Monday, June 17, 2013

Jonker Street (马六甲雞場街文化訪) in the Daytime @ Melaka [Jalan Hang Jebat], Malaysia

When a street becomes too famous for its nightlife, it's quite hard to picture how it would look like when the sun is up and blankets everything with its natural light.

To answer the question, make it a point to revisit in the daytime! That's what the Gang of Four did with Petaling Street in Malacca recently.

Start of Jonker Street - still remember the dangerously placed ship? The tall red building houses the most reputable brand that hails from Malacca; San Shu Gong (三叔公).

三叔公, directly translated as the third grand uncle, sells a wide range of local delicacies (i especially enjoyed the yam biscuits) that would make ideal gifts for family, friends and colleagues back in Singapore!

It was barely 11am but the street continued to draw in the crowds! Oh, please be careful of the motor vehicles as the street is reserved solely for pedestrians only from 6pm to 12 midnight on Fridays to Sundays.

Even though Jonker Street is often touted as a touristy district, the truth is you can still find such classic Peranakan facade maintained in many buildings.

What lies within, however, could be something more commercial in nature. I feel that residential to commercial conversion is inevitable in the long run at historical sites since emotional attachments weaken over time and it's extremely tempting when a commercial entity offers a damn good price for the property.

Jonker Street is also well known for its concentration of antique shops.

My butter fingers were legendary in my family when i was a kid and i was often requested from time to time to stay away from "breakable" items. Hence, antique shops are a simple "no-go".

Jalan Hang Jebat, being a long road, has a number of streets running across it. The first one would be Jalan Hang Kasturi which i termed as the artsy place.

There was the Calanthe Art Cafe, which was voted number four out of a hundred and ninety nine restaurants in Malacca (as taken from TripAdvisor)! Shall talk about this in detail in the next few days.

You can also find quaint little shops hawking handmade products. Do make sure your feet don't smell before you remove your shoes to enter the premise.

Awesome Chinese paper cuttings on walls!

This would be a perfect backdrop for couples taking wedding photographs!

Do your phototaking in the morning as a booth selling thirst quenching winter melon soup would be set up after twelve noon! I took a quick peek since the door was slightly ajar and it appeared to be a residential building.

Formosa Chicken Rice Balls, where i had my first plate of chicken rice balls in recent times, was located at the intersection of Jalan Hang Jebat and Jalan Hang Kasturi.

Continuing our journey on the main street - i am a visual person and blatant display of vibrant colours, regardless of their intended subjects, do attract my attention!

Coaches travelling down the narrow street are common affairs; so don't get carried over thinking the drivers would look out for you. You play an equally important role in road safety as well.

Hokkien Huay Kuan (Hokkien Clan Association) - besides the pair of fearsome looking door gods, this building was designed using traditional architecture typical of a Chinese temple.

An unusual shop that provided electro-plating and repair work for antique silvers. There was nothing upmarket about the family owned business and i love it simply for its old charm.

You can still find makeshift stalls selling night market stuff but in the daytime, they were the minority. Seriously, i doubt many sane tourists would go through the offerings under the hot sun! 

Taiwan hamburger at only RM 3 - this shall be on my to-eat list in my upcoming trip to Malacca! 

Clogs again; this time in other shades of blue and purple! As i was typing this, i am talking to my mom. She was indeed keen to have a pair although it was a definite that my neighbour a level below would be extremely displeased with the constant 'clock, clock, clock".


Handmade bead shoes for that nyonya persona in you! There was another shop we chanced upon that retails extremely exquisite bead shoes. Gonna keep it a secret for now! :P


Traffic was heavy for such a narrow road. Once again, please be safe; look out for motor vehicles before you cross the road! 

This park is quite popular with tourists and i remember seeing this muscular statue (said to be the father of bodybuilders in Malaysia) in other blogs while i was searching for things to do in Melaka. 

A really fantastic map illustrating Jalan Hang Jebat and its surroundings. 

Yet again an antique shop; albeit not as cluttered as i expected most antique shops to be. 

The end point of Jonker Street - i have a great fondness for exploring streets and there are clearly many enchanting old streets i did not cover in my trip! 

Oh well; a valid excuse for me to plan for another visit! 

5 comments:

  1. Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything. However think of if you added some great visuals or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with pics and videos, this website could undeniably be one of the very best in its niche. Great blog!

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  2. makan lover12:16 PM

    is that spam above? haha

    anyway read that the authority is closing down the night markets at jonker street so the cars can utilise the roads on fridays and saturdays

    and they are forcing all the shops to change their signboards to include malay words

    naturally, the residents are shocked by the news

    sigh....

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    Replies
    1. Let's hope it would all come to naught! To commit the same mistake that Singapore did in the past would just make Malacca less vibrant! :(

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  3. Naomi5:50 PM

    Very nicely written. The info comes handy as I'm preparing to bring my twins daughter to Melaka this coming weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you would enjoy Malacca! :)

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