Malacca (sight seeing page)

Continuing on from the Malacca food page,
The bears did make some poking around Malacca besides stuffing themselves.

   
The Stadhuys (Red Square) with the Tan Beng Siew Clock Tower and the
Queen Victoria’s fountain erected to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee.

Melaka River in the early morning,

Jonker Walk in the morning, so quiet, no tourists yet.
   
Mr Asia statue inside the Jonker Walk Park

On Brown Bear insistence, the bears joined the Melaka River Cruise.
RM 10/adult and it lasted 40 minutes.

  
(right) The “living museum” where traditional houses are displayed with
real families living in it. Along the shores, traditional shophouses
were also given facelift and painted with artworks that represent the unique
culture of Malaysia, really worth every penny.

This was the second time the bears came to Melaka,
last time they covered some museums, so they figured this time
they could cover some other museums as well.
So they chose the Stamp Museum, which was a complete
waste of money and time.
RM 2/adult (Not many stamps, mostly posters)

Another museum the fat bears went was the Melaka Sultanate Palace.
It is a replica of the original palace, it’s worth a visit to get a feel
of the environment back in the 15th century.
RM2/adult, much better than the Stamp Museum.

Another place not to be missed is the St Paul’s Church.
It is now a tourist spot and the final resting place of a few
Dutch and Portuguese nationals from the 1600s.

   
St Paul’s statue that has its right hand struck down by lightning.
The interior of the church are lined with big tombstones.

Sadly many tourists did not even have the decency to respect the dead,
they posed with the tombstone taking picture, putting their
baby on top of the tombstone, stepping on plaque that explains the
the history of the place, and even tossing coins into the burial pit
of St Xavier thinking that it was a wishing well!

Be an EDUCATED and CIVILISED tourist,
read the plaque and understand the history!

The bears have read and seen it countless times in history book,
but this was the first time they see it in real life,
the famous A Famosa Fortress built by the
equally famous Alfonso d’ Albuquerque in the 1500s.

Besides historical sites, Melaka is full of artists
flaunting their talents at every corner like this one,

some have cool names like this one,

and hotel that is so cute inside they forbid photography,

The fat bears were reluctant to leave Melaka after their short trip,
mostly because of the food.
They vowed they will be back again,
next time, it will be a fully food trip muahahaha!

Malacca (food page)

What better place to celebrate Malaysia Day (16 Sept 2012) than
a trip back in time to the beginning of Malaysia, Malacca (Melaka).

The fat bears have planned this (food) trip for weeks,
for some unforeseen reason, they nearly cancelled the trip.
But on the day of the road trip, they decided to go,
no point wasting the very affordable hotel bookings.

The name of the hotel? ==> Hong Hotel near Jonker Walk.
Twin room for RM 68 per night, it’s small, but new and clean, with friendly staff.
   
Nice right for RM 68/night?

After settling in, the fat bears cannot wait but to head out for some
food hunting and sight seeing. Mostly food hunting.

First up, pork satay at Sun May Hiong,

   
Pork Satay and Chicken Satay
Verdict : The Satay were OK, gravy was reddish and oily, but not spicy,
not so much peanut taste, White Bear thinks it needs improvement,
while Brown Bear thinks it’s just right.
Total : RM 26 ( 70 cents per satay)

Later, the fat bears hunted for some local Nyonya delights
at the East & West Rendezvous.



Cendol (with Gula Melaka) and Nyonya Dumpling
Verdict : Both were especially nice, yum yum! Must try!
Total : RM 7.00 (one Cendol one Dumpling)

Another not to be missed in Melaka, the Chicken Rice Balls!
The fat bears tried it at Chung Wah, just across the bridge from Stadhuys.


Verdict : Brown Bear loves the rice balls,
White Bear loves the chickens, they were all yummy.
And believe it or not, the queue has already started around 8 am!
Total : RM 12.60 (including a big cup of hot Milo kao!)

Next up, the fat bears tried some laksa at Jonker 88,
it was a very long shop house, still it was so packed inside
the fat bears shared a table with a lovely couple.
  
  
Laksa Kahwin and Nyonya Laksa
Verdict : Red hot spicy, tasted nice.
The Laksa  Kahwin was more like kari, while the Nyonya Laksa was
just a tad different than the normal Assam Laksa.
Total : RM 10.00 (RM 5 each)

The fat bears proceeded to ‘da bao’ (take away) some
deep fried and oily snacks from a stall inside Jonker 88.
   
Some fish cakes, Tofu & etc.
Verdict : The fried stuff was OK but combined with the sauce
it tasted too fishy for the bears.
But loved the container box which was biodegradable.
Total : RM 11.00 (for a total of 4 piece)

Finally, it’s time for some heavy meal!
The bears head to the Portuguese Settlement to catch some seafood!
Based on online recommendation, the bear chose the 1st stall, Sea Terrace.
The bears arrived at 6pm sharp and waited 40 minutes for the food.

   
Chicken Wings (RM 8 for 4) and Kangkung Belacan (RM 6)
Verdict : Superb chicken wings, as good as Fatty Crab Chicken Wings!

Sambal Prawns (RM 23 for total 8 prawns)
Verdict : Nothing Special but prawns were fresh and meaty

Black Pepper grilled Crab (RM 44.80 at RM 64/kg)
Verdict : Crab was big, fresh, can taste the black pepper goodness
even with no gravy, though the bears wished the meat was much juicier

This meal was the highlight of the trip,
and the bears absolutely loved it, will be back (in a few years)!