Some Good Eats in Melaka

Whatever foods or meals we  have had in Melaka were mostly unplanned, quite serendipitous really. Wherever seems right, convenient and easy. We do not especially 'hunt' for good Melaka/Peranakan /Nyonya eats, but after five trips to Melaka, some good food* experiences are repeated.

For the best of the iconic kueh ondeh-ondeh or kueh buah melaka,  freshly made, queue up at the Aku & Dia shop. The generous gula melaka (palm sugar) centre of this kueh just deliciously bursts in your mouth. Inside the unpretentious shop you can also have the best Malay-style kway teow and other goreng-goreng.

Queue outside Aku & Dia (CNB 2014)

When walking along the river in the city centre, you will notice that there are some picturesque riverine cafes, one of them, 'Riverine'. The  Nyonya/Peranakan food here is pretty good, especially the seafood. The cincaluk omelette is quite delish to say the least. But the chicken pongteh is an acquired taste.

You can't miss the Hard Rock Cafe by the Melaka River, what with the huge guitar 'installation' outside. Apart from the usual steaks (B had) and other Western fare like fish and chips (M had), the nasi goreng I had was a-OK.  Very generous portion (as is usual with HRC fare) but surprisingly a bit on the pedas side for me!

Nasi  goreng HRC

The Casa del Rio's River Cafe serves 'sinful' pizzas and good mocktails, but the hot chocolate we had at their Bar Rio one evening was 'weak'. That's why one should never order hot chocolate at a bar, ha ha.

We had so-so hot chocolate at Bar Rio CDR (MB 2014)

When you walk along Jalan Hang Jebat/Jonker Street or Jonker Walk, especially during the weekend night markets, you can't ignore the sights, sounds and smells all round. There's the gula ting-ting, gula melaka, one-bite durian puffs, Portuguese egg tarts, oyster omelettes, etc., etc. Queues that form in front of the eateries here 'confirm' that the food should be better than average. Museum Cafe aka Jonker 88 (aka my 'Mao's Cafe') serve their famous Durian cendol dessert and Laksa kahwin.

Jonker 88 or Museum Cafe or 'Mao's Cafe'

The famous (Trip Advisor awarded/Lonely Planet mentioned) Geographer Cafe serves pretty good Nasi lemak and 'coconut soup'. But usually we drop by for cakes and drinks only.

Pretty Geographer Cafe (CNB 2012)

We had the best Asam pedas at a Malay Restaurant I can't remember the name of. We also had previously sampled some good Peranakan dishes at Nyonya Makko in Taman Melaka Raya before. We found the Zheng He Tea House most interesting on a previous visit. But we have yet to try what is touted as Melaka's signature foods - Devil curry and Chicken rice ball. Maybe this calls for yet another visit! Anyway what food 'souvenirs' did we bring home this time around? Not the iconic cincaluk or belacan because we still have them from our last visit. But the local Melaka coffee from Aik Cheong. And of course Gula Melaka, what else??

Get roasted Liberica coffee beans from here (CNB 2014)

Gula Melaka Comel (CNB 2014)

Note: From sayangmelaka.blogspot.com, the most popular deliciacies (sic) of Melaka are: Asam pedas, Satay, Ondeh-ondeh, Pai tee, Chicken rice ball, Chicken pongteh, Cincaluk, Devil curry, Renginang and Sambal belacan. Selamat makan-makan!