Restoran Capitol Satay (Celup) - the One and Only

She said;

Melaka, a food heaven known for its “Chicken Rice Ball”, “Chendol Durian”, “Pineapple Tarts”, “Satay Celup” and many more. During my many previous trips to Melaka, Satay Celup ('Celup' is the Malay word that means dip or dunk) is the only indulgence that I never got to taste. Previous attempts when I arrived at the shop - it was either closed, or a very long queue has formed. The many ‘incredible comments’ online saying that Satay Celup is so tasty that you should not miss, made me crave for Satay Celup even more.

Finally I started craving for it again after hearing from a friend that recently visited Melaka. So my hubby and I dropped by Melaka just for Satay Celup.

We arrived Capitol Satay Celup before 5pm, the first thing we saw was the long queue outside the shop, and people in the restaurant savoring the Satay Celup; looking at the notice board and we realized the restaurant actually opens at 4pm daily; no wonder the long queue.

It was quite interesting that there were many notice boards where the restaurant owner declared that there are no other sisters, brothers and branches of Capitol Satay Celup, and the shop we went to is ‘The ONE and ONLY’.

NOTICE: "Please be informed that Capitol Satay DO NOT have any sisters, brothers or branches in Malacca or anywhere else. DON'T BE MISLED!". There are actually 2 MORE of these notices at the 2 front pillars of the shop (not in the picture)

After waiting for an hour plus, we were finally seated.

As we sat down, the shop assistant start preparing the satay sauce for dipping, smelled good!

There were quite a variety of satay sticks available; fish balls, tofu, prawns, kangkung etc, all were common food that we have in steamboat restaurant. I especially enjoyed the tiger prawns, scallops and abalone.

Now, if you were to ask me if I will revisit satay celup again since I craved so much for it?
I think my answer is ‘No’. I will not specifically go for it but I will not mind going with a group of friends if anyone were to suggest to go for Satay Celup.

If you ask me, "Why ‘No’?"
Hmm… now that I have tasted it, the ‘curiosity cat’ in me is satisfied.

If you ask me, Why the ‘curiosity cat’ did not have the urge to go back again?
I think the answer will be… Satay Celup is just any food that you can dip in satay sauce, and I do think to a certain extent that the satay sauce overwhelmed the natural taste of the food.

However, if anyone that has not tasted Satay Celup, I will encourage to you to try it at least one time, maybe you will like it. Whether or not you will like Satay Celup, it is personal preference, I do know some of my friends are devoted fan of Satay Celup.

He said;

I am not the type of person who will wait in line but I am willing to satisfy my partner. So that Saturday weekend (20 September 2014) we stop over at Melaka for the famous Capitol Satay Celup. Prior to going I had to do my 'research';

• Where is the shop?
  41, Lorong Bukit Cina, 75100 Melaka.
  GPS Coordinates: N2 11.710 E102 15.137


• What time does it open?
  4:00pm

While I am a person that does not like waiting (too long / in a queue) for food, I am willing to go early (before the shop opens). We arrived 4:45pm and noticed that there were customers already enjoying their satay celup and a long line has formed - The food blogs I 'researched' said the shop opens at 5.00pm - outdated! It now opens at 4.00pm.

Never mind, I was still in a good mood so we waited ... waited ... and waited till 5:49PM.

This single shop only had 10 tables of various sizes, and depending on your group size the shop assistant will sit you accordingly. Since it was only my partner and I, the shop assistant asked if we were willing to share the table with other patrons. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: if you are willing to share your table, you risked the chance of other double-dipping into the Satay Celup broth (e.g. dip to cook, take a bite, "oh ... not enough sauce", dip the stick back into broth again) .

Anyway, we shared the table with 3 other patrons. I took a few sticks from the fridge and each stick cost RM1.00. Some of the more premium ingredients like tiger prawn, abalone, scallop, and cutter fish were provided later by the shop assistants.

The first bite, I taste a 'burned taste' - this was due to the heavy satay gravy ingredients that is settling down at the base of the pot - getting burned. Subsequently (and periodically) the shop assistants came by to control the gas flames, add more satay gravy, and stir the whole pot vigorously. It was fine after that.

This is not the first time eating satay celup as I've been to another restaurant providing the same. Based on memory, that experience was better. Anyway, I had my taste of Capitol Satay Celup, on to the next indulgence.

Other Comments;
I posted some photos of the experience on Facebook and some of my friends (from Melaka) had this to say;

• Try the Satay Celup at Ong Kim Wee. We locals prefer there
• It's (Capitol Satay Celup) overated!
• Suggest you go to Ban Lee Xiang at Jalan Ong Kim Wee. Not so crowded and easy to find parking. And the boss is more customer friendly compared to Capitol. And it is open around 4pm or 4.30pm... 

Citrus Zinger Bottle (2.0)

During a walkabout after dinner I spotted that a local supermarket, Aeon (www.aeonmalaysia.com.my) has started selling bottles similar to the Citrus Zinger Bottle. There were two sizes available, 428ml which cost RM29.90 and another larger one, 628ml which cost RM39.90.

Mine was cheaper, 28 OZ (approx 828ML) for RM14.55 (find out how I got the best deal here). I looked around the bottle sold at Aeon and I could not find any information on where the bottles were made. Mine had imprints at the base of the bottle;

Citrus Zinger 28 oz. www.zinganything.com. 

Patent Pending - BPA and EA free - Made In Taiwan

Tips to improving the bottle (D.I.Y. style)
After using the bottle for some time now, I am quite satisfied with it and the added lemon flavour to my drinking water.

Then a friend suggested that after each drink of the lemon water, I should rinse my mouth with plain water. This was because the lemon can corrode my teeth (she claimed). Since I am not a doctor nor a dentist, I did the only logical thing - Google for the information. There were some articles and write-ups but nothing definitive.

I thought it was too much hassle to drink lemon water and then plain water each time. So what choice do I have now?

One option to reduce the effect is to drink through a STRAW.
Prior to my online purchase, I had seen citrus zinger bottles with straws fixed unto the top cap. I felt it was not necessary, and the fixed straw will obstruct me if I choose to drink from the unscrewed cap. 

Remember my walkabout earlier? well knew of a brand of bottle supplier called 'Bros' (www.bros.com.my) that sell a wide range of plastic drinking bottles that comes with colourful designs, various sizes and accessories. The best thing of that brand was they also sell replacement parts.

I found one pack of replacement straws for their 550ml and 750ml bottles which only cost RM7.90.

The Outcome
The Bros straws was the appropriate length for my bottle but due to the juicing apparatus, the straw could not go all the way down & was protruding on the top. No worries, the top portion is made of rubber which is bendable. Alternatively, you can snip/cut off the excess.

Another plus point is if I do not wish to use the straw anyone; since it is not fixed to the cap, I could just take it out, wash it and store it (for use at another time).

All in all another satisfied purchase and enhanced experience.

What other ways can you think of improving your experience? feel free to share in the comments below.

JAT’s Trick to getting the Best On-line Deals

In my first few posting I mentioned about items that I had purchased online (Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer and Citrus Zinger Bottle). In the past, when I was looking for stuff and appliances, I will go from one (physical) shop to another to compare prices, quality and have a feel of the product. The only things I was comfortable purchasing online were plane tickets and hotel reservations.

These days, I have grown accustom to purchasing various items online. There are so many online purchasing sites, deals, and (so called) group/bulk purchases. To name a few that I frequent;

• Groupon (www.groupon.my)
• Streetdeals (www.streetdeal.my)
• MyDeals (www.mydeal.com.my)
• Living Social (www.livingsocial.com)
• Lelong (www.lelong.com.my)
• Lazada (www.lazada.com.my)
• Qoo10 (www.qoo10.my)

Different sites offer different types of deals, some may focus on food, some on electronics and some are all-encompassing. Now with online purchases, one cannot physically check on the quality and have a feel of the product, however I still wish to make sure I get the ‘best’ deal.

Do I go from one online site to another to search and compare prices?
There is a trick that I use and it is an online site called bigsale.com.my. This site has a section called ‘Daily Deals’ that pulls information from numerous online sites (like the above) and consolidates them together to one single site.


If you are looking for something specific, you can enter your ‘Search’ name and then ‘Sort By’ price for example (click on the image to enlarge). Remember the slow juicer I purchased, I use this trick to search for it.

This trick allowed me to;

• Compare Prices of products matching the search.


• To see if the product is being sold on multiple online sites.


• If it is sold on multiple sites, is their ‘Value’ and ‘Savings’ the same? – this to be important (to me) because I have seen different sites selling the same product (identical brand & supplier) but their value and savings are different. This indirectly tells me that someone is lying.


• To find similar products but at a more economical cost.


• Compare other finer details like ‘delivery time’, ‘warranty periods’, and possible hidden charges/conditions (e.g. meal/food deals that only valid on non-public holidays – pay more (surcharge) if you wish to use it on public holidays).


• See how many OTHER people are comfortable buying that item or deal. It is not a hard-and-fast rule but my thought is if more people are purchasing it there is more likeliness I can find reviews about it online.

Once you're comfortable with the amount of information you have, click on that specific deal and it will direct you to the site offering it.

So there you have it. I hope this post has been helpful to you, and please feel free to share your thoughts on how you get the best deals online in the comments section below.

Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer

On 28 July 2014, I purchased my first slow juicer, a Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer by Zenergy Marketing. It was purchased online from Groupon (www.groupon.my) for RM399. There were many options and different brands available - ranging from RM300+ to as high as RM2000. This was my first attempt to juicing, so I thought I will not spend so much money first. However, if the frequency increases and a better appliance is called for, then I shall invest again in the future.

It arrived on 4 August 2014 with Skynet (www.skynet.com.my) local carrier courier service. The package was properly packed with layers of bubble wrap.  

I was rather excited hence I purchased apples, oranges and carrots to test our my new kitchen appliance.

Side view of the box where it explains how it works. Click on the image to enlarge the view.

DUAL-STAGE JUICING, Stage 1: Juice is extracted through the first crushing stage then squeezed during the second stage pressing stage; resulting in higher yields of juice and an extremely dry pulp. The secret is in the double-angled auger carefully crafted with precision engineering.

SEPARATION, Stage 2: The extracted pulp is then filtered through a metal gauze which only lets through the liquid. The fresh juice pours into the juice jug while the fiber into the pulp jar. 

Another side of the box where it shows the different components of the juicer. Click on the image to enlarge the view.

The un-boxing. Comes with an easy to follow Instruction Manual.

The different components that makes up the juicer. From right to left;
- Feeder Hopper
- Transparent pitchers for collecting the pulp & juice
- Cleaning brush
- Plunger
- Metal gauze
- Double-angled auger

Ingredients to be juiced, apples and carrots.

Apples juice.
At the base of the juicer are suction cups which holds unto the glass table so that it does not shake or vibrates too much during the juicing process.

Carrot juice.
There is a small tray on the top of the juicer (feeder hopper) with allows you to temporary place your cut pieces before inserting them into the feeder.

Juice is separated to the circular nozzle on the left side of the juicer while the pulp are directed to the right side rectangle nozzle.

The appliance comes with two pitchers / containers for collecting the pulp and juice but I thought it would be easier for measuring the volume of juice produced with a measuring cup.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with my recipes and improving my health with delicious juices.

Citrus Zinger Bottle

For detoxing purpose or just to spice up the bland taste of water, people have added lemon slices and other fruits into their drinking water.

In my pursue of getting healthy in an easy and simple manner, I came about the Citrus Zinger Bottle. This bottle allows for a halved cut fruit such as a lemon or orange to be inserted at the base of the bottle while juicing the fruit. Then the drinking water is inserted to the top portion of the bottle and you’re ready to go.


I came about this bottle while browsing online sales sites but finally I ordered the bottle from online site, Qoo10 Malaysia (www.qoo10.my). There appears to be many suppliers however the design is relatively the same. There was also an option of one with fixed straw. I did not wish to complicate matters (and to have more parts to wash) hence I decided on the default. It cost me RM14.55 per bottle and there was shipping charges of RM9.60 involved.

Delivery was very prompt as I ordered the bottles on 21 August 2014 and there were delivered on 25 August 2014.

Eager to try out the bottle I zipped to the nearest Aeon Big (www.aeonbig.com.my) to purchase some lemons. I am not sure if it is expensive or not – one lemon was priced at RM1.55. If you buy in a bag of 5, it will be RM7.50 (RM1.50 per lemon). There was an additional discount for Aeon Big Members, RM6.80 per bag of 5 – fortunately I am a member.

The outcome; the resulting water has a refreshing taste. When the water was finished, I just simply top it up again and there was still some lemon taste on the 2nd top up.

I’m satisfied with this purchase and now enjoying my lemon flavoured water.