Our first staycation after the Lockdown. I needed to escape as I had a busy fourteen days. Picked some place close by as I had two days off. What’s more, didn’t want to drive far. So the closest beach destination from Port Dickson was Pengkalan Balak. Pengkalan Balak is a popular picnic destination with the local Melaka residents. There are a great deal of little chalets and homestays across the street from the beach.
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Discovered this remarkable little chalet on a Facebook page. The spot look beautiful in that posting. A three story wooden structure. Checked the cost with Agoda and the cost was very reasonable, RM140 per night. Reach there around 1pm but the room was not ready. So we went for lunch not far off. To little shop by the sea shore. Food was quite nice combined with the ocean breeze.
After lunch we checked in which was somewhat quick. Upon check in you are given a bag of remote controls for the television and air condition. We picked the room on the third floor. We wanted the seafacing rooms but too bad it was taken earlier by a family. The entire chalet is themed towards the P.Ramlee movies. Even the name of this chalet was from a P.Ramlee film – Pendekar Bujang Lapuk. Kampung Pinang Sebatang. The rooms were names after well known characters in the his films. We got the Salmah room. Room was basic in amenities with all the items that you will discover in a 3 star hotel. Each room was equiped with air conditioned, fan and water heater. As the room came a queen bed. I requested an extra bed which cost RM70. After going into the room, we discovered it very small for the 5 of us and adding an extra bed made it more cramp. The next adjoining room was vacant. I needed to pay another RM140 for the room and my two boys would be comfortable. The television channels was limited. Just the local Malaysian channels. Be that as it may, the children was tired from their day at the beach. So everybody had an early night.
For dinner we took a walk to this cosy restaurant just on the beach called D’Ribut. Food was nice. My son had their Prawn Fried Rice which came with 4 large prawns and the wife had a Prawn Noodle also came with 4 large prawns. Both cost about RM12 each. The rest of us took the normal fried rice. We also had yummy coconut shakes. All in all the food was really nice.
My Verdict
A nice cosy place to stay with the beach just across the beach. Request the seaview rooms, see is marvelous. Rooms are clean and equipment in good working condition. At the time when I stayed there the pool was shut. Be that as it may, it look like small pool. Not to worry cause you have an large ocean right across the street. Staff is friendly. A word of advice. For those older and special people. You may have a few difficulties as there are no lifts in the chalet. What’s more, there are alot of stairs. Food is accessible simply strolling separation.
Kampong Pinang Sebatang Chalet
Address :- Jalan Persiaran Pantai, Taman Perindustrian Pengkalan Balak, 78300 Masjid Tanah, Melaka
I used to love to jog here because it has three jogging tracks and it’s really refreshing to jog with sound of the jungle. It’s located about 5 km from the Air Keroh Toll. Now they also have recreational facilities like Prehistoric Garden, Storyland, children’s playgrounds, Orang Asli Park, Deer Park, suspension bridge, observation towers, picnic spots and refreshment kiosks. Campsites, huts and cabins are also available for rental. Even by just walking round the jogging trek while listening to the sounds of the jungle and seeing the greenery will most certainly relax you.
Crocodile Farm
This is also located in Ayer Keroh, just across from the Malacca Zoo. So its not very hard to miss, just watch for the McDonalds restaurant which is just beside it. More than 200 crocodiles of various species are found here and it is said to be one of the largest in Malaysia. The crocodiles are all reared in a natural environment. There is also exciting and suspense-filled performances every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday.
Malacca Zoo
Melaka Zoo is rated the best zoo among the southern states for its wild and domestic animals in surroundings that have been set to simulate the natural habitat of the animals. The zoo also functions as a centre for wildlife research, conservation breeding and zoo education centre. Now there’s even a night safari on weekends. There is also ample parking around.
Mini Asean
This unique theme park features impressive replicas of the different types of traditional houses from ASEAN countries, namely Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It is located near the Air Keroh Recreational Forest. Inside each house, there are various handicrafts originating from each country. There are also life-like dummies, dressed in the respective traditional costumes of the country. This theme park gives you and inside of cultural and lifestyle of Asean countries.
Mini Malaysia
Mini Malaysia like Mini Asean is a park that also portrays 13 life-sized authentic Malaysian houses from the 13 states of Malaysia. Located just next to Mini Asean. Each house is uniquely featured with the 13 state’s cultural heritage where you will find mannequins wearing the traditional costumes of each state and also some artefacts on display too. I feel its a good effort by the Melakan government as it preserves our cultural heritage as nowadays its hard to find really traditional houses around. Here is my review on Mini Malaysia, please click here Mini Snips of Malaysia at Mini Malaysia Melaka.
Melaka Bird Park
Melaka has lots of little parks that you could visit with the kids. Thats not too expensive or large that it might make you exhausted. Especially when you have toddlers with you. There is the Coral Wonderland Melaka (which is smaller than the Aquaria at KLCC), Mini Malaysia Melaka, Melaka Zoo and more.
So this time around when we went back to Melaka, I brought the little ones for an outing at the Melaka Bird Park. Here is my review on the Melaka Bird Park, Walking with the birds at Melaka Bird Park
Coral Wonderland Melaka
I happen to stumbled upon this place from friend who resides outside of Melaka. Imagine a Melaka boy don’t even know such a place exist. The Coral Wonderland Melaka can be found on the fourth floor of the Hatten Square just across the road from where we stayed, Hatten Hotel. That’s one of the reason why we stayed there. We didn’t want to brave the famous Melaka traffic jam. Keep your expectations low cause the Coral Wonderland is fairly small in contrast to the aquarium within KLCC as well as the one in Langkawi. But its alright for a start. The entrance fee is fairly steep to some. The price is RM30 for adults and RM20 for kids. Upon stepping into the Aquarium entrance you will be greeted by what is publicised as the ‘The Longest Touch Pool in Asia. Not sure if this really is true nevertheless here you are able to touch or hold tame sea creatures such as baby sharks, puffer fish, stingray, seahorse, starfish and many more. To know more about this place, please click here. Coral Wonderland Melaka
River Cruise
Melaka River was where it all began. It was the meeting point for traders from the east and west. A few years ago the state government embarked on an effort to beautify the river. Their effort was great for tourism as now you can take a river cruise. What used to be unsightly kitchens or toilets of the houses along the river, now is beautiful buildings and little cafes. There are lots to see along this 45minute cruise. You can take the cruise from the jetty next to the Maritime Museum or from Taman Rempah in Pengkalan Rama. Click here for my review of the Melaka River Cruise, An Outing in Historical Melaka
After the Malacca Sultanate Palace, we opt to go up the hill to the St. Paul Church. We start at the bottom at the Porta de Santiago. The Porta de Santiago is what’s left of the A Formosa Fort. The Porta de Santiago is the most famous historical landmarks in Melaka. And you can see by the number of people visiting the Porta de Santiago. The Porta is actually a small gate house of the fortress.
A beautiful replica of the original Sultan Mansur Shah’s 15th-century palace. It is build the traditional way, without any nails. According to historical records, the original was destroyed a year after the sultan ascended the throne by lightning. The outside the building is overwhelming. The garden areas are well taken care off.
Inside it depicts some Melaka history and palace life. The three-storey museum is divided into eight chambers where you can see a variety of weaponry, decorative arts, traditional costumes, brassware, jewellery and more. Plus there are three galleries depicting famous legends through dioramas.
The Proclamation of Independence Memorial was a Dutch Colonial Mansion. It used to be the Malacca Club, a clubhouse for the British Expatriate when the British ruled Malaysia. It was later converted into the Memorial depicting the Malaysian road to Independence.
There are lots of artifact from the early Malaysia Sultanate till to date. You will see the progress of Malaysia leading to its Independence. The first display you will see is a diorama of Proclamation of Independence at the Melaka Field. The scene where our first Prime Minister stood on an open car to the then Melaka Field, where the Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall is located now.
Crowded But Interesting – Jonker Walk Night Market
When you are in Melaka, one of the places to visit is the Jonker Street. It is the Chinatown of Melaka. Its where many old buildings are located.You will find numerous cafes, restaurants, souvenirs, Nyonya Museums and also little Quaint Boutique Hotel. Be sure to walk the along streets including “Harmony Street” that has religious shrines or temples of many different faiths. This is what Melaka is all about. You will find a Chinese Temple just walking distance from a Muslim Mosque and an Indian Temple. And across the river there’s a Church. All living in harmony with each other.
As always I was searching for something unique and educational to bring my ‘budak bandar’ kids this weekend. Some place close to Port Dickson. So we don’t spend time on the road. I’ve heard that there’s a fruit farm somewhere in Melaka. With loads of fruit trees to see. Its called the Melaka Tropical Fruit Farm in Sungai Udang.
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As always I was searching for something unique and educational to bring my ‘budak bandar’ kids this weekend. Some place close to Port Dickson. So we don’t spend time on the road. I’ve heard that there’s a fruit farm somewhere in Melaka. With loads of fruit trees to see. Its called the Melaka Tropical Fruit Farm in Sungai Udang. I will put the map at the end of this post.
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As we had a wedding to go to in Port Dickson, we reach there around 4pm. Do take note the place closes at 5pm. As we were so fascinated with the place we forgot about time. The caretaker were kind enough to wait for us until 5.30pm. The charges is very cheap. RM8 for grown-ups and RM6 for kids. After you pay the entrance fee, you will be given a pack of dried corn to feed the ostrich or the deers. There were very little people there. Everyone feared the Covid 19 virus. Or everybody realized that there were no fruits available. Cause there were not a single fruit on the trees.
You start at the Rabbit house. The kids got really excited carrying little bunnies and playing with them. The larger rabbits are kept in a cages. The best thing about this place is you can drive around in your own car. There is a tar road around the farm. After the Rabbit house, we took a drive to the Quail house passing by bamboo plantation and fruit trees minus the fruits. Very sad.
There were nothing much to see in the Quail House. The staff at entrance mentioned. They are in the midst of replacing the quail with something else.
Then we moved to the animal enclosure which had cows, ostrich and deer. You could feed the ostrich and deer with the corn they provided at the entrance. But we fed the deer. My kids enjoyed feeding the deer.
After that we drove looking at different fruit trees. I even found out how a durian flower looks like. LOL.
In the middle of the park there’s a lake with little chalets that you can rent. Also a camp ground. There were a bunch of school kids camping there.
My verdict
It is a decent spot to visit, as the large is large and you can feed of bigger animals like deers, ostriches and cows. As per the staff there the best time to visit is June to Sept. They said you can pick and taste the fruits when it is in season. Be that as it may, durian is chargeable. The good thing is that you can move inside the comfort of your own vehicle, rather than strolling in the sun. Best of all, my ‘budak bandar ‘ kids got to feed the deers. They were not keen about feeding the ostrich. They had a ton of fun. Everybody dozed off on the way back.
Melaka is famous for their Assam Pedas. Asam Pedas simply means “sour and spicy”. What it is, is a soury spicy broth that goes well with fish. I like my Asam Pedas with slices of Stingray. The sourness comes from sour tamarind juice and the spicyness is from fresh chili peppers.
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My goddaughter introduced us to this place in Teluk Mas that serves Fish Roe Assam Pedas. Something unique that we never have tasted. Therefore we were game on trying it. The shop is called “Asam Pedas Osamin Melaka”. As with most of my post here, I have attached a Google Map location of this place.
The shop is a typical Malaysia coffee shop. Non air-conditioned but cooled down with large fans. Its located just next to the SK Teluk Mas. Where you can park your car. Do go early cause we reach there at 12.00 noon luckily and the place got filled up by 12.30pm.
When you walk into the restaurant, you will find plates of pre-portion asam pedas with a variety of fish and fish roe.
There is also a variety of pre-plated grilled fish to chose from if you don’t fancy asam pedas.
There was also a wide variety of meats, seafood and vegetables but we went there for the asam pedas. So we took a plate of Fish Roe Asam Pedas. We also individually took some dishes from the counter. I had the “Quaill Egg Sambal” which was spicy but tasted yummy.
My Verdict
If you want to taste authentic fish roe asam pedas, then this is the place for you. Its quite out of town and you might have to use your Waze or Google Maps to find it. Parking is at a school carpark, so was ample as we went on a Sunday. On a school day it might be packed. It might be hot but with ample fans around should alright. Price was alright. We had a plate of fish roe asam pedas, 4 plain rice, 6 cold beverages, same dishes from the counter. This came up to RM44.00. Word of caution. After you have taken your food, let the staff there calculate how much it is cause for everyone. She will write in a piece of paper and hand it to you. When paying just hand this slip to the cashier.
Address :- KM 10 Kampung, Kampung Jawa, 75460 Telok Mas, Melaka
Open Daily from 8.00am till 5.00pm (closed on Wednesdays)
After the Malacca Sultanate Palace, we opt to go up the hill to the St. Paul Church. We start at the bottom at the Porta de Santiago. The Porta de Santiago is what’s left of the A Formosa Fort. The Porta de Santiago is the most famous historical landmarks in Melaka. And you can see by the number of people visiting the Porta de Santiago. The Porta is actually a small gate house of the fortress.
After the photo opt at the gate, we walked up a flight of stairs to the St. Paul’s Church. The walk-up is great and large trees provided some shade from the evening sun. Along the way there are locals selling their wares such as paintings, small souvenirs and so on. The walk up is worth it. Reason being upon reaching up, the view is spectacular. You can see the old Malacca for miles. Upon reaching the top you will come to the ruins of the St. Paul Church.
Inside the church there are many tombstones and also the grave site where St. Francis was buried before his body was exhumed to be buried in Goa.
At the entrance there is a statue of St.Francis. The statue had one of its hands missing due to a bomb during the second world war.
We followed the path which brought us down to the other part of the Historical Melaka. Thanks to the large trees the walk was not too bad
My Verdict
A good slow walk up the hill. We went in the evening which made it quite hot. I supposed the mornings are better with all the greenery around. But it’s alright as there are a number of large trees to shade us. As there are many stairs. This is not a place for the elderly and wheelchair bound. But the view from the top of the hill is spectacular. Do note at times there will be lots of tourist.
Air Keroh Recreational Forest 
Melaka Bird Park
Coral Wonderland Melaka
River Cruise 
The St. Paul’s Hill- A little climb to History
Malacca Sultanate Palace, Melaka
Proclamation of Independence Memorial
Crowded But Interesting – Jonker Walk Night Market
A Visit to Tropical Fruit Farm Melaka
As always I was searching for something unique and educational to bring my ‘budak bandar’ kids this weekend. Some place close to 
Melaka is famous for their Assam Pedas. 
