Notes on Kristang cuisine with chef Melba Nunis

I’m from Melaka. I’m Melaka Portuguese, so the people who come from Melaka belong to a community called the Kristang community. The word Kristang actually comes from the word Christ because the Portuguese, being Christians and Catholics, were the ones who came to Melaka in the 1500s and intermarried with the local people. The local women who married these Portuguese men kind of localised in that sense. Therefore, we belong to the Kristang community. 

Kristang cuisine, I would say, has flavours that come from the different races that make us up—Kristang people. Kristang cuisine has got Malay influences, Peranakan, Chinese, and Indian (influences). Putting all these things together is what makes Kristang cuisine. I cannot say that Kristang cuisine is our own kind of food because it’s not. We have to give credit to all the other races that influenced it.  We have to give credit to all the other races that influenced it. 

Whether you’re cooking them or eating them, what are your favourite Kristang dishes?

I’ve been eating Kristang food ever since I was a little girl. It’s so in my mind and in me that that’s what I really enjoy. It may be simple but it’s something that I can’t let go of. That’s why I’m cooking now. There are dishes like stews, curries—curry devil, curry seccu, curry ambila—lots of other curries to name, sambals, vegetables also, and pickles.

For special occasions like Christmas or Easter, of course we have different dishes as well. I just love to cook any of these. It’s a pleasure just cooking what I know. 

See also: Melba Nunis brings Kristang food to The Datai Langkawi for The Chef Series 2024

Could you name five Eurasian dishes everyone should try?

There’s so many! There’s curry devil which is a signature dish for the Eurasians. How it’s prepared varies. Each person would cook it differently. There’s no right and wrong to any dish. We have what we call semur. It’s made with beef or the tongue. That’s very nice to eat, as well. It’s got Western influences. It’s a kind of stew.

Then there’s vegetables like soy limang (terung) which is very popular and sambal. Sambal binagre fish which is also very nice because it’s got vinegar. The word binagre means vinegar. And pickles! Chilli pickle, salt fish pickle, things that will compliment the food. 

Everyone has probably heard of Malay, Chinese, and Indian food. Why do you think not many have heard of Eurasian food?

It’s very sad, isn’t it? I think it’s sad because once upon a time, I had a restaurant in Bangsar South called Simply Mel’s where I was trying to promote my kind of food. There are not many Eurasian restaurants. It’s very, very rare. There are only one or two (restaurants) at the moment.

It’s very sad that we don’t have the Eurasian people who don’t want to open up restaurants. Other cultures’ cuisines are everywhere, but for us, it’s lacking because there’s no one to actually put it forward. That’s why I try on my own to promote this kind of cuisine. 

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Why is it so important to you to preserve it?

Like I mentioned earlier, there are very few Eurasians who are actually doing this. I’m proud of my own kind of food, of course. It’s something so simple yet people enjoy eating it when I entertain, when I cook for anyone so why not? Why not keep it going? Why not share this with everybody? It’s what I want to do.

That’s why I came up with my cookbook. I have a cookbook called A Kristang Family Cookbook. Why I say it’s A Kristang Family Cookbook is because it’s my family recipes in here. Every Eurasian family would have their own recipes and all but I decided to mine to put into this book to share with everybody. 

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