Keeping the Kristang heritage alive through food

Free Malaysia Today

Chef Melba Nunis, an award-winning cookbook author, opens her home to friends, family and fun during the Christmas season when she cooks up a delicious Kristang feast.   Story by: Sheela Vijayan  Shot by: Fauzi Yunus & Afizi Ismail  Presented by: Theevya Ragu  Edited by: Selven Razz   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/12/25/chef-melba-keeps-her-kristang-heritage-alive-through-food/    Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #Christmas2024 #MelbaNunis #Kristang #Chef #MerryChristmas

Transcript

00:00Growing up, the Christmas season always held a special place in Chef Melba Nunes' heart.

00:10After Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, her family would gather around the table for a

00:15grand feast prepared by her mother.

00:18It included cherished Kristang dishes such as devil curry, sebar, semur, roast chicken

00:25with baked bean stuffing, and her mother's special chicken macaroni pie.

00:31There were also many indulgent desserts, suji cakes, fruit cakes, seaweed jelly, and pineapple

00:37tarts to complete the meal.

00:40Then on Christmas Day, the family would welcome their neighbors to their home.

00:44It was so different back in the old days.

00:46We didn't have to invite people.

00:49We just had to open our doors and people would come and visit and eat cakes, you know.

00:55There was no invitation to say, okay, come at this, like, you know, this time to enjoy

01:00a meal.

01:01No, whatever was there, mostly cakes and cookies and that's it.

01:07After spending so much time with her mother in the kitchen, it was only natural that Nunes

01:12inherited her love for cooking and entertaining.

01:16More than that, she is also passionate about keeping the Kristang heritage alive through

01:21its cuisine.

01:23I want to keep this cuisine going because very few of us are doing it.

01:30If you go out, Nyonya restaurants are everywhere, Chinese restaurants, Malay restaurants, Indian,

01:35but where are we, you know, the Eurasians, the Kristang?

01:37Very few of us are doing this.

01:40So during the Christmas season, she opens her home to friends and family for a whole

01:44lot of festive fun.

01:51And just like her mother, she prepares an elaborate spread, taking the opportunity to

01:56share these Kristang dishes with her non-Kristang guests.

02:01FMT Lifestyle recently joined her Christmas celebration and it was heartwarming to see

02:06her house come alive with laughter, music and food.

02:11As her guests sat down to dinner, it was easy to understand the joy and harmony she must

02:16have felt all those years ago when she celebrated Christmas in Melaka.

02:21She is also keeping the Kristang cuisine alive in other ways, namely through her two cookbooks,

02:27a Kristang Family Cookbook and Everything Kristang.

02:31In fact, a Kristang Family Cookbook even bagged the Best in the World in the Women Chef category

02:38at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2016.

02:42The book was also selected by Gourmand as one of the top 25 books from 1995 to 2020.

02:50My hope is that whoever is here will still continue, you know, will continue in whatever

02:55little way they can.

02:57Like right now, I know a few friends who have grandchildren who have opened up restaurants

03:03for their grandmothers and Eurasian food, serving Eurasian food.

03:08So there are very few, but there are.

03:11And I'm very happy whenever I see this, I really try to support them in whatever way

03:16I can because I think we need to do that.

03:28Merry Christmas to all FMT readers!

03:33Woo!

03:34Divya Raghu and Sheila Bijan, FMT Lifestyle.

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