Free and Easy Malacca - Day 1 Itinerary
1) Drive up to Malacca/Tangkat through Tuas (~3hr)
2) Breakfast at Tangkat - Jia Jia Ba Ku Teh
3) Lunch at Family Heritage Cafe
4) Shopping and R&R
- Dessert at Pahlawan Melaka Megamall
5) Dinner at Melaka Plaza
- Pork Porridge
- Wok & Pan
6) Menara Taming Sari
7) Massage
Dinner at Melaka Plaza, which is just next to Mahkota Parade shopping mall.
Pork Porridge @Restoran Bunga Raya Porridge, Mahkota Plaza
GPS: 2.189833, 102.247000
It was Saturday night with heavy traffic jams, our eating kakis decided to go somewhere nearby for dinner. We decided to head to Bunga Raya for Pork Porridge which is supposed to have operated for a few generations.
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| Bunga Raya Porridge |
It was actually an old coffee shop along some dark street Jalan pm 3, besides the pasar malam. The store only offer a few staple food items - Porridge, Mee Hoon Kueh and different Mee or noodle soup. We ordered pork porridge, which is their main speciality.
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| Menu |
There was only one cook in the kitchen, it took really long before our food was served. With all the hype about the shop being around for few generations and the long long wait, our expectation was naturally raised. Sadly, it was quite a disappointment. The congee wasn't really smooth as what we expect, the century egg seems to have an additional smell which we are not used to and their pork slice wasn't that tender.
The saving grace was their minced meat balls, it was fragrant and flavourful. Not sure if it was the sole fish or fried shallots that make it tasty and stand out from the rest.
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| Pork Porridge with Century Egg |
Initially we were thinking of having something light for dinner to clear our digestive system after all those heavy meals. However, we refused to end our first day in Melaka with disappointment and thus we walked across the street to jalan pm4 in search for another round of dinner.
Western Food @ Wok & Pan (East Meet West Cuisine)
Wok & Pan is just one street next to Bunga Raya Porridge and opposite to Nadaje cafe (main store), selling the famous mille crepe.
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| Wok & Pan Restaurant |
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| Nadeje Cafe opposite of Wok & Pan |
Being a busy Saturday night, the wait is not just for the food, but you have to wait for the seats, wait to order, wait for our drinks, wait for the cutlery, wait for the bill, wait for the change ... what a long waiting night!
The mushroom soup (RM3.50) was quite creamy and smooth, it would have been better if there are more mushroom taste to it. Maybe those who doesn't like their mushroom soup too "mushroomy" will love it. To drink it while its hot, we drank directly from the bowl since it takes forever for the cutlery to be made available to us.
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| Mushroom Soup Rating: 4/5 |
The chicken chop was nicely fried and very crisp with the batter coating. Ironically, the disappointing part happened to be the secret Hainanese sauce, its too sourly and sharp and the HP sauce is too overpowering.
Without the secret Hainanese sauce, the chicken chop is quite a nice item, just that it will be a bit dry.
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| Chicken Chop with Secret Hainanese Sauce Rating: 4/5 |
Mexican Pork Chop @ RM12.50. Now we come to one dish that really worth the wait. This Mexican pork chop was well marinated, nicely grilled and topped with the Mexican sauce which really give it a unique taste. The Mexican sauce contains diced cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, onions, chilli and vinegar which really complement the slightly charred pork chop. Yummy !!
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| Mexican Pork Chop Rating: 4.5/5 |
BBQ Pork Chop (RM10.50). Couldn't really recall how this pork chop taste like, guessed it didn't really stand out with the Mexican Pork Chop. Only recalled our food kakis commenting that the pork chops are too thin. The potato wedges were quite nice.
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| BBQ Pork Chop |
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| Almond Nut Fish Fillet Rating 4/5 |
After we finished all the food, our beverages were still not served. We simply cancelled the order and pay for our meal.
Wok & Pan
Address : No. 22 G, Jalan PM 4, Plaza Mahkota, Melaka
Contact : 017 673 8896 / info@wokandpan.com
Business Hour : 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm (Closed on Monday)
Night Market
There was a night market at Mahkota Plaza when we were there on Saturday night. Besides the usual food items, clothes, bags they also have fishes and pets for sales.
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| Night Market at Plaza Mahkota |
Menara Taming Sari
The Menara Taming Sari observatory tower is just next to Mahkota Plaza. Menara Taming Sari offer a 360 degree revolving ride up to a height of 110 metres, providing a paranomic view of the heritage town from the cabin deck.
Daily 10am - 10pm. Adult / Child : Rm20 / Rm10
You can actually catch a good glimpse of the tower along the small lane that cut across the Jalan pm 3-5 streets.
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| Menara Taming Sari |
Fenix Inn
We choose to stay in Fenix Inn, a budget inn with good location. Fenix is within walking distance from the shopping malls (Mahkota Parade and Pahlawan Malaka Megamall), central location to the heritage town.
Valet parking and free parking provided, however do note that it will take some time for them to get your car.
Service was "inn" standard. There were no housekeeping provided during our stay. When we requested for housekeeping at the front desk, the staff reply was "you should have hang out the tag on your door to request for housekeeping". ...Ok, at least she agreed to send someone to tidy up the room before evening.
The room was small and basic. for a budget hotel, it was nice that they provide floor mat, electric kettle and individual air-con which you can control. There is no lift in the hotel, which may not be convenient for the elderly. There is no complimentary bottled water or tissue, only limited toilet paper were provided and it took the staff a really long time to replenish.
Valet parking and free parking provided, however do note that it will take some time for them to get your car.
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| Fenix Inn |
However when we were back at night, room was still in its original state. We decided to just settle for a change of towels. The dear service staff came empty handed after a long wait to "inspect" first before another long wait for him to come back with clean towels.
Massage @Topic Healthcare
There is also a healthcare centre just opposite Fenix Inn which you can relax and have a massage after a tired day.
It seems that massage wasn't really that common in Melaka. Unlike the usual touristy areas, it took us quite some time to find massage at shopping malls, which the standard was kind of disappointing.
Maybe massage wasn't really commonly accepted in this small Malay heritage town and it explain why the massage centre need to put such explicit sign that "No sex service is to be provided".
One hour body massage is around RM32~35 during non-peak (weekday or weekend before 7pm) while RM48.60 for weekend night. Our Chinese massuers who seems to be from China were very skillful, much better than the massage in the shopping mall.
Topic Healthcare website http://www.topichealthcare.com
It seems that massage wasn't really that common in Melaka. Unlike the usual touristy areas, it took us quite some time to find massage at shopping malls, which the standard was kind of disappointing.
Maybe massage wasn't really commonly accepted in this small Malay heritage town and it explain why the massage centre need to put such explicit sign that "No sex service is to be provided".
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| "No Sex Service" Sign at Massage Healthcare Centre |
Topic Healthcare website http://www.topichealthcare.com
Malacca Trail Map
View Malacca - MonsoonTravel in a larger map
dinner by the river
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