Capitol Satay @ Lorong Bukit Cina, Melaka

(Day 1) 4th Stop – Restoran Capitol Satay

Some people say “satay celup” is a must-try in Melaka. And so I said, “Wohkay!”

Satay celup means skewers cooked in a pot of exotic peanut sauce. There are two famous satay celup restaurants in Melaka, one of them is Capitol, and another one is Ban Lee Siang. As my friends have been to Ban Lee Siang before, we decided to give Capitol a try since the shop has also garnered a lot of good reviews.

We have heard of stories about long queues outside of the restaurant, and we didn’t want to be caught in the queue for too long, hence we left Nadeje Mahkota Parade at around 4.55pm so that we could be at Capitol before 5.30pm. But you see, Capitol opens at 5.00pm, and my friend thought it opens at 5.30pm, so by the time we reached there, the restaurant was already packed with people and a long queue was already formed!  Boy oh boy were we frustrated and disappointed!

The queue at 5.15pm...

The queue at 6.00pm!

After waiting and whining for ONE hour, perspiring and wiping the sweat off our face every few seconds, we finally found a place to sit down.  Good thing was, our table was right next to the food area!

Each stick is charged at RM0.90.

Then, a pot of satay sauce left over by the previous patrons at our table was taken to the back of the kitchen to be refilled. Once the pot was brought back to the table, they added big scoops of spices and peanuts into the sauce to make it thicker, giving it a stronger aroma and flavor.

Adding all the extra spices and peanuts into the satay sauce

 

And let the dipping begin!

Here's a closer look at the skewers simmering with glory!

Our stomach could still survive the first few sticks, but after a while, we started struggling with the remaining food as we were extremely full by then. My friends started showing signs of withdrawal as they couldn’t take it anymore. They said the sauce was too thick and filling for them, and I noticed that we were constantly thirsty after the meal!

Then out of nowhere, they placed a giant prawn on our table, which seemed like a complementary stick for us. Why we got it? I had no idea, and I would like to have some answers too.

The legendary 'giant' prawn

Our total bill came up to about RM70++.

Verdict: Without giving a second thought, my friends unanimously agreed that Ban Lee Siang serves better satay sauce as the sauce is not as thick as the one served in Capitol. I haven’t been to Ban Lee Siang before, so I can’t comment much. For me, however, this will be my first and last experience of having satay celup - just to satisfy my curiosity as to why people willingly wait behind long queues to have this whenever they visit Melaka. The whole satay celup experience was like a steamboat buffet for me, except that the soup is substituted with satay sauce.

Capitol Satay

Add: 41, Lorong Bukit Cina, 75100 Melaka.

Tel: 06-2835508

......................To Be Continued..............