Baba Low’s @ Tranquerah — Restaurant in Malacca

I don't usually give out 1 star reviews. But for a KL-ite who usually frequents its competitor Baba Charlie, and for a supposedly established place (with branches in KL):

There was no clear sign whether we order at counter or at table. When I asked the foreign worker server he gave an indication that he will take orders from the table. I also heard a soft "duduk dulu" ("take a seat first"). He never came.

I went to the counter again after 5 minutes. Then I asked again, then only the same person said "order here". Ok, maybe I misheard and I was super hungry. Nevermind. I could forgive.

Cendol and laksa came after 15 minutes. It was not crowded. Only 1 or 2 tables still didn't have their food. Ok nevermind. Short of manpower, understandable. I could still forgive.

Laksa tastes a bit meh. It wasn't bad, but it was not good. Lacks oomph. Ok nevermind. I could still forgive.

Last straw. Cendol didn't have enough santan. Underneath was all plain ice. Ok nevermind maybe I like the kaw taste.

But the santan was.... sour! The santan is spoiled.

How can such an established place even be famous, I cannot understand.

The only saving grace is the ambience, full of trees in an outdoor setting. And at least the server was apologetic about being late.

I'll just stick with Baba Charlie next time I come to Malacca. They aren't exceptionally good, but they're good enough.

If you want cendol or other nyonya food in Malacca, I'll suggest anywhere else but here. You can come for the rustic ambience, but not...

Personally, I find that many people, including the KL ones do not fully understand the mechanics & culture of how the local food is operated, and how the outsiders made many places famous, like this one.

Many people nowadays just make judgement based on the mass-opinion theory that makes a place so-called 'famous'. You know, when 100 people (without knowledge on what good food taste like) say the place is good, then it suddenly becomes good. Or if it is being shared on social media over and over.

Baba Low has been around, serving the local scene for a long time, and offers decent hawker-priced deals. I've been eating here for more than 20 years, and seen this place grow from a humble shack to what it is today. Don't expect the best of everything here as its just different and more like a Baba coffee shop under the tree.

I still enjoy coming here before the rush hours to get my fix of a wetter version of Mee Siam, and Laksa. This place doesn't need so-called "food aficionados" to rip it apart. I know people are entitled to opinions, but again, the Internet somehow created a new breed of critics, which is sadly ruining the fun out of everything nowadays. So, it would be best to remain grateful and thankful that places like Baba Low...

The laksa was alright - expected it to be richer and more fragrant (lacks the coconut milk fragrance). The pie tie was pretty good, particularly the fried shallot (and the shallot oil) makes it really flavourful. However, the environment was pretty much like a kampong-style, so do note that there will be insects all around - the houseflies were particularly annoying.

Additionally, there was a little saga that happened: Originally, we ordered a barley drink and we found a dead spider in it. Went to inform their staff and requested to change the drink to Neslo instead (we are afraid the whole tub of barley drink was contaminated). The shop owner wanted to charge us extra, which was fair since iced Neslo was more expensive, but they demanded for a price higher than what was stated in their menu. We reasoned with him and he tried to justify there was a price change, but we ain’t buying that. Eventually, he relented and we paid the stated fee before leaving.

Pretty bad experience all in all and won’t...