Despite over 2 years of living and loving in Singapore, neither of us have ever crossed the closest border to our neighboring country, Malaysia. We rectified that this weekend as just a few hours by car is an oasis called MELAKA (or Malacca depending who you talk to), a mix of Asian, Portuguese and Dutch influences, this tiny little town is a food Mecca.
We arrived just after noon which turns out to be hotter than ever, seriously, I know I complain about the heat in Singapore but imagine it hotter and take away the humidity, man, that's hot! We were staying just off of Jonker Street which seems to be the foody cultural area of town, rows and rows of gift shops, bakeries, food stalls and art houses. There's the odd restaurant, hotel, bar and massage shop as well but the real draw seems to be the "street food" - Chendol (Icy dessert with coconut, palm sugar, pandan & red bean) and Chicken Rice Balls (the best flavors of Haianese Chicken Rice rolled up into a perfect bite sized ball). Wherever both of these are served, there is always a que, all day long. We ate at the famous Nancy's Kitchen for some down home Peranekan food, walked up and down Jonker then I went for a nap while the girls got a foot massage. We met up for a drink in the late afternoon and let me tell you, nothing beats a G&T when you are overheating, take note!
At night, the cars are pulled off the road, tables & chairs come out and an impossibly busy street becomes even busier as Jonker Street is turned into a walking market filled with even more toys, trinkets, flavors and smells. I think the highlight for me was seeing the massive stage which seemed to be reserved for dressed up ladies to sing Karaoke in front of hundreds of people. I knew Karaoke was popular but not that popular! After trying a bunch of new foods (DingDing Candy - named after the sound the chisel makes as the baker breaks it apart, yes, its that hard & sticky too) and juices (thick Honey Lime juice - its good for alcohol... Alcohol what I ask?) we retired to the room.
The next morning we woke early and had a great breakfast at the hotel. I should stop here and throw in a great recommendation for our accommodations, The Hotel Courtyard @ Heeren, friendly staff, beautiful rooms, best shower in any hotel I've ever stayed at in all of Asia, ever and reasonable rates, plus it's a two minute walk to the middle of all the action on Jonker Street! I highly recommend this hotel! Anyway, we took a tour of all the historical sites around the center of Melaka including Christ Church, the ruins of St. Paul's, up the rotating tower for a birds eye view of the city, the riverside and then back to Jonker for some lunch.
Afterwards, we checked out of the hotel, the ladies grabbed another foot massage and I came to a roadside bar to write this blog entry, enjoy a beverage and soak in the last few minutes of Jonker street before heading back to Singapore. Melaka is a cool town, lots to see and lots to eat, it is extremely busy with tourists especially on the weekend but of you can survive that, then Melaka is definitely worth checking out. There are cool sites, cool ruins, great people watching and amazing food, an added plus, everything is way cheaper than it is in Singapore, so huzzah!!! A big thanks to our friend Cheng for taking us out this weekend, it was a great adventure and you can see our pics HERE!
I didn't need to go to church to see "the light", I didn't need a near-death experience to see God, no, all I need was a little BBQ and thanks to my buddy Roman, he delivered with THE MOTHER OF ALL BRISKETS!!!
