Find the best of Malay and other Southeast Asian vegetarian food in Malacca! This article focuses on the cultural drop-down of Malay food with Indian and Chinese sub-cuisines, and the local vegetarian restaurants I hunted down.
Vegetarianism in Malay food can easily be a runny roundabout around the thoroughfares of Malaysia’s World Heritage City Malacca; the streets adorned with freshly-tinted street murals, Jonker Street’s high-spirited night market, and a contemplative blend of the antique with Capitalism.
Malay food in Malacca differs from its Sabah or Serawak dishes from Borneo, even from the broader range of the Peninsula. Although the official Stats show that over 80% of Malaysian Chinese are Buddhists adhering to a vegetarian-based diet, roast pork, fried fish and chicken are what Malay food, at least in Malacca, really invokes within its cuisine-texuality.
Vegetarian dishes are not completely lost, but you definitely need to know where to look for them. One fine afternoon, hungry and out of energy, I literally couldn’t find a single vegetarian restaurant walking all around Jonker Street for an hour. I had to settle for a customized Nasi Lemak, which was basically rice & boiled eggs; ah, and three pieces of cucumber!
The Cultural Assimilation of Diversities in Malay Food in Malacca
The cultural melange of the Malay, Indian and Chinese population gave life to Malay-Indian and Malay-Chinese intersectory-cuisines; not to forgo the light-to-heavy influences from Malacca’s colonial rulers; the Portuguese, Dutch and British who introduced peanuts, avocado, squash, pumpkin and pineapples to its subordinate. The 15th-century spice route often brought Arab merchants with their sack-full of dried spices such as fenugreek, star anise and coriander powder for trading.
In the 19th century, the British would often conjure a flow of South Indian labourers to make them work in rubber and oil-palm plantations in Malaysia. They packed their bags and unfurled the resplendent Indian culinary aromas of garam masala, brown mustard and curry leaves splattering in hot oil. Malay-Indian cuisine was born.
And the Chinese immigrants working in tin mines assimilated their home-flavours into the ever-existing characteristics of the locale. Malay-Chinese cuisine was born.
So, this juxtaposition of colonisation by the European colonies, tactic trade advances, and historical migration cooked up present Malaysia’s food-notes. Even Indonesian, Filipino, Singaporean and a wee touch of Thai familiarity framed Malay versions of these country-dishes, which are still considered ‘Malay’ despite a different genesis.
And these traditional reforms have toppled over and below, changing and re-changing, coupling and morphing, ever since the Malacca Sultanate’s reigns from the 15th Century.
Also read – Malacca, the Way It Happened, in Street Art & Flipped Pages
Where to Find Vegetarian Restaurants in Malacca
The Malay cuisine is predominantly non-vegetarian. But in your search for vegetarian food in Malacca, the menu will read something like ‘Veg Chicken’ ‘Veg Pork’! It took me an extra 15 minutes to clarify from the restaurant’s owner who spoke little-to-none English, that Veg Chicken, in fact, is not chicken! Some Chinese-Malays make the same analogous non-veg dishes solely from ingredients like soy, mushrooms and tuber vegetables. So, don’t get surprised if you find ‘Tomyam Fish Rice’ or ‘Veg Chicken Rendang’ at a ‘100% Pure Vegetarian Restaurant’ in Malacca! It’s not meat.
He said, yes! The cultural intermingling has deviated that dish from its source country, and given it a new dressing. The coupled output is authentic to the other country.
Here is what I thought about the veg-food scenario in this World Heritage City. Unless you already know where these restaurants are, you won’t find them just transversing the streets. Your options would blissfully broaden once you already know the location-heads. So, I have listed down the local vegetarian food joints that were my go-to places in Malacca.
1. Makanan Vegetarian Chin Hua
My local host Jo recommended 3-4 restaurants and Chin Hua is one of them. Their spice-packed Fragrant Claypot Rice, Curry Rendang Rice, Claypot Mee, Nasi Basah, and Monhigar would stand out any day. Most of these dishes are originally from Hong Kong, Myanmar or China, but they have become Malay with a unique blend of two rows of elements and cooking methods.
2. Hui Yuan Vegetarian Restaurant
Their dishes were more diverse and spicier. And guess what, they actually make Vegetarian Laksa! Highly unlikely to be found anywhere else in Malacca! I also had Wonton Noodles at Hui Yuan. They have a rotational weekly menu-structure. Except for a few dishes like Veg Fish Slice Mee Hoon, Fried Koaw Teow with Bull Eye Egg or Mee Hoo Kuih, the other dishes are only available on specific days.
This is their weekly food chart:
Monday: Egg Mee Sua in Ginger Soup, Laksa, Healthy Coconut Oil Nasi Lemak
Tuesday: Healthy Coconut Oil Nasi Lemak, Veg Turmeric Chicken Rice
Wednesday: Mee Rebus, Egg Mee Sua in Ginger Soup
Friday: Egg Mee Sua in Ginger Soup, Noodle with Spicy Stewet Broth
Saturday: Healthy Coconut Oil Nasi Lemak, Lei Cha, Lontong with Rice
Sunday: Mee Rojak, Veg Bah Kut Teh Rice / Noodles
And on top of it, they prepare delicious desserts like Chilled Honeydew with Sago, Apple Aloe Vera Dessert, and Pumpkin Barley Dessert.
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Vegetarian Food You Can Try in Malacca
Rice and Noodles – these are primarily the sources of carbohydrates in Malay food. Vegetables, meat and tofu accompany them, but not quite in a balanced quantity. Despite not having enough space to explore authentic vegetarian dishes, one thing is very convenient about Malaysia – They have a buffet system where you just serve yourself any dish you want from different buckets (and there’s always some vegetables), and then the person-in-charge weighs your plate to put a price on it.
Now, here are some vegetarian Malay food-delicacies you must try in Malacca.
1. Nasi Lemak
Nasi Lemak, the National Dish of Malaysia, is as simple as an assortment of rice, hard-boiled eggs (meat and anchovies traditionally), peanuts, sliced cucumbers, and Sambal. The rice is steamed with coconut milk and pandan leaves for a rich fragrance. And the story goes like this: Mak Kuntum and Seri – a mother-daughter duo. Seri was cooking a pot of rice while her mother was away, working. Seri spilled some coconut milk into the pot by mistake, and her mother actually loved how delicious the rice had become with a twist of coconut milk! That’s how Nasi Lemak made its way.
2. Malaysian Sambal
Since I mentioned Sambal previously as an accompaniment of Nasi Lemak, let me tell you that Sambal is a Chili paste that in reality is Indonesian of Javanese origin, and of course has become Malay with its distinct ingredients. Don’t forget to ask what the Sambal is made of, because it tends to have shrimp paste followed by garlic, ginger, palm sugar and lime juice. Every region has its own way of making Sambal, and so has Malacca!
3. Nasi Goreng
It’s uncanny how much Indonesian food has influenced modern-day Malay cuisine. ‘Goreng’ being ‘fried’, Nasi Goreng is Indonesian stir-fried rice with a generous amount of caramelized sweet soy sauce. Toss a handful of anchovies, and you have your Nasi Goreng Kampung; but that’s not for us, vegetarians. But all in all, many varieties of Nasi Goreng exist, like Nasi Goreng Pattaya, or Nasi Paprik. Just be careful about the shrimp paste!
4. Mee Goreng
Since we are on the topic of ‘Goreng’, Mee Goreng pops in the same way. Mee is Noodles. Now instead of ‘fried rice’, you have your ‘fried noodles’, ubiquitous throughout Malacca, or just all over Malaysia. Maybe try once, but nothing too unique to die for. It’s just fried rice! Mee Rebus is the egg-version of it.
5. Roti Canai
Roti is an Indian flatbread, and ‘Roti Canai’ is Indian-influenced thin bread, a half-baked version of the Indian Chapati and Paratha (You know what I mean if you know Indian food very well), but not like either. ‘Canai’ may have a slight reference to Chennai, or the Malay translation of ‘Canai’ – ‘to roll the dough thinly’; either way the dough is weaved in air in style, as thin as it gets, and then fried in oil. Kaya, the coconut jam, is also sometimes sandwiched in the folds.
The Malay-Indian restaurants have a long list of Roti-variations, which are not quite Indian, but Indian-inspired. Roti Telur, Roti Cheese, Roti Pisang, Roti Planta, Roti Susu, Roti Tisu Strawberry… Roti Plaster!
6. Curry Rendang Rice
A spicy coconut milk and meat stew, Rendang is again an Indonesian delicacy. Of course, the vegetarian one is cooked with Soy or Mushrooms, but the cooking method retains the Malay way. In Malaysia, Rendang is occasionally served with Nasi Minyak.
7. Laksa
Southeast Asian Peranakan-style spicy noodle soup, Laksa, the vegetarian rendition. Malacca’s history is Peranakan-stained. The Peranakans are an ethnic Chinese group from the ancient times when Southern Chinese settled in maritime Southeast Asia, mostly in the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago, as well as Singapore; a hybridization resulting from interracial marriage and transculturation. Peranakan culture persists in heritage architecture and authentic Baba Nyonya cuisine. A Peranakan male is honourably called Baba, and a female, Nyonya.
8. Claypot Mee Or Fragrant Claypot Rice
Originally Chinese, and prevalent among the Chinese communities of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Rice or Noodles is slow-cooked in a Claypot until the bottom develops a scorched rice or noodle crust, dressing it with an earthly flavour. Soy sauce, vegetables, and way to go… One of my favourite Malay-Chinese food!
9. Wonton Mee
This Cantonese noodle soup is a hot egg-noodle broth garnished with leafy vegetables and wonton dumplings. In the Malacca variation, wontons and noodles are mulled in the same bowl, and Wonton soup is served separately. This version is considered to be spicier with a special unsweetened chilli sauce. In vegetarian restaurants, instead of minced pork, wheat gluten is used.
10. Mohinga
The National dish of Myanmar, Mohinga, also finds a Malay persona in Malacca. It is a fish soup flavoured with turmeric, lemongrass, fish sauce, boiled eggs, and cilantro.
11. Popia
Cooked shredded tofu and vegetables like turnips and carrots stuffed and rolled up in a crepe, more like a Chinese Spring Roll. The Peranakan Popia may also have bamboo shoots and fermented soybean paste, taking it to the most delectable vegetarian street food-list in Malacca!
12. Kuih
Kuih are bite-sized rice-desserts; a selection of cookies, cakes, confections, and pastries. It is not quite the Western oven-bakes though. The history of traditional Kuih recipes has not been well-documented, with century-long cross-cultural influences. Apam Balik is one such example; a Chinese peanut pancake with a texture similar to a crumpet with crisp edges.
Also read – Malaysia E-Visa Requirements for Indians (And Others)
The Best Cendol in Malacca (Possibly)
Hands down, even though I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, Cendol is ‘my one and only’ dessert in Southeast Asia. Droplets made from rice-flour or mung beans in chilled coconut milk. I have mixed feelings about Durian, the king-fruit of Malaysia; but durian toppings in Cendol make it more lucrative. A dessert of smooth ice topped with palm sugar, pandan jelly or red beans. And the best place to have your first Cendol in Malacca is Jonker 88 with an old-school movie-like setting with Malay-Chinese women serving traditional food!
Nasi Lemak, the National Dish of Malaysia, is as simple as an assortment of rice, hard-boiled eggs (meat and anchovies traditionally), peanuts, sliced cucumbers, and Sambal. The rice is steamed with coconut milk and pandan leaves for a rich fragrance.
What More to Know about Malacca Beyond Food
Just a quick follow-up with your travel plans in Malacca. Here are some ways to book your accommodation, flights, transport, or just look for a cab!
- Grab is your cab in Southeast Asia. You can book a car or a bike just with one click.
- Your flight bookings can be done through Skyscanner for a discounted and relevant price.
- Lastly, book accommodations in Malaysia through booking.com or Hostelworld.
- GoVeggie Malaysia is a vegetarian-friendly app with listings of vegetarian food, restaurants and vendors all over Malacca.
I asked a Malay local if a dish like Mohinga, which is wholeheartedly from Myanmar, should be considered Malay; and moreover, if an influenced dish can, in fact, be ‘authentic’. He said, yes! The cultural intermingling has deviated that dish from its source country, and given it a new dressing. The coupled output is authentic to the other country.
Have you tried vegetarian Malay food in Malacca?
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