Due to foreign colonization during the age of Malacca Malay Sultanate, Melaka is enriched with trails of western foreign influences; most significantly being the Dutch, Portuguese and English. The invaluable foreign trails left in Melaka, are ranging from the ancient architecture, to traditions and cultures, drooling foods and etc.
Within the bustling heart centre of Old Melaka heritage town, the Dutch Harbour Café (DHC) is found located in the remarkable red-colored shophouses at Jalan Laksamana, diagonally opposite St. Francis Xavier Church. The Dutch Harbour Café is a relatively new addition to the food heaven of Melaka, which began its operation since 1st Aug 2007.
In Melaka, to date, there’s still very few Dutch restaurant. Though The Windmill Station was once (many years back) being themed as a Dutch restaurant, but eventually, its menu is now very much generally westernized without any specific country’s food in theme.
Months back, when I was driving along Jalan Laksamana, the presence of DHC has caught my attention, as it seems to be primarily focus on Dutch-themed foods. Looks interesting to me, and so I visited DHC with my girlfriend for dinner.
Good Dining Environment
DHC has three dining sections – indoor dining area which has the most number of tables, garden dining area which has 4 tables, and riverside dining area along the Melaka River walkway.
View from The Riverside Dining Area
Garden Dining Area
Personally, I prefer the garden dining area, which is accompanied with some greenery. It is a good place for tourists to take a break in a non-crowded environment, sparring some sweet time planning for their itinerary. The riverside dining area is good, only if it’s not a sunny hour. (more…)
As far as I’m concerned, public facilities like MITC (Melaka International Trade Centre) and Melaka Sentral are both equipped with free Wi-Fi hotspots, managed by the same provider – Melaka ICT Holdings (MICTH).
I was at MITC just now in the noon for an event. Driven by curiosity, I flipped up my Asus F3F notebook PC and switched on the wireless network interface, at Orange Café located at MITC lobby.
However, I was greeted with disappointment on the free Wi-Fi. (more…)
Coming to Melaka, if you’re a non-Halal visitor, satay celup is another must-eat. In fact, till now, I still believe good satay celup can only be found in Melaka, and nowhere else, unless I’m proven wrong one day. Never leave Melaka without the savory satay celup
There are a number of satay celup shops in Melaka. But, with Capitol Satay Celup at Lorong Bukit Cina and Ban Lee Hiang (万里香) at Jalan Ong Kim Wee being the 2 most talk-about ones.
If you ask me which is the best satay celup in Melaka, my personal ultimate preference goes to Capitol Satay Celup, the pioneer of satay celup in Melaka, and remains good until today. I’m reluctant to go Ban Lee Hiang, even if Capitol Satay Celup is crowded with long queue.
What is Satay Celup?
No surprise, there are still a lot non-Malaccan Malaysians who are uninitiated about what exactly satay celup is. I’ve got a number of friends visited Melaka, and asked me how satay celup looks like, before I brought them to indulge the savory and to-die-for delicacy.
With layman descriptions in Malaysian’s context, satay celup is served and eaten like lok lok and steamboat, except the main difference in sauce. Instead of boiling pot of soup, satay celup is cooked by dipping or dunking sticks of raw foods into boiling pot of aromatically rich and spicy peanut sauce. (more…)
Some might have heard of D-Paradise Melaka, while majority are still unaware of this currently less known but emerging attraction in Melaka.
4 years back, when I was once frequently traveling to Sungai Udang, a small township where Petronas refinery complex is located, the D-Paradise Melaka was just merely being positioned as a tropical fruit farm.
Now, whenever you’re passing by the main road of Melaka Raya at night, I’m sure your sight will be attracted by a new cozy restaurant which has strikingly pinkish interior.
Seriously, if it wasn’t the signage of Cosmo Noodle Bar (八面玲瓏), I would not have associated this pinkish shop as a dining place. The owner of this restaurant must be a freak for pink. However, I must admit that this bold design concept is an advantage to Cosmo Noodle Bar, or else it might not have attracted my attention, so do other new customers.
Cosmo Noodle Bar is a double-storey premise, with the upper floor suitable for group gathering functions. As suggested by the restaurant name, Cosmo Noodle Bar is mainly serving noodles of various cooking styles. The menu is kinda comprehensive, categorized into dishes of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and Italian. Besides noodles, a lengthy list of snacks is also available. (more…)
Jalan Hang Lekir is one of most accessed streets in Old Melaka town; but surprisingly, it’s the least known by its name! If you’ve been to the heritage town of Melaka, I’m sure you have most probably left your foot print at Jalan Hang Lekir without you realizing its name.
With reference to the following illustration, Jalan Hang Lekir is the lane connecting the renowned Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) and Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street). If Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock is street of lodging and Jalan Hang Jebat is street of antiques, then I would describe Jalan Hang Lekir as weekend-street of collectibles.
On every Saturday and Sunday morning, stalls will be aligned along Jalan Hang Lekir, presenting visitors with nothing but golden memory collectibles, ranging from antique coins, to watches, oil lamps, black-rubber musical discs, celebrity posters, kitchenware, and more. (more…)
The coming Saturday evening will not be a usual evening for Melaka. It will be graced with nationwide celebration of Chinese New Year (CNY), with expectation for 100,000 visitors including foreigners. This event, known as Majlis Rumah Terbuka Malaysia (Malaysia Open House), will be held on 24th Feb 2007, and activities will begin from 7.30PM onwards, at Jalan Hang Tuah.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will grace the open house. This will be the first time for Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin attending such event as a Ruler. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will also attend.
On the past few days, some of the politicians have commented about this event on the absence of allocation for Chinese traditional arts and essences, such as lion dance performance. However, AmazingMelaka.com can firmly confirm that, a series of performances reflecting Chinese cultures will be presented during this great open house.
Yesterday’s (22nd Feb) evening, our team has attended the full rehearsal of CNY open house, to witness and preview the scheduled activities. The following pictures tell how the open house will be carried out, according to the rehearsal.
Activities and Performances
A troop of 50 lions will present lion dance performance along the Jalan Hang Tuah main road to signify the launching of CNY open house. This performance is expected to begin around 8.45PM. (more…)
Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah (MBMB) is offering free parking for the first 2 days of Chinese New Year celebration, 18th and 19th Feb 2007.
Effective at every MBMB coupon parking zone, there’s no need to scratch your parking coupon on the stated dates. More than five thousands parking zones managed by MBMB are benefited.
However, this offer doesn’t include other private parking zones.
Personally, I agree that this offer is undeniably a great move. During festive season, Melaka is always flooded with tourists and visitors. It’s kinda troublesome to look for parking coupons, or on risk of getting an “Ang Pow’ (summon). Though parking coupon system is economically profitable in management’s perspective, but definitely not a convenient approach for tourists.
The Old Melaka town is again dressed with reddish and ruddy street decorations to greet Chinese New Year celebration. The Chinese New Year Decoration Carnival has been an annual attraction in Melaka tourism for many years, and it is always praised by the visitors and local residents for the unique festive atmosphere.
Now, when you step into the Old Melaka streets, such as Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street), Jalan Hang Kasturi, Jalan Kampung Pantai and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street), you will feel like being part of the festival, even if you’re not celebrating Chinese New Year. The festive atmosphere is simply so dwelling in Old Melaka.
The big red lantern at Jalan Hang Kasturi. (more…)
