4 Best Restaurants in Malacca, Malaysia

Deservedly popular with both locals and tourists (so expect to wait in line) this hole-in-the-wall joint specializes in satay celup—raw and semi-cooked food on bamboo skewers that you dip into a pot of boiling spicy peanut sauce to cook. From a refrigerated display case, you choose from several dozen skewers of meats, quail eggs, vegetables, and seafood, including squid and prawns; each skewer costs RM1.10, with some "gourmet" choices running slightly more. There are only 12 tables, so get there early and avoid weekends if you want to get in faster.

In an old house close to Jonkers Street, you'll find one of the most popular places in Malacca to try Nyonya (also called Nonya or Peranakan) cuisine, a unique, tasty, and often spicy mix of Malay and Chinese influences. The restaurant's interior is short on style and rather cramped, but you're here for the food. Recommended dishes include laksa (spicy noodle soup), sambal prawns, popiah (spring rolls), otak-otak (fish, coconut, chili paste, and herbs wrapped in a banana leaf), and pie tee (pastry shell filled with spicy-sweet prawns and veggies).

Though it's set up more like a stall than a restaurant—with plastic chairs in what is essentially a parking lot—Pak Putra is known throughout Malacca as the top choice for fresh Pakistani cuisine. Think tender tandoori chicken, fragrant curries, butter chicken, mango lassis, and the restaurant's namesake pillowy naan, either plain or cheese, garlic, or Kashmiri, with nuts and raisins. Arrive soon after it opens at 5:30 pm to increase your chances of getting a table.