Melaka (Malacca) Hotel Reviews
We visited A Farmosa, Christ Church, Mahkota Shopping Centre and Jonkers Street. Jonkers Street is full of great bargains! A very unique night market with many interesting shophouses too!
Melacca was a joy, most of our sightseeing was done on foot in and around the old township. A 1hr ride on the flowered tricyles cost us 40myr and was delightful. Take our advice don''t miss an evening meal at the Baba House this was without a doubt the best meal we had in our 5 weeks holiday.
Melaka is really a hot place place. Drink plenty of water and stay in-door from 12 noon to 4pm. The so-called historical sites is only worth 5-10 minutes each of your time. So do a quick run and hide yourself in the air-conditioned Mahkota Parade Mall until sundown. The real attraction is the night market in Jonker St (Jalan Hang Jebat). For food, don''t bother to try their peranakan food, you can get better peranakan food in Penang and Singapore. I tried Peranakan Restaurant (opposite Hotel Puri), it is edible but nothing special. The only thing that I find good was that the meal was cheap (RM 49.90 for 2 persons).
Moving around Malacca is rather easy, lest the occassional traffic jam. The pace of the city is very wonderful and makes you want to come back sooner than later. My family and I enjoyed every trip to Malacca, which we tried to make it a point to visit 4 times or more a year. Jonker Street is a must visit over the weekends, especially in the night where you get to see night stalls and street performance. My children loved the performance and always fascinated by the ''fire eating'', coconut piercing performance.
We wanted to try out the hawker stalls at Jonker Street, and had trouble finding the place although we drove in our own car. Melaka is a maze of winding lanes and roads, and it was confusing at times to find our way around, even though we are fellow Malaysians. Later on, we found out that the night market at Jonker only opens on weekends, which was a let down for us. However, there were many restaurants in Melaka Raya, an area which was located just opposite our hotel and within walking distance. We enjoyed good Nyonya food (Nyonya food - a combination of Malay and Chinese fusion food specific to Melaka and Penang) and noticed that there were many of such restaurants in this area. For visitors, there are many trishaws available just at doorsteps of the hotel, for those who fancy such rides. Additionally, this would be a good place to visit historical sites such as A Famosa, Christchurch and a display of a Portuguese ship, although this was in our plan for this trip.
Melaca is a nice place to spend a day or two. As such there are not many tourist attractions but the city with its ancient architecture is worth a visit for a day or two. We stopped over at Melaka on our way to Mersing.
We took the town bus (17) from melaka bus station directly to clock tower. Over there famous are the chicken rice ball. I will encourage ppl to eat the chicken rice balls from "zhong hwa" and "li ji" instead of the famosa as the above mentioned two are highly recommended by the local ppl there while famosa is actually more expensive. The famous chendol by the clock tower wasn''t as nice as expected. Basically can travel round the melaka town by WALKING though will take some time but at least it''s walkable.The routes are the same, after a few times, you will basically memorise all the route. Though they say melaka is very small, nothing much to do, can finish in 1 day. But I feel that though there are limited options in the town area but will need around 2 days to fully tour their town area which includes Stadhudys, mahkota shopping centre, perakan museum etc.
This is my second time back to the ancient city Melaka. We opted to stay at Hotel Puri due to its fantastic location along Heeren Street - reputed to be the oldest street in Melaka. It''s close proximity to Jonkers'' Street, the historical district & Mahkota Parade Shopping Mall means savings on Taxis cost to these places. The traveller would like to note that travelling by taxi within the town is expensive at a whopping RM10 even for short trips. The bus terminal have been shifted to Melaka Central, at the northern end of the town. We paid for RM 15 for our taxi trip to Hotel Puri. Other than that, it was a fantastic trip as we spent time exploring the historic places that Melaka has to offer.
Malacca is a beautiful state built on rich cultural heritage. The people were friendly and the food was abundant. There is no one particular place I would recommend as everything new is a must try. The historical site is fantastic; it really makes you feel as if you were there during the 1600s. There are lots of Moslems of past heroes as well as heroines who fought and protected the state for the sultan. Their heroic tales are worth putting some time to read. As I was driving around I had the opportunity to explore the place at my own place, visiting the locals instead of the tourist facilities. What better way to explore a new place if you just stick to tailored sites ;). But do watch out for the weather, use sun screen and moisturizers and drink lots or water! The heat was unbearable. Trying visiting the place during a much cooler season, but not the monsoon season either. The last thing you want is a torrential downpour hampering your holiday.
We went to Jonker walk to see the cultural heritage of the Chinese. Visited St. Paul''s Church and the Fort. Went to Tan Kim Hock to buy their cookies. Ate the Farmosa Famous Chicken Rice Balls. We drove around in a car that we rented in JB cause we drove up to Malacca!
Location is really great - just opposite the hotel is Melaka''s biggest shopping centre - mahkota parade. You can spend a greater part of the day shopping - lots of stuff and variety, fashion, supermarket, etc. Especially great for families with kids - to pick up essentials and there''s MacDonald''s, KFC, Kenny rogers chicken, etc. My visits to Melaka usually includes at least one round of golf. There are various clubs there - Tiara Melaka, Golden Valley and Orna - all within close distance of one another. These courses are also rather challenging which makes the game much more enjoyable. Orna is the only club to offer night golfing though (not sure if they still do...) There''s also this Teochew restaurant near Jonker Street which serves authentic Teochew stuff. Biz is so good that you have to make advance reservations..... Pricey though.
We have a good lunch at the Restaurant Peranankan, at 107 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok, very nice decor and food is delicious and price is affordable for all.
Melaka is an old city with a lot of Historical significance. Try the antique shops along Jonker street and Christchurch is definitely worth a visit to see the tombs of the early dutch settlers buried under your feet in the main sanctuary.
Night market on Jonker Street worth visiting and in the Peranakan Museum Cafe 1511, one can try some authentic local food at reasonable price.
Near Makota parade, there were many nice nonya restaurants. Some of them serve very good chendol, too. Behind Equatorial Hotel, there is a small coffee shop and their chendol is very good.
Arrived in Malacca from KLIA, took a taxi from the airport as it was only AUD$45 to get there. Looked around china town area & went for dinner at old portugese settlement. Cafe 1511 on JL Tun Tan Chang Lock is a great place for meals & drinks & it is just down the road from the Puri.
If you are driving, don''t use Alor Gajah way, use Ayer Keroh. Alor Gajah, very bad road, having construction.
We have been to Melaka numerous times and it is an ideal place for food hopping. From restaurants to roadside stalls, you can find all sorts of delicious food. It is interesting to walk Jonker street with its many antiques shops. Bargaining is a way of life at these places. As we were travelling with a toddler, we found the trishaw rides a convenient and interesting way to get around. The river cruise is also worth trying. Both beat walking after being on your feet all day to take in the sights.
Nice small town to browse through antiques and art (Jonker street and surroundings) and find out Melacca''s history in the musea. Do check out all the nice bars and restaurants in Chinatown. If you want to go for a boat trip, please note that there are only two departures 12.00 and 01.00 pm.
Melaka was a wonderful city for a weekend visit. Do not expect spectacular attractions. Do expect a relaxing and lazy pace, warm people, great food and interesting shopping. The mix of cultures - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Portuguese - is fascinating, and more evident here than perhaps other cities in Malaysia. It is easy to stroll around the city on foot, particularly Chinatown, which is full of antique stores. In Chinatown, I would recommend a visit to the Babanonya Heritage museum, which is comprised of three rowhouses which were connected by a wealthy Chinese merchant. When I went, I was the only person there, and the museum tour guide was very quirky. For restaurants, I would highly recommend Peranakan House and Harpers. The latter is ideal to soak up the hazy, post-colonial atmosphere of Melaka over a lunch of malay-portuguese food and Tiger beer. More than anything, I would recommend Melaka because of the people. They were uniformly friendly and helpful, and overall seemed to maintain a small-town warmth that is quickly disappearing in many other southeast asian cities.