When visiting Melaka, this hotel is a rather strategic location seeing the main attraction and a must go would be the Jonker Street and how the hotel is just adjacent to the Joker Street. There is absolutely too much amazing and affordable food to go about in Melaka. But this time around, pamper yourself a little with some fancy mains here in Casa Del Rio. And to be super frank, the dishes wasn’t a bomb but the ambience, interior, and the whole river side view is simply something to die for to really enjoy a meal.The combination of Mediterranean design and the natural view of the river cruise make the meal even more admirably wonderful.
To begin with, there is this bread and cheese served with olive oil vinegar. It was pleasantly flavoured, just wasn’t too sure about the freshness and preservation with the bread and cheese.Then there is the Pan Grilled Butter Fish that is served with grilled vegetables, aged balsamic glaze. This is a Mediterranean style preparation of boneless fillet of butter fish served with the freshest vegetables available from the local farmers, dressed with aged Italian balsamic vinegar.Next is the Stuffed Roulade of chicken, with spinach, chestnuts, parmesan, sage, turkey ham, asparagus and jus gras, which I enjoyed a lot. Turkey ham gives the flavour and jus gras actually enhances the flavour of the dish. Of course with the parmesan, the aroma becomes even more delectable.Then don’t forget the Roast New Zealand lamb rack with white bean puree, confit tomato and salsa Verde. Not the best lamb I have had, but the use of salsa verde is great as I really enjoy the tangy mild salsa with tons of flavour when eaten with the lamb.And moving on to the favourite part of a meal for ladies, the dessert here is not too bad either. The best chocolate banana cake I’ve had. The banana cake is already filled with great banana flavour and aroma and nothings goes better with chocolate than bananas. Except that this time, replaced by banana cake instead of the real fruit.Pecan pie was great and not dulcified. Although the crust seemed to lack a little in flavour, but the filling did pull up the shortcoming so in all it was still good. Try some tangy sweetness of cheese and strawberry with their American Cheese Cake if cheese is your thing.While enjoying the meal, watch the sky and view changes and dimmed to see the lights glitters along the straits of Melaka when dining outdoor.Dining indoor isn’t too bad either, as the enjoyment stays with the good and impressively polite services from the staff as well as the amazing Mediterranean interior.When leaving, don’t forget to take a stroll around the boutique hotel for the view at night is also calmingly to die for. Not to mention how the melodious breeze would gentle brush you when the atmosphere and surrounding is also quite and placid at the same time.

It is hilarious when I texted Lina and said, “Lina, let’s go eat Melaka chicken rice ball”, and she thought that we are spontaneously heading to Melaka. Later to find out that I was actually referring to a chicken rice shop in Klang that sells the famous Melaka chicken rice ball. The shop is really new and is called the Pengkalan Rama Chicken Rice Ball. And if you don’t know, Pengkalan Rama is a place in Melaka town. It can be quite misleading when not elaborated clearly. Looking real clean and neat while offering indoor and outdoor dining experience, the shop is in a place where parking bay is not complicated or difficult.Their dishes are great in general. Starting with their Steam Taugeh, which is freshly juicy sweet with a simple yet at a perfect equilibrium of sesame oil, soy sauce and sprinkled onion and chili. Topped with some crispy fried shallots for that great aroma and fragrant, this is real tasty to go with the chicken rice.Also accompanying the beansprouts is the Steam Beancurd. This is a super simple and yet real delicious dish especially when it is served hot. I remember having this elsewhere and most of the time the cooks would normally prepare ahead prior to any orders so that they can serve the dish quick and fast upon being ordered. This one is still hot right to the core of the plump piece of tofu.Moving to the main dish of any chicken rice shop is the chicken dishes. Authentic chicken rice would serve steam chicken but suited and evolved to the demand of local palate, roasted chicken are also available in most chicken rice shop. Similarly, they also serve roasted chicken as alternative for those not in favourable to the steam chicken.On top of that, there is the chicken liver and gizzard for those liking it. There isn’t much catch with this dish because all liver and gizzard would taste the same. The difference would be their texture. Some would be hard and some chalky mushy. Depending on your flavour but mine is the later.Since I am not a meat lover, the chili sauce and the texture and fragrant of rice would determine if it is a good chicken rice meal. signature chicken rice chili is really tasty as they are briny delicious with chicken broth, ginger and garlic. The chili sauce here isn’t bad but is not all that great. I think it could use a little more garlic and ginger.As for the rice balls, it lack a little grain texture and like most chicken rice ball they are soft with palatable fragrant and aroma. It comes in generous sizes as well. I am already full by the time I reach the fourth ball.In general it was a good meal and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Japanese steamboat lovers alert! The Hokkaido sumo wrestlers hot pot called the Hokkai shio chanko nabe is a great hot pot to order at colder weather. Sweet as most usual Japanese steamboat, this one is luscious with the usual sweet vegetable and not forgetting their awesome thick salmon slices.Selling at RM27.90, it comes with a 200g portion of Udon noodle. Optional to that maybe the white rice serving at 180g which I don’t recommend because everything else already have so much rice in it.
Next is the Asari no ishiyaki soup which is lots of clams cooked in Japanese style broth selling at the price of RM 22.90. The clams were certainly not the best I’ve had and if you like fresh clams, stay away from this one. Not that it is bad, but they are not fantastically fresh with the wow factor. Palatable since the flavour of the soup still made up the flaw of this dish. Lets just say that this aren’t their forte.Of course when sharing, also try their potato pizza, which I thought was a brilliant cross of Japanese and Italian. It is called the Mentai potato pizza and is priced at RM 19.90 for a pizza topped with cod roe and potato. Potato pretty much goes well with almost everything, so together with the cod roe is no exception as well.And after the fusion style pizza, how can we skip the Japanese pizza? With super authentic name like Hiroshima okonomiyaki, the name already carry some sensational feature. I have not been to Hiroshima, so I cannot say how authentic this Hiroshima style okonomiyaki is. However, for R M18.90 this one is pretty bad considering the flour was pretty bland and the texture was a little mushy. The heavy bonita flakes kind of saves this dish but I still don’t recommend this.Another great dish for sharing is the Hotate butter yaki and the Kushiyaki moriawase. Starting with the Hotate butter yaki, these baked scallop with butter is the perfect fresh and savoury dish for hotate lovers. The thick aroma of butter brings out the natural flavour of scallop while giving the creamy grease for a more flavourful texture. Also served with the scallops are fresh mushrooms. Squeeze in some lemon to enhance the flavour while relishing the dish.If interested with meat, then the Kushiyaki moriawase at RM 19.90 would be the best dish to order. Reason being, they serve assorted skewers somewhat like a combo mix of all the other available skewers. There is the chicken tight, chicken gristle skewer, roasted beef and spring onion roll, beef and eringi mushroom, as well as the chicken wing skewer.The fried camembert cheese is one amazing sharing dish. Wedges of camembert cheese are breaded, deep fried and dipped in a sweet raspberry sauce. Best condiment for this is subjected to each restaurant and here in Watami, is the sweet raspberry sauce. Raspberry also tastes a little tangy so the creamy flavour from cheese would be very well complimented.

Plan b is already getting so much popularity amongst people who indulge themselves in great lifestyle and great ways to enjoy life. The layout and ambience of plan b is indeed relaxing and soothing, very amazingly complimented with the combination of colours, and the interior design to perfectly capture calmness when dining.

The food is somewhat palatable and the entire package of food and ambience is great with the entire perfect aura to capture audiences with gastronomy interests. In almost all restaurants or cafes, a great starter is always the Mushroom soup. Here in plan b, it is not any different and as a matter of fact, the thick texture of mushrooms did perk up the taste bud.For salads, the Soft-Shell Crab Salad is amazingly breath taking with those crunchy green apples, watercress, cucumber and harissa mayo at RM 20. Soft shell crabs have got heavier taste and flavours so those refreshing leaves compliments really well with those mild sweet flavour, as well as the crunchy texture from the apples. Not to forget how those green apples also carry slight sour flavour to the salad.When not intending to go for heavy meals, the pie would be a great choice at RM 22. Don’t think pies won’t be filling as the Moroccan Lamb Pie hits the palate with a profound Moroccan flavours. On top of that, lambs already have its distinct flavour. It is fragrant with cumin, fresh coriander and cracked pepper, served with a side salad. That makes this dish is substantially filling for a meal.Other ala carte menu that is commonly favourite choice of most dinners are the pasta choices of which the Carbonara spaghetti also presents some effort in the dish itself. It comes with turkey ham and sautéed mushrooms, tossed in classic creamy sauce, and served with grated cheese on top. It is a pity they are not too generous with the sauce.Round up the meal with the popular and tantalizing slice of cake at RM 11. Sweet tooth and dessert lover must not missed this for the Caramel Chocolate Banana cake is amazingly divine. I’ve already concluded my verdict for best combination of ingredient to be banana and chocolate. But this topped the combination with caramel. It’s amazing aroma and sticky thick flavour blends flawlessly with chocolate and banana. Some might find the cake dulcified, so I recommend the hot beverages to go with it.Don’t forget to go with some juice of hot beverage like the Cappuccino which sells at Rm 8. If not, then have some fresh watermelon juice at RM 10 which would be superbly perfect on a hot sunny day.But if long breakfasts is ideally your idea to catch up with friends and enjoy some relaxing time to get away from the usual rush hour, then go for the Plan B breakfast at RM 26. Served with two eggs of any style on toast with grilled turkey bacon, a golden hash brown, smoked chicken sausage, baked beans, sautéed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. It comes with fresh orange juice and a choice of coffee or tea.

There is quite an extensive range of sandwiches which is served with salad and wedges as sides. Starting with their only choice of soup on the menu, which is the Onion and cheddar, this is selling at RM 8. They use spanish onion so expect a lot of sweetness in the soup. Served with baguette slices, it makes a comforting starter.Follow by the Avocado Mixed Greens with Raspberry Vinaigrette. Salad lover would adore this Mesclun salad, sliced avocado, and toasted almonds with raspberry vinaigrette. Despite the name, there is very little avocado in it. For RM 13, this can be a great add on dish when sharing.The portion for all the sandwiches is pretty awesome with decent amount of wedges, and salad. My favourite of the day is this Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Sandwich. Selling at RM 19, there is a generous amount of my favourite Smoked salmon, capers, the flavourful chives cream cheese and lemon taragon mayo, on my favourite focaccia bread.I am obviously in love with this and I thought it was brilliant to have tossed little capers in it but I am quite disappointed with the focaccia bread. It was obviously thin and would be great if it can be more solid in texture. Moving to the Smoked Turkey Roll &Cheddar hot pressed Panini, this would blow your mind with the rich flavours from the turkey roll, as well as the thick cheddar. This one sells at RM15, and this is not only the attractive generous amount of smoked turkey toll that is exciting but the sauteed mushroom and cheddar plus infused oil on either wholemeal or white bread.I didn’t quite like the texture of the pressed wholemeal slices for a slow eater like me take a longer time to eat and by then, it gets hard when it cools.The Hoisin Chicken &Grilled zucchini did well with white bread and I do find this pleasant because the fillings in this are moist and juicy. Making the texture enjoyable at the price of RM16.Another choice is the Rotkraut Pastrami which sells at RM19. This one has beef salami, basil pesto, mozzarella and butter spread in either wholemeal or white bread.When dining in a big group, try their Nachos . With RM 12, there is round tortilla chips and melted cheddar with sliced black olives and japapeno slices with salsa roja.I like the Panini at this place as well as the choices of beverages available. On top of that, the space and the ambience are great to hang around with a bunch of great people. Cards and simple games are available for those interested in something more than just some good food.