In Malacca (Melaka), Malaysia last year I met up with an old colleague from school. Let’s call her EF. We were batch mates at the university and while I chose a different path in business in the information technology industry, she stayed in the design and construction industry, particularly furniture. She does QA management for an international export furniture company with production facilities in Malaysia and travels around the country scrutinizing one production facility to another.
Luckily during my second leg in Malacca, she was in town so we met up for dinner. My parents were tired from the drive so they ended up eating inside the hotel room while I escaped the night away with EF. She said she is bringing me to the Portuguese Village for some lovely fresh seafood.
Seafood Restaurants at the Portuguese Village
Location: Perkampungan Portugis, Ujong Pasir, Melaka
The Portuguese Village or Portuguese Settlement in Malacca is located beside the water with a boulevard of seafood stalls where you can pick the freshest catch of the day and have it cooked your own way. It is also a favourite hangout of the locals. If not because of EF I would not have discovered this place. The only foreigners coming here I noticed are Singaporeans who are somewhat familiar of this place considering its proximity to Singapore and the history behind both countries.
Did you know that Singapore and Malaysia used to be one country before? So news on ‘where to eat’ (an Asian pastime by the way) travel as fast as lighting within both countries.
EF promised me this dinner is going to be dreamlike and will remind me of home. We both came from Cebu, an island in the Philippines that is known for its most delectable seafood dishes in the country. And she was darn right!
EF chose ‘De Costas’ for the evening because they are one of the few restaurants in the Portuguese Settlement that cooks authentic Portuguese seafood dishes. Other seafood restaurants here cook Portuguese style as well but with the usual Malaysian and Chinese twist. So if you want authentic Portuguese, come to this stall.
The owner as well is a Filipina married to a local, and I heard that they have Filipino cooks who are of course familiar with Portuguese cooking which is similar to Spanish cooking (which Filipinos by the way are good at, again because the Philippines is a Spanish colony before). We however had no sighting of the owner when we were there.
As a backgrounder, Malacca during the medieval period was under the flag of Portugal and the Portuguese settled in this part of Malacca where the restaurants are now located. History has been preserved, in the manner of food I guess, at least in this village =)
If you come early for dinner, you can catch the lovely sunset on the boardwalk.
This area in Malacca is also one of the very few Christianised areas where Christian festivities are still held such as Christmas. Malaysia is a multicultural country with multi ethnic origins and religions (i.e. Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity).
We came here with the car which took us forever because Malacca during peak hours is one big traffic circus. It’s actually very near, about 5 kilometres from the city centre and I read that it’s just half an hour on foot as well, but if you are not from the area, I would advise to come here with the cab since cab drivers know where the place is located or if you know someone local, the better.
Anyway, we managed to do a lot of catch up talk while stuck in traffic, so in the end it wasn’t that bad at all.
Food rating: 4.5 stars out fo 5. Definitely a MUST GO in my book when in Malacca, Malaysia. One of my best dinners in the country. Thank you so much EF for this =). Terima kasih.
Travel Period: August 2013
Destination: Malacca, Malaysia
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)