Melaka - History And Foodfest

I knew I shouldn’t have drunk so much last night as I woke up feeling like shit, and went back to bed again. I wanted to make a 10 to 10-30am start to my journey,  as I had no idea how long it would take to drive down south to Melaka, but I didn’t think that I would make it without me being sick if I didn’t sort myself out! So, two pints of water, two paracetamol and an extra hour lying in bed feeling crap sorted me out enough to get a shower and ready for the journey.

I set off on my way heading south and arrive a couple of hours later and head to the Courtyard Hotel that would be my home for the weekend – Melaka's a sharp contrast to the incessant redevelopment world of Kuala Lumpur – a lot of the buildings are from late Victorian, early Edwardian times and loads of character. My hotel was in Chinatown, along Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lok (Hereen Street) and was lovely.

The receptionist checks me in (and out!) but the room isn’t ready, so I head out for some lunch. I bought the Street Food guide book that Charles uses to help with my food 'survival', and I'd spotted some roast pork dish that was sold at this stall in Jln Bunga Raya, but it was quite a walk and I was starving, so I gave up on that trek and instead headed towards another recommendation: this chicken rice place – Kedai Kopi Chung Wah, a tiny restaurant opposite the bank and had some scrumptious chicken rice balls and some roast chicken. 

It’s funny, the idea of deboning food before serving is alien here, and you spend a lot of time at the dinner table trying to get all the meat off the bones: the chef usually just gets a meat cleaver and quarters the cooked food, and you either faff about with chopsticks or spoon/fork trying to sepaate the bone, meat and skin or put the whole lot in your mouth, spitting out the bones after you've you picked them clean. If you happen to swallow a bit of bone or cartilage, all the better – waste-not-want-not…

From there I wander along the back streets, heading to a satay place, Lung Ann Refreshments, to sample some traditional satay or pork, chicken and, erm, intestine. I did try them, but intestines are not for me. I couldn’t work out what they were the intestines of either – probably cat. It was nice to sit and watch the locals come and go, mostly staring at the ‘gweilo’ poking suspiciously at his intestine meal.

After effectively two meals, I really needed to go for a walk, so I wobbled down toward the river and along the promenade (which is being redeveloped and a few new hotels are in the process of being constructed) and find another recommended pace for deserts – something called cendol - at the Clock Tower Cendol stall. I didn’t know what this cendol was, but it wasn’t nice. I don’t care about it being recommended, it wasn’t for me. It’s made of condensed milk, diluted with coconut milk and has things like green noodles (resembling worms), flavourless jelly (like aspic), red kidney beans and sweet corn. Just not nice, and I seemed to have a magic bowl that no matter how much I slurped down, holding my nose to avoid tasting the concoction, the volume never seemed to go down. In the end I gave up and left it, waiting for the scowling looks from the stall owner...

Actually I didn't hang around long enough and fully satiated, I continue the walk along the river, past a replica Clipper ship and round to this thing that is like a flying saucer that elevates you, rotating, to get a fantastic view of the city. The queue was humungous, so I decide to come back later for that and head back into the town centre area and up to St Paul’s hill to find a ruined church on top dating back to the C16. There are loads of people here and I move rapidly down through the Dutch graveyard before ending back at the Clock tower, and all these tuk-tuks blaring out pumping house music and covered in all sorts of brightly coloured shit waiting to peddle you off round town.

A short wander down Jonker Street (Jln Hang Jebat) takes me back to near where I am staying, and decide to have a freshen up at the hotel before heading out for the evening.