A Visit to Jonker Street, Melaka

Jonker Street, known as one of the famous tourist attraction spot in Melaka. Without dropping by there, it will be an incomplete visit to Melaka. We decided to head down to Melaka on the 7th of April to do a research on it's historical buildings, cultures, food, people and activities at Jonker Street. It is located near the Melaka River.

The Melaka River

It used to be the key port or gateway to the Sultanate of Melaka many centuries ago. It was also the entry point to begin trading for the western nation. Nowadays, the Melaka river has been rejuvenated and able to be cruised using the Melaka River Cruise. Besides that, we can also see handmade merchandise along the road side when we were at Jonker Street.

Buildings In Jonker Street Melaka.

Melaka is known for it's history , therefore most of the the architecture of the buildings here are based on the traditional design.Shop owners in Melaka are not allowed to demolish the shop houses and they are not allowed to change the outlook of the buildings in Melaka. Most building in Melaka are based on the Baba Nyonya Culture ,Chines Cultures , , Malay culture and indian culture.This is because Melaka was  famous port and many traders from all around the word would meet at here before Malaysia was formed.Therefor there are many cultures and different architecture designs left in Melaka.

                                     

This is a shop house based on the Baba Nyonya culture.

 This is the Crist Churuch in Melaka.It is one of the most famous tourist attraction.

This is the church of St. Francis Xavier.

Buildings base on chinese culture.

Ai Pei.

Food!

     When it comes to food, no doubt that Melaka is one of the best place for hunting food. In Jonker Street, you can find almost every types food you are craving for. It is famous with it's chicken rice balls, chendol, nyonya cuisines and more.

Chicken Rice Balls

     The chicken rice balls from Kedai Kopi Chung Wah is the most famous chicken rice shop located at Jonker Street. We had to queue up for almost half an hour just to have a taste on their famous chicken rice balls, but it was all worth it. The rice wasn't only unique on the outside, but it tasted different compare to the other chicken rice. It was quite chewy and has a strong taste of chicken stock, you can even eat the rice just by itself and it still taste good! The chicken meat was very tender and juicy, it was neither too salty nor sweet, it was perfect. 

Traditional Nyonya Cuisine

     We had our delicious nyonya cuisine at Authentic Home Cooked Peranakan Cuisine. It has a very nice and comfortable environment with some nyonya baba decorations and also it is air-conditioned. We ordered their curry fish, chicken, ladies fingers and also 'chap choi'. For you out there who cannot take spicy food, there's a good news for you as the food there are not very spicy. The level of spiciness is acceptable so no worries. 

     Besides these, you can find few stalls selling tasty snacks along the road of Jonker Street. The prices of food are quite reasonable.

'Mua Chi'

Assorted Nyonya Kuih

Jonker 88 Food Heritage Chendol

Dol-dol

Durian Wraps 

Pineapple Tarts

Tok-tok Sweets

Activities held in jonker street

Chinese calligraphy

In Jonker Street, we met a physically handicapped calligrapher demonstrating his calligraphy skills. Although he is a handicap person, he never gave up in himself. He practices calligraphy with his imperfect arms often. He practices technique for writing Chinese characters, performs the great oriental art of calligraphy in a unique way.

The sketching man

Walking downwards Jonker Street, we also saw a man that is in his 40s selling his sketches as a support of his life. His artwork is as fine as frog’s hair and it is amazingly impressive. Most of his sketches are related to Melaka, which makes them a perfect souvenir for a tourist.

The street performer

The picture shows a living statue street performer at Jonker Street. He acted as a moving statue and he was dressed entirely red glittered. He even painted his face and body with glitter and he will only blink or move when he is granted with money. This shows much of his professional in street performance.

The Malay singers

Two Malay singers nearby Jonker Street had a duet on a few songs accompanied by music performed with a band behind with traditional music instruments such as “Gong”, “rebena”, “gedombak” and “kombang”. This activity attracted a lot of tourists to surround them to cheer for them. 

Jia Xin

Culture of Jonker Street, Melaka.

Besides that, we can also see handmade merchandise along the road side when we were at Jonker Street.

'Kasut Manek' is one of the traditional handmade merchandise. It is a beaded slippers that made and wore by peranakan women (also known as nyonyas) with baju kebaya outfit. It has different type of designs and colours. The designs of the 'Kasut Manek' are based on Baba Nyonya's culture and tradition. During ancient time, peranakan women have to learn how to make 'Kasut Manek' since young. This craft is sold as souvenir to tourists although peranakan women are no longer required to learn how to make 'Kasut Manek'.

'Baju Kebaya' is a traditional blouse dress that worn by peranakan women. It is made of silk, thin cotton, or semi-transparent nylon. 'Baju Kebaya' have very nice colours. Unfortunately we don't have the time to try it, but we managed to take photos of it outside the shop. 

Sue Jing.