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Travel to Melaka

Reasons why you should move to Malacca

Buying Property Malacca


Real estate has become among the top investments in the world today. Among the places to look out for are in Southeast Asia, where you can buy a house in Malaysia. Malacca is a quick fix to all those who love traveling since it has been described as a tourist destination. It provides an experience travelers cannot get anywhere else.

==Rich History==

The Malacca museums have been a tourist attraction site for the longest time. They vary from Peranakan heritage to colonial and unique museums. A close look at the archives gives visitors a unique opportunity to learn about the Malacca history as well as enjoy the sites the museums have to offer. Apart from the history and the sites, one can also look at the extensive collections of artifacts lined up at the Aborigines, Maritime, Kite, Baba Nyonya, Straits Chinese Jewellery, Malaysia Prison, Heritage, People’s, Toy and the Submarine Museum, all in Malacca.

Other than enjoying the beautiful sites, Malacca is about sharing the Malaysia history. Malacca, described as the home of historical heritage, has played a vital role in the Malaysia history in that it was the first entry point for colonialists during the old war and has been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Among the primary historical sites are the Peranakan and the colonial heritage sites.


A variety of places worth exploring is the Christ Church Melaka, Famosa Fort, and St Peter’s Church, built in 1710 by Portuguese Catholics, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, the Dutch Square, Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain, The Stadthuys and St Paul’s Hills.

St Peter’s Church is the oldest in the country and was completed during the Dutch administration. Old as it may be, services are still conducted in the church halls. A bell at St Peter’s is evidence it was built in the 17th century as well as a Christ alabaster statue.

Other historical buildings in Malacca include the Syed Al Attas Mansion, which reminds one of the Malacca Muslim rules. It is reflective of the Muslim lifestyle as practiced during that era.

==Chinatown Street in Malacca==

There are other places worth visiting in Malacca, such as the Jonker Street. It may be equated to the Chinatown Street, also called by locals ‘Jalan Jang Hebat’. What stands out at Jonker is the Malacca River, which makes the scene even more vibrant. The Heeren Street near Jonker Street has been listed among the top must-see destinations in Malacca.

Visitors are mostly attracted by the buildings that have today been transformed into old joints and famous restaurants. These are places that were once occupied by rich Malacca families and was therefore referred to as the Millionaires’ Row. The street that was once only covered by the rich is now open for everyone, rich or not.

The street is full of shop houses on either side, which gives travelers a feel of the 17th Century. The shop houses are sometimes used as textile shops, food courts, souvenir outlets and antique kiosks. During the weekends, visitors are encouraged to taste the local food and join the bargain battle with the vendors out to make profits against the visitors’ wishes to fetch the lowest prices.

==Affordable Hotel with Quality Service==

Your visit will not be memorable (for all the right reasons) if your stay is almost uncomfortable. Ensure you book the best Malacca hotel that exhibits the classic themes of the region. Such hotels are readily available, and the cost varies from low-budget to high-profile expenses. They include Casa del Rio Melaka and The Majestic Malacca in the high-end category.

The budget options are such as Layang-Layang Guest House, Gingerflower Boutique Hotel, Hotel Da Som Inn and Imperial Heritage Melaka. The hotels are keen on keeping a good reputation seeing as the business depends on word on the street from the travelers.

What is more attractive about Malacca is the people and their rich ethnicity. The communities have blended into one rich culture full of diversity. Visitors are welcome to be part of the diversification and live in peaceful co-existence with the Malacca people. The river cuts through Malacca to the Malacca Straits. There are motorboats in the river that give an opportunity for sightseeing.

The Malacca River Cruise, for instance, lasts about 45 minutes, giving riders the chance to take in all the fantastic views Malacca has to offer, at a fee of RM10 for adults and RM5 for children, especially holders of Mycard. For foreigners, the charges will attract an additional RM5. Visitors need not worry about missing the cruise as it is open from 9am-12am. The night cruise is far more enjoyable because of the riverside punctuated by the lights.

==Preferred Destination For Foodies==

Malacca is not only about the history and the buildings, but it is also about quality food served in top-notch restaurants. Located on Jonker Street, Nancy’s Kitchen offers the delicious Nyonya cuisine. The interior design has a feel of a home or the familiar neighborhood that reminds you of your kitchen. It is mostly preferred because it serves hot dishes. The only problem is that the food is not Halal, which means Muslims are locked out.

The other restaurant worth exploring is the Capitol, which is not only affordable but also ranked among the best in Malacca. This explains why it is always flooded with customers. There is a variety of almost 80 vegetables and seafood dishes, which explains the long queues that are a constant feature of Capitol.

Meanwhile, The Baboon House keeps visitors enjoying their food while sitting in an open courtyard. This arrangement takes advantage of the vast space that is brought to life by the modern furniture. What makes it feel more at home is the presence of the owner’s cat and dog. Baboon House serves American dishes.

==The Malacca Nightlife==

Malacca’s GoGo KTV Lounge is famous because of its jetty shape. It is located between Mahkota Melaka and the Holiday Inn Melaka. Although it is small, it has a variety of punch flavors that are bound to keep guests entertained, if not the punch, then the number of TV on the walls will.

Related Article: Top 20 things to do in Malacca

Categories
Malaysia Travel Guide

Visiting Sarawak as a Japanese Intern | Banana Cheese

Most may know Sarawak as a city with fascinating rainforest and the famous Rainforest World Music Festival.  Today, I would like to introduce you to the food in Sarawak that can be as fascinating as the beautiful adventurous rainforests. Gourmets being served in Sarawak come from 4 different cultures such as Chinese, Indian, Malay, and local Dayak tribes. This cultural diversity of food brings food lovers into a whole new world.

Today, I would like to share the food I learned to love where in Sarawak!

Japanese intern on food Banana Cheese3Sarawak being tropical in nature, many types of exotic fruits can be seen all over the place. Within these tropical fruits, I would like to start off my introduction with one of the most common fruits in Sarawak, “Banana”. Most of you guys might think “Bananas? I can just grab them from the Super Market anytime I want!” Well, the bananas I am going to introduce to you guys are different from the typical yellow bananas you buy at the store. In Malaysia, Bananas being easily available and growing all season, it is considered to be a fruit that can be bought at a very cheap price with high demand.

There are more than 10 types of bananas growing in Malaysia, all having distinctive features. For example, one could be small and round like the “Pisang Montel”, while others having a long skinny feature.

With the high demand and availability of Bananas, there are many dishes being served with Bananas as the main ingredient. Here’s my favorite dish that I recommend to you guys…

Pisang Goreng (Banana Fritters) with cheese

Here’s how I encountered this delicious dish:

Japanese intern on food Banana Cheese2It was another hot day in Malaysia, and me and the other interns decided to explore Sarawak. We decided to go to a populated area at first, so we took a taxi and ended up near one of the biggest food courts we been to. It was lunchtime and I decided to try something new since I wanted the day to be adventurous. I walked around the food court looking for something new but couldn’t find anything that excite my desire since the place was mostly aimed for tourists. After a few trips around the food court, there was a street stall on the other side of the street.  That’s where I found the Banana Cheese Fritters.

Crossing the street with curiosity, I noticed that the stall was taken over by Bananas. After a while, a guy came up to me asking to buy fried Bananas w/cheese. At this time, I thought to myself “Fried Bananas with cheese on top? I thought fruits were supposed to be refreshing”. But looking at the RM3 sign and the amount of fried bananas in a single plate, I couldn’t refuse the offer.  I paid for the Banana Fritters and waited for it at the table we found near the stall.

A moment later, the cashier came with a plate with a fascinating smell that provoked my stomach with hunger. It was like that smell of freshly baked bread in the morning.  The cheese topping melting from the heat of the fried bananas covered by the choice of my favorite flavor unleashed the hunger out of me. (Flavor varying from original, chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, etc.) After taking a picture, I took my first bite into the dish. I loved it. It was one of the best sweet snacks that I’ve tried in my life. The outside crisp mixed with the sweetness of the banana and the sugar is such a great mixture.  The time I remembered to take a photo of myself eating it, the plate was cleaned up leaving nothing but the caramel saucing that had fallen from the bananas.

If you ever plan on visiting Sarawak, this is a must try snack that will fulfill your taste buds.

サラワク州は、手つかずの熱帯雨林や神秘的な動植物が生息している事で知られています。夏には、Rainforest World Music Festivalなども開催されています。本日みなさんに紹介するのは、サラワク州のもう一つの魅力である「食」です。マレーシアには、数多くの食文化が存在し、一国にいながら刺激的な経験をする事ができます。

サラワク州は常夏で熱帯地域のため、果物が育ちやすく一年を通して、日本では見る事のない果実も安く、いつでも食べる事ができます。この中でも僕が一番気に入ったのがバナナです!バナナといっても、日本のコンビニやスーパーなどで手に入るものだけでなく、日本ではあまり見かけないような色や大きさのものもあります!マレーシアでは、フルーツとしてバナナを食べるだけではなく、バナナを使った料理もたくさんあります。

今から紹介する一品は、マレーシア人が愛するトッピングのチーズが決め手のピサンゴレン・チーズです!

ピサンとはマレー語で「バナナ」の事を意味し、「ゴレン」は揚げるという意味です。ピサンゴレンは場所によって列ができるお店もあり、おやつとして大人気な一品です!バナナに衣をつけて揚げているのですが、使われているバナナも通常のバナナではありません。通常のバナナを揚げようとすると柔らかくなりすぎてしまうのですが、ピサンゴレンには固めのバナナを使います。

揚げたてのピサンゴレンのカリカリ感とホクホクしたバナナの食感が、やみつきになります!揚げたてのピサンゴレンの上にチーズをトッピングし、その上にまたキャラメル、チョコレート、オリジナルソースなどの甘いソースをかけたら、また違った味を楽しむ事もできます。

ピサンゴレン・チーズは場所により異なりますが、およそ5−6RM(150-180円)ほどで購入できます。バナナ料理の中でも人気のものなのでマレーシアにお越しの際は是非お試しください!

Written by: Kenta Kojima

Categories
Malaysia Travel Guide

Visiting Sarawak as a Japanese Intern | Food Adventure

I am a 21-year-old Japanese student visiting Sarawak, Malaysia, for the first time in my life. A beautiful state filled with optimistic/respectful residents and full of nature. I have spent half of my life in the U.S. and never experienced life in Asia outside of my home country, Japan. Even though Malaysia and Japan are in the same region, the experiences are very different within the two countries, which makes it crucial for first timers visiting the country. However, growing accustomed to the life in Malaysia, I have encountered many wonderful people that are making my stay in Malaysia a wonderful experience. Here are some of the tips I have for foreigners coming to Malaysia for the first time.

Tip 1: One way of greeting in Sarawak/Malaysia is “Sudah Makan?”

In Malaysia, the most common/popular way of residents greeting each other is by asking “Sudah Makan?”. At first, I thought this meant, “How are you?”, or something similar to that. Finding out what it meant, I was surprised because greeting someone by asking them if they have eaten was really unusual for me. However, after a while, I started noticing that in Malaysia, food culture is a key of communication and is one of the main reasons why people in Malaysia have the ability to become friends with each other in an instant.Japanese intern on food1

Tip 2: More than 3 meals per day?!Japanese intern on food2

Throughout my life, breakfast, lunch and dinner has been the main meal in a day. However, in Malaysia, it is not unusual for a person to eat around 5 meals per day including brunch and teatime. In my opinion, the reason for this is that the food courts and café are open from morning until midnight for people to enjoy the gourmets being served. Also, with the proportions being served per plate being small in quantity, it is likely for one to eat more than the 3 main meals.

Tip 3: Enjoying the System and Food

One thing I enjoy and respect about Malaysia is that the word “trust” can be seen anywhere and everybody being laid back about everything. Some food courts have systems that foreigners will never understand, where you take the food without the price being on display. In this case, you pay the cashier and the cashier will name a price (usually being cheaper than expected). Other times, you end up paying for the food you ate after you’ve already ate the meal. In this case, you have to inform the cashier what food you ate even though you have an empty plate in your hands. When I went through this experience, I was very shocked by the way the cashier trusted me with the payment. With a smile on my face, I left the food court with respect towards the culture.

Japanese intern on food3

Tip 4: Take out

In Malaysia, take-outs are available for any kind of food on display. One of the take out menus that might seem rare for a Japanese intern like me was the Laksa. Whenever you’re ordering take-outs for noodles, they tend to separate the noodle and the soup in two different bags. What was surprising for me was that bags for take-outs were more common than cups. Who knew bags were actually more convenient and stable than using cups!

Tip 5: Food Courts

When walking in the streets of Kuching, you tend to encounter food courts/Café at every block. The way you order food over here was extraordinary that it felt like I was a kid going out on his first shopping trip by himself.

Here’s what happened at the food court on my first trip…I stood by the buffet counter not knowing how to order so I observed the other customers and noticed that everything was self-service. The only problem was that I had no idea of the food that was on display so I ended up getting the same thing that the customer in front of me was getting resulting in a plate filled with mystery and concern. When I was about to reach for my wallet, the customer before me left without paying and sat down on the table. I didn’t know what to do so I stood at the spot looking like a lost child for about five minutes. Thankfully, one of the locals was able to speak English and told me to pay at the table.

For me, this was so unusual that this experience became one of the most memorable experiences during my visit in Malaysia.

So…for the first timers coming from Japan or any other country, I advise you to search up how the system works beforehand when visiting a food court. Otherwise, English is another option since most of the residents can communicate with the language, but there are some food courts where Malay or Chinese is being used.

Tip 6: Until your body gets used to the food/spices, don’t be too adventurous despite the curiosity.

When visiting other countries with different food culture, we are filled with curiosity and try out things we don’t have in our country. I mean, you only live once so why not right? Being born in Japan and spending half of my life in America, I thought I could eat anything without being sick. However, in my case, this was my downfall. My first week being here, I was so hyped up about the cheap meals that I probably ate everything that my body desired. Honestly, I was satisfied and had no regrets about the meals, until a huge stomachache hit me so hard which lasted me about two weeks. After some searching, I learned that some of the spices and ingredients here need some getting used to for a foreigner’s digestive system.

With this experience, my advice is to be careful with what you put in your mouth. Its good to be adventurous because it usually leads to finding delicious gourmets of Sarawak, however, supplements and medicine can become your best friend when doing so.

Japanese intern on food4

僕は日本の大学に在学中の21歳で、マレーシアのサラワク州にインターン生として滞在しています!サラワク州は自然に囲まれていて、現地のみなさんもとても温かい人たちばかりです。11年間をアメリカで過ごし、日本以外のアジア地域で生活するのが初めてなので、こちらの生活はチャレンジと新しい発見の毎日です!このブログでは、食についてのカルチャーショックや気づきを書かしてもらいます!

毎日職場に着くと、スタッフとの会話には「Sudah Makan?」と聞かれます。マレー語が苦手な僕は、着いた当初は、「元気ですか?」のような意味合いをもつ挨拶だと思っていました。後から調べてみるとこれは、「ご飯食べた?」という意味だと言う事がわかりました。日本やアメリカではこのような挨拶の仕方などなくびっくりしました。だけど、他民族が住むマレーシアでは食がコミュニケーションの中心だということもあり、このような気遣いだけでも会話が広がり、友情が生まれることがあります!

僕の中では一日3食が当たり前でした!だけど、マレーシアでは一日に5食程度食べる人も珍しくありません。例えば、朝食と昼食の間や昼食の後に、間食をすることもあります。屋台やカフェが朝から夜まで開いていて、家族や友人と楽しく食事することができます!多様な食文化が存在する国なのもあり、少しずつ色々な食事を楽しめるのも魅力のひとつです!

マレーシアのフードコートでは様々な楽しみ方があります!フードコートは、人と人の信頼関係を築く場所でもあるからです。写真を見たらわかるように、マレーシアのフードコートには値段などが表示されていることが少ないです。最初はこのようなシステムに驚きましたが、マレーシアではこれが普通です。たまには、自分が食事した後、自己申告で食べたものを伝えるという場合もあります。お店側とお客さんの信頼関係があるからこそ成り立つシステムで好感をもてました。

マレーシアでは屋台やフードコートに展示されている食べ物はすべてお持ち帰りが可能です!ここで驚いたのが、麺類やカレーなどのお持ち帰りの仕方です。普段スープ系のものをお持ち帰りする際、カップなどに入れて持ち帰るのが普通だと思っていたのですが、マレーシアでは袋の中に入れます!カップにスープ類を入れるとよく蓋の部分から漏れることがあるのですが袋の方がこぼれにくくて驚きました!

僕が住んでいるクチンではフードコートや屋台がすごく多いです。クチンに着いた当初はお腹が空いていてもオーダーの仕方がわからず、まるで、「はじめてのおつかい」に出ている子供のようでした!

初めて行ったフードコートではどうすればいいのか分からず、とりあえず僕の前に並んでいたお客さんを見ていたらセルフサービスということに気づき、とりあえず列に並んでみました。

しかし、並べられているおかずが何かわからずここでも前のお客さんの真似をしてみると、お皿の上は見た事のない料理でいっぱい!

この後お会計をして食事かな?と思いきや僕の目の前のお客さんは、そのまま食事をはじめました。財布をもったまま迷子のように立ち尽くしていると、英語を話せる店員さんが「テーブルで払うんだよ」と教えてくれ、そのまま空いている席につきました。しかし、いくらまってもお会計が来ず食事に手をつけずにまっていると現地の人が「食事がおわってから払うのよ」と教えてくれやっと食事にありつけることができました。

マレーシアのフードコートは日本のシステムと違うため、すこしマレー語がわかっていると便利だと思います。

海外にいき、新しい文化に触れる時には好奇心と新しいものへの興味に溢れていますよね?マレーシアに着いた最初の週、僕はリーズナブルな食事に浮かれて、食べたいものを次々に食べていきました。アメリカでの移住経験をもつ僕にとって、こちらの食事も身体にあうはずだろうと考えていました。しかし、この甘い考え方のせいで翌日僕は腹痛に悩まされることになりました。マレーシアの食事はどれもおいしく満足できるものですが、外国人の私たちの身体が現地のスパイスや材料に慣れるには、すこし時間がかかるようです。

サラワクの料理はどれも美味しく魅力的なものばかりで挑戦したいものばかりですが、中には日本人の身体には合わないスパイスなども含まれているため、旅行中の胃薬は念のために持ち歩くのが懸命でしょう!

Written by: Kenta Kojima

Categories
Tourism Malaysia

Satay

Satay

Follow the aroma of sweet, barbequed meat as you walk on the street and when you see a man or woman fanning the grill at a hawker stall, go for it! Satay is a Malay food made up from meats that are marinated, skewered and grilled on sticks and served with delicious peanut sauce. Found in restaurants, food courts and night markets throughout every state in Malaysia, popular kinds of Satays are usually made with beef, chicken and mutton, however, different regions in Malaysia have developed their own unique Satay recipes. In fact, even pork Satays are available at non-halal Chinese eating establishments in Malaysia.

Other unique variations of Satay include deer Satay, rabbit Satay, fish Satay and many other variants like Satay lok-lok from Penang and Satay celup (dipped Satay) from Malacca. Both are Malaysian Chinese combination of the hotpot and the Malay Satay, where raw meat pieces, tofu pieces, quail eggs, fish cakes, vegetable pieces and any kind of suitable food are skewered on bamboo sticks.