Nasi Ayam Melaka

I was in Melaka last week, backpacking alone. I got hungry, so I sat down at the nearest stall and ordered. This Nasi Ayam –Chicken Rice Balls– was one of the wonderful things of Melaka. It rounded up my one-day journey there: blissful.

Nasi Ayam Melaka is actually very similar, if not the same, with Nasi Ayam Hainan —Hainan Chicken Rice— of China. The difference was that the chicken was roasted and the rice was shaped into balls. But the gingery fragrance, the serving style: one plate of rice and chicken, one bowl of gingery chicken broth, were no question similar. So I guess this is another peranakan thing, Chinese culture and lifestyle that was adopted by Malays and later on modified to their own local culture producing a new way that is fusion and even richer than before.

So, there I was. An anonymous by-passer, with my predictable big backpack and camera, stranded in a land I never stepped my foot onto. Having a wonderful late lunch of my life. Nasi Ayam Melaka. Blissful.