Continuing our Singapore Malacca Travel part 2
Walking back towards Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall, the largest shopping mall in Malacca, along Jalan Taman Melaka Raya, we were surprised to see so many spas and massage centres along that stretch of the road. We counted more than ten of these establishments just on that road alone. And tons of food establishments as well.
Moving into Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall, we took our time exploring the whole complex. On the upper floors, you could watch some movies at the Golden Screen cinemas. You could also sing along with your friends at the Dream Box karaoke lounge. Need a hair cut? Visit QQ Cut. Feeling hungry after expending your energy? Eat your fill at any of the various restaurants in the complex. Need to do your household and grocery shopping? Carrefour hypermarket should help solve your needs. Are your feet aching after all that walking? Indulge in a foot reflexology. Try the fish spa if you are not into foot reflexology. Or relax with a full body massage at any one of the spas and massage centres in the building.
Food establishments in Dataran Pahlawan shopping centre
As 3rd of October would be the Festival of Mooncakes, also known as Moon Festival, there were various shops and stalls selling mooncakes. Lanterns could be found as well since on the night of the Moon Festival, it is common to see children carrying lanterns and everyone enjoying the mooncakes.
lanterns 
Festival Mooncakes 
Cartoon stickers for the younger kids as well as older kids... :) (like us)50 pcs for RM5 (USD 1.45)
120 pcs for RM10 (USD 2.90)
260 pcs for RM18 (USD 5.25)
In the early afternoon, we took a stroll to one of the Malaysia attractions, Jonker Street, a must-visit destination whilst in Malacca. We went by way of Jalan Kota and saw many museums along the way, the reason why Malacca is steeped in history.
One of Malacca's many musuems, interesting to visit at least one whilst in Malacca, MalaysiaPeople's Enduring Beauty Museum
In Taman Merdeka, a park, you can see the following:-
Old fire engineCannon
RailwayPlane
Bullock cartA playground near by
An old tree that is protected... note the hollow trunk
Before reaching Jonker Walk, there are many interesting sights to see in Malacca city.
A cannonMalacca River Cruise
Malacca River Cruise Ticket CounterThe Malacca Waterwheel
First of its kind in Malaysia, the Malacca waterwheel is said to have been used during the heydays of the Malacca Malay Sultanate era. It was used to transport water from the river to marine vessels which called on the Malacca Port during the good old days.
A seafood restaurant next to the Malacca Waterwheel
Jonker Walk, finallyWe had lunch at 86 Jonker Street and tried the assam laksa, a popular spicy and sour noodle soup from Peranakan culture also known as Baba and Nonya, and wanton (dumpling) noodles soup. If it were not for the udon noodles instead of normal laksa noodles, the assam laksa would have been great as the assam gravy was quite authentic and spicy. As for the wanton noodles, it was not too bad, nothing to complain but nothing fantastic as well. Both the assam laksa and the wanton noodles cost RM3.50 (USD1.00) per bowl.
86 Jonker StreetDumpling noodles
Assam laksaFor dessert, we ordered Malacca’s special chendol, a coconut based traditional dessert with green coloured starch noodles, red beans and palm sugar. At RM2 (USD0.60) per bowl, the portion was just sufficient and not too sweet, great for those who do not like sweet stuff. A nice place to have lunch here as the coffee shop as you can enjoy some instrumental oldies music as you dine.
Chendol
An interesting and interactive place, Jonker Street boasts bazaar style shopping. Lots of interesting products can be discovered along this street if you take the time to explore. If you are in Malacca city for the weekend, you can experience the night market along Jonker Street from 1300 hrs to 2359 hrs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Additional stalls are set up along the street on these days and you can soak up the culture and colourful flavours of Malacca. The street is turned into a pedestrian mall with mobile stalls lining up the street with offerings of traditional food, arts and crafts, Chinese fortune tellers and assorted collectibles.
Before moving off, we stopped by San Shu Gong, a local shop selling Malaysia food products. The Black Coffee was out of stock. That must be quite popular. After we made our purchases of some snacks and the oh-so-spicy chilli padi there, we walked over to the Plaza Mahkota area and headed for Nadeje Patisserie, a food establishment specializing in Mille Crepe.Along the way, we passed by more museums.
Royal Malaysian Navy MuseumMaritime Museum
Clock tower at The Stadthuys
At Nadeje, we enjoyed the comfortable ambience there and of course the coolness as compared to the burning hot sun outside. Listening to the piped in music, we had a hard choice to make and finally ordered the following:-- Blueberry Vinegar
- Calpis (Lactic Acid Beverage) Hibiscus Soda Tea
- Chiffon Marble Cake
Chiffon Marble Cake
In NadejeWe had originally wanted to order the famous Mille Crepe cake, a cake that comes in layers of crepes and cream in between. However upon the recommendation of the waiter, we decided to try the chiffon marble cake. What a disappointment it was. We expected the chiffon cake to be soft and light. However this had the texture of a butter cake and was nowhere near what we thought a chiffon should taste like. We should have stuck to our original decision.
The Blueberry Vinegar which is supposed to be good for the body with the blueberry helping the eyesight had a nice sourish taste whereas the Calpis had a sweet and tangy taste.
Calpis Hibiscus Soda Tea
With the new finger food menu, there is more reason for you to drop by and indulge in some of the famous mille crepe. However, do take note that each slice of cake can set you back by RM8.50 (USD2.45) and the drinks that we ordered were RM8.50 each as well. Not a cheap place but something worth trying.
Menara Taming Sari, Malacca's latest landmark which will give you a 360 degree panoramic view of historical Malacca some 110 metres above ground level.After being energized, we walked over to Mahkota Parade Shopping Centre. As it was already after 1600 hrs, we thought that it might be better for us to stay the night. We tried calling a few hotels in Malacca but they were fully booked. It seems as if Malacca is a popular destination to spend the weekend, so if you ever want to spend the night there especially on weekends, make your hotel reservations in advance and not wait till the last minute.
Since we could not get any hotel, we decided to make some purchases at Giant before moving back to Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall. We went to Thai Wadee, a shop specializing in Thai foot reflexology and Thai massage. To our disappointment, we could not be accommodated until 2000 hrs which meant that we had another 2 hours to walk around and the earliest that we could drive back to Singapore was at 2200 hrs.
However, since we had our heart set on trying out the 2 hour Thai massage here in Malaysia, we agreed to the 2000 hrs appointment, hoping that there would be a cancellation before that so that we could be scheduled for an earlier slot.
Thai Wadee Massage brochureMeanwhile we walked around looking for a place to have dinner soon as it is not a good idea to have the massage immediately after our meal. Having dinner now also meant that we would have approximately 2 hours to digest the food before the massage appointment. As we were going round the complex trying to find a place to have a nice dinner, we came across another shop with the same name Thai Wadee. Upon checking further, we realized that they were one and the same company with the original place where we had the 2000 hrs appointment. Since they had 2 massage slots available immediately, we asked them to assist us to cancel the 2000 hrs appointment and had our massage at 1800 hrs here instead.
We opted for the 2 hour massage since it would give us more time to relax as well as being more value for money.
Traditional Dry Body Massage (Tuina)
60 mins RM60 (USD 17.50)
90 mins RM80 (USD 23.30)
120 mins RM95 (USD 27.70)
Aroma Body Therapy (Ginger/Lavender)
60 mins RM80 (USD 23.30)
90 mins RM108 (USD 31.50)
120 mins RM128 (USD 37.30)
Hubby tried the traditional Thai massage and I took the Thai massage with the Ginger Lemon oil which is supposed to be good for stiffness. The masseuse were all from Thailand and exercised firm and hard pressure which made it a little painful but good for the stiff muscles. (N.B. I slept like a log that night.)
Before leaving Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall, we bought a box of 12 assorted donuts from Big Apple & Co for RM23 (USD6.65), including a durian donut.
Box of 12 donutsYum yum...
*Holiday Travel Tips:- The durian donut needs to be kept cool or consumed as soon as possible. By the time we reached home a few hours late, the durian filling had turned sour.
After leaving Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Centre Malacca Megamall, on the way to do some shopping at Tesco where prices are more reasonable as compared to Giant, Jusco and Carrefour, we stopped at Newton Hawker Centre. Here you can get a variety of local hawker delights from 1100 hrs all the way to midnight. Even at 2100 hrs, we had to wait for a table to be vacant.
Newton Hawker Centre
From across the roadLots of people eating still
We had a tough time deciding what to eat as there were so many choices available. We finally ordered the fried oyster omelette and char kway teow (stir fried rice cake strips). The fried oyster omelette was a little pricey at RM6 (USD1.70). It would have tasted better if it was slightly less oily and more crispy. The char kway teow was not spicy and the clams were completely raw. The portion was a little small for RM3 (USD0.85). Drinks were quite reasonable in prices though.
Oyster omeletteFried kway teow
After dinner, we proceeded to Tesco and bought some fruits and vegetables. We also discovered that the prices of the items that we had bought in Giant earlier were cheaper here in Tesco. Better to realize this now than never. Guess Tesco will be our choice shopping center in Malaysia from now on.
Tesco shopping
Join as Tesco member & get rebates whilst shopping at Tesco as well as eating at the Tesco food outlets
Lots of people in Tesco still at 2200 hrs*Holiday Travel Tips:- Check out the prices at the various supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Tesco, Giant, Jusco and Carrefour. Price difference can vary quite a bit.
After a long day in Malacca, we finally started our drive back to Singapore at 2220 hrs. The journey was smooth all the way and we cleared both sides of the immigration and customs at Tuas Checkpoint in fifteen minutes. It was home sweet home at 0130 hrs.
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