Menarik: Melaka Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden or formerly known as the Hutan Rekreasi Ayer Keroh was established from an idea mooted by the Chief Minister of Melaka, YAB Datuk Seri Hj Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam on 1 June 2006. It is encircled by a forest that contains over 300 species of unique fauna and flora. 

The cheesy yet cute thing about this park is the collection of giant stone carvings of prehistoric animals that were indigenous to this area and scattered all around the park.

The 92.5 hectare Melaka Botanical Garden features attraction such as the Forestry Museum, Dinosaur Park and Canopy Walk. Lush and tranquil it provides and ideal setting for recreational activities ranging from jungle trekking, hiking, jogging and camping to boating. 

Book lovers can head for the Book Village that is located within the garden. Melaka Botanical Gardens provides free car parking complex for visitors, various gardens, and other facilities for its visitors.

The various gardens available:

1. Taro/Yam Garden

2. Bamboo Garden

3. Orchid Garden

4. Herbal Garden

5. Heliconia Garden

Opening hours: 

09.00 – 17.00 (Tue – Thu)

09.00 – 18.00 (Sat – Sun)

Closed on Mondays.

Tel: +606 232 8401

Admission: Free

Book Village

Located in the Melaka Botanical Garden, the Book Village Melaka, is only the second of its kind in Malaysia and is part of the International Organization of Book Towns. The place is surrounded by lush green forests and has over 15,000 books in its collection. Here it’s really peaceful to just curl up on a couch and read.

Opening Hours: 

09:00 – 15:00 Tuesday to Thursday; 

09:00 – 12:30 Friday; 

09:00 – 18:00 Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

Address: Taman Botanical, 75450 Ayer Keroh

Tel: +606 251 9181 

Admission: Free

Forest Buggy

               

Melaka Botanical Garden is previously providing the buggy ride for visitors to ride into the recreational forest and feel the fresh air. The suitable time to ride the buggy is exactly in the morning when the air is so fresh and the sun starting to shine. There are plenty of buggy ride for you to choose, but the 4 seats buggy for family is limited. The buggy is safe as it will moving slowly and you can look around the forest for 30 minutes. The buggy station is just beside the Botanical Cafe.

Botanical Café

Visitors may take a rest or lunch at Botanical Café where the specialty of this forest café is it’s interior design and decorations which will be changed according to the month’s of festive seasons or any special occasions. 

It serves halal foods from local and western menu and the signature dish or recommended food for visitors is Fish Head Curry, Asam Sambal Fish, Thai Styled Crispy Chicken, Sambal Petai Prawns and other food that very nice to eat.

Makan-Makan: Mee Sup Tengkera

Mee Sup Tengkera sangat popular dan terkenal dikalangan penduduk Melaka mahupun para pelancong yang berkunjung di negeri bersejarah ini. Terletak berhampiran bekas Masjid Negeri Melaka iaitu Masjid Tengkera, Mee Sup Tengkera menghidangkan 3 menu rasmi sahaja iaitu Mee Sup, Kue Teow Sup dan Bihun Sup kepada para pelanggannya. 

Beroperasi sekitar jam 3 petang sehingga lewat jam 6 petang setiap hari, Mee Sup Tengkera sentiasa dikunjungi dan dipenuhi dengan pelanggan-pelanggan yang datang dari dalam dan luar Melaka. Mungkin keenakan rasanya membuatkan pelanggan-pelanggan tetap dan baru sering menjamu selera di sini.

Walaupun menu Mee Sup Tengkera begitu ringkas namun rasanya yang lazat dan sungguh menyelerakan sesiapa sahaja. Selain servis yang cepat, para pekerja juga sungguh peramah dan bersih. 

Dihidangkan bersama campuran sup ayam, sayuran, cili pilihan mee kuning, bihun atau mee siam, dan kue tiow. Terdapat juga kudapan untuk minum petang seperti popiah basah dan popiah goreng dijual di sini.

Mee Sup Tengkera ini telah mula beroperasi sejak tahun 1982 di tapak asalnya sekarang dan resepinya masih sama sehingga sekarang. Jika anda berkunjung ke Bandaraya Melaka, jangan lupa berkunjung ke Mee Sup Tengkera sambil melawat Masjd Tengkera yang indah lagi bersejarah.

Makan-Makan: Restoran Lot 85

Restoran Lot 85 is located in Durian Daun, Melaka. It offers Melaka’s local delicacies, famous among the locals too! These delicious local delicacies include satay celup (skewered seafood cooked in peanut sauce), cencalok (fermented shrimp relish), rojak (fruit and vegetables salad), dodol (a sweet sticky palm sugar delicacy) and cendol (cold dessert with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup). 

The signature menu for this restaurant is briyani rice served with mutton, beef or chicken kurma, dalca / pencuk (veges), papadom (Indian’s crunchy snack), dhal and curry.

Briyani Rice

Beef Kurma

Dhal

Pencuk

You’ll get to see office workers nearby comes in a big crowd during lunch break enjoy their meal here. So, it’s best to go during lunch hour. I suggest that you might go earlier or maybe after lunch hour to avoid cramping with them. 

Malay cuisine the best choice during lunch because they are cheaper and preparing them consume lesser time than other cuisine. It’s the best choice to have a quick meal and this restaurant is the best for its quick and friendly service.

Makan-Makan: Gerai Kuih Merlimau

Sebut sahaja gerai kuih di Merlimau pasti ramai yang teringat kelazatan kuih-muih tradisi Malaysia seperti pisang goreng, ubi getok, keria, donat, popiah, kuih lopes, cekodok pisang, bujang lapok, wadeh, karipap dan sebagainya. 


Gerai kuih yang terletak di tengah-tengah Bandar Merlimau ini bukan sahaja popular dan terkenal dikalangan penduduk setempat, malah turut dikenali oleh pengunjung yang datang dari luar Melaka seperti Muar, Pahang dan Negeri Sembilan yang melalui Jalan Merlimau-Jasin. 

Gerai kuih tersebut dibuka setiap hari dan amat popular dengan ubi getok, pisang goreng, keledek goreng dan kuih lopes. Dibuka seawal jam 12 tengahari, gerai kuih ini bukan sahaja bersih malah menawarkan kuih-muih tradisional Melayu dan lain-lain dengan harga yang sangat berpatutan.

Pisang goreng

Keledek goreng

Bagi anda yang merancang untuk ke Merlimau atau ingin membeli kuih-muih untuk minum petang, jangan lupa untuk singgah dan mencuba sendiri kelazatan ubi getok, kuih lopes dan lain-lain. Anda pasti berpuas hati!

Pelbagai jenis kuih-muih dijual

Kuih lopes gerai kuih ini sangat lazat dan terkenal

Gambar di atas Riqq ambil semasa menunggu gambar passport siap. Tiba-tiba teringat zaman persekolahan dahulu, ketika Riqq dan rakan-rakan menunggu bas, kami pasti akan membeli ubi getok, pisang goreng dan kuih lopes lalu makan beramai-ramai di stesen bas Merlimau. Ramai pelajar sekolah rendah dan menengah seperti SK Merlimau 1 dan 2, SMK Dato' Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, SMK Dang Anum serta Politeknik dan Kolej Komuniti gemar membeli dan menikmati kuih-muih yang dijual di gerai ini. Cubalah!

Jom minum petang dengan pisang dan keledek goreng yang dibeli dari gerai kuih Merlimau!

Hurm, sedap ni!

Cubalah!

Makan-Makan: Sawit Corner

Last week my special friend and I went to Port Dickson. My friend; wink2* =) introduced me a stall that is very popular at the area called Sawit Corner. We stopped our journey and have our lunch there. Sawit Corner is a Malay owned stall in a palm oil plantation near Sungai Udang. This stall is located under the palm oil tree and you could easily find the stall if you use the old Malacca-Port Dickson Road. 

If you come from Malacca, the stall is on your right. You'll see a yellow signboard and before it you could find a lemang stall. Sawit Corner is very popular among local people and tourists because they usually stop there for lunch and having some meals after return back from Port Dickson. Among popular menu of Sawit Corner includes asam pedas, chicken rice, nasi lemak, western set, noodles, fish head curry, cendol and many more. 

For cendol lovers like me, you could enjoy free additional cendol here. I like the environment of the stall, it's clean, comfortable and away from air pollution. The owner also provides some facilities for customers such as gazebo (wakaf), toilets, musollah (surau) and a fish pond. You could see some big Arapaima Gigas (dragon fish originally from Amazon) in the pond. 

If you don't like cendol, you might choose wide variations flavor of ice-creams and ABC (Air Batu Campur) - a mixture of Malay traditional red syrup, cincau, lychee, nuts, barley seeds, selasih, kembang semangkuk, agar-agar, milk and so on into a bowl of blended ice. Sound tasty right? Yeah, most Malaysian love this dessert especially during lunch while the weather is hot.

Here are some pictures of Sawit Corner:

You'll find they only have big and long tables (easy for family)

Cendol counter

The customers and foods are protected from fallen leaves and dust from palm oil trees by the black net

A traditional way to avoid and chase flies and beetles

Nice view. A happy big family having lunch at the stall

My lunch set; rice, asam pedas ikan kembong, half salted egg, sambal belacan and some veges 

Yummy! Shocked at first, such a very big plate. Cool!

My friend's lunch set; nasi lemak served with bumbu fried chicken, ikan bilis, salted fish, fried kangkung and sambal. Yummy!!

Sawit Corner from the road

The signboard of Sawit Corner stall

A bunting for cendol promotion. Cendol lovers, go get your cendol now!!

A lemang stall beside Sawit Corner

I would like to recommend you to come and taste the foods if you use the road to Port Dickson. You'll like and love their foods and environment surrounding very much!

Makan-Makan: Perhentian Kuih Kampung / Kedai Bawah Pokok

Kepada sesiapa yang tercari-cari tempat untuk menikmati asam pedas Melaka yang lazat, Riqq ingin mengesyorkan anda berkunjung ke sebuah gerai di Banda Hilir, berhampiran dengan Balai Polis dan Penjara Banda Hilir. Gerai tersebut juga dikenali sebagai Perhentian Kuih Kampung atau Kedai Bawah Pokok dan agak tersorok pada pandangan umum. Mulanya Riqq tidak langsung mengetahui kewujudan gerai tersebut, namun semasa praktikal di Bahagian Promosi Pelancongan Melaka (BPP), terdapat staff yang mengajak Riqq makan tengahari di sana. Riqq sudah beberapa kali berkunjung dan menikmati makanan di sana. Jika anda datang dari Ujong Pasir, kedai tersebut berada di sebelah kanan betul-betul berada di bawah sebatang pokok besar. Kalau tak silap Riqq, pokok angsana.

Bagi mereka yang menggemari pelbagai jenis kuih-muih tradisional dan moden Melayu seperti kuih koci, talam, talam keladi, seri kaya, cara berlauk, bingka betawi, bingka ubi, bengkang, kaswi, rengas, lempeng gulung, tako, tepung gomak, genggang, tepung pelita, kuih angku, apam, buah melaka, popiah basah, popiah gorang dan sebagainya, di sinilah tempatnya. Bukan sekadar kuih muih sahaja, terdapat juga nasi ayam, nasi lemak, asam pedas pelbagai ikan seperti pari, tenggiri, parang, kembung, sembilang, jenahak dan lain-lain. Minuman popular di sini adalah lo han kuo atau air kelapa laut dengan campuran gula Melaka. Selain itu, terdapat juga pelbagai jenis bebola dan makanan laut goreng turut dijual sebagai makanan ringan.

Set nasi putih dan asam pedas dengan telur masin dan timun

Asam pedas ikan tenggiri dan jenahak

Dekorasi gerai

Kaunter bayaran dan senarai menu

Jadi, sekiranya anda bercuti dan ternampak gerai tersebut, jangan lupa untuk mencuba makanan di sana. Selain bersih, harganya sangat berpatutan dan pekerjanya juga cekap dan peramah. Gambar-gambar kat atas ni Riqq sempat snap masa makan tengahari di gerai tersebut Isnin lepas dengan seorang kawan yang tersangat comel. Hahaha :)