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Eating in Malacca


Eating in Malacca

Besides the usual Malaysian fare, you'll be able to sample some rather peculiar Malaccan food. On top of the list is of course Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya food, which until recently was totally uncommercialised and confined to the kitchens of old grandmothers. Now, there are a string of restaurants claiming to serve Peranakan food, most unfortunately seem to be on the tour bus circuit. The dishes are slightly different from that of the Penang Peranakan. Usual ones include ayam pongteh (chicken in bean sauce, originally cooked with pork) and ayam buah keluak (chicken cooked with a bitter fruit) and a whole array of desserts. Another famous Malacca dish is what is commonly called "chicken rice ball". Although it is called Hainanese chicken rice, it is not from Hainan, China, but invented by the Hainanese immigrants to Malaysia a long time ago. The chicken for this dish is very much the same as the boiled chicken offered throughout Malaysia; what is unique is the rice - it comes in ping-pong sized balls. Yet another Malaccan speciality is satay celup. It is like lok-lok found in other parts of the country but instead of dipping your skewered foodstuff (fishballs, crabsticks, meat, prawns and etc) into boiling water, you dip them into a boiling vat of satay sauce. The sight of boiling satay sauce may not appeal to you but the crowds at the satay celup outlets seem to suggest that many have overcome their phobias. Of course, Malacca is where you'll find Portuguese-Eurasian food. The greatest concentration of outlets will be at the Portuguese Settlement. Seafood is popular, as is the fiery "devil curries". For local Malay delicacies, worth trying:
  • Asam Pedas, the signature dish of the state. A very hot and mild sour fish curry which accompanying white rice. Normally eaten during lunch and dinner. From RM4.50.
  • Sambal Belacan, very spicy local chilli prawn paste.
  • Cencaluk, can be found sold along the roads near Klebang Beach. Made of fermented krills. A bit weird tasting for those who are not used to it.
  • Lemang, glutinous rice cooked in bamboo, sold on the side of the road to Teluk Mas
  • Ikan Bakar, head to Umbai, Pernu or Serkam for a dinner of fresh caught grilled fish and crustaceans.
  • Kuih Udang, you can find this popular tea time dish in Alor Gajah town. The sauce is nice too.
  • Kuih-muih, traditional cakes and deserts like dodol, wajik, lempok, inang-inang, gula melaka and many more are sold in shopping mall at Bandar Hilir, Klebang Beach and kampung area throughout the state.
  • Other local but not typically Malay food:
  • Roti John, an invented omelette sandwich, very popular among the Malays. For a good one, look for the restaurant in Tanjung Kling.
  • Local burger, the street stall vendors, generally local Malay men serve quite tasty and satisfying burgers and hotdogs and it's cheaper than ordinary fast food restaurants too.
  • The recent tourism boom has seen many new food and beverage outlets open in Malacca, and especially in the heritage area of Jonker and Heeren Street. However, competition is great and some outlets fail to survive. Places you discover on your first visit may not be around anymore on your second.
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    Malacca Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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