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Remember the ads that crooned Malaysia, Truly Asia? As a child, I assumed it was just a convenient rhyme. Only when I visited Malaysia did I realise it refers to the country being a meeting ground of three Asian cultures: Malay, Chinese, and Indian.
Melaka, on Malaysia’s southwestern coast, exemplifies this diversity in surprising ways. For instance, the Chinese restaurant serving the city’s best pork buns is bang opposite one of Malaysia’s oldest mosques. Going from present-day India, this extent of coexistence came as a culture shock!
But Melaka’s delights don’t end at diversity. Here’s an itinerary to soak in the UNESCO World Heritage City on a short trip.
Day 1
9 am: Temple (and Mosque and Gurdwara) Run
On Harmony Street, one can find in quick succession the San Duo temple, an 18th-century Ganesh temple, and the Kampung Kling mosque. An altar festooned with cigarette butts and beer cans caught my eye at San Duo. At the Ganesh temple, I walked into a 20-minute music recital. The mosque baffles with its fusion of architectural styles—its minaret looks like a cross between a pagoda and belfry. Further down the road is the Cheng Hoon Teng temple, with exquisite murals and sculptures. There is also a gurdwara and many churches in town (see Day 2 of the itinerary).
Intersperse these divine trysts with breakfast at Low Yong Moh, which serves unmatched dim sums, paos, and desserts. If you’re unsure about your order, worry not—the cooks come to your tables with platters; you can pick whatever you fancy.
12 pm: Explore the Confluence of Malay and Chinese Cultures
Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. (Photo: Syed Saad Ahmed)
From the 15th century onwards, Chinese traders settled in Melaka and married local Malay women. The men were known as Baba and women Nyonya, giving rise to the Baba-Nyonya or Chinese Peranakan culture. Perankan is an umbrella term for the mixing of cultures arising from marriages between foreigners and locals, such as between the Chittys from India and Malays.
I enjoyed learning about the fusion of cultures at the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, which housed four generations of the Chan family since 1861 and opened to the public as a museum in 1985.
1.30 pm: Peranakan Lunch
Cendol. (Photo: Syed Saad Ahmed)
Siew Tin’s Nyonya Kitchen, Peranakan Place, and The Kappan House serve excellent Baba-Nyonya food. It’s hard to do justice to the rich cuisine in one meal, but some of the dishes I enjoyed are ayam buah keluak (chicken with kepayang or ‘black nuts’, which can be poisonous if not cured properly), laksa (noodle curry), ayam pongteh (chicken and potato stew), and cendol (a coconut milk and ice shavings dessert). The latter two contain gula melaka (palm sugar), whose spicy sweetness zings up both confectioneries and savouries.
3 pm: Cruise along the Melaka River
Melaka river cruise, Malaysia. (Photo: Aleksandra Khoroshykh via Unsplash)
The 45-minute river cruise is a good way to take in the city’s historical bridges, buildings, and street art. The walkway along the riverfront lets you explore these on foot too.
5.30 pm: Melaka Straits Mosque
Melaka Straits Mosque. (Photo: Kuiye Chen via Unsplash)
While I easily covered other destinations on foot, the Melaka Straits Mosque is a 10-minute taxi ride from the city centre. Tourists are welcome inside apart from prayer times. Straddling the coast, it is a popular spot to catch the sunset as ships traverse the Strait of Melaka, one of the world’s busiest waterways.
I was wondering why Melaka’s historical quarters were far from the sea until I discovered that the mosque was built on an island reclaimed from the sea. The plan was to transform Melaka into a Dubai, with snazzy buildings, malls, and businesses on land seized from the sea! It failed disastrously — today, the reclamation and its outlandish Arab- and Mediterranean-style buildings stand desolate.
7.30 pm: Something Fishy
Asam pedas ikan (literally “sour spicy fish”), one of Melaka’s specialities, packs the punch of tamarind and red chillies, sometimes balanced with a hint of sweetness from pineapples (not recommended for pineapple-on-pizza moaners). It is found all over the city, though at Plaza Mahkota, there is a cluster of restaurants named after the dish.
DAY 2
9 am: Breakfast amid Antiques
If Sayyid Antiques & Cafe’s delicious and economical Malaysian staples don’t tempt you, the decor will. It is so packed with curios, it seemed as if I was dining in an antiquary’s warehouse. The service can be leisurely, especially when it’s crowded (often), but think of it as more time to admire the antiques.
Keep space for kaya (coconut jam) toast at Lung Ann Refreshments. It goes well with a half-boiled egg or hot beverage like teh tarik (frothy milk tea)
10 am: Date with the Dead
Cheng Hoon Teng Temple. (Photo: Syed Saad Ahmed)
Bukit China is a miracle. The hill — home to what is regarded as the oldest Chinese cemetery outside China — might have been buried under skyscrapers in the 1980s, but the Cheng Hoon Teng temple led a community movement to conserve it. Even as high-rises sprout around it, it remains a verdant retreat, with sweeping views of Melaka. The hill is estimated to have 12,500 graves and 60 Muslim tombs, which date from 1612 to the 20th century. I spotted English inscriptions on a few tombstones. If you plan to cover the 2.5km-loop around the hill, it’s better to go earlier in the day.
A grave at Bukit China. (Photo: Syed Saad Ahmed)
At Bukit China’s base is the Po San Teng temple, King’s well, and a World War II Japanese resistance memorial. Melaka’s gurdwara, built in 1925, is across the road.
1 pm: Lunch on a Banana Leaf
Chicken, mutton, fish, prawn, squid, or vegetables? Selvam serves it all with aplomb. Other notable Malaysian Indian restaurants in Melaka are Saravanna, Sri Kaveri, and D’Tandoori House.
2 pm: Past Present
The 15th-century Melaka Sultanate, founded by King Parameswara, turned Melaka into a centre of global trade and is regarded as a “golden age”. However, with the Portuguese conquest in 1511, the city lost its prominence. The Dutch wrested power in 1641 and the British in 1824. While each coloniser decimated its predecessor’s legacy, they mercifully spared a few monuments for tourists to take selfies in.
A Famosa. (Photo: Syed Saad Ahmed)
At Dutch Square, the throbbing touristy heart of Melaka, there is the Stadthuys (Dutch for town hall), now turned into a museum; the Christ Church; and the Church of St. Francis. St. Paul’s Hill, towering over the square, also has ruins and museums. At its base is A Famosa, a lone surviving gate of the demolished Portuguese fort, and a Dutch graveyard that the British also used.
6 pm: Jonker Street Night Market
The open-air market has hundreds of food stalls, though you can also buy clothes, trinkets, and packed snacks. I had satays, durian milkshake, and putu piring, a warm, pillow-y snack made from rice flour, peanuts, coconut, and gula melaka steamed in the fragrant pandan leaf.
The night market is open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6 PM to midnight. The weekends are also when day-trippers come in droves, leading to long queues at restaurants and attractions. If you’d prefer (relative) peace and fewer crowds, visit on a weekday.
8 pm: Trishaw Ride
Trishaws near Jonker Street. (Photo: Syed Saad Ahmed)
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