The 3rd makan place that we visited to have a taste of local Malaccan food is Jonker 88. Right smack in the middle of Jonker street, this popular tourist eatery is quite worth checking out for its rustic and nostalgic interiors, and also its food.
This place runs like a self-service food court where patrons have to find their own tables, and then queue up at the stalls to buy their food. No serving staffs here, although they do charge GST in the price of their food.
There are mainly 3 kinds of food sold here, Noodles & Rice, Rojak & Ngoh Hiang and Desserts. Being our first time here, we ordered the most popular items from all 3 categories for sharing.
For Noodles, we had the famous Laksa in 3 different flavors. The Baba Laksa RM6.00+ is similar to SG Laksa with a fragrant coconut milk broth, the Nyonya Asam Laksa RM7.00+ is similar to the sourish Penang Laksa with assam broth, and finally the Baba Laksa Kahwin Nyonya Asam Laksa RM7.00+ which has a mixed broth from both Baba and Nyonya Laksa.
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| Baba Laksa |
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| Baba Laksa Kahwin Nyonya Asam Laksa |
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| Nyonya Asam Laksa |
All 3 Laksa were served with same ingredients (Prawn, taupok, beancurd skin, egg etc.), the Baba laksa comes with thin beehoon, whereas the other two had thick beehoon (translucent type used in Penang laksa).
My personal fave is the Baba Laksa, the spicy coconut broth was very good. Some of my friends preferred the slightly sourish mixed broth laksa, but we all agreed that the Nyonya laksa was not as nice as the original Penang laksa.
One friend who couldn't take seafood had the Fish Fillet gravy noodle RM5.50+, which basically is a dry version of SG Yong Tau Foo. She said it tasted alright.
Also for sharing are the Baba Salad RM10.00+ and Baba Goreng Goreng (price depends on ingredients chosen). The Baba salad was a peranakan style Rojak with mixed fruits, while the Baba goreng goreng was their version of SG Ngoh Hiang. Both were good but not great, I would eat the ngoh hiang again though.
Last but not least, each of us ordered a bowl of Cendol for dessert. Two main types that's popular here are the signature Baba Cendol w/ gula melaka RM4.00+ and the Baba Durian Cendol RM5.00+. The cendol here were quite disappointing, we all agreed the SG version is much nicer than this. Maybe we'll try the Ice Kacang next time.
Jonker 88
88 Jalan Hang Jebat
Operating Hours:
12:00PM - 6:00PM (Weekdays)
12:00PM - 8:00PM (Weekends)
The entire Jonker street comes alive every weekend evening from 6pm onward (till late). The street will be closed to traffic, and after sundown it will be lined with all kinds of stalls selling food, clothing, souvenirs, household stuffs, game stalls and many more. Visiting once is not enough to take it all in, try to go there over two nights if getting there is convenient for you!
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| Homemade rice dumplings |
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| Assorted dim sum |
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| Bonsai/Potted ice cream, not bad eat. |
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| Fried carrot cake, not nice! |
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| Giant pineapple tart |
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| Nonya & Hakka food, the Soon kueh is very good! |
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| Coconut jelly! |
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| Very delicious! |
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| Coconut shake, so so. |
Other than temporary stalls, the stage infront of the Jonker Boutique hotel also has a live Karaoke performance by locals which is quite interesting. All the Chinese Clan Associations are also bustling with activities of members participating in dancing and singing.
Around the entrance of Jonker street, infront of San Shu Gong, we saw buskers and brightly lit Trishaws competing for business. This is indeed a very happening place to be at during the weekends!
Jonker Street Night Market
Jalan Hang Jebat
75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Hours: Fri, Sat & Sun 1800h – 0000h