The Ranch Steak House at A'Farmosa Resort, Malacca

They are two restaurant in the Cowboy Town of A'Farmosa Resort, Malacca. One is the Chinese Food Restaurant called Huang Di Restaurant and the other called The Ranch Steak House (Western Food Restaurant). We choose the Western Food Restaurant because I LOVE Steak!

The Ranch Steak House of Cowboy Town, A'Farmosa Resort - Melaka

The ambience and atmosphere was Great when we stepped in the restaurant. Quite a  numbers of customers was there and the staffs were courteous. We like it very much!

The ambience & environment of the restaurant

The counter

The mezzanine session

Our table was exactly under this beautiful lighting...

We did our order immediately.
I got a Mushroom Soup for my daughter, my wife ordered the Grilled Chicken Chop and I had a Sirloin Steak.

The Grilled Chicken Chop with Broccoli, mash potato and corn. (MYR25.00)

The Sirloin Steak with Broccoli, Mash Potato & corn. (MYR38.00)

We were UTTERLY disappointed with the foods of this restaurant! The Chicken Chop was Tasteless if without the sauce, the Sirloin Steak also Tasteless except the sauce!! The Mushroom soup of my daughter was below average! My friend told me the reason was because of the frozen chicken & sirloin! That's make it Tasteless! Honestly, the food they serve was not justified with the Cost they charge! Frankly speaking, I don't mind to pay more for a GOOD food.
I will never come back again and will advise my friends to avoid this restaurant!

The damage was almost MYR90.00 for 2 adults and one child. (Included drinks)

Environment rated : 4/5

Food rated : 2/5

Even the nice environment inside the restaurant, doesn't mean the customers have to suffer from the bad quality and pricey food! Please improve the standard of the food and achieve a Good Image of Malacca for the Malaysia Tourism. Otherwise, the tourist will definitely pissed of by the food!

Poland -- Women's lives and history in Bialystok Jewish Cemetery

 Tombstone of Esther, daughter of R. Alperik,  in the Bialystok cemetery. The epitaph (trans. by Heidi M.Szpek) reads: "Here lies a proper, God-fearing and upright woman, [in] secrecy she performed her many righteous deeds. Our beloved and precious mother, Esther daughter of R. Aperdik. She died Tuesday 11th Tishri 5669. May her soul be bound in the bond of everlasting life. [In Russian] Estera Wolkomirskaya.. She died 24 October 1908." Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Just in time for Purim (which falls this year on Feb. 28), the scholar Heidi M. Szpek has published another fascinating article in the online Jewish Magazine on the Jewish cemetery in Bialystok.  It focuses on the women named Esther whose tombstones are found there, and what we can learn about their lives from the epitaphs and carvings.

She was important, upright, modest, and extraordinary in the performance of good deeds. She was kindhearted, pleasant, precious, and God-fearing. She was a girl, a young woman, not yet a mother, a mother, and an elderly woman. She was a martyr, a Rabbi's wife, the descendant of a prominent rabbinic lineage, the crown of her children's head, and an Eshet Hayil – a "woman of valor". Such are the virtues and character of not one Esther but of the 38 women named Esther as remembered in the extant Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian and Polish inscriptions on the Jewish tombstones in the Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery in Bialystok, Poland.

Of the over 2000 extant inscriptions, nearly half remember women (including girls). Among these women, the name Esther is rivaled only by that of Chayya and Sarah. Each time I translate the inscription of an Esther I contemplate whether Bialystok's Esthers emulate their namesake, the biblical Esther, or the rich legends of Esther preserved in rabbinic literature. ( Read full article in the online Jewish Magazine. )

 Szpek is a Professor of Religious Studies and Philosophy at Central Washington University (Ellensburg, Washington) who is currently writing a book on the Jewish epitaphs from Bialystok (I linked to another of her articles HERE). She has worked with Tomasz Wisniewski (who has posted photos and translations of the epitaphs on Bialystok Jewish tombstones on his web site www.bagnowka.com)

In her Esther article, Szpek illustrates how the imagery and inscriptions tell how women died in childbirth, or how young girls died before marriage. (For more on imagery on Jewish women's tombstones see my (Candle)sticks on Stone project.) But she also notes that women in 19th and early 20th century Bialystok fulfilled roles that went far beyond the home life of wife, mother, sister and daughter:

 Women were also nurses, social workers, administrators for Linas Hatzedek, which gave aid to the poor and sick, and for the Bialystok Relief Society. Women were students and teachers; they served in the administration of the Bialystoker Youth Society, one organized and served as 'mother' of the Bialystoker Orphans. Women were youth athletes, founders of the Maccabi Sport Club, and actresses in the Habimah Players. Women were needleworkers at the "Ort" workshops in Bialystok, active Zionists in Poale Zion and embraced the socialist ideals of the Bundists. They sat on strike committees as early as 1901, and continued to march against unfair labor practices in the 1930s. Women managed their late husbands' estates, served as leaders in the Bund, even dying in the tragic Sabbath Nahamu in July 1905 when the Tsarist Army rose up against the protesting Jewish Bundist workers.

Read full article in the online Jewish Magazine

Purim is Judaism's most joyful holiday, and Esther, of course, is its heroine. The Jewish bride of the ancient Persian King Ahasuerus, she (with her uncle Mordechai) foiled the plans of Ahasuerus' wicked advisor Haman to to annihiate the Jewish people. The story is told in the biblical book of Esther. The  scroll -- the Megillah of Esther -- is often kept in a decorative contained and is read out in the synagogue, in full, on the holiday (giving rise to the Jewish expression "the whole megillah" meaning a long and detailed account, i.e. chapter and verse.)

Another Esther figures in Polish legend -- in the 14th century King Kazimierz the Great was believed to have a Jewish mistress named Esther (or Esterka). There is an Esterka street in Krakow's old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, and her name is associated with castles and other sites.

Europe -- New Project to Digitize Jewish Cultural Collections

Photos at Jewish Museum, Florence. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

Judaica Europea has just been launched -- it's a 3 million euro project aimed at providing internet access to items Jewish cultural interest in the collections of leading cultural institutions across the continent. It forms part of Europeana, a broader EC project to digitize Europe's cultural resources.

Judaica Europeana will work with European cultural institutions to identify content documenting the Jewish contribution to the cities of Europe.

It will digitize 10,500 photos, 1,500 postcards and 7,150 recordings as well as several million pages from books, newspapers, archives and press clippings. The digitized content will be available at Europeana.eu.

The target audiences are university teachers and students, schools, cultural heritage professionals, cultural tourists and the general public: "anyone interested in the history of European cities or Jewish culture."

The ambitious two-year project was announced this past week, with the launch of its web site. Partly funded by a 1.5 million euro  grant from the European Commission, it will initially involve ten institutions across Europe under the leadership of  the London-based European Association for Jewish Culture and the Judaica Collection of the Goethe University Library in Frankfurt.

Other partners include:
Alliance Israélite Universelle, Paris
Amitié, Centre for Research and Innovation, Bologna
British Library, London
Hungarian Jewish Archives, Budapest
Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw
The Jewish Museum of Greece, Athens
The Jewish Museum London
Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Rome

Judaica Europeana will begin by digitizing millions of pages and thousands of other items selected from the collections of its partner libraries, archives and museums. The next stage will be to aggregate other digital collections on Jews in European cities — wherever they may be.

"Jewish culture has been predominantly text-based; it will be a particular challenge for us to bring in as much audio-visual material as possible," said Lena Stanley-Clamp, the project’s manager and director of the European Association for Jewish Culture.

The Cowboy Town at A'Farmosa Resort, Malacca

Cowboy Town (N2 26.704 E102 12.485) is located inside the A'Farmosa Resort (N2 26.604 E102 12.605) at Malacca.
We reached there around 5.30pm (during the Christmas Season), and we have to wait till 5.45pm to get the ticket. The ticket cost MYR45.00 for adult and MYR40.00 for children (Included the 4D Theater Show). Usually the ticket will be slightly cheaper if it's not the school holiday season.

The visitors are getting more and more when the time almost 6pm. The ticket seller was friendly and even make a good schedule for us to enjoy the entertainment in the Cowboy Town.

Main Entrance of The Cowboy Town

We had a walked around the area, and it was not very big. We finished touring the Cowboy Town in less than 30 minutes. There were 2 restaurants, Disco & Pub, Bowling Center, Thai Traditional Massage Center, Cafe and Shopping Village.

 This building stated : Saloon, but it was actually the Shopping Village.

The whole Cowboy Town was well decorated during the Christmas season. Christmas carols was play at every corner...nice atmosphere.

The ONLY Street in The Cowboy Town

 The Disco and Pub

The Bowling Center

The Shopping Village

The Cowboy Show and the 4D Theater entrance was at the back of this Shopping Village.

The Cafe is located at the left from the main entrance. We didn't go in there, so no comment on it.

 The path to the Cafe

The 4D Show was the first entertainment for us. The show started on 6.45pm, it was almost same as the Motion Master at Genting Highlands. The chairs were shaking at every second, water sprayed on your face, something poke behind your body and wind blew from your legs! The show last for 15 minutes.

We went for our dinner at The Ranch Steak House Western Restaurant later...

It was dark after our dinner, I snap some photos about the area...it was beautiful with the lighting!

The Admin Office

The street...

The Fun Fair area...

Too bad the Santa House was close during our visit...

The Pub area after the night fall...

The entertainment area was Empty at all for that night. There was nobody at the dance floor area even late at night about 11pm. The waitress seems like drinking among themself without any customer...

Beside the Pub, there was a small house decorated with all the Santa Claus and beautiful lighting...we were curiously went in to look for surprises...

Actually there's nothing in there beside all the Christmas Decoration. I think this area is for visitor to snap some photos...

This small house was nice with the decoration.

We were walking around the area untill midnight and drove back to the hotel at Malacca town.
I will blog about our 'Dinner' and the 'Cowboy Show' in the next post...

The street outside the Cowboy Town decorated with the nice lighting on the tree...

Map location of The Cowboy Town of A'Farmosa Resort

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Donald and Lily's Corner at Malacca

Donald & Lily's Corner is located in the alley behind Hereen Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) (N2 11.662 E102 14.812). The special of this cafe is the main entrance located at the back alley, it's actually the back door of the building. 
Opposite of the cafe, there is a public parking lot for Jonker Street Malacca. If you happen to be there, it easy to spotted this Yellow building in front of you.

Donald & Lily's Corner (Cafe)

Another unique part of the cafe is the entrance...you need to climb a little to reach the dining area.

The staircase at the entrance

Donald & Lily's Cafe is close on every Monday. The business hour is from 9.30am to 4pm. They provide some special dishes from Tuesday to Sunday every week, it's all on the board below...

Let's look around of the environment...
Basically, it's some kind of comfort and cozy. I can see the owner did put some effort on the decoration.

 The decoration around the cafe...

The design seems like not related to Peranakan or Nyonya Baba

But somehow, nice Christmas atmosphere...

We ordered some food at the cafe, and what they have at that moment was only Mee-siam special and we choose the Melaka Cendol for drink.

The Special Mee-siam of Donald & Lily's Cafe

The mee-siam was average, and I felt the special in it. But we were disappointed with the Cendol! It was just a normal cendol and I surprised they still sell it within the 'Baba Cendol' territory! Or maybe they not even know what is 'Baba Cendol'?!
It's alright, the cost of the meal was reasonable.

Rated : 2.8/5

The only reason I be able to tell is the customers were attracted by the setting of the cafe, that's included me. I believe it's not because of the food.

Lighting Decoration of Donald & Lily's Corner

Location map of Donald & Lily's Corner

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MY TRIPS - Home

Experience The Baba House at Hereen Street, Malacca

I did blog about it sometime ago, you can check out the link here. This time, we had a night stay at the Hotel. We got a room with one King size bed, that cost about MYR160.00 (with window) during the peak season.

The Baba House at Hereen Street (Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lock)

I noticed the hotel had expand from 2 units of the heritage building to 4 units. And the Lobby area also change from the ex-building to new area. My last visit was about 2 years ago...you can compare the area within this post and the previous post.

The new lobby of the hotel

The new lobby was much better, cause of the Air-Con and looks much cleaner. Let me walk with you in this virtual tour within the hotel...
You can see the different obviously from the old and new renovation. (Photos below...)

The corridor to the guest room (new)

The Unique Peranakan design on the old building

They made the 'airwell' on every units became a nice small garden

I had a walked around all the building, felts like a puzzle to me at some corner! I lost my direction twice and it was fun! Haha!

Decoration on the wall

There are more antiques and unique design along the ground floor. I did capture some of them photos as below...

This small hall has about 3-4 set of table and chairs, all are different design and generation

You will see this common spiral staircase in each unit

I love this cabinet IN the wall...

Photos of the Baba-Nyonya, the ancestors.

One of my favorite place for tea break...

And now, please visit the guest room.

The King bed

Do you noticed the small decorated window on the wall? It's between the bed and the bathroom, I cannot figure out the purpose of it! Maybe it's just a design...

The bath room. Not really big....and the stain on the mosaics...

Our room was the Last room in the row, there was a small balcony outside the room which I find it very relax and nice having my Tiger beer during midnight...

The balcony beside our room

Do you noticed the CHAIR had change? I also wonder in the next morning....anyway, we didn't heard anything during the night....

The hotel has a private vehicle parking at the backyard, I like the way they manage it because the guard will lock the gate after midnight for security purpose.

Behind the hotel and the parking area

Opposite the hotel, there is the Eng Choon Association which was belong to the family of Tan Beng Swee and Tan Kim Seng. I will share the photos in my next post. And on the right, I found The Bamboo Pub & Bistro which is a nice place to drink...full of bamboo!

The Bamboo Pub & Bistro

Overall, I'm comfort with this hotel and we will come back for sure! Please click here for more information of The Baba House at Hereen Street, Melaka.

The location map of Baba House, Malacca.

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MY TRIPS - Home