MELAKA, Sept 1 – The popiah arrives at the table without fuss, cut into four generous portions. Its pale flour wrap is soft and so thin we worry each piece might collapse as we lift it. Incredibly, it holds firm to reveal large nuggets of fried pork lard within.

This is what Malaccans consider their beloved local popiah, familiar yet unique enough in its charms.

We are enjoying this particular specimen at Cheng Ho Hawker Centre, along Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho (yes, named after the legendary admiral Zheng He) near the fabled Bukit Cina.

Spacious, airy, cleaner and breezier than most food courts, Cheng Ho Hawker Centre benefits from having a large car park at the rear (always a relief in Melaka, where finding an available bay for your vehicle can be a nightmare).

That is the magic of checking out different food courts, be it in the same city or in different states. Every food court has its own special offering though the challenge might well be figuring out exactly what that is, given the abundance of choices.

Certainly the wider spread here is impressive. Malaccan style nasi lemak with the requisite topping of kangkung, rojak with its jumble of textures, char kway teow, mee goreng, chee cheong fun, wantan mee, porridge, dim sum, even roast pork with its irresistible crackling. 

That’s just the Malaysian delights. Here at Cheng Ho Hawker Centre, don’t miss out on the Vietnamese stalls too: grilled pork rice perfumed with lemongrass; thick, crunchy slabs of banh mi; beef pho with clear broth that manages to be light yet flavourful.

We are here for breakfast so we eschew the heavier fare. There’s nothing quite like a kopitiam start to the day, even if we are in a food court rather than an actual coffee shop.

So long as we have our mugs of robust local kopi, either black and strong, or mellowed with condensed milk, we are off to the races. 

Our roti bakar has to be crisp at the edges, of course; rich with creamy butter and fragrant with pandan perfumed kaya. Ideal for dunking into half-boiled eggs, their whites barely set, the yolks molten gold — just waiting for a dash of soy sauce and ground white pepper.

I have said it before and I will say it again (and again, no doubt): This is truly the breakfast of champions, where each sip and each dip wake you up good and proper.

Truthfully though, this is but a teaser. An appetiser for the most important meal of the day. Act one, if you will.

For act two, we wandered towards the yong tau foo stall. Everything was laid out with such neatness: fried tofu skins, golden and brittle; ridged rounds of bitter gourd cradling fish paste; red chillies and green okra stuffed and ready. 

The choice is always the dilemma: to slip these into hot broth or back into the hissing oil? I usually hedge and pick both; the fish balls are dropped into soup while the dumplings and stuffed eggplant slices get another round in the fryer.

Today we are all about guilty pleasures so everything gets fried again; the better, perhaps, to accompany the dry noodles we have opted for instead of the soup version.

Lightly dressed with soy sauce and speckled with croutons of fried pork lard, every strand is seasoned just right. No heavy sauces and not overly salty, this bowl of springy noodles is a masterclass in precision and restraint.

The true star of this food court, however, remains the inimitable local delight: our Malaccan popiah.

The stall makes its own flour wrappers, thin yet resilient, pliant but never fragile. Inside every roll are finely julienned jicama (mangkuang), braised till supple; shredded egg; cubes of bean curd.

There’s barely a touch of tim jiong, just the way I like it as we loathe popiahs that arrive soaked in the sweet sauce. A good hit of homemade chilli sauce, if you want it (I always do). 

But what makes this peerless popiah sing are the nuggets of freshly fried pork lard — golden hued, deliciously crackly, unapologetically indulgent. They shatter against the softness of the other ingredients, each bite a tantalising contrast of textures.

The reality of visiting a food court is simply this: Not every dish will dazzle, but enough of them will comfort, and perhaps that’s the point.

Discovery, then, rather than a perfect batting average.

But if it’s the latter you desire, then make a beeline for the popiah stall. This is more than just a local variation on a treasured dish, it’s an experience you will savour long after you have returned home.

Cheng Ho Hawker Centre

147, Jln Laksamana Cheng Ho, Melaka.

Open daily (except Fri closed) 7am — 2pm

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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