Malacca Day 3c - Muara Sungai Duyong

Free and Easy Malacca - Day 3 Itinerary

1) Brunch at Chung Wah Chicken rice ball
2) Jonker 88
3) Stroll at Jonker Street
4) Shopping and Sightseeing
5) Dessert at Nadeje
6) Seafood at Muara Sungai Duyong


Seafood @ Muara Dungai Duyong
Since this was our second visit to Malacca, we wanted to try something different.  A local friend recommend us to try Ikan Bakar (grilled fish) operated by locals along rivers.  Its a pity that she can't join us for dinner, so we look up some food guide and decided on Medan Ikan Bakar, Muara Sungai Duyong.

There wasn't much direction to this rather ulu seafood stall.  Its outside of the Melaka town, towards the direction of Muar, Johor. Our travelling time inclusive of detour and slowing down looking out for signboards was around 20-25 minutes.  Detailed directions below.

But trust me, its worth all the effort. And I am already looking forward to visit the restaurant again!

Medan Ikan Bakar

Its a simple seafood "restaurant" along the Melaka river, operated by the local Malays. So food is Halah. We arrived early for dinner before we head back to home to Singapore.  The "alfresco" dining area was tranquil with kampong ambience and occasional sea breeze. Nice village setting that we will all like to linger a little while longer.

A number of the fishing boats came back during sunset, bringing back fresh seafood for restaurants before docking at the jetty cum fishing village along Melaka river.

Medan Ikan Bakar at Melaka River

There are a lot of seafood available in the restaurant, some were freshly caught, some were actually purchased elsewhere and still with their plastic packaging on.

Fresh Fish on crushed ice

The seafood were on displayed for customers to pick and choose what they want. They were topped with ice to keep them fresh. As it is a restaurant along a river, not all of their "seafood" are from the sea, quite a number are river fish and products.

Fresh Seafood on display

Reference their menu for the pricing, which is in Malay.  Some translation - Jenak -> Snapper, Siakap => Seabass, Sepahat => bamboo clams.

Menu

The friendly boss was quite patience with our limited Malay and we managed to get through our ordering with his recommendations and prior homework done.

Friendly Seafood Restaurant Boss

Pick the seafood you want and the boss will weight the seafood in front of you. Then decide how you want to cook your seafood - bakar (grilled), Goreng 3 rasa (3 taste), goreng kunyit (fried Tuneric), goreng halia etc.  Refer to the cooking style menu below.

Food Ordering and Preparation

Don't be surprise that the most famous food in this seafood restaurant was not their seafood but their heavenly Nasi Lemak!
Each pack of nasi lemak was only rice and chilli and nothing else. The rice was infused with fragrant coconut milk, each mouthful of the rice with chilli was heavenly - sweetness of the rice, spicy and slight saltiness of the chilli, coupled with coconut fragrance, simply yummy!

Nasi Lemak
Rating: 4.75/5

The nasi lemak was suppose to go with the seafood. But it was so nice that we finished almost half a pack before the seafood were served.

Dining by the river

The food are progressively served. The food is so nice that we finished them in no time.  Thus we decided to go for another round of ordering.

Bamboo Clams (sepahat), RM 12 
Rating: 4/5

 Crispy fried calamari (fried squid). They divided the dish into 2 plates for easy sharing.

Calamaries, RM 30
Rating: 4.25/5

Glad that the Malay restaurant also serve lightly fried vegetables and not those curry or overly spicy and soggy vegetables common in nasi padang.

Vegetables with mushrooms or onion, RM9 each

The fried tuneric prawns was super! We loved the taste so much that we go for another round and even order fried tumeric fish as well. It will be perfect is the shell is more crispy.
Note that the prawn is divided into 2 plates as well.

Fried Tumeric Prawn, RM 68
Rating: 4.5/5

And of course, not forgetting the fish.  You can get them to divide the fish into half and cook in different flavours. Below are the different cooking style we tried.  We ordered sea bass and snapper which cost RM53 and RM51.

3 taste turned out to be quite nice. Can't remember what were the 3 taste - chilli, tomato and ...?

3 Taste (Goreng 3 Rasa)
Rating: 4.25/5 

 Nice charred fragrance, but would have prefer the sambal chilli that we usually had for BBQ fish.

Bakar Bercili (Grilled Chilli)
Rating: 4/5

Sweet and sour was a disappointment when compared to the rest.  Should have reserve sweet and sour for Chinese restaurant instead of at Ikan Bakar.

Sweet & Sour
Rating: 3.75

The fried tumeric fish was the best seafood we had at Ikan bakar. Its crispy with the tumeric brining out the freshness of the fish. Memorable taste.  I will order one whole fish for fried tumeric the next time we are here. Or ... maybe 2 whole fish of fried tumeric :)

Fried Tumeric (Goreng Kunyit)
Rating: 4.6/5

All these fresh flavourful food at a cost of RM 238, which works out to be S$100. Not as cheap as the one our local friend recommend but definitely still very worthwhile and value for money.  Nice, cheap alfresco dining along Melaka river.

I will definitely be back to this restaurant the next time we are in Melaka, achievable only with our dearest skillful car captain and navigator :)

Bill

Muara Sungai Duyung (Medan Ikan Bakar)
KM 4-5, Jalan Padang Temu,
Permatang Pasir, Melaka
GPS Coordinates: N2.174500, E102.289167
Tel: 019-248 9525, 012-636 2339 (Pak Azmi)
Business Hours: 5pm - 12am (no rest day)



Directions to Muara Dungai Duyong, Medan Ikan Bakar from Melaka town

Medan Ikan Bakar : GPS (N2.174500, E102.289167)

Right Turn along Jalan Padang Temu : GPS (N2.183667, E102.290333)

You will pass by Restoran Aunty Lee along Jalan Ujong Pasir and then continue to Jalan Padang Temu.  Right turn at the placemark on the map and you will see the jetty for the fisherman boats. travel along the road all the way to the end and to the muddy road and you will find the restaurant.

Starting from Jalan Merdeka (Fenix Inn) to Medan Ikan Bakar
Total: 6.2 km - about 11 mins (from Google maps)
1. Head west on Jalan Merdeka
2. Keep right at the fork
3. Turn right onto Jalan Parameswara
4. Continue onto Jalan Bukit Senjuang
5. Slight right onto Lorong Bukit Senjuang
6. Keep left at the fork
7. Turn left onto Jalan Ujong Pasir (where Restoran Aunty Lee is)

8. Continue onto Jalan Padang Temu
9. Turn right (note that the signboard is taken from the opposite side of the road)
    GPS (N2.183667, E102.290333)

10. You will see the Malay fishing village and jetty for fisherman boats along Melaka River on your right.
      GPS (N2.182667, E102.290333)

11. Continue along the road all the way to the end.  There will be a small stretch of muddy road before you reach Medan Ikan Bakar!

Malacca Trail Map

View Malacca - MonsoonTravel in a larger map

Malacca Day 3b - Jonker Stroll

Free and Easy Malacca - Day 3 Itinerary

1) Brunch at Chung Wah Chicken rice ball
2) Jonker 88
3) Stroll at Jonker Street
4) Shopping and Sightseeing
5) Dessert at Nadeje
6) Seafood at Muara Sungai Duyong



Stroll @Jonker 
Jonker Walk is a not-to-be-missed activity in Melaka.

It's an interesting cultural walk through the Chinatown of a heritage town. Nice and interesting traditional buildings and shop houses selling items reminiscing the old days.

Cultural Walk @Jonker

Jonker Street
Ice cream, Pineapple Tarts, Rooster bowls

Looking for something from Malacca for colleagues and friends? San Shu Gong is the place to go for local snack and tidbits shopping.   They have a big retail at Jonker Street, just opposite of Chung Wah Chicken Rice coffee shop. Large variety of famous local delicacies are on display and samples are available for you to try before purchase.

Jonker Night Market
On Friday and Saturday nights, many hawkers and stall owners gathered at Jonker for the night market (pasar malam). Below are some pictures from our last visit - Jonker Night Walk.

Jonker Night Market
Herbal Tea, Portuguese egg tart, Fried carrot cake

Bubble Making Tiger

We bought something from Little Nonya Gift Shop opposite Fenix Inn.  I would highly recommend the soya noodles, which is very soft, light and slightly sweet.

Malacca Trail Map

View Malacca - MonsoonTravel in a larger map

Malacca Day 3a - Food Trail at Jonker Street

Free and Easy Malacca - Day 3 Itinerary

1) Brunch at Chung Wah Chicken rice ball
2) Jonker 88
3) Stroll at Jonker Street
4) Shopping and Sightseeing
5) Dessert at Nadeje
6) Seafood at Muara Sungai Duyong



Chung Wah Chicken Rice Ball (中华茶室) @ Jonker
Chung Wah is still our favourite Chicken rice ball in Malacca. Most of the time, there is a super  long queue outside of Chung Wah coffee shop, which is situated just besides the San Shu Gong retail shop. To beat the crowd, we decided to go for brunch on a Monday morning. Glad that we can get a seat without queuing.

Chung Wah Chicken Ball

There were quite a number of chicken prepared and ready to be chopped up to be served to the customers.

Chicken Rice Boss and his Chickens

That was one whole chicken which cost RM30.  The chicken was rather tender (but do not expect the same standard as Boon Tong Kee) and with kampong flavours.  Should have ordered half chicken without the breast meat or only the thigh area to avoid the rather dry breast meat.

Hainanese Chicken

The chicken rice balls were nice, soft and flavourful, touted to be the best in Malacca. It came in 5 pieces per plate.

Chicken Rice Ball

Chilli was nice too. It is not that spicy and goes well with the rice ball and chicken.

Kedai Kopi Chung Wah
Lorong Hang Jebat
(Opposite San Shu Gong)
GPS: N2.194833, E102.247167
Tel: 06-2849660
Business Hours: Daily 7.30am to about 3pm (or sold out)

Jonker 88 @ Jonker  

Jonker 88, a restaurant with nostalgic ambience and good food - must visit in Jonker Street!

Dining Area

The name came from their address - 88, Jonker Street. 8 is an auspicious number for Chinese, double 8 is definitely good "Feng Shui" for business.

Jonker 88

Loved the quiet, nostalgic ambience at the dining hall. The olden house layout, staircase, antiques, lanterns and wall hangings give us a good peep to how life was in the olden days.

Nostalgic Ambience

You order and pay for the food at the store front, which is where the food is prepared as well. As seats are limited, you may want to get someone to grab a seat inside while you are queuing for the food.

Food Preparation

The must try are their Laksa, you can choose between Nonya Asam Laksa which is soury spicy or the Baba Laksa with coconut milk, a version which we are more familiar with. Can't decide which to have? Just grab someone to share with you like what we did.  Isn't that the interesting part of gastronomic tours :)

Nonya Asam Laksa
RM 5+

Baba Laksa
RM 5+

For our no-chilli dinners, we ordered the fried dumpling with home-made noodles.

Fired dumpling Noodles

Definitely we will not leave Jonker88 without trying their famous Chendol with gula Melacca.  Think this is one of the best chendol in Malacca. For those who prefer alternative to Chendol, there is quite a number of variety available as well. We didn't ordered their Durian Chendol this time round as we are kind of heaty with overload of durian last two days.

Chendol with Gula Melaka

Jonker 88
88, Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street)
Malacca

Tel : 606-2868786



Malacca Trail Map

View Malacca - MonsoonTravel in a larger map

Malacca Day 2e - Supper at Dirty Lane and Pak Putra

Free and Easy Malacca - Day 2 Itinerary

1) Dim Sum at Ban Hong Xiang Tea House
2) Baba Charlie for Nonya Kuehs and snack
3) Sightseeing - Heritage Trial
4) Dessert at Nadeje
5) Dinner at Aunty Lee
6) Cockles at dirty lane
7) Supper at Pak Putra

Malacca is a small town, what activity is better than food hunt at night :)

Cockles at Dirty Lane 

We had been to this dirty lane in our last visit to Malacca, but we gave up as we were quite full and a bit worried about the hygiene level after observing the environment.  However, few friends who had tried the stall urged us to give it a try and assured us the hygiene level with their personnel experience.

Cockles Stall in Dirty Lane

The dirty lane is next to Madam King's department store. You will need to "brave through" the dark alley before getting to the crowded stall filled with BBQ fragrance.

Walk to Cockles Stall

There is only a few items offered at the stall, the popular ones are cockles, lala, four treasures, BBQ dried sotong and Kang Kong Cuttlefish.

Menu at the stall

The ordering system was in a mess, no proper noting of orders nor sequencing. Be prepared for a real long wait if you are seated at the back lanes, away from the main cooking areas. Busy staffs will simply ignore you and the boss will give you a fierce look when you try to order or check your long outstanding orders.

Staffs busy at Work

Finally our food arrived. Cockles and lala with special dipping sauce - sticky dark sauce with peanut. The cockles were blanched only for while, thus they were quite raw as you can see from the photo.

Blanced Cockles with Special Sauce

There was a small green bucket fitted to the centre of the table where we can just chuck all the shells after we were done with the cockles and lala.

Lala

Kang Kong with Cuttlefish topped with peanuts.

Kang Kong with Cuttlefish

Four treasures - roasted tau pok, tau kee, fish ball and prawn keropok. Quite nice with the charred fragrance.

Four Treasures

 BBQ dried cuttlefish with sweet and savoury sauce.

BBQ Dried Cuttlefish

Frankly speaking, the food was nice and cheap. But definitely not good enough to overcome the bad service and long wait.

The stall is besides a drain at a dark alley, environment wasn't really of standard, I have to admit that I do have slight uncomfort and worry that lingers within me while I eat. But this eating experience in the back alley was definitely quite an memorable experience.

Cockles at Dirty Lane
Jalan Bunga Raya (besides Madam King's)
GPS: N2.199833, E102.251833
Tel: (6)016-645 8108
Business Hours: 7 - 11pm (closed on Saturday)

Supper at Pak Putra  
We continued our food hunt to Pak Putra for supper after some shopping. Pak Putra is famous for their tandoori chicken and naan. A pity that the tandoori chicken was sold out when we were there.

Pak Putra and Naan

Friendly prata man posing for the camera. Thanks for his patience while I am struggling with the camera.

The soft dough was flattened and placed onto the walls of the clay urn to bake. Once its ready, the naan is removed using some long rod with a hook at the end.

Naan in Burning Clay Urn

We ordered quite a number of bread to share - Naan, egg prata and Mutabak.  Their Mango Lassi was also quite nice.

Naan, Mango Lassi, Prata

Mutabak

Pak Putra
Jalan Laksamana 4, Melaka, Malaysia.
(Along the main road in Taman Laksamana)
GPS Coordinates: N2.194833 E102.243550

Tel: 012-601 5876

Business hours : daily from 6.00pm to 1.00am
                         Closed on alternate Mondays

Malacca Trail Map
View Malacca - MonsoonTravel in a larger map