central_Melaka_District_Melaka_State.html).
This is a top-down view. Imagine being inside one of the rows - it's crazy to pinpoint the cake house! You will need to be extremely lucky to find it.
However, the gods were really smiling on us and after just wandering 2 rows, we found it!
(picture from http://ugwug.blogspot.sg/2007/06/marvelous-malacca-part-2.html)
Whew! Looks like it's our destiny to taste the cake.
To avoid our predicament, take note of this map so you'll have better luck than me:
For the people that are more more verbally inclined, cross the road from Dataran Pahlawan to Mahkota Parade. Then exit Mahkota Parade and proceed to Plaza Mahkota. It's located in one of the center streets, so don't go and scout the extreme ends. The formal address is:
G23-25, Jalan PM4, Plaza Mahkota
Fortunately, it wasn't crowded around tea time ( we got there about 4.30 pm). Service was also friendly. As I opened the door, a nice waiter greeted me and showed me to the seats. Another waiter handed the menus to us. He also taught us their unique ordering method - we don't actually order the mille crepe cake from him. We have to go and queue at the cake counter, choose the cakes we want from the ones available, and report the table number. Then the cakes will be delivered.
Hungry and tired from the walk, we decided quickly and I went to place my order at the counter. There was no line luckily.
I ordered the Cheese flavour, while my brother ordered Rum and Raisin. I was also tired, so I ordered some green tea to perk me up. My brother ordered a mocktail to go with his cake. As you can see, I was so excited when the cake arrived that I forgot to take pictures and immediately bit into it!
This has got to be one of the best flavours. I know Cheese flavour usually invokes stereotypical Emmenthal-salty-savoury type of flavour, however, the cheese used here is cream cheese, like Philadelphia. So the flavour is actually quite smooth and creamy, and sweet. And also the stereotypical taste of crepe is rubbery, pancakey, poh-piah type of texture. However, as you can see, the crepe here is very soft, just a light cut with fork is enough to cut it into bite sized pieces.
So imagine, putting into your mouth soft flavourful cake that is not quite cake, but is actually made of layers of crepe and soft sweet smooth cream... the complexity of the flavours is enough to send you on a high. After that first bite, you can't stop.. you'll keep eating and eating until you finish it.
Because it's that tasty, it's very tempting to get another cake. However, all that cream is very calorie-full so please exercise self-restrain (like I did).
Before I forget to mention, the cake is reasonable at MYR9. In comparison, our usual Secret Recipe cakes in Singapore already costs more than that...
My brother's Rum and Raisin was tasty too. The taste of rum wasn't that strong, which is a good thing since it's supposed to be a sweet dessert, so the emphasis is on the cream. If you see hard enough, you can spot speckles of raisins inside. As usual, Nadeje puts enough flavour in the cakes so you can actually distinguish the flavour. Not a bad choice if you want some alcohol in your cake.
Anyway, the next day in Melaka, I wanted Nadeje Mille Crepe again! I was able to get access to the internet at the hotel, and I realised that the branch at Dataran Pahlawan had shifted to Mahkota Parade. So instead of walking over to the same branch again, we walked to Mahkota Parade.
Here's the map to help you out. It's a stone's throw away from the old branch at Dataran Pahlawan.
However, there's a trick though. Read carefully so you won't end up like us! As you walk to Mahkota Parade, it is so tempting just to step into the welcoming entrance and into the shopping mall.
Nadeje is not IN the shopping mall. It's part of the shopping but not IN the shopping mall. Stupid us stepped into the mall and searched high and low for it. We eventually found our bearings from the information counter.
So remember, don't go into the mall, but skirt around the outside. It's just next to KFC. Credits to tayleechin as my photo was deleted on accident.
It was crowded here. We got here around 5 pm and there were only 2 empty tables of 2. The queue at the counter was long - with some people even buying full cakes, but still fast.
Although we were directed to our seats, the service here was lacking. I guess it's because of the crowd, and the waiters were too busy. The waiters didn't 'teach' us the method or ordering, and assumed we knew (and indeed we knew). We had to even ask him for our table number so we can order the cakes. because they were so busy scuttling around, we didn't feel any ordering any drinks, and went with plain water (provided free). I need to mention that Secret Recipe charges MYR0.50 for their water! Outrageous! Water should be free! Especially in Malaysia!
Anyway, this time, I had the Banana Chocolate, while my brother had the Cheese. He saw me enjoying it so much yesterday that he wanted to have a full cake for himself. Haha!
I'm not too sure how to describe it, but the cake was delicious, as usual. Note that the cream filling is really generous!
They really didn't scrimp on the ingredients. And each layer of crepe is actually chocolate-flavoured! You can spot bits of banana in the cream. So the combination is chocolate, banana and cream - all in a cake. The crepe style of presentation enhances the combination of the taste, separating the ingredients clearly visually yet mashing the flavour into a single taste in the mouth. Truly remarkable. Sadly, this would be the last slice of 2012... when will I go to Melaka again...
Verdict:
YAY! For MYR9 a slice, I admit it's expensive. For that price, you can actually order a main dish at Nancy's Kitchen or any of the Nonya restaurants. For MYR9, you can stuff youself with kuehs, nonya zang (dumplings), cendols, or even pineapple tarts!
However, the cakes here are really good. I've been a fan since 2011, and the quality is still good, the flavours are exciting (I have yet to try all), the portion is generous and the effort to make these cakes is remarkable. It's truly Melaka - if you try it in Singapore, it's twice the price and the slice is much smaller; the texture and flavour isn't even great.
I've heard stories of Mediacorp celebrities ordering these cakes specially for their parties! (This was how I heard of Nadeje). It's worth a try once in a while. If the Melakans love it that much, it has got to be good right? For once, you don't actually find tons of Singaporean tourists in Nadeje. ;)
The reason why I'm excited over this cake is that it used to be novel in Melaka - you can't find it in Singapore! Now the concept is more widespread and you can indeed enjoy a slice of this cake in Singapore, or even Kuala Lumpur. However, it's rather expensive in Singapore (the last I heard, a cafe in Sunset Way is selling it for SGD7.00 per slice, and for a small slice); the Kuala Lumpur version wasn't that tasty either.
What is about this Mille Crepe cake that I'm so excited about?
A picture speaks louder than words:
What! It's just a cake right? Nothing special...
However, if you look closely, it's not cake! If you are smart enough (which I would expect all readers of my blog to be), the name of this cake is Mille Crepe = Thousand Layer Crepe. If you look closely enough, you can see that it's made of up tons of crepe stacked together with cream in between. Imagine the amount of work to prepare this 'cake'! Every layer of crepe has to be painstakingly made to begin with, then the baker has to to stack every layer one by one, and apply the cream in between. It's a lot of work; and I admire the baker who has to put it so much effort to create this masterpiece.
As you eat it, you can really taste the effort of this masterpiece cake, that makes this cake so admirable. For so much work, the cake is quite worth its price, that's why on weekends, you'll get long queues of young people lining up for the cake outside the cafe.
Anyway, so where is it?
We used to visit the branch at Dahtaran Palawan, top level; but the top level is currently undergoing renovation, and we could not find it! Luckily, I remembered they had another branch (it's their HQ branch) at Plaza Mahkota, a 20 minute walk, but the problem is that I've never been there before! I've never even been into Plaza Mahkota!
Regardless, we ventured into the unknown and crossed the road to Plaza Mahkota to search for Nadeje. Call us crazy, but we need to get our Mille Crepe fix in Melaka, regardless the cost!
As I stepped into Plaza Mahkota, I was shocked to find that Plaza Mahkota is not a shopping mall per se, but rows of shops (credits to Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/LocationPhotos-g306997-d557917-Seri_Costa_Hotel_Resort-Melaka_Central_Melaka_District_Melaka_State.html).
This is a top-down view. Imagine being inside one of the rows - it's crazy to pinpoint the cake house! You will need to be extremely lucky to find it.
However, the gods were really smiling on us and after just wandering 2 rows, we found it!
(picture from http://ugwug.blogspot.sg/2007/06/marvelous-malacca-part-2.html)
Whew! Looks like it's our destiny to taste the cake.
To avoid our predicament, take note of this map so you'll have better luck than me:
For the people that are more more verbally inclined, cross the road from Dataran Pahlawan to Mahkota Parade. Then exit Mahkota Parade and proceed to Plaza Mahkota. It's located in one of the center streets, so don't go and scout the extreme ends. The formal address is:
G23-25, Jalan PM4, Plaza Mahkota
Fortunately, it wasn't crowded around tea time ( we got there about 4.30 pm). Service was also friendly. As I opened the door, a nice waiter greeted me and showed me to the seats. Another waiter handed the menus to us. He also taught us their unique ordering method - we don't actually order the mille crepe cake from him. We have to go and queue at the cake counter, choose the cakes we want from the ones available, and report the table number. Then the cakes will be delivered.
Hungry and tired from the walk, we decided quickly and I went to place my order at the counter. There was no line luckily.
I ordered the Cheese flavour, while my brother ordered Rum and Raisin. I was also tired, so I ordered some green tea to perk me up. My brother ordered a mocktail to go with his cake. As you can see, I was so excited when the cake arrived that I forgot to take pictures and immediately bit into it!
This has got to be one of the best flavours. I know Cheese flavour usually invokes stereotypical Emmenthal-salty-savoury type of flavour, however, the cheese used here is cream cheese, like Philadelphia. So the flavour is actually quite smooth and creamy, and sweet. And also the stereotypical taste of crepe is rubbery, pancakey, poh-piah type of texture. However, as you can see, the crepe here is very soft, just a light cut with fork is enough to cut it into bite sized pieces.
So imagine, putting into your mouth soft flavourful cake that is not quite cake, but is actually made of layers of crepe and soft sweet smooth cream... the complexity of the flavours is enough to send you on a high. After that first bite, you can't stop.. you'll keep eating and eating until you finish it.
Because it's that tasty, it's very tempting to get another cake. However, all that cream is very calorie-full so please exercise self-restrain (like I did).
Before I forget to mention, the cake is reasonable at MYR9. In comparison, our usual Secret Recipe cakes in Singapore already costs more than that...
My brother's Rum and Raisin was tasty too. The taste of rum wasn't that strong, which is a good thing since it's supposed to be a sweet dessert, so the emphasis is on the cream. If you see hard enough, you can spot speckles of raisins inside. As usual, Nadeje puts enough flavour in the cakes so you can actually distinguish the flavour. Not a bad choice if you want some alcohol in your cake.
Anyway, the next day in Melaka, I wanted Nadeje Mille Crepe again! I was able to get access to the internet at the hotel, and I realised that the branch at Dataran Pahlawan had shifted to Mahkota Parade. So instead of walking over to the same branch again, we walked to Mahkota Parade.
Here's the map to help you out. It's a stone's throw away from the old branch at Dataran Pahlawan.
However, there's a trick though. Read carefully so you won't end up like us! As you walk to Mahkota Parade, it is so tempting just to step into the welcoming entrance and into the shopping mall.
Nadeje is not IN the shopping mall. It's part of the shopping but not IN the shopping mall. Stupid us stepped into the mall and searched high and low for it. We eventually found our bearings from the information counter.
So remember, don't go into the mall, but skirt around the outside. It's just next to KFC. Credits to tayleechin as my photo was deleted on accident.
It was crowded here. We got here around 5 pm and there were only 2 empty tables of 2. The queue at the counter was long - with some people even buying full cakes, but still fast.
Although we were directed to our seats, the service here was lacking. I guess it's because of the crowd, and the waiters were too busy. The waiters didn't 'teach' us the method or ordering, and assumed we knew (and indeed we knew). We had to even ask him for our table number so we can order the cakes. because they were so busy scuttling around, we didn't feel any ordering any drinks, and went with plain water (provided free). I need to mention that Secret Recipe charges MYR0.50 for their water! Outrageous! Water should be free! Especially in Malaysia!
Anyway, this time, I had the Banana Chocolate, while my brother had the Cheese. He saw me enjoying it so much yesterday that he wanted to have a full cake for himself. Haha!
I'm not too sure how to describe it, but the cake was delicious, as usual. Note that the cream filling is really generous!
They really didn't scrimp on the ingredients. And each layer of crepe is actually chocolate-flavoured! You can spot bits of banana in the cream. So the combination is chocolate, banana and cream - all in a cake. The crepe style of presentation enhances the combination of the taste, separating the ingredients clearly visually yet mashing the flavour into a single taste in the mouth. Truly remarkable. Sadly, this would be the last slice of 2012... when will I go to Melaka again...
Verdict:
YAY! For MYR9 a slice, I admit it's expensive. For that price, you can actually order a main dish at Nancy's Kitchen or any of the Nonya restaurants. For MYR9, you can stuff youself with kuehs, nonya zang (dumplings), cendols, or even pineapple tarts!
However, the cakes here are really good. I've been a fan since 2011, and the quality is still good, the flavours are exciting (I have yet to try all), the portion is generous and the effort to make these cakes is remarkable. It's truly Melaka - if you try it in Singapore, it's twice the price and the slice is much smaller; the texture and flavour isn't even great.
I've heard stories of Mediacorp celebrities ordering these cakes specially for their parties! (This was how I heard of Nadeje). It's worth a try once in a while. If the Melakans love it that much, it has got to be good right? For once, you don't actually find tons of Singaporean tourists in Nadeje. ;)
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