Melaka In Between Bites

In between stuffing our faces, we walked off some calories and what I saw I froze through these square frames.

Welcome to Melaka, World Heritage City

 

Down by the Melaka River

Melaka Sultanate Waterwheel

Date night by the river

 

Jonker Walk or Jonker Street or Jalan Hang Jebat

This street becomes a night market on weekends.

 

The writing (and drawing) on the walls

Christ Church

Built by the Dutch in 1753, Christ Church is the oldest Protestant church in Malaysia.

 

 Remains of the Middelburg Bastion of the Melaka Fort

Melaka Maritime Museum (Muzium Samudera)

Jalan Merdeka, Melaka
Monday to  Friday 9AM to 530PM
Saturday and Sunday 9AM to 9PM
Admission Fee for the Maritime Museum Complex: MYR 6
* Ticket can be used to enter the Maritime Museum I, Maritime Museum II,
and the Royal Malaysian Navy Museum (Muzium TLDM).

The museum is housed in a full-scale replica of the Portuguese cargo ship, Flor de la Mar.

The original ship sank off the coast of Melaka in the 16th century.

Royal Malaysian Navy Museum (Muzium TLDM)

Jalan Merdeka (across the Maritime Museum), Melaka
Monday to Thursday 9AM to 5PM
Friday to Sunday 9AM to 830PM
Admission Fee for the Maritime Museum Complex: MYR 6
* Ticket can be used to enter the Maritime Museum I, Maritime Museum II,
and the Royal Malaysian Navy Museum (Muzium TLDM).

Since we visited the Maritime Museum Complex at almost closing time, we went through all three museums of the complex like The Flash. In other words, we didn't learn anything by glancing at the exhibits. Be there early and only visit if you're really interested in maritime stuff. Do NOT follow our example.

 Baba & Nyonya House Museum

 No. 48 & 50 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (street parallel to Jonker Street/Jalan Hang Jabat), Melaka

Daily 10AM to 1PM and 2PM to 430PM

Admission Fee: MYR 15 (Adult) / MYR 10 (Children 5-12 yrs old)

No photography allowed inside the museum.

Guided tours at the Baba & Nyonya House Museum are available by schedule. Since we could not wait for the guided tour, we explored the museum by ourselves. We were lent booklets which contained a map of the house and concise information about each section of the house. The museum provided an interesting insight into the Peranakan culture of the 19th century. The visit to Baba & Nyonya House Museum was worth 45 minutes off our food trip.

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Melaka In Between Bites (you're here!)

Gluttons in Melaka

From Klick-Klock Homestay, everywhere became walking–distance because no distance could keep gluttons away from food.

Chang of Klick-Klock brought the group of gluttons to an eatery on Jalan Bunga Raya (street parallel to Jalan Jawa, where Klick-Klock was) that was still open for very late lunch. Although there were about five stalls, only one was still serving food at 3PM. The group chowed down on char siu (roasted pork) with rice (MYR 5), tofu (MYR 1, about 6 pieces per serving), and egg (MYR 1 for one whole egg).

 

 Char siu (left) and eggs and tofu (right)

Barely three hours after that late lunch, they were already lining up outside Capitol Satay (opens at 5PM) on 41 Lorong Bukit Cina, for a taste of just about anything—prawns, squid, chicken, pork, eggs, vegetables, bread, dumplings—cooked in a boiling pot of peanut sauce. Once they were assigned a table, a fresh pot of peanut sauce was set in the middle of the table and the burner turned on to keep the sauce boiling. They picked from a variety of choices in the open chiller, and went back three more times. The next thing they saw, they already had piles of sticks and plates. Skewers were for MYR 1 per stick, and others were priced depending on the color of the plate they were served in (from MYR 3 to MYR 8).

 

 Satay Celup (celup means dip)

The first part of breakfast the next day was at Chop Chung Wah Hainanese Chicken Rice on the corner of Jonker Street and Lorong Hang Jebat. Because this was just the first on the list of food stops that needed to be crossed off by lunch, the group ordered just half a chicken (MYR 21) and three orders (MYR 1.50 per order; five pieces per order) of rice balls. The chicken was tender and the sticky rice balls were savory. Both the chicken and the rice balls were best eaten with the spicy chili sauce.

 

Hainanese chicken, chicken rice balls, and a bottle of spicy chili sauce

The second part of breakfast was Nyonya Asam Laksa (MYR 7), a spicy and sour noodle soup with egg, tofu, and fishcakes, at Jonker 88 along Jonker Street. It was good soup, but it was too spicy that it made their eyes water. To wash away the spices, they decided to get a Baba Chendol (MYR 4), a dessert made of finely shaved ice, pandan jelly (that looked like worms), drenched in coconut milk and sweet palm sugar syrup. The chendol reminded them of halo-halo but with fewer ingredients.

Jonker 88 and menu (click to enlarge)

Nyonya asam laksa (left) and Baba chendol (right)

Walking along Jonker Street, the gluttons found many food stalls and made some room for fried durian balls (MYR 5 for three pieces) from Durian King, and durian and yogurt cream puffs (MYR 5 for three pieces) from Taste Better. The fried durian balls and the durian cream puffs were a hit for the durian lover in the group. For the rest who didn't think durian is king...they put the yogurt cream puffs on a throne.

 

Durian King and Taste Better

Lunch time would be in another two hours and the gluttons crossed the river and proceeded south to find the best mee goreng in the city as tipped by Chang: Tanjung Mee Goreng. They had been walking for almost an hour and a half and had almost given up, when one of them spotted the sign almost at the end of Jalan PM3. Hallelujah! A big platter of chilli mee goreng (MYR 5.90), a big platter of chilli kuey teow (MYR 5.50), and glasses of teh c special (MYR 3.50 per glass). The chilli kuey teow was worth the hunt! If they didn't have one more food stop, they could have eaten another platter.

Click to enlarge menu

 

 Clockwise from top left: chilli mee goreng, teh c special, and chilli kuey teow

The last stop was mille crepe cakes at Nadeje in Mahkota Parade, just a few minutes walk from Tanjung Mee Goreng. The pictures on the menu were mouthwatering, but for MYR 9.90 per slice of mille crepe cake, they could only afford to get one each. Each picked a different flavor and let the plates go around. A "delicious!" was exclaimed for each bite and none of them could decide which flavor was best.

Click to enlarge

Clockwise from top left: strawberry, green tea, tiramisu, and original

This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.


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Melaka In Between Bites

Klick–Klock Homestay in Melaka

We traveled 148 kilometers southeast of Kuala Lumpur (a two-hour, MYR 24.30, bus ride from the international airport in Kuala Lumpur) to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Melaka City in the state of Melaka (or Malacca). The bus's last stop was Melaka Sentral Station and we had to endure an oven-hot taxi ride (the taxi's air conditioning unit wasn't working and it was boiling inside, but the taxi driver refused to open the windows) to the city center for an agreed price of MYR 20 (no meters in taxis in Melaka).

Since we were in a historic city, our companion decided to book a home in an old pre-world war building. Brilliant. For a hefty price of MYR 400, I hope there are no ghosts there.

We were dropped off in front of a white building with green windows on a quiet one-way street. The door was closed. All windows were shut. Knocking on the windows and calling "Anyone home?" did not summon any person nor ghost. We wondered where the owner was. A few more minutes of wondering and peeking around corners, we saw a sweaty Chang rushing down the one-way street.

Chang, all chatty and apologetic, unlocked the front door and showed us into Klick-Klock. On the ground floor, on one corner, a table with a PC; and by the door, a bicycle. Both (PC and bicycle), we were told, we could use anytime.

 

On the second floor, on the side facing the street, was the bedroom with one king-sized bed and one queen-sized bed. Just outside the bedroom, the living area; and then the dining area near the stairs. From the bedroom to the dining area, the floor is made of wood. And if I wear one of their red wooden slippers, I could klick-klock around the house and make an infernal noise...but this is a no-no, as advised by the sign hanging by the stairs: Please don't walk like an elephant. I can only wear these wooden slippers on the non-wood-floor part of the house, which is at the other end of the second floor—the very spacious shower area, where I can choose to shower for everyone to see or, when feeling shy, draw the bamboo blinds down.

I am a tightwad and Klick-Klock is in the splurge category, but I am glad—I think everyone in the group was glad—to have splurged. Klick-Klock is neat. Orderly. And just lovely. Made me wish I had a house like this, where I, and not just the ghosts, could klick-klock around in wooden shoes.

Klick-Klock Homestay
48 Jalan Jawa, Melaka, Malaysia
Phone: +6012 679 9776
Email: enquiry@klick-klock.com

Price: MYR 400 (up to four persons); extra person MYR 50 (maximum of two extra persons)
Booking: Full payment required upon booking.
Taxi and tours can be arranged through Klick-Klock.


Just kidding. There are no ghosts in Klick-Klock.



Malaysia
Malaysia Must–Know
Home in Kuala Lumpur
Like a King in Kuala Lumpur
Klick-Klock Homestay in Melaka (you're here!)
Gluttons in Melaka
Melaka In Between Bites

Malaysia Must–Know

Cover up or take it off.  Malaysia sits near the equator and is a hot and humid country. Take it off, but not everything, because Malaysia has its wet season, too, which varies depending on which part of the country you are visiting.

From electricaloutlet.org

Tick tock. Time in Malaysia runs on the same time zone as the Philippines, at GMT +8 hours.

Plug it in. If your gadgets are dying, plug it in... but only if you have the right power plug: type G or three–pin rectangular blade plug at 240V.

Ka–ching. Malaysian currency is called the ringgit (MYR or RM). One Malaysian ringgit is about 13.6 Philippine pesos (check XE for current exchange rate). There are money changers at the airport, but from experience, you are better off just getting enough (to pay for your transfer out of the airport) exchanged here...get the rest of your money exchanged in the city.

Ring ring. If you need to get a SIM card while in the country, there are many booths at the airport selling these. Some SIM cards include a data plan.

Say what? The national language of Malaysia is Malay/Bahasa Malaysia, a language I don't speak. Good thing English is widely spoken in Malaysia. And if you know Mandarin, you're in luck, that's widely spoken, too.

Welcome. I am not sure how many international airports Malaysia has, but wiki says it's eight. What I do know is that if you're flying from the Philippines, you may fly direct to Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, or Miri.

Source

Malaysia
Malaysia Must–Know (you're here!)
Home in Kuala Lumpur
Like a King in Kuala Lumpur
Klick-Klock Homestay in Melaka
Gluttons in Melaka
Melaka In Between Bites