Melaka’s old town square

In a nutshell: Melaka was established in the fifteenth century by an exiled Sumatran prince. It soon became one of the biggest trade centers of Asia, attracting Arab and European traders from the West, and the Chinese from the East. The Portuguese took the sultanate by force early in the sixteenth century. They were eventually displaced by the Dutch, who in turn were forced out by the British. Evidence of all these influences can still be seen in Melaka now, so the city attracts those with an interest in history, as well as people with a keen interest in architecture. The city’s Chinatown area is full of mostly well preserved nineteenth century shophouses. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, there are more than 20 museums in the city, covering everything from the history of Melaka, to the history of Malaysian literature.

When to go: Picking the right time to go to Melaka isn’t so much a matter of the season as it is the time of week. Thanks to it’s location on the sea near the equator, the weather is warm and tropical with a chance of thundershowers all year long, so there is no time when it is really all that much ‘better’ weather-wise to visit Melaka. Instead, the city’s position just a couple hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur makes it a popular weekend destination, making the city a lot more crowded on weekends and holidays than on weekdays. If you want to avoid these crowds (and some of the hotels charge more for weekends) the it’s best to plan on making a mid-week visit to the city. However, there’s one further complication: most of the restaurants and shops in Chinatown are closed on Tuesdays. Taking all that into account, my recommendation is to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

The posh interior of Transnasional buses.

Getting There: Melaka is easy to get to, although getting there in style is not so easy. There is really no direct train or air service, although Melaka does have an airport. The nearest train station is in Tampin, on the main line from Singapore. Buses are plentiful between Melaka and both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. It’s about a two hour trip from Kuala Lumpur, a little longer from Singapore. Malaysian buses are surprisingly comfortable and efficient. You can get buses from Kuala Lumpur’s bus terminal near the National Sports Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport bus terminal, or the Low Cost Carrier Terminal. All buses will take you to Melaka’s Sentral bus terminal, a short distance from the center of town. A taxi from here to any place in town will cost you no more than RM 15.00. The cost of the bus will be from RM 12 to 22, depending on where you get the bus to / from.

The shophouses of Chinatown

How long to stay: Most people visit Melaka on a day trip from Kuala Lumpur. While you can see some of the highlights in just the few hours a day trip allows, it doesn’t give you time to browse the shops or visit more than one or two museums. If you’re really interested in soaking up the sights of the city, then I would suggest a three night stay which will give you two full days to look around. Spend one day around St Paul’s Hill and the other poking around Chinatown.

Where to sleep: Most of the sights of Melaka are within easy walking distance of each other, so I think it’s best to stay as close as possible to the historic areas. There are several small hotels in Chinatown as well as several around the fringes of the area. See the link for a full list.

Getting around: As mentioned above, most of the sights are within easy walking distance of one another. You will only need transportation if you are staying too far away or want to visit some of the outlying sights such as China Hill or Portuguese Square. In such cases, a taxi will do and should never cost you more than RM 15. Note that Melaka taxi drivers have something of a bad reputation for over-charging and not using meters.

What to see: Melaka will appeal mostly to those with a keen interest in history and Architecture. The specific things that will interest you are of course up to you, but the "don’t miss" sights would include the old town square, the ruins of St Paul Church and the Baba Nyonya Heritage House in Chinatown.

For more details on what to see and do, where to stay, etc. see the full Melaka travel guide at AsiaForVisitors.com.

The Travelfish guide to Angkor was one of the first apps I tried. Travelfish.org is one of the few sites I trust enough to consult when I’m planning trips to places I haven’t been to yet. The Angkor guide was their first travel app and it’s been updated several times since I first got it a month or two ago. They now have several apps out for many of the destinations they cover.

The Travelfish Angkor app. running on an iPod Touch

Although I’ve had it for a while, and thought it was good, I decided to try the Angkor app "on the ground" in Siem Reap before giving it a review. The Travelfish apps are oriented to some degree to the ‘backpacker’ types who don’t do too much advance planning, and often arrive at a destination without any reservations, so the apps are full of suggestions on where to stay and eat as well as what to see. The suggestions – all the result of on the ground inspections – are appropriate for most classes of visitor, so you may find them useful.

But the real potential usefulness of the app. for any kind of visitor is the guide to the sights of the archaeological park. The Travelfish app. manages to pack in quite a lot of information, including a map that doesn’t require you to be on-line, about the temples. While it may not have the level of detail that you’ll get from the Dawn Rooney guide, it has enough to help you decided what to see, or know what you’re looking at, and of course an iPhone or Touch is certainly a lot less weight to carry around than a thick guide book. The Travelfish app. even has a few temples and other sights that you won’t find in the standard guides.

An iPhone or iPod may not be the best device – format-wise – to plan your trip on, but as a tool to take with you on the road, they have a lot of advantages. The Travelfish Angkor guide shows just how useful it can be. Check out the Travelfish web site or the Apple iTunes store for details.

The outdoor seating area of Le Malraux restaurant in Siem Reap

Eventually I settle on Le Malraux, a French (duh!) restaurant on the edge of the food area around the Old Market. It has a large covered outdoor area as well as some indoor seating.

Fried noodles at Le Malraux

The menu is mostly French / continental, although even here there are a few Asian dishes. I’m in the mood for something light, so I end up selecting the wok-fried noodles. After placing my order, the restaurant served a complementary appetizer of French bread with a thick tomato and olive ‘dip’. It’s very tasty, and has me wishing I’d selected one of the specials rather than an ‘Asian’ dish.

However, when the noodles came, they were still quite impressive. When I ordered "wok-fried" noodles I didn’t expect to get the wok! The ingredients are quite fresh and only lightly cooked. It’s a very mild dish, but there’s fresh ground pepper on the table which spices it up nicely. The dish is a little oily for my taste, but not unpleasantly so.

I’d definitely go back to Le Malraux again, and try something from the French menu. Visit their web site for more information.

Steak Ciabatta from Selantra

On this occasion, I decide to try the Steak Ciabatta. They asked how I want the steak cooked, which is not something I’m used to when ordering a sandwich. It takes a little while, but it’s a rainy day so I’m in no hurry. The sandwich is served with a small salad and some potato wedges. The sandwich itself is quite tasty. All the ingredients worked very well together – quite often restaurants put ‘standard’ ingredients like lettuce and tomato in sandwiches when they really don’t compliment the main ingredients. The ciabatta itself was perhaps getting a bit too old. It was a bit hard but still tasted good. The banana starfruit shake I ordered made a delicious dessert.

Selantra is located on Wat Bo Road. See the Selantra web site for more information and a map.

The "Biting Amok" curry at Chamkar Restaurant

Chamkar is a full-on vegetarian restaurant, with an Asian inspired menu. It was hard to decide among the options – this was one of those times I really wished I had a traveling companion – but I eventually settled on the "Biting Amok". The popular Khmer Amok curry is usually made with fish, but Chamkar’s vegetarian version is made with a paste of nuts and jackfruit, wrapped in the Amok leaves and served in a lightly spiced curry. It was absolutely wonderful with rice.

Chamkar is in the middle of "The Passage", where many of Siem Reap’s restaurants are located. Opening hours are 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. Pricing is in line with most restaurants in the area, around $15 per person without alcohol.

However, all is not lost. The market has just moved up the street a little bit. It’s now located on the other side of the Ratchada-Ladprao intersection, in a large paved lot in front of the subway parking garage. See the map below. The market is usually going strong by 7:00 pm or so.

Map to Ratchada Saturday Night Market

The interior of Raffles Restaurant & Wine Bar

Inside, Raffles is comfortable, in a formal kind of way. The restaurant obviously aspires to be a fine dining establishment, but it isn’t stuffy. Most of the tables have a view of the street, while the "wine bar" is in the back.

The menu at Raffles is international, with an optional three course set menu. I wasn’t that hungry, and the hamburger idea was still in my head, so I selected the Sambal Burger from the menu of eight or so different kinds of hamburgers. There’s a choice of either 100% Australian beef or chicken. I chose the beef.

The Raffles Sambal Burger

The burger may have been pure Australian beef, but it was clearly factory made and had an odd, almost rubbery, texture. The sambal sauce was good, but maybe not the best match with the beef. It might have been better with chicken. On the whole, it was a rather disappointing experience for what was advertised as a ‘gourmet’ burger. It wasn’t bad, mind you, just meh.

The price is not too expensive. You can enjoy a meal at Raffles for around 20 Ringgit. For more information you can check their web site or Facebook page.

Local Coffee with sweet milk foam

Calanthe has an international food menu that makes it a good place for lunch. From the extensive coffee menu I select the local coffee topped with sweet milk foam. The coffee is rich and full bodied, while the milk foam is very thick and creamy. It goes down very well.

Sugar overload: Sago with palm sugar syrup and ice cream.

Calanthe had an afternoon ‘tea’ time special on cheesecake and coffee, but in the end I decided that a ‘local’ dessert would be a better option. Melaka is somewhat famous for sago, so I decide on the sago with palm sugar syrup and ice cream. When it was served, I rather wished I was with someone to share it with, it was so big. The sago was good, although I prefer it warm, like it’s often served in Thailand. The palm sugar gave it a nice bit of molasses.

Calanthe Art Cafe has two locations. One in Chinatown off Jonker Walk, and the other in the Mega Mall near the A’famosa fort. Check the Calanthe Art Cafe web site for more information.

Hoe Kee Shop Interior

While the exterior may be low key, the shop is still full of diners when I make my way behind the bamboo blinds and into the shop. And, I’m the only westerner. That’s generally a good sign. I take one of the few tables available, near the kitchen, but that doesn’t bother me. The shop is simple, with small-ish formica tables and mostly stools for chairs, but it’s actually rather fancy for what is essentially an old-fashioned Asia style "fast food" shophouse.

There’s no menu at Hoe Kee. The chicken rice balls aren’t the only thing on offer, but it is what most people order. I order just a plate of the chicken and rice balls.

Chicken and Rice Balls

The chicken is quite good, tender and full of flavor. The rice balls, despite what you may think, are not "sticky". They cut easily with a spoon and retain their shape. The taste is a little on the salty side, but the chili sauce evens that all out.

Hoe Kee is only open for lunch, and closes around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon. It may be open later on weekends, as many places in Melaka are.

The interior of Eleven

The interior decoration is understated with some contemporary abstract Asian art on the walls. The lighting was a bit uneven, but not uncomfortably so. In the evening, after the day-trippers have gone home, they set up tables outside on the street as well.

Curry Dable Chicken

The menu is very heavy on seafood, with things such as Sambal Crabs, Green Curry Clams and Deep Fried Squid. Since seafood is off my menu, I decide to try the "Special Curry Dable Chicken". The dish is made with bone-in pieces of chicken covered in a spicy chili sauce on a bed of grilled onions. On first taste, I wasn’t too impressed, but on digging deeper, so to speak, and getting more of the sauce, it was a lot more flavorful. While spicy, this is not a fiery hot dish, although I did find it a bit oily for my taste.

Eleven gets good reviews, and while the food was certainly acceptable as well as distinctive, the experience left me a little bit cold. The restaurant lacked something, I’m not sure what, to make it great. But, it’s still good, and I’d certainly give it another try. There are so few choices for dinner in the area that I wouldn’t rule this one out.

Eleven is open daily from 11:00 to 23:00. See the Eleven Bistro Restaurant web site for more information.