Malacca has plenty to offer in terms of food. It has a very wide varieties and the choices available is enormous. There are the Portuguese cuisine, the Nyonya dishes and delicacies, and the diverse varieties of Chinese cuisines – those of the Hokkien (the Hokkien mee, the ‘po piah’, the ‘mee hoon kueh’), the Hainam (the coffee, the chicken rice balls, the ’satay’), the Teochew (the yam paste aka ‘Orr Ni’, the steamed fish, the fish porridge), the Hakka (‘hum char’).
I would very much like to start a series on food for visitors (both foreign and local) to Malacca. But I dread to give false information or recommendations. I do not want to base my writings on hear-says or talks from others. I would prefer to give recommendations having tasted the food on recent occasions myself. Some outlets may start off serving good food, but as time passes the quality and standard may have dropped. This is what I am most afraid of.
But this week, I ate at a new outlet serving nyonya food. I find the food delicious and the prices reasonable. The food is prepared by the proprietress who is a third generation nyonya. The name of the restaurant is “Restoran Anak Nyonya“. The address is 88, Jalan Tokong (Jonker Street), Melaka. You can’t miss it, it is in one of the shop-lots situated on the right hand side of the stage at Jonker Walk.
The other nyonya restaurant you may want to try is ‘Nyonya Suan‘. The restaurant is in one of the shoplots in the second row of shops opposite ‘The Taming Sari’ (the revolving wheel) in Melaka Raya.
For good nyonya delicacies, you can get a wide seletion at a private dwelling at a lane in Tengkera Road (Lorong Tengkera Pantai 2C). The ‘kuehs’ are made daily and you get them fresh. Once you get there you ask anyone and you will find it in no time.
For the taste of Teochew specialites, LTP Restaurant (Lim Tian Puan Restuarant) would be the place to go. This restaurant is at Jalan Pengkalan Rama (next to a Shell petrol station/Taman Rempah – boarding point for the boat cruise). Try its ‘fried tang hoon’ (clear vermicelli), braised duck in dark soya sauce and its fired oyster egg.
If you prefer good really good hawker fares, try the ‘mee hoon kueh‘ (Chinese pasta served in soup) at store #8 and the Cantonese broth (porridge), store #9 at the Medan Selera (food court) in Jalan Bunga Raya. The food court is located just beside the Melaka River, It is situated diagonally opposite the Majestic Hotel. You try them and you will go away truly satisfied. And oh, the prices are very reasonable, too.
Some of you may like good roast pork and ‘char sio/char siew’. There is no need to fret, there is a stall in Jalan Bunga Lane that serves really good stuff. It is the first stall on the right side of the lane (next to the stall selling sugar-cane water).
Give them a try and after that drop me a line. Based on your comments, I will then decide whether to leave the recommended places and items on the page or to delete them.
I write and recommend on my own volition, I accept no free meals nor monetary rewards. I write to help visitors to Malacca get to savour the good food we have here. I also feel those selling good food at reasonable prices should get help in getting some publicity.
Come visit again, thank you.
