Places to Eat in Melaka

Melaka is renowned for the availability of astounding dishes, delicacies and deserts. It is, in fact, some travellers’ sole reason for their visit! This should provide you with a good initial understanding of what you're in for.

Markets

Machap Street Walk is a real haven of cultural cuisine. The diversity of cultures and their respective cuisines are readily embraced and celebrated. So, are you ready for the foreign and exotic? Food that you're unlikely to have seen at your local supermarket is in abundance here. Wild boar, snakes, and deer are all prevalent among the stalls. More normal things like chicken, duck, and dim sum are there too, so the market is not just for the curious and daring traveller. Thirty kilometres outside of Melaka itself, Machap Street Walk is located in Alor Gajah. The market is open from 6pm to 12am on weekends only!

Another markets not to be missed is Jonker Street market but note that it is held only on weekends but is much easier to get to.

Local Food

Sate celup is a very popular method of eating a host of different foods. Vegetables, meat, and seafood are a couple of examples. The food is squashed onto a skewer and cooked in a pot of distinctly aromatic and flavourful sauce. A well-known spot to hit up for this local delight is Ban Lee Hiang restaurant, located along Jalan Ong Kim Wee.

Cafes and Coffee Houses

Here it is, the moment you have been waiting for. Well, that is if dessert is really important to you. Jonker Dessert 88. The long lines of eager faces are almost a trademark of the establishment, so be prepared to get there early, and to slowly anticipate the onset of your culinary delight. They whip up an absolutely perfect Cendol, and high class Sago Gual Melaka and Laka.

Coconut shake shops are commonplace round these parts, and for good reason. The combination of coconut water, coconut flesh, vanilla ice cream and some other magical substance that they simply must be putting in them, all make for one special ingestion. You simply have to have one. For the original, head to Klebang Original Coconut Shake. The restaurant is open every day from 11am to 6pm and you will spend around MYR 5 for this once in a lifetime beverage.

Also, candied fruit skewers are a must. Take a trip back in time to your ten year old self, take massive bites out of hardened syrup coated fruits and squeal with retrospective joy. Find them on Jonker Street once the sun has fallen out of the sky. Also, deep fried ice-cream! All in the same place. Goodness.

Western and International Food

The Hard Rock Cafe is a well reputed international restaurant, and its reputation here is no different. Go swing back some cocktails, listen to some fantastic music and enjoy the vibe at the world-renowned cafe. There are Italian, French and many other Asian cuisines available to the traveller looking for a taste of something different in their stay here. Simply look around for what you are interested in, and you are sure to come right.

Fine Dining

High-class dining – hard to say not to such methods of indulgence. A dinner at the Alto Sky Lounge is something to remember. The astounding views that stretch out for kilometres and encompass the thousands of tiny twinkling lights of the city below, the melody of the live band flowing through the air, and the incredible dishes sitting in front of you all make for a quite perfect evening. Of course, this experience is not free. In fact, it is quite expensive. Price per head should be around MYR 200. On the positive, this may help you resist the temptation to splurge and will send you on your way with a much thicker wallet. The restaurant is located in Bandir Hilir, in the Hatten Hotel, on the 22nd floor (the rooftop).

Valuable alternatives the Alto Sky Lounge are Pampas Sky dining, The Mansion, and The River Grill. Each of the restaurants delivers five-star cuisine with a notably elegant fusion of various cuisines. Really, options for the indulgent are not in short supply in Melaka