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Published: March 26th 2014
HE SAID... We woke early and headed down for what I thought would be a light breakfast at our KL hotel. However, the scrambled egg, hash browns, milk–boiled corn and noodles were too much of a temptation, and we had a long bus trip to
Melaka ahead.
We checked out of Ancasa Express and jumped on a public bus to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (a monumental bus station on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur’s city centre). We stocked up on a few snacks (including bbq Curry Dude twisties) and boarded a more comfortable public bus to Melaka at 10am. I love bus and train travel, as it’s an ideal time to catch up on travel notes. We arrived in Melaka at midday, jumped into a minibus and headed straight to our accommodation – the Hash House Hotel. We checked in, dropped our bags and headed out for an orientation walk. We climbed up to St Paul’s Church and wandered through the ruins, serenaded by a busker who had set up on the crumbling brickwork inside the old church itself. Good acoustics; bad taste! Maybe regulated tourism is a good thing after all. Ren picked up a print of St Francis Xavier
from a likable young guy who fed the street cats around the ruins (he saw Ren coming) before making our way back down into town and heading straight to Jonker Street for lunch.
We ended up at Restoran Famosa, which is apparently renowned for its chicken rice balls. They were fantastic, as was the roast chicken, roast duck, wanton dumpling soup and green vegetables. The cold Tiger beer was also very welcome, as the early afternoon sun was intense. We finished lunch at 3pm and wandered slowly around Jonker Street, sampling ice shavings, durian balls and pineapple pastries, the last of which we picked up from a tiny bakery called Pooh Keon.
As we explored the side streets off Jonker Street, we stumbled upon Masjid Kampung Kling Mosque. We donned suitable attire and ambled around the mosque, welcomed by an extremely friendly and cheery mosque keeper. Ren looked fabulous in full hijab, and my flowing purple robe was fetching. We started back to the hotel, as the afternoon rain had settled in, but we were distracted by a dragon boat race on the way. We settled at a riverside cafe and sipped
teh tarik (pulled sweet milky tea)
under cover while the slightly chaotic dragon boat races played out in front of us. We eventually arrived back at the hotel around 5.30pm. We showered, freshened up and headed out for a traditional Malay meal at 7pm.
We settled at a small Muslim eatery in the Medan Selera Newton, a narrow undercover market. We ordered
asam pedas ikan (sour and spicy fish), fried catfish, pork knuckle soup, wok fried vegetables, salted egg, rice and condiments –
sambal belacan (chilli paste with shrimp paste) and
cincalok (baby shrimp and chilli paste). The spicy fish was exceptionally good, as was the fried catfish. Alcohol was obviously not available, so I settled for an iced tea. The pork bone soup didn’t seem to fit the halal focus, but it was OK.
We finished our meal at 8pm and walked to a small shop–front house to sample
onde onde (pandan sticky rice flour balls filled with palm sugar and coated in coconut). The old woman who lived in the shop–front house was fantastic – she went by the name of Cinderella and let us make our own sticky rice concoctions, even though she had closed for the night.
Onde onde has an
unusual texture but a great flavour. We packed our green dessert balls into a small plastic bag and walked back to the hotel. After another great travel day, it was time to sleep. We retired early at 9.30pm.
After an easy and late morning, we headed out for breakfast at Restoran Melaka Raya at 8.15am, which was just around the corner from our hotel. We started with chicken
mee goreng (fried noodles) and then moved to
roti (flat flaky Indian bread) – plain, egg and fried banana – with dhal sauce. I had a couple of
teh tariks and Ren had a couple of
teh tarik halias (pulled sweet milky tea with ginger). A perfect start to the day!
We then headed out on a trishaw tour of Melaka, where an old guy pedalled us around the flat Melakan streets in a gaudily decorated three wheel bike. The decorations included dinosaurs and barbie dolls, and the seat covers were covered with currency notes. We visited an old bridge (where we were shown a melaka tree) and two temples (Siang Lin Shi Temple and Cheng Hoon Teng Temple). Our guide (Kamal) was a retired naval sailor, and he was
very entertaining. At the end of the tour we dropped into a local cafe (Heng Huat Coffee Shop) for exceptionally good hot coffee in a tall Guinness glass,
kaya (coconut and egg jam) on toast (oozing with butter), and soft boiled egg with soy sauce and white pepper. This was meant to be a snack, but it was virtually a meal in itself. We walked to an air–conditioned shopping centre in the newer part of Melaka to find an ATM, and then walked back to the hotel.
We headed back out at 2pm to Restoran Nyonya Nancy’s Kitchen for a cooking class. Nancy showed us how to cook three dishes –
ayam buah keras (chicken candlenut),
ayam pongteh (chicken with bean paste) and
ikan lemak nenas (fish fillet with coconut milk and pineapple). I thought our dishes tasted better than Nancy’s, but Nancy disagreed. She felt our chicken candlenut didn’t have enough sugar, our chicken with bean paste was too runny and had too much oil, and our fish fillet with coconut milk was overcooked. What would Nancy know!!!!
We carried our meals into a room with a large round table with an impressive lazy susan (which we
placed our dishes on) and settled in to a mid–afternoon feast. Nancy supplied us with rice, stir fried
kangkung (water spinach/morning glory) and iced lime juice. Not being acclimatised to eating this amount of food in the middle of the afternoon, we ended up feeling very full. We slowly made our way back to the hotel to relax from a warm and food–filled day.
Dinner was out of the question, so we kicked back in the Hash House Hotel bar for a few drinks before bed. Drink choice was minimal – the bar had beer, whiskey and gin. They did have Australian wine, but it was RM130 a bottle (AUD45), so we opted for beer and whiskey.
SHE SAID... From the urban cityscape of Kuala Lumpur we travelled by bus to the old–world streets of
Melaka City, the capital of the small state of Melaka. We’d had another morning of waking up at 3am, then 4am, and by 5am we gave up and got up to pack and write notes. We walked down to Ancasa Express Hotel’s breakfast room, but I didn’t have breakfast as I was still full from dinner. But I fortified myself with
many cups of tea.
At 8:30am we walked down to the main street outside out hotel and caught a local bus to the Bersepadu Selatan Bus Station. The bus station was bigger and flashier than Hobart Airport! We bought chips and biscuits for the trip – I tried Twisties ‘bbq Curry Dude!’ and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The 10am bus to Melaka was half empty, so we all spread out and enjoyed reading, writing notes and staring out of the window for the two hour ride along a very well maintained road.
It was overcast and grey and the view was equally bleak to the distant blue hills. Unsurprisingly, it was full of palm plantations as far as the eye could see. This was broken up with the occasional rubber plantation. It was both sad and inspiring to see the odd lone tree that had survived the unforgiving cull, standing firm. Strangely, the highways had very little roadside life (as in other Asian countries). I spied the occasional
kampung (traditional Malay villages) far off in the distance, but that was it.
We arrived in Melaka at midday and caught a minibus
to our hotel – the Hash House Hotel. The hotel was housed in a beautiful old terrace building, however the inside of the hotel was very cramped, and the rooms were no more than shoe box sized.
This is our second visit to Melaka. Our first was a day trip in 2007 with my brother and sister–in–law when they lived in KL. We weren’t hugely impressed with Melaka that time, but we put it down to jet lag and bad planning on our part. I’ve since read a bit about the place and I’m determined to get to know it better in the two days we’ll be spending here this time.
Malaysia’s small city state of Melaka was once the most important trading port in South East Asia. Given its prime position on the Straits of Melaka, it was a vital trading route between the Indian and Pacific oceans. So here’s a brief history to explain the influences that shaped the identity, look and taste of Melaka...which used to be known as the ‘Emporium of the East’. In the 14th century Indian merchant ships arrived with pepper and cloth, and Chinese junks arrived with silk and porcelain, returning
with Malayan spices and metal. In the 15th century there was an influx of Chinese settlers who mixed with locals, creating the Peranakan (nonya) / Straits born Chinese population. In the 16th century the Portuguese colonised the city. Melaka’s prolonged prosperity continued to make it a target, and 150 years later the Dutch took over Melaka in an attempt to control the spice trade route. By the 18th century the English and the East India Company controlled Melaka. However, by this stage Singapore and Penang had surpassed it in power and Melaka ceased being a crucial trade hub. And thus began its decline.
History lessons involving conflict and colonial masters make me unsettled and tense. However, good things can result from these situations, including better food and more interesting architecture. So I was very eager to explore the Peranakan (a mix of Hokkien Chinese and Malay) and Cristang (a mix of Portuguese and Malay) fusion cultures here. The way to our hearts is most definitely through our stomachs, and one of the first reviews I read of Melaka started with: ‘have Chinese dim sum for breakfast, nonya cuisine for lunch and Pakistani favourites for dinner’.
I’d wanted to
get a hotel in the old quarter. However, now that we’re here, I’m really glad we were on PM 7 Street in the Mahkota Melaka area, as it has gorgeous terraced buildings that have been well restored, and quite wide streets that create a sense of openness. It is also near the demarcation between the old and new towns of Melaka.
Aldrin took us on an orientation walk of the old town, with a few brief history lessons thrown in. We visited the cultural and religious monuments around town, including the Stadthuys, Porta de Santiago / A’ Famosa Fort, St Paul’s Church and the famous statue of St Francis Xavier. We then walked down the main streets of Chinatown – Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat), Heeren Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) and Harmony Street (Jalan Tokong).
We had lunch at Restoran Famosa on Jalan Hang Kasturi, just off Jonker Street. They specialise in chicken rice balls, and they tasted much better than they looked and very much exceeded all expectations. We also ordered roast duck, roast chicken,
choy sum (Chinese flowering cabbage), wonton soup; and I drank a very refreshing fresh lime juice and Andrew had Tiger
beer. Apparently I am unable to grasp the concept of ‘too many chicken rice balls’! I will definitely be seeking them out again.
We stopped at a ‘fruit floss’ place for dessert, where a block of flavoured ice (I had green tea) is shredded and topped with red beans or toppings of your choice. Alice happened to jokingly say ‘yum’ to a picture of deep fried pastry with durian filling, so Aldrin decided that we may take more kindly to this version of durian and bought us some. The verdict remained the same, but because we felt we knew Aldrin a bit better now, the faces we pulled and proclamations we uttered weren’t as polite as when we ate durian on the first night. No doubt Aldrin will keep trying to convert us to durian!
The Chinatown here was smoke free! It’s not 100% adhered to, but we noticed a big difference compared to other parts of town. A step in the right direction I think, especially given smoking etiquette isn’t high on the list of customs in Malaysia.
Melaka gained UNESCO World Heritage site status in 2008, and therefore heritage conservation has become a gainful venture
for many people. However, it was very apparent that there are different definitions and principles of conservation being applied here. Some of the restoration was very gaudy and bordering on kitsch, but there were also some charming examples of conservation.
In trying to re–create the comforts of known architecture and food from ‘back home’ in India, China, Portugal, Netherlands and England, the early colonisers and immigrants had created something unique to Melaka – so unique that sometimes it felt like a caricature of itself in parts. But somehow it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Melaka had its pretty areas, but I didn’t find it as charming as I should have. It seemed to be trying too hard, and the tourist crap we had to wade through (that usually accompanies hordes of tourists) made me take a step back.
As touristy as Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat) was, I loved its atmosphere. The shops sell everything from fruit to fridges, with eye catching red lanterns lining the street and the delicious spicy aroma of street food hanging thick in the air. It’s one of those places my tummy and camera loved. We stopped at many bakeries and food
shops and checked out their unusual goodies. One shop had a crowd gathered around it, and it turned out the staff were giving out tastings of pineapple tarts, a speciality of Melaka. We sampled some and Aldrin bought a whole box for us to share. The short pastry is much drier that we are used to, but it had a lovely buttery taste. However, the pineapple filling was hard and stringy.
Heeren Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) is a small road packed with Peranakan mansions. The forlorn peeling paint and water stained walls adds to its charming old world feel. However, when we peeked inside the few dwellings that were still open, they looked to be in their prime – splashes of red painted walls, ancestor altars with swirling incense and rooms heavy with antiques.
Terraces of shop houses have always fascinated me. I first saw them up close in Old Phuket Town and then in Singapore. They are exactly as their name states – a retail shop downstairs and a house upstairs. They normally have a long narrow room that opens to the street, with a kitchen in the back and living quarters upstairs. While most
of the more architecturally valuable shop houses have now been converted into cafes, galleries, museums and even hotels, there are still fully functional shop houses in the old town here.
Harmony Street (Jalan Tokong) is named thus because of its collection of mosques and temples (Hindu and Buddhist). Andrew, Brian and I wandered into the small Kampung Kling Mosque and we were greeted by a very friendly mosque keeper handing out robes to cover our legs and shoulders. I also got a lovely headscarf...it was really really hot under all that polyester! The robes made the boys look like choir boys, and with all the giggling going on I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have to the architecture. Plus I was trying not to think about the communal headscarf that was on my head and neck.
We walked back to the hotel in pouring rain, sheltering at Halia Cafe on the way to get a
teh tarik and watch the dragon boat races on Sungai Melaka. We rested for the rest of the afternoon and tried to muster up an appetite for dinner.
We walked to Newton Medan Selara for a hawker meal, eating
at the last stall on the left hand side, and the main dish of
asam pedas ikan (hot and sour fish) was absolutely delicious. We also ordered fried catfish, pork knuckle soup, stir fried mixed vegetables and rice with a salted egg. The condiments included the usual
sambal belacan (chilli sauce with shrimp paste) and a new dish for us –
cincalok (chopped up baby shrimp with fresh chilli). We devoured everything apart from the pork knuckle soup and the salted eggs, which were way too salty and smelly for me.
We walked back to Jalan Hang Katsuri in Chinatown for dessert. Aldrin took us to a small shop that specialised in
onde onde (balls of rice flour flavoured with pandan and filled with palm sugar). The old lady was nearly shut for the night, but Aldrin persuaded her to show us how to make the balls, boil them and then roll them in coconut. It was the only late night cooking class I’ve ever done. We had our fill of
onde onde and walked back to our hotel happily tired but a little high on all the palm sugar. We were in bed by 10pm, but it felt
much much later.
The next morning we woke at 6am, which to–date has been our latest sleep–in. We walked around the corner for breakfast at Restoran Melaka Raya, our local
mamak (Indian Muslim) eatery. We shared a table’s worth of
roti canai (both plain and egg filled) with curry sauce and dahl sauce, banana
roti,
mee goreng mamak (fried noodles in an Indian style),
thosai (thin crispy fermented rice flour pancakes) with dahl sauce, and many cups of
teh tarik.
We then did the quintessential ‘look at me I’m a tourist’ thing and took a fascinating trishaw ride tour through the town. The trishaws in Melaka are purely tourist–related and they are decorated in garlands of the brightest yellow or pink plastic flowers, soft toys and tinsel (our trishaws had hello kitty, barbie dolls and a plastic dinosaur decorating it). At night they are neon lit and some even have very loud dance music pumping out of them. Mercifully we didn’t get the really showy ones, and the tour was far more enjoyable that I thought it would be. Kamal was our guide for the tour and the leader of the drivers. He was about 70 years old
and a fountain of knowledge on historical facts. The trishaws travelled slowly enough to get a good feel for the streets we were being driven through, and also slowly enough to feature in many tourist’s photos!
We went down Jonker Street, ducked down some small lanes crammed with shop houses, and then on to the bridge where the invading Japanese killed the Chinese traders. On the banks of the river, Kamal showed us the tree that Melaka got its name from. The tree bears a sour and bitter goose berry–like fruit that is apparently good for pickling. We then moved on to Harmony Street where we visited the unassuming Siang Lin Shi Temple, which was immensely airy, calm and beautiful. This is the first Buddhist Temple I’ve been to that was set on two storeys. The upstairs balcony area was an excellent viewing point for the hustle of traffic and humans on Harmony Street.
We crossed the road and visited the Taoist Cheng Hoon Teng Temple dedicated to Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. By stark contrast, this temple was at its busiest, as it was a full moon day (a holy day for Buddhists who follow the
lunar calendar). It’s considered to be Malaysia’s oldest traditional Chinese temple (15th century). The hardwood pillars were impressive, and the carved woodwork was beautiful. Kamal was very excited about the oil lamp that has been burning continuously for 400+ years. He used certain finger gestures to describe the lamp and its wick that would have been unacceptable in most countries. Of course, given our juvenile sense of humour, we were most amused. None of us could make eye contact with Brian whose face was directly in front of the extended finger. 😊
Even though we’d had a big breakfast, we were ready for a coffee and a snack, so we asked the locals for directions to the closest Kopitiam, which turned out to be Heng Huat Coffee Shop.
Kopitiams are old–style Hainanese Chinese coffee shops. Stepping into one is like stepping back in time. The single fan whirring overhead only served to move the heat around the room. There were a couple of lone old men reading newspapers, a group of men chuckling over a joke, and a few groups of younger people hanging out...all drinking strong coffee in white and green cups. We ordered
kopi peng (iced coffee)
and soft boiled eggs drizzled with soy sauce and white pepper served with charcoal–grilled toast with butter and
kaya (a rich sweet coconut and egg ‘jam’). Our ‘iced’ coffee came hot in Guinness beer glasses, accompanied by a tray of ice. It was a lovely way to cool down from the humidity that was building up as another storm approached.
On the way back to the hotel, we walked via Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Centre to use the ATM. It was a very humid walk, and it called for our second shower of the day.
That afternoon we took a Peranakan/Baba Nonya cooking class at Nancy’s Restaurant and Cooking School. The restaurant gets rave reviews and seems to be very popular with visiting Singaporeans. The Cooking School is set up above the kitchen in a small room with poor ventilation (as we found out when we added chilli paste to our woks with hot oil!). We cooked
ayam buah keras (chicken and candlenut),
ayam pongteh (chicken in black bean paste) and
ikan lemak nenas (fish in coconut and pineapple curry).
Nancy was a bit of a character and not the easiest to learn from, as she’s obviously protective
of her recipes. My two biggest criticisms were as follows – there were no copies of the recipes for us to take away, and even though she told us what went into the various pastes, they were all pre–made which defeated the whole purpose of doing a cooking class. However, we still had a lot of fun, with a competition developing between our three teams of two. At 4pm we finally sat down to eat our creations, which we got to compare to Nancy’s ‘perfect’ versions (as she called them).
My favourite of the three dishes that Andrew and I cooked was the chicken and candlenut dish. Candlenut is not widely available outside Southeast Asia, but it is quite similar in taste and texture to the macadamia nut, although slightly earthier tasting.
At the end of the meal, we waddled back to the hotel and told Aldrin that we couldn’t possibly even think of eating dinner that night. However, we made plans to catch up for a drink at the Irish Bar attached to our hotel. It turned out to be a man–bar which only sold beer, whiskey and gin – unless you wanted to buy a less
than average bottle of wine for 130RM (about $40). We have noticed that by Asian standards, all alcohol is relatively expensive here. Given it’s a predominantly Muslim country, that’s probably not surprising. It didn’t bother me too much, as there were lots of new and exciting non–alcoholic drink options to keep me entertained (apart from in this particular bar of course).
After two drinks and a few sing–a–longs to early 80’s pop classics, we called it a night. We were in bed by 9:30pm. What light weights!
Today was the first day of the holiday that I remembered to take my raincoat, and it was the first day it didn’t rain until after we’d returned to the hotel.
Next we travel to the state of Pahang to explore the Cameron Highlands!
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Donna and Neil
Donna and Neil
Chicken rice balls
We tried these in Malacca and weren't very impressed with them...maybe we got a bad batch?! I think it's time for you guys to book the additional seat on your flight home ;)