When your galpal is back from Paris for a visit and 2 other girlfriends have just celebrated a birthday, what else could it call for than a girlie getaway.
With everyone married and most with kids, the trip had to be short (Friday 24th April – Saturday 25th April) and close by. Seremban and Ipoh were bandied around but in the end we decided upon Melaka. There were the obvious attractions of Bandar Hilir’s historical sights and famed Nyonya food, but we also shared personal history with the city – 5 of us had met at boarding school here.
I cheated and arrived in Bandar Hilir early(-ish) on Friday so I could catch up with friend and Melaka native Donovan over what was supposed to be breakfast at Ujong Pasir.
I say “supposed” because I was a disorganised mess and left later than planned, so brekkie turned into brunch, and Donovan and I exchanged stories over a delicious bowl of Nyonya laksa and a tall glass of iced coffee at Siang Malam in Bukit Cina instead.
By 1pm the girls messaged to announce their arrival so with that Donovan and I jumped in our respective cars and I tailed him to Nyonya restaurant Ole Sayang in Melaka Raya before parting ways.
There were 7 adults and Aizah’s daughter Jaz in total, and although we could have done the hotel thing and gotten everyone a room on the same floor, we decided to take the house or apartment route so that we could make the place our own and lounge around in peejays with our makeup off and our hair down and have one big slumber party.
I was plumping for a place with a private pool like 45 Lekiu, but with 1 king and 2 singles, it was too small. Drat. So I hit up Airbnb and shortlisted 3 properties for their size and proximity to the sights:
1. This Well preserved 5BR heritage house with 4 bedrooms, 5 beds; It accommodates up to 12 people, and costs RM627/night,
2. D’simple Haus A more modern 4 bedroom, 7 beds home that accommodates up to 10 people; RM500/night, and
3. Jawa Street Townstay A 5 bedrooms, 6 beds renovated heritage home that can accommodate up to  10 people,  and notably has an abundance of bathrooms. Being girls, the bathroom situation won out and we swung for Jawa Street Townstay. RM899/night.
After lunch at Ole Sayang, which sadly wasn’t as good as I remember it to be and was little on the expensive side for the quality of the food served (the kangkong was lacklustre and the pongteh too salty), we navigated our way to our Jawa Street home away from home.
The location was perfect, right by the river, close to the UNESCO Heritage zone and best of all, it comes with it’s own parking – a must in Melaka, as the lanes are pretty narrow and street parking is limited.
After a mad rush for rooms (Iza and I landed the place’s only twin room), we congregated in the kitchen over coffee and fresh mangoes, before eventually drifting off for a nap. It was too hot to wander the streets so we rested first before heading out at 5pm just as thunder rumbled overhead.
It’s such a joy to not have to rush and we strolled along the promenade chatting and catching up on life as we admired the culturally themed murals on the heritage buildings on the Jalan Kampung Hulu side. Part of the Projekarm project initiated in 2010 involving local street artists, the works have added vibrancy to the area.
As we wandered upstream, I was thrilled to see the mangroves making a comeback. When the Melaka River had been upgraded to include the paved walkway and boardwalk the mangroves had been cleared leaving the river looking sterile and devoid of life. It’s now a lot more natural. Hope the municipality keep it that way.
There were some new additions to the hotel scene since I was last here like the completed RC Hotel, and the yet to be completed The Pines and 1825 Gallery Hotel (pictured below), all located along the Melaka River. At time of publishing, the 1825 Gallery Hotel was due open in May.
Even the old OCBC Bank in front of Hard Rock Cafe was under renovation, although I couldn’t find any details on what it’s to become apart from the name of the architect, design firm and its developer, a Datin Goh Kim Kooi.
At the former cinema-turned-Panggung Bangsawan we crossed the bridge and returned on the opposite side of the river.
By now parched, we duck into Tuk Tuk Kitchen & Bar, a Thai joint on Lorong Hang Jebat that does steamboat and boat noodles, and ordered some coconut shakes. I opted for fresh coconut water – I’m glad I did as the shakes were no great shakes (geddit?). Too much santan (coconut milk) for my taste.
Our plan was to hit up the weekend night market on Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat) but even before we got there the girls were in a shopping mood.
Melaka is known for its hand-sown beaded slippers. Old Town Clog Shoes sells these as well as terompah or wooden clogs (above) – which I remember clacking about loudly in at my grandmother’s house – and custom painted ones decorated with cartoon characters.
Shurqi left with two pairs of clogs. The rest of us were tempted but the frosty reception from the female storekeeper put us off. Noticing me admiring the cartoon clogs she asked me with not a hint of helpfulness in her voice “What you want?” Hmm …. apparently nothing now.
At last we arrived at Jonker Walk night market, which is always a mixed bag of tourist fare, clothes and genuine finds, with most of the food concentrated at the bottom end where the outdoor karaoke takes place. But it’s Mamee Jonker House, hidden behind the stalls, that gets the girls excited.
Though it was just about to close that didn’t stop this enthusiastic gaggle of 40+ year-olds from rushing in and reliving their childhood memories.
For the next 20 minutes the girls giggled their way through selfies, snapped pictures of the exhibits and got lost in the merchandise. As I’m a lot less nostalgic for junk food I ducked outside in time to catch the setting sun.
When the girls finally emerge from their snack food reverie, hands clinging bags of Mamee and Mamee monster t-shirts (for the kids) we are all hungry. A quick survey inside Jonker 88 rules it out; the tables are all occupied and there’s a queue forming at its stall. No Nyonya laksa and cendol for us tonight then.
As we make our way up Hereen Street then back towards the sounds of karaoke it starts to drizzle. Few restaurants appear to be open and the food down this end is largely non-halal.
We weigh up our dining options. There’s the Portuguese Settlement at Ujong Pasir and Muara Sungai Duyung about 8km south. We make a course for our Townstay to grab the car.
Exhausted from all the walking, Shurqi and Ita caved to the joys of hot showers and bed but determined to go the distance in the name of food and female kinship Sue, Aizah, Iza and I jumped in the car.
There are a few seafood restaurants at the mouth of the river, but our destination is Restoran Muara Duyong. Iza had warned us of a lack of parking, a queue to order and a wait for tables, as the place is extremely popular. We must have been lucky; we park right in front of the restaurant and walk in with no wait whatsoever.
At the counter, buckets of green lipped mussels, razor clams and cockles, cleaned up and ready for the kitchen, sat in plastic trays enticing incoming diners.
It’s not long before our table is full with ikan tiga rasa, butter prawns, lala with ginger, barbecued squid and more.
Just as she promised the seafood was ridiculously fresh even if the cooking was somewhat heavy handed. Still, we finished everything we ordered, as did every other table here.
The following morning our initial breakfast plans were thwarted. Line Clear had yet to open so we traipsed to Little India and had breakfast at Selvam on Jalan Temenggong instead.
The decision turned out to be a fortuitous one as the food was great, super affordable and the service and clientele were friendly. I wish I had more pictures but we were so engrossed in our nasi lemak, roti canai, capati and apom that I forgot to take more.
Enroute to Stadhuys we are distracted by pretty Nyonya kebaya at Toko Che Ros on Jalan Laksamana. At around RM150 a set I get one for my niece, then remember I have a wedding to attend at the end of the month and get one for myself too. Jaz gets a pretty purple one and Shurqi picks up a set for herself and for her daughter.
At Stadhuys we waited for Sue, posing for obligatory group shots to pass the time. She had gone off to meet a friend for breakfast.
The well preserved Dutch town hall has been standing since 1650 and is one of the oldest remaining Dutch buildings in the Far East, but development works to the city are continually unearthing archeological remains that are even older.
Work on a carpark outside of the Church of Saint Francis Xavier has revealed long forgotten walls of the old Pourtuguese Fort while antique pottery and china are still being fished from the Melaka river.
Outside the Quayside Hotel we jump into one of the Melaka River Cruise boats to see the riverside from a different perspective, and settle in for a relaxing but short half hour cruise.
The boat travels beyond yesterday’s walking route past the beautiful Kampung Morton, a traditional Malay village, to Taman Rempah where it makes the turnaround back to our starting point.
It’s past noon now. There’s barely enough time to check out so we rush back to the Townstay, gather up our stuff and after settling up, hastily wave goodbye to Damon, our Jawa Street Townstay host – it was swell.
Our last stop is the Majestic Hotel for lunch. While The Majestic doesn’t offer its tiffin lunch anymore, it did put on a lovely Nyonya set lunch for us at The Mansion.
We had Top Hats to start, followed by Chap Chai, Ikan Asam Pedas, Tamarind Prawns and a small bowl of Chicken Pongteh for Jaz, served with rice, and Cendol for dessert.
The Peranakan cuisine was delicious, with the prawns, Pongteh and Ikan Assam Pedas going down a storm. The Top Hats, Chap Chai and Cendol were less successful, but ultimately the combination of good food, comfortable colonial ambience and great company made for a wonderful way to end of our Melaka sojourn. As we snapped the last of our holiday pictures and jumped in our respective cars, we promised not to leave it to long between the next girlie weekend.
POKOK KELAPA 