I last went to Melaka more than 6-7 years ago. This time round it’s good to be back exploring with the 4 kids. Hence, I did some research on where we should bring the kids to go. While hubby did the research on local food that we should be exploring. Melaka is well known for its Jonker Street, but they are more than that. We stayed in Melaka for 3 days and 2 nights.
How We Get To Melaka And Where We Stay
We drove up to Melaka, which took about 3hrs without stopping. We set off at 445am to avoid the school holiday jam and managed to pass both SG and My customs in less than 30 minutes.
We stayed in Rosa Melaka – a family suite (7 pax – 3A/4C) for 3 days and 2 nights that comes with a buffet breakfast. It has 1 king-size bed, 1 queen-size bed and 1 sofa bed. We didn’t request a baby cot because it’s chargeable. It’s a very Instagramable and industrial-looking hotel. I would say it’s more suitable for couples and small families. The only downside of the room is there is only 1 toilet in the family suite room. There is no bellboy available in the hotel.
Kids-Friendly Places In Melaka.
Wonderpark Melaka
I bought the promotional family tickets (2A2C) directly from Wonderpark which includes the food vouchers. But actually, I feel the food vouchers are not exactly worth it but buying the family package directly is worth it. Unless you are a person who likes to snack on waffles and ice cream. But we decided to save our stomachs for lunch. It cost RM85 for the family promotional tickets which are about SGD$25.
We went in the weekday morning at 10 am, it was not crowded at all, and by the time we left, there were only 3-4 families there.
They mentioned they have 8 play areas, but when we went there, 3 play areas weren’t operating – The basketball machine, the game zone, and the yellow bicycle. But for the price we paid, we are still pretty okay with it. The giant playland, which is like a mini indoor playground is good to keep our 4 kids occupied and they spent about 2 hours playing with no complaints. The only issue we have is their cafe chairs, most of them are spoiled, hopefully, they can replace them soon.
Location:
Lot 2F-2C, 2nd Floor,
The Shore Shopping Gallery,
Melaka, Malaysia.
Operating hours: 10 am – 7 pm, closed on Tuesday.
Tips: Bring your own socks and jacket. The aircon is quite strong. You can park outside the shopping mall or hotel. Need to pay RM10.
Mamee Jonker House
This place is definitely not new for those who have gone to Melaka before. They are a well-known mini Mamee museum whereby you can DIY your own noodle cup. The place changed a lot since the last time I went. Previously we DIY almost all the process, but now the staff do it for us, and we just assist in the packing. So the whole process is actually very fast, we finish this in less than an hour.
Each cup is RM15, they have 4 different flavors, chicken, vegetarian, tom yum, and curry laksa. They accept the cashless method.
Location: 46 & 48, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
Monday-Thursday – 10 am to 5 pm
Friday-Sunday – 10 am to 7 pm
Tips: Parking can be quite difficult near the area, you can park outside the jonker street and walk in. Will take about 10-15mins to walk in.
Zoo Melaka
Honestly, this is a place where the kids can really stay the whole day. But we forgot to bring mosquito repellent so we cut short the trip. The mosquitoes there are really very powerful. The animals are very close to us, and the fence is not built very high. We kept wondering will the animals jump out. The area is really big, so better to bring a stroller if your kids can’t walk for long.
I bought the tickets from klook (you can use my code “QIQI5OFF” for a 5% discount). The tickets are not really cheap for foreigners, and some of the sections need additional payment like the reptile cave.
The one I’m looking forward to is actually their Dinosaur Encounter (included in our Klook tickets), which is just set up in 2021, so is pretty new and clean. The music and moving dinosaurs with sound effects make your journey a lot more exciting. Below each dinosaur there is detailed information on their names, where are they found, and so on. You can choose to walk the long route or the shorter route. In the middle of the dinosaur park, there is an observation tower for you to see the dinosaur park 360°.
Location:
Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Hang Tuah Jaya,
75450 Ayer Keroh, Melaka, Malaysia
Opening hours:
Mon – Thur: 10 am – 4 pm
Friday: 9 am – 6 pm, Sat & Sun: 9 am – 5 pm.
Tips: Must bring DEET mosquito repellent, an umbrella and extra water. The toilet is not very clean so be prepared. Need carpark coupon to park your car.
Bee Gallery
The bee gallery is just opposite Zoo Melaka, but not within walking distance. This place is a tourist attraction operated by Giant B which is the largest honey producer in Malaysia. The entrance fee is totally free but does prepare for some upselling of honey. Which to us is still pretty acceptable. The salesperson is not very forceful when we reject buying some of the supplements. But we did buy some honey for daily consumption.
Melaka Trishaw
This is definitely not new for those who went Melaka before and may find that it’s a very tourist area which may “carrot” you anytime. Actually they have the price listed in the paper showing you the rates and the distance they are going. If not you can buy the klook tickets which include the river cruise.
I feel it’s still a very good experience for the kids to enjoy the colourful rides and at the same time enjoy the Melaka historic city. Hubby chooses the 30mins (RM 50 per trishaw) to ride with stops in between to take photos and the trishaw rider also takes time to introduce their country’s culture and history. I thought we need to take 3 trishaws but the guy said 2 is enough. The kids choose Spiderman and frozen soft toys to sit on.
So along the way, we took some photos at their historical site.
Location:
At Stadthuys, Banda Hilir, 75000 Malacca, Malaysia
Opening hours: 8 am – 12 am
Tips: Take the ride at night, so the trishaw will be lit up with beautiful lights.
Melaka River Cruise
Very enjoyable 45mins river cruise ride. The ride comes with a recorded commentary so you can know more about Melaka’s history and culture. We bought the tickets directly from the booth. They have a lot of booth stations selling tickets, so you can just buy from anyone of them. The tickets for foreigner is RM30 for adults and RM25 for children (2-12 years old). You can buy it directly from the online store if you want to avoid any Q!
It’s very relaxing and windy if you take the ride at night. Online reviews commented that some even saw giant lizards in the river. I don’t remember seeing any poster or notice indicating the ride timing. we waited for more than 30mins to have our ride, maybe because we took it on a weekday which is a non-peak period so the waiting time can be quite long.
Opening hours: 9 am – 11 pm
Tips: Take the ride at night which is more cooling. If you are ok with a little water splash, sit front row to enjoy the ride better!
Mahkota Parade Shopping Centre
I would say this shopping mall is good to have a break from outdoor activities but not really for good shopping and food. They have a few indoor playgrounds and a cinema which is good for parents to rest their feed while the kids enjoy. We arranged for 3hrs indoor playground fun at Kidzooona – level 1. This indoor playground is in almost every Malaysia shopping mall.
After that we book movie tickets to watch Transformers and before the movie starts they kids had a 15mins ATV ride at the movie theatre level.
We bought the sofa seats. So each sofa is considered 2 pax, so 1 sofa is RM50. Don’t expect super spacious and comfortable, it’s not. So for 7 pax, best to book 3 sofa. The middle hand rest can be lifted up so the young kids can sit in the middle.
Location:
Mahkota Parade Shopping Centre
Hektar Property Services Sdn Bhd
Lot B-02, Basement, Mahkota Parade,
No. 1, Jalan Merdeka, 75000 Bandar Melaka
Tips: Not a lot of popular food choices, so we had KFC. Good to spend there for half a day.
Melaka Hidden Food Gems
This time round, hubby decided to go to places that were not widely known or patronized by the tourist. At least we do not need to Q for long or get cutthroat prices. Most importantly to enjoy really good food that is enjoyed by the locals.
Limbongan Hailam Kopitiam
We came here very early in the morning for chicken rice balls, hearsay that is so popular among the locals that their chicken rice always sold out before 11 am. Besides chicken rice balls, the stall that is just beside the chicken rice stall, which sells coffee and toast is also good.
If you love Onde-onde, you can buy 1 box from the Malay stall to try! It’s very nice too! But take note, you cannot eat Malay food at the yellow allocated Chinese table and vice versa. They are strict on that.
Location:
No. 8, Kompleks Niaga Limbongan, Jalan Kristal Merah 1, Jalan Limbongan,
75200 Klebang, Malacca, Malaysia
Opening hours: 5 am – 130 pm.
Poh Piah Lwee
Poh Piah Lwee, sells local Nyonya food and they are popular for their poh piah. Their shop is quite small, so try to avoid it during the peak period. We ordered everything on the menu which only got 5 dishes.
Poh piah, Rojak, Nyonya laksa, Minced meat mushroom noodle and Nyonya dumpling.
I love all except for the Nyonya dumpling which I just find it ok. It’s nice but not super nice that I will eat again unlike the rest. Their poh piah is juicy and full of crispy pork lard bits. Their rojak is also worth trying. The kids love the minced meat mushroom noodles. I would say it’s good to order if you have kids or don’t eat spicy food, if not just save your tummy for the laksa.
Location:
14, Jalan Kubu, 75300 Melaka, Malaysia
Opening hours: 930am – 4pm
Closed On Monday.
Min Fon Restaurant
The night that we went to Melaka was on Wednesday and not sure why, a lot of restaurants are not open. We managed to find one that is away from the popular Jonker Street area, serving mostly locals.
Over here the food is relatively cheap, but don’t expect fancy cooking style or names like Tze Char Stall.
Most of their prawns and clams are cooked in a very simple style, but I feel it’s very nice. I even ordered a few more plates of prawns and clams. Very fresh!
Location:
553, Jln Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000 Melaka, Malaysia
Opening hours: 5 pm – 1 am daily.
Restaurant Lee Swee Meng
When hubby drove here, I thought this place was so out of the way and quite ulu. But apparently, a lot of locals come here to eat, and hear-say sometimes you might wait for very long to get a table.
They have a very big car park to cater for the crowd.
They are popular for their clay pot dishes, basically, most of the food served is in clay pots.
Location:
Jln Melaka Raya 35, Melaka Raya, 75000 Malacca, Malaysia
Operating hours: 1130am – 2pm, 430pm -9pm
Closed on Wednesday.
Tips: Be there early to avoid disappointment
The Old Mark Cafe
It’s a very nice modern cafe in Melaka. They serve brunch, coffee, and also their popular Souffle Pancake.
Their tables are quite limited, so to avoid long waiting, do Q early so you do not have to wait for very long.
We ordered 3 Souffle Pancakes, Strawberry, peach and tiramisu. It’s so fluffy, not too sweet and totally melts in your mouth. I totally understand why they are so popular for their pancakes.
Location:
39, Jln KSB 11, Taman Kota Syahbandar,
75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Opening Hours: 12 pm – 7 pm, Closed on Tuesday.
Tips: Go there early to avoid Q, because they do not accept reservations.
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