Durian Drive

Not long after my run-in with COVID-19, KH organized a trip to his friend's durian orchard in Melaka. Both our mothers joined us, so it was an interesting bonding session. Located at Durian Tunggal, the orchard was pretty easy to get to as it wasn't far from the highway exit. The durian trees are planted sporadically, interspersed with other fruits like rambutan. More a retirement project than a commercial undertaking, there's plenty of flowers on the grounds too. Also spotted some bee houses, probably to aid in pollination. Freshly-gathered durians were collected at a shed, and we made our picks there. Well to be exact THEIR picks, I was just there to watch. 

Another interesting thing about the orchard was the three-storey homestay that was built on crest of the hill to tap into the ecotourism market. The top floor provided a great view of the surrounding terrain. Got a few lunch recommendations from the host, and we left for Melaka town. Once we had cleared the hundreds of traffic lights, we heaved a collective sigh of relief. The host recommended Beh Leh Hainam Satay, a place that specializes in grilled pork skewers. Couldn't have lunch there because the lunch crowd practically overflowed to the five-foot walkway, so looked for an alternative. 

A short distance away was Burghkin Coffee & Tea which had a great mango chicken rice bowl and decent coffee. Revisited the satay joint and we were overjoyed to find it pretty empty. From the entrance, one could see the workers toiling at the grill. Frankly, the pork and intestines satay underwhelmed me. The sauce was pretty unique though. No other stops for us because we had a dinner appointment later in the evening.