Asam Pedas Melaka

I finally got a taste of the famous asam pedas Melaka at Hajjah Mona Asam Pedas. Yes the famous asam pedas which made Melaka famous or the other way round. Actually asam pedas is not foreign to me because I can cook asam pedas also and my arwah mom cook very good asam pedas only that I remember her calling it asam tumis instead. So yesterday after attending to some business in Seremban, I drove down to Melaka to see my wife who is there for 2 weeks attending a course and she took us to Taman Datuk Laksmana to have a try of the famous asam pedas at a popular place. We were given a plate of rice with cocumber slices and half portion salted egg. Then we can order the asam pedas and choose what type of fish. I chose ikan parang and my wife opted the tenggiri. Talking about salted eggs, I used to laugh at my Turkish friends for their watermelon and aubergine jam. I`m not sure of the spelling and too lazy to check but it`s jam terung lah. They laugh back at me for my ikan kering and telor masin and said when you can get the fresh ones why eat the rotten ones. Only scavengers do that. Anyway back to the asam pedas Melaka, actually they`re nothing. My arwah mom`s asam tumis is much better. My wife`s, mine and the warung Kak Ina downstairs is better also. They are not pedas enough and the taste is also not strong. Then why is it so famous? I have a few theories. I see half the customers are chinese. The chinese love the asam pedas Melaka. They probably are the ones making it famous. Theory 2 : The Melaka people are the heboh type. They have one small drum and can make very loud noise with it. Well, they do talk loudly. Theory3 : It must be someone from Perak who first wrote about how good the asam pedas Melaka is. I`ve been to Perak a few times and eaten at different places in Ipoh, Taiping, Kampar and also at the R&R Sungai Perak. The food looks good but tasteless. If I were to comment on Perak food, I`d say they lack salt, lack chilli, lack sourness, lack everything but looks. So asam pedas Melaka would be heaven for Perak people. I have an auntie from Perak and when she married my uncle two things I remember about her. I was still a child then in the 70`s. Low salt food and green decors. I think my first exposure to color matching for furniture is at her house. She`ve got green TV covers, green curtains etc. It`s beautiful compared to other homes where people just chose whatever they like and never bother about matching. Who would know about it in the 70`s anyway. So, these are the 3 theories on how Melaka became famous with it`s asam pedas or asam pedas is famous in Melaka. They also don`t have many varieties. I think the true authentic Melaka dishes are the Nyonya ones but they also doesn`t suits me. I still prefer the Negeri Sembilan dishes which is for me the best in Malaysia.