Melaka: Stadthuys and Surroundings along Melaka River

The Stadthuys (sometimes spelled as Stadhuys), known as City Hall or Town Hall in Dutch, is probably the most prominent attraction and most photographed site in Melaka.

Definitely a place that will not be missed. The Christ Church Melaka, Fort of Malacca (A'Famosa), St Paul's Church are some of the historic heritage trail to explore in Melaka.

You can also take one of the many trishaws around there for a short trip. One of my friends took it from here back to Hotel Equatorial. Journey took less than 20minutes, and cost around RM20. I would probably try the next round. The trishaws are well-decorated with flowers and LED lights, with loud thumping disco music! Take it at night, and you have a really different and cooling experience.

Explore further with the two rows red shop houses before reaching St. Francis Xavier Church. Most of the shops look pretty old-school, and some are not even open. I really wonder how these shops survive. I do find a few interesting ones, selling antiques and tailoring Nyonya Kebaya (Peranakan clothes).

This was probably a bit "out of place" from the historical city. The Dutch windmill located on the opposite side of the Stadthuys. Oh yes, I forgot. Melaka used to be under the Dutch Colony. I must say, the landscaping is really well-done and well-maintained.

Melaka River
I have always not taken much notice of Melaka River, till this trip. The river seems to be much done up now, with the newly opened Casa del Rio boutique hotel.

On the opposite side of Casa del Rio hotel, tentages are set up. I'm not sure what was selling there as we did not walk further up to explore. But certainly, the weekend at Melaka was bustling with life at the river side.

There's a Maritime Museum along the river, down from the Stadhuys area. The replica of  the Portuguese galleon - Flor de La Mar (Flowers of the Seas) is also prominent and one would not possibly miss this sight.

I'm no history junkie, so we didn't visit the museum. But we love the photo opportunity with this replica galleon.

There's construction under-going along the river, and the opening of Hard Rock Cafe is part of the plan. Other than the Rock Shop, there will be a cafe bar along the river side.

There's a rock shop where you can get the usual Hard Rock merchandise are for sale.

Back to the river, here are more pictures. Someone said this it has the Venice feel at night. For me who has been to Venice, it's a far cry. A more similar comparison is probably Singapore river, Clarke Quay area.

I've yet to take the river cruise, but would definitely try one day, when Hard Rock Cafe and other construction along the riverside has been completed. Was told it would be open at the end of the year.


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Melaka: Jonker Street

Melaka: Jonker Street

Jonker Street, also known as Jalan Hang Jebat, is probably the most well-known street in Melaka. This is the heart of Chinatown and home ground to antique and souvenir shops.

On weekend nights - Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the road is close to traffic and street stalls (aka Pasar Malam) are set up.

San Shu Gong 三叔公

The entrance of Jonker Street / Walk, is pretty prominent with the San Su Gong 三叔公, the famous local products store.

Some of the popular goodies include the lime juice, Beh-Teh-Su (马蹄酥) and white coffee.

On the first night that we visited Jonker Street, it was a Saturday night. Jonker Street was packed with visitors, particularly San Shu Gong, packed with tourists both shopping inside, or waiting for the others, outside.


Lao Qian Ice Cafe is located within San Shu Gong. On the busy Saturday night, we overheard someone queued over one hour for the Durian Chendol. I'm not sure if it was correct, but for us, we didn't queue long for that, though we have difficulty finding an empty seat in the store.
Cost about RM5.80, it's worth a try. You can really taste the durian in it. But of course, I won't queue over 1hour, if that's what I heard correctly. We only queued for like 5 minutes? but it was close to closing time.

Snew's Rating on Durian Chendol: 3.8 / 5
The credit goes to the presence of the rich durian taste. The chendol, as in the red bean and other ingredients are pale in comparison to the other good chendols in Melaka


San Shu Gong 三叔公
33, Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200 Melaka, Malaysia
 Opens Daily: 10am - 10pm


Hoe Kee Chicken Rice
The next shop on the stretch is famous Hoe Kee Chicken Rice.

Hoe Kee Chicken rice is next to San Shu Gong as you walk further in on Jonker Street. From the blogs, this is one of the "must try" chicken rice shop.

The queue was pretty long when I visited before 2pm on a weekday. We gave up queueing, but that's also because we already had lunch, and this was like our round two originally planned.
Someone told us that chicken rice wasn't that nice compared to Singapore, hence, we didn't have much motivation to continue queueing.

Do let me know your thoughts if you have tried.


Chung Wah Chicken Rice
Do not confuse Chung Wah chicken rice, which is opposite San Shu Gong, to Hoe Kee. This is the corner coffeeshop on the right hand side, as you pass the river leading to Jonker street, .

The shop wasn't open on the past few days we were at Jonker Street. Finally, I saw this open on our last day, with a horrendously long queue. The picture at of this queue was taken about 2+pm, and still there's such a queue line.

Papa Snew remembered trying this a couple of years back and didn't really like it. I can't really recall. But it can't be that bad with such a long queue. I was told that the chicken rice ball here is the best.

Both of these chicken rice shops are open only during lunch time and serve till it's sold out. I'm really not sure of the operating hours and the days of operation. If you know, do drop us a comment.

The speciality about the chicken rice in Melaka, is the rice, that is knitted into a ball. Some people like it, others prefer the usual plate of chicken rice.

We have this debate with my group of friends over chicken rice in Melaka vs the Singapore chicken rice. Many felt that the smoothness and silkiness of the chicken in Singapore making it tender, is still a taste that many of us prefer. The chicken used in Singapore, are breed in captivity, whereas those in Malaysia, are usually "kampong" chicken, which is tougher. Some prefers the smooth and tenderness, where others prefer the tougher version of the Kampong chicken.

Which is your preference? Leave us your comments.


Jonker 88
My group of friends are all raving that they need to try the chendol in Jonker 88. We went on the first night - Saturday night, but the shop was close. We were pretty disappointed, and went back on Monday, after lunch at Ole Sayang.

This is perhaps, the most popular Chendol in Melaka. You would probably not been to Jonker Street if you have not tried the Chendol here.

Look at the crowd. We were a party of 7,  and took us some time to get a table, big enough to squeeze all of us in.

The walls are decorated with old notes, uncut from different countries, including Canadian. No wonder someone call it Museum Cafe.

Well, after squeezing through a small door and waiting for a table, you also have to queue for food. It's self-service, so you have to carry the bowls of Chendol to your own table.

You have to queue separately for Laksa. One of our friends try the Assam Laksa. Looks at the spoonful of tuna! Taste sourish instead of spicy. But I probably have to taste the Penang Assam Laksa to compare before commenting.

A peep at how the Chendol is being prepared on my way out.

I didn't know there were different types of Laksa and Chendol that you could order from, till I was leaving and saw the menu signage. Alright, I will return next time to try the different types of Laksa and Chendol.

Jonker Dessert 88
88, Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
Daily - 10am to 6pm
Saturdays - 10am to 10pm

Streets 

Look at the busy night market on a Saturday night. Stalls selling souvenirs, handphone accessories, slippers, and shops selling nice Tees are the most common.

Street foods are the most common. It's durian season. But the durians sold at Jonker Street is not cheap. I can't remember the price though. Snacks like potato chips, candy sweets, Kuik Kuik are common too.

Continue On...

Melaka: Stadthuys & Surroundings along Melaka River

Melaka: Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock


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Melaka: Nyonya Food at Ole Sayang

Melaka: Nyonya Food at Ole Sayang

This is the second time we're visiting Ole Sayang. It was highly recommended and by far, the best Nyonya food we have ever tried in Malacca.

On our last trip and this trip, we tried a few others also within walking distance from Hotel Equatorial, but all pales in comparison to Ole Sayang. Hence, we were pretty determine to try it this time again, and convinced our group of friends to have this feast on one of our free days.

So there we were, 7 of us, on our feast at Ole Sayang! 

Unlike our previous trip to this restaurant, we didn't have to queue up to get a table this time. However, it was still pretty crowded. 

Like most Nyonya restaurants, decor was pretty simple, with a taste of how the old Nyonya and Baba house looks like in the olden days. 

A simple 1 page menu. We ordered 7 dishes, all large-size. I could so feel that we were all starving... I mean starving for a good meal.  

Ayam Pong Teh - Chicken in Brown Sauce, is probably one of the most popular dish in Nyonya Peranakan cuisine. 

I don't know why we ordered two different kinds of Chicken, but doesn't this Chicken Kari looks yummy? This is the specialty of the day. It really taste yummy. You can seldom find such rich, yet non-that spicy curry taste in Singapore. 

The next dish - Assam Fish, is the most expensive dish for the entire meal - RM70. I am a fish lover, so this is one of my favourite dish. It's sourish, more than spicy, just right for my taste bud.

One of my other friends who went on a separate visit to Ole Sayang to try this dish, commented that it was below her expectation. I'm not sure why. But I really like this Assam Fish as it goes really well with white rice.  

The easiest way to differentiate between good and bad Asian food always lies with the soup. This Itik Tim - Duck Soup with salted vegetables is the proof of good Nyonya Food. 

It's tastiness is the evidence that the soup has been "boiled" for long hours. 

The Otak Otak, is slightly different from the other Nyonya restaurants. The Otak here is steamed, something not very usual back home in Singapore. Not sure if I'm correct, but I read somewhere that authentic Nyonya Otak is steamed instead of BBQed. You can see the soft juicy texture in the photo, as different from the Seri Nyonya @ Hotel Equatorial (in my previous post).

We were all very satisfied with the meal. We didn't have space for the Chendol. But well, Chendol - something that you must try in Malacca, I'll share it in my next post on where you can find good Chendol. 

The Keropok is something that I will not leave the restaurant without. RM10 for a pretty big pack. 

Damage: RM237.20 for 7 pax. Per person about S$14.
Where can you find so much delicious food at such a price in Singapore?

Snew's Rating: 4.3 / 5

Restoran Ole Sayang
(House of Nyonya Food)
198-199 Taman Melaka Raya
75000 Melaka
Tel: 60-6-283 1966 / 60-6-283 4384
Close on Wednesday
Lunch: 11.30am - 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm - 9.30pm




On the same stretch of road, there are at least 4-5 Nyonya Peranakan restaurants. We tried Banya on our first day. After a massive jam from the Ayer Keroh toll to Hotel Equatorial, we didn't have much luck finding good food at 4+pm. This turns out to be one of the worse Nyonya food we tried, despite being famished for taking lunch at such timing. The Itik Tim is practically tasteless. The Chap Chai wasn't well-cooked.

Two years ago, we also tried Makko. Someone told us it's not bad, but if you have tried Ole Sayang, you probably would want to give this a miss too.

If you have other good Nyonya Peranakan food around the area to recommend, please leave me a comment. We have heard of the acclaimed Aunty Lee in Ujong Pasir, which is a pretty small home-cook Nyonya food restaurant that requires reservation. We didn't have a chance to try it. Do let me know if you have tried it, or any other that you recommend.


Continue On...

Melaka: Jonker Street

Melaka: Stadhuys & Surroundings along Melaka River

Melaka: Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock

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Hotel Equatorial, Melaka

Hotel Equatorial, Melaka

We stayed at Hotel Equatorial, two years ago, for Church Camp as well.
This time, the experience was much better. The rooms are all newly refurbished. Food served during the function was also better. In fact, we were rather torn between going out in search of good local food, or staying at the hotel for the food that was catered.

Hotel Lobby is simple, yet has a modern touch after reburbishment. Nothing too fancy, yet has its own style.

Room is pretty spacious, with a sofa and a small balcony too. Definitely able to fit an extra bed. This is a lead in category - deluxe room.

This is the view from the balcony of our 10th floor room. Although I won't say it's a fantastic view, but at least, there's a portion of the pool and could see have some partial view of the city.

The pool on the 4th floor is not very big. However, it's pretty cosy to swim, and we saw a number of families enjoying themselves at the pool area.

Children's Pool.

There's a gym and tennis court in the hotel as well. It's pretty uncommon for hotels to have tennis court these days, isn't it?

Snew's Rating: 4 / 5
Clean and well-kept hotel are not too easy to find these days in Malaysia. Despite not being a new hotel, the refurbishments done are worth applauding. The quality of food served is one of the better ones that you can find in the vicinity. The service is also worth commending. With the good location and quality, I would definitely recommend this hotel to guests visiting Malacca.



Seri Nonya Restaurant @  Hotel Equatorial

Located at the third level, this was one of the restaurants recommended by the pastors. We didn't manage to try the last time, so we just want to give it a go, since it's located in the hotel.

I really like this traditional Peranakan decor of the restaurant.

Can you relate to all these? I really feel so Peranakan when I stepped into the restaurant.

There were 5 of us, including a friend who's feeling a bit under the weather, hence, we didn't order too much food.

The popiah has a different taste from the ones in Singapore. I can't really explain what is the difference, but I feel it's tastier than those in Singapore. You don't need to add chilli to it, already very tasty.

The Sop Itik Tim, aka Duck Soup with Salted Vegetables is not too bad, but I feel it's still a bit blend.

In case you think we are pretty much of a vegetarian, no, we have Chicken Curry as well. The taste is a bit different from those in Singapore, with a thicken coconut milk taste.

Damage: RM109.50 for the 5 of us, and 5 dishes. Each person less than S$10. Can you believe it? But of course, we did not order a lot, or the more pricey dishes. There's also because we all had a filling buffet breakfast and tea break.

Snew's Rating: 3.8 / 5

I would say that the Nonya food at Seri Nyonya Restaurant is above average. However, I think the one at Ole Sayang is much better. There are so many Nyonya Peranakan Restaurants in Malacca, and even around Hotel Equatorial. I will be posting on Ole Sayang one shortly. Stay Tuned!


Seri Nyonya Peranakan Restaurant
Level 3, Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Bandar Hilir
75000 Melaka, Malaysia
Opens Daily
Lunch: 12pm - 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.30pm - 10.30pm


Continue On...

Melaka: Nyonya Peranakan Food at Ole Sayang

Melaka: Jonker Street

Melaka: Stadthuys & Surroundings along Melaka River

Melaka: Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock