If you are a seasoned traveler to Melaka and Jonker Street don't attract you much, try to expand your visitation to Machap Baru Night Market. Machap was a sleepy Chinese town located about 30km away from the city. Recently, netizens are posting up photos and comments on this hidden gem, attracting tourists from around the globe to visit this small town. The journey to Machap will bring you across a long and winding road along palm oil estate. It is only accessible if you have a car and one can easily get lost in the jungle without proper guidance of GPS.
Expect to find about 100+ food stalls at the Machap Baru Night Market. All the food stalls fully operate by 6pm on weekends only. However, we would advise you to be there earlier to avoid human traffic. It is also easier to look for parking places if you reach earlier. At the entrance of the night market, you will be greeted with the fragrance of chao tofu (fermented beancurd). It can be a pleasant smell or a total turn off, depending on your preference for chao tofu.
Most of the stalls have Chinese signboard and the sellers speak very little English. The scene painted a feeling of being in a Taiwanese night market. Occasionally you can find the elders singing oldies on a small stage at the T-junction.
The recommended foods at the Machap Night Market are red noodle (hong min), salted mustard vegetables bun (mui choy pao), fried durian, petai glutinous rice (petai lomaikai) and mushroom bun.
The red noodle is made of handmade noodles soaked in char siew broth and served with char siew, fish balls and fish cakes. The taste leans toward sweet and salty. Also try the dog's ear wanton soup from the same stall. Be warned that the queue can be very long and tables are limited. Some patrons are seen enjoying their meal standing on the side of the street.
There are two bun stalls that have the same name. Due to the signage in Chinese, we are unable to provide the name. Both located a distance away from each other to grab the attention of the different crowd at different places. Their specialty is the mui choy bao (salted mustard vegetable bun). It was not disappointing. Best served hot.
Another must-try food is the fried durian. The owner prepares the delicacy from the famous and rare musang king durian. Be reminded that the fried durian cake is not cheap. It cost about RM12 for 5 small pieces.
Also at the same stall, you can find the infamous petai lomaikai glutinous rice with petai). Unfortunately we are not able to comment on the fried durian and petai lomaikai due to our preference not to have it. But we do receive plenty of comments that they are good.
Another unique specialty here is the mushroom bun which resembles real mushrooms. The bun is soft on the outside and has melting mushroom cream filling. If you are a fan of mushroom, don't miss this out.
We notice that the stall owners are very creative in their food presentation. You can find amusing food such as panda bun, watermelon juice inside watermelon shell, coconut ice cream served in coconut shell and many more.
Food lover, you are highly recommended to visit the Machap Baru Night Market. The rows of food stalls will leave you plenty of choices. Don't settle for them too soon. Take a stroll along the street until you decide on what to have.
This place is not Instagramable-friendly due to lack of lighting. Put your phone aside and just enjoy the food.
For tourists, we wish you good luck in searching for the place. Search for 2.3818° N, 102.3298° E on your GPS.
