This guide is best suited for visitors from Kuala Lumpur or Singa-
pore who want to experience the best food that Malacca / Melaka
has to offer... and only have the weekend to do so!
Some background info
- The initial food list was created from combing through reviews found at 4 food blogposts:
- http://sethlui.com/malacca-best-food-guide/ (Thanks June Chen!)
- https://www.misstamchiak.com/malacca-food-guide/ (TQ Toh Mu Qin)
- http://www.gomelaka.my/top-food-in-melaka/ (Thank you no-name-author!)
- https://hype.my/2017/144599/8-must-try-places-visit-melaka-next-food-trip/ (TQ Estee!)
- This resulted in 30+ locations to visit. Have a peek at the initial list here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14gEe1XTNV0iW5G3l8QQGkRw72Eub-TLwkM28GTEsass/edit?usp=sharing
- As most of the outlets are located within walking distance around Jonker Street (and others only via vehicle), the general idea is to visit all nearby outlets on foot and the faraway outlets on the way out.
- It's essential to book an accommodation nearby Jonker Street to facilitate exploring the surrounding food outlets on foot. It's also preferable to find one with a parking bay for your vehicle. Remember: Malacca is a tourist hotspot, so there's always a shortage of parking space. See the bottom of this post for some suggestions on accommodations with parking bays.
- With the sheer variety of food to experience in a day, it's essential not to be greedy and stuff yourself like a hamster at the first stop. At every stop, order 1 portion, and SHARE with others.
- So, be disciplined. Quick example: At the 1st stop, order 1 portion Nyonya Laksa, and share it with a friend. You may think that 1/2 a portion is already quite filling, but believe me, when there's walking involved between every food outlet, your tummy will be ready by the time you reach your next stop.
With background story done, off we go:
Day 1
We're lazy. Btw, you'll hear this a lot, so we decided to emphasise the lazy bit in the post title. We get up late, leave KL, and arrive at hotel in time for check-in at 3pm. Then we proceed out on foot at 5pm, headed to our first stop.
Calanthe Art Cafe (5:47pm)
Reviews recommend: Nyonya Laksa and Melaka coffee.
Reviews said the Nyonya Laksa "melts and takes you into heaven"... We tried it and... yes, it's true. I saw the light and heard the music of angelic harps. Downed 10 spoonfuls of the gravy and I can swear I zipped to heaven and back with every mouthful. An "OMFG it's SOOO GOOOD" kind of moment. Don't do the foodtrip if you plan on missing this.
Pak Putra Tandoori & Naan (6:40pm)
Most of the blogposts seem to include Pak Putra in their reviews. It was getting late and the reviews advised us to arrive early to avoid the queue. When we arrived we were surprised to see so many tables by the roadside already seated with customers.
We had the choice of ordering either Tandoori chicken breast meat or thigh, and we went with the former. We also called for a cheese naan and mango lassi.
Back home, I'm used to being served Tandoori dry and hard at my regular mamak outlet, but here it was definitely tender and juicy on the inside. I remember that little "wow" go off in my head when i separated the meat off the bone and watched the steam rise. The mint sauce was good; we finished it before we were done with the chicken. The restaurant staff were busy, so we helped ourselves to more sauce at the counter.
Mango lassi was OK, sweet and refreshing.
The cheese naan wasn't anything to shout about though. We thought the cheese was almost non-existent.
Total RM21 (Tandoori RM11 + Naan RM4 + Lassi RM6).
Bibik House Cendol (8:10pm)
We stopped for some dessert on the way back to hotel. Bibik House served cendol regular or with durian. We tried the regular cendol. Not bad, something extra sweet and cold in contrast to our earlier spicy Tandoori. Price RM6.
Boon Leong Food Court (9:40pm)
It was already quite late, so this was our last stop on the way back to hotel. We ordered the oyster omelette (ochien). There was a queue of customers waiting for this guy to prepare it. We were informed that waiting time was 30 mins. We seated ourselves at the end of the food court to avoid the smoky fumes. When it finally came, we weren't disappointed. The omelette was fried to a semi-dry consistency, with firm and finely-chopped oysters inside. Delicious eaten with the sweet chilli sauce. Definitely will come again!
Day 2
Again, we're lazy people. Start the day by checking out 12 pm. We place our luggage into the car (in the hotel's parking bay), then set out on foot to explore the rest of the area.
Boon Leong Food Court (12:39pm)
The Char Siew Rice stall was closed the previous night, so we went back to Boon Leong with hopes to catch it open. Customers were seated directly in front of the stall owners. A slightly strange experience, but an entertaining one nonetheless. We ordered a portion of the char siew rice, and we were served a plate with mostly roast pork slices, some char siew slices, and a pork sausage end. As a light pre-lunch meal, it was OK.
Baboon House (1-something lah, too lazy to record the time)
Close to midday, so lunch time. This place seemed quite nondescript on the outside. Even secretive. We had to ring a bell on the front iron gate, then someone on the speakerphone asked how many people and the gate opened. Inside, the decor made it as though we had entered another world. It was like dining in a forest. We ordered the recommended Signature Beef Burger. Feeling adventurous after looking at their cutely-illustrated house drinks, we ordered a homemade orange lemon beer.
The beef patty was moist, but not as moist as some burgers we've had in KL (read: KGB burger). The patty was a little on the peppery side too. The sides were good though -- potato wedges were crispy outside, mushy on the inside and great with tomato sauce. Potato salad was OK.
The orange lemon beer was seriously good. Didn't expect this little treat to shine as brightly alongside the main course, but it did. Tasted quite alcoholic, and a tad sweet. But it being chilled and served with ice, made it all too good. About as good as a chilled Bundaberg Gingerbeer on a hot sunny day. Loved it so much i ordered another just to take home to enjoy later.
San Shu Gong Lao Qian Ice Cafe (2:25pm)
This place was wrongly placed on the map, so we spent a few extra minutes walking along the road looking for it. But no regrets, because minutes later, this ice cold white coffee was making me go HOLY SHIT. Seriously i would have just downed one after another had i not swore to follow the strict "buy 1 share among others" rule for this trip. It was THAT good. Icy cold, thick, sweet, and REFRESHING. Writing this article makes me wish I had another ice cold HOLY SHIT white coffee with me right now.
Bikini Toppings (2:55pm)
This outlet won recognition from TripAdvisor. They displayed their award proudly at the front entrance. We ordered the Bikini Signature Ice Cream with topping of crushed oreo cookies. The homemade ice cream was sweet, the coconut flesh mildly salty and the oreos added texture and some sweetness to the entire mix. It was served in coconut shell. Great and refreshing overall. Would visit again on a hot day.
Jonker 88 (3:38pm)
We tried the assam laksa. Reviews said it was "highly recommended". Personally thought it was more sour and spicy than sweet. Overall it was OK -- . Price RM11.15 (including GST).
The Daily Fix (4:08pm)
This food outlet was well hidden. The signboard was a simple chalkboard resting on an old TV set. Anybody would have walked past without knowing inside laid a popular cafe frequented by locals. We walked through the shop outlet to reach the cafe inside. Ordered the Pandan pancakes. It came with grated coconut and gula melaka. Not bad. The pancakes were light, and the pandan flavour mild. The lime juice was thick, chilled and with less sugar.
After this, back to the car and time to drive out to kautim the remaining food outlets.
Klebang Original coconut Shake (5:33pm)
We wanted to try the original "coconut shake biasa" because reviews rated it "exceptionally good!". But the sellers said it was sold out, and all that remained was the Coconut Shake Special (coconut shake biasa with ice cream). So we tried it. The vanilla ice cream made it sweet, and the crunchy grated coconut flesh and crushed ice gave it some bite. Quite good, something interesting.
Aunty Fatso Restaurant
Our last stop before heading back to KL. The specialty here is the cheese Prawn Bee Hoon. It was good overall. The cheese taste was just nice, not too strong. Prawn was firm, fresh and sweet. The moment we bit into the prawn it hit us that it tasted like Sang Har Mee. A unique and delicious savoury dish.
Overall the trip was a good one, with many places covered in 2 days. We were also very pleased with our hotel. Ibis hotel -- definitely a 5 out of 5. What impressed about the room was its cleanliness. Everything else just worked. The beds were comfortable, and came with pillows and bolsters (a pleasant surprise!). It was also a treat to experience the rainfall shower (wash away your worldly burdens). The room also came with a good range of TV channels (including Disney channel, Astro Supersport 1 and 2, movies, Bloomberg and more), a wine cooler and free wifi. If you didn't bring your own laptop, you could use the computer room at the lobby.
Interested with making a trip to Malacca? Don't forget to look for hotels with their own parking bays. A couple of examples we learned about while doing our own research: Ibis Hotel and 1825 Gallery Hotel.
Notes for photog nerds: Photograph colours were adjusted using only the auto-white balance feature, where necessary.
