Meals in Melaka

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The second stop on our SE Asia whirlwind was a pure "food-cation". While we're eventually headed north, we decided to take a quick detour 2 hours south from KL to Melaka. Melaka is one of those places that has been ruled by every country at one point or another - the Portuguese, Dutch, British, Chinese, and Indians have all had an influence on the port, leaving a delicious combination of culinary influences. So we only had one plan for our 24 hours in Melaka - EAT A LOT. I'm happy to say it was a most successful venture (as if anyone who knows us would have doubted that).

The day started with a surprisingly pleasant bus trip from KL to Melaka for 9 ringgit ($3), and we congratulated ourselves on successfully navigating the public transport of Malaysia. But we had barely finished high-fiving and saying "We're awesome!" when we found ourselves aboard a local Melaka bus that looked as if it had been dragged out of the bottom of the canal this morning. This bus was so busted I honestly have NO idea how it was still functioning, but it only cost us 30 cents so we just laughed as we drove down the road with the doors wide open.

After a short wander to find our hostel (i swear we weren't lost, we just love strolling around in 100% humidity with 20 kg of luggage on our back!), we headed out to explore Jonker Walk with our food spidey sense tingling. Our first stop was Famosa Chicken Rice Balls for you guessed it, some of their famous chicken rice balls. Between the two of us we had 13 rice balls, so I think we can count this stop as a win. Since dessert is a separate stomach, we finished the meal with a bowl of Nyonya Cendol, an amazing Melakan specialty. It included pandan, coconut cream, palm sugar syrup, and kidney beans served over shaved ice. Don't knock it til you've tried it - it was DELICIOUS!!

Feeling stuffed and satisfied we went for a walk around the town square and stumbled upon the Maritime Museum, which happens to be located inside a giant pirate ship! It was equal parts of informative and weird, and totally worth the 3 ringgit entry.

After more wandering and a stroll along the canal, it was finally time for satay celup! This is a Melakan do-it-yourself meal where you pick skewers of meat, seafood, and veggies from the fridge and then cook them at your table in a boiling pot of spicy satay sauce. We went to Capital Satay which, for good reason, is the most popular satay joint in town and has a steady line of customers down the block. Stoked to finally get a table, we loaded up our tray with chicken, veggies, tofu, quail eggs, shrimp, and a few unidentified objects. We were the only westerners in the entire restaurant, and while we were a bit offended that they brought us so much bread and put sugar in our sauce, they made up for it by treating us (Lauren) to two giant prawns. We really went all out on this dinner and managed to spend a whole $3 each. Overall a successful but messy meal!

Me like-a Melaka. A lot-a.

Tomorrow we head north to the island of Penang on an 7+ hour bus trip, so wish us luck and we'll check back in whenever island time allows!