Wanderlust Wednesday: Malacca, Malaysia

Located on Malaysia’s West Coast, Malacca is an old port town and UNESCO World Heritage site. I love Malacca (or Melaka in Malaysian), not just because it has the best food in the world, but because it is deeply entrenched in history and each street felt like I was walking around in the 1800s.

 In 1511 the Portuguese settled Melaka, then in 1641 the Dutch took over, and finally the British in 1795.  Left-over from the intense colonization of Malacca is a beautiful rust-red paint,  that surrounds almost every building in the center of town (I still can’t remember the link between the Europeans and this paint job, but I will try and find out!). 

 Outside of the Europeans, there is also a large Chinese population. Starting in the 15th century, many of these Chinese settlers intermarried with local Malays and created a new culture, known as Baba-Nyonya.  The Baba-Nyonya culture thrives to this day and can be seen throughout the wonderful regional dishes served only in Melaka. Because of the Babas, Nyonyas, and the Portugese, Melaka is now known for its egg and pineapple tarts (seriously way more delicious than it sounds), popiah,  laksa, a coconut/lemongrass infused noodle dish, and cendol, a shaved-ice treat with jellies, coconut milk and cane syrup.

When we were in Malacca, we tried it all, although, cendol was my least favorite. My shaved ice (cendol) came with sweet corn and red beans in the bottom and was topped with molasses; not the best combination.   We stumbled into Malacca as a two-day stopover on our way to Indonesia. We couldn't bring ourselves to leave after two days, and we ended up spending ten days in this quiet town,  wandering around, eating all sorts of weird food, and meandering through the night market in Chinatown. 

If you ever find yourself in Asia, I highly recommend seeing Malaysia and staying a long-while in Malacca!

To hear more about our stay in Malacca and to see some amazing photos taken by B, click HERE. 

Obviously we are obsessed with food (who isn't?), so we made a video of us eating in Malacca...

  *side note: the best South Indian food EVER is located in Malacca. It is served on a banana leaf and you mix the rice and side dishes with your hand (right only).