Jonker Street, Melaka

The State of Melaka today is a tiny backwater and the third smallest state of the thirteen states that make up the Federation of Malaysia.

Founded in 1400 by Parameswara, a Majapahit Prince and the Last King of Temasik (now known as Singapore), Melaka grew to become a thriving seaport and trading post under the reigns of its rulers, who eventually converted to Islam and founded the Sultanate of Melaka. By 1511, by the time the Portuguese led by Alphonso d'Alburquerque arrived and conquered the city, the Sultanate held sway over vast territories covering much of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatera. 

The Portuguese occupation of Melaka lasted from 1511 until 1641, a period interspersed with frequent skirmishes with the other local powers of the Malay Archipelago, including Johor, Acheh and the Javanese. Eventually the Dutch, conspiring with the Johor sultanate succeeded in expelling the Portuguese from Melaka.

The Dutch occupation of Melaka lasted until 1824, when the Anglo-Dutch treaty was signed between the Dutch and the British, resulting in Melaka falling into the hands of a third colonial power.

Remnants of the Dutch occupation can still be seen in Melaka today, including St.John's Fort, St Peter's church, the Stadthuys, Chris Church and the Dutch Graveyard.

Another legacy of the Dutch include some of the original road names, some of which are still commonly in use today, despite the change of their official names to local ones. Heeren Street, which is now known as Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, is an example of this. "Heerenstraat" was Melaka's original millionaires row, for the Dutch "gentlemen" and "masters" in the upper class of society.

One street down, parallel to Heeren Street was Jonker Street, from the Dutch word for noblemen, "jonkheer". This was the street where young nobleman who had not quite yet made it to the upper crust resided. Now known as Jalan Hang Jebat officially, Jonker Street has completed its transformation into a tourist attraction with its various restaurants serving local treats, antique stores and a weekend tourist market selling trinkets and cheap knock-offs.

Jonker Street today.

One of many shops along the street.

Many of the pre-war shop houses are still lived in by the original residents, whilst others have been renovated into modern shops. But you can still find antique shops and coffee shops which still give an authentic feel amongst the newer shops selling knick-knacks and souvenirs.

Roadside stall selling crunchy sun-dried barbecued squid.

Roadside vendors selling local treats such as barbecued squid, cendol, nyonya kuih, mua chi, otak-otak and other delicacies line the street.

Night market ("pasar malam") on the weekends.

Jonker Street comes alive during the weekends, when there is a night market from 6pm to 12pm. The night market operates on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Dato' Wira Gan Boon Leong's statue guards the public toilets (!)

At roughly the centre of Jonker Street is a small park in between the pre-war shop houses with a statue of Dato' Wira Gan Boon Leong flexing his muscles. Dato' Wira is a local politician who in his younger days was a bodybuilder and former Mr Malaysia. Curiously, his statue now guards the public toilets in the small park.

Durian Puffs anyone?

One of the stranger things to try are the "one-bite durian puffs", which are sold at a shophouse opposite the Geographer Cafe.

Quite the queue for the puffs.

Wonder why you have to eat it in one bite?

Apparently the reason it is called "one-bite". is that you are supposed to eat it in one mouthful, or you are liable to have a big mess all over your shirt!

Cendol being made by a roadside vendor.

Cendol is another Melaka staple, which you can eat at one of the popular shophouses such as Jonker 88 or San Shu Gong. Or just order it from one of the roadside vendors.

Cendol - Shaved ice with palm sugar, coconut milk & green vermicelli.

At the junction of Jonker Street and Harmony Street is a performance stage, where at the weekends, one of the many clan associations may put on a show. While we there, it was a rather strange one of an elderly man dancing and a woman singing....

The performance stage at the confluence of Jonker Street and Harmony Street.

Jonker Street is best visited after 6pm on the weekends when the night market is in operation. But even if you can't be there at the weekends, it is still worth a visit during the day. A visit to Jonker Street can easily be combined with the adjacent Heeren Street which is quieter and architecturally more interesting with its pre-war shop houses and boutique hotels.

The adjacent Jalan Tukang Emas ("Goldsmith Road"), which has been nicknamed as "Harmony Street" due to the presence of a mosque, chinese temple and hindu temple, is also located parallel to Jonker Street and can be similarly be visited as part of the heritage trail of the inner city.