Nunis belongs to the Kristang community, a unique group with Portuguese, Dutch and Malaysian ancestry. Also known as the Melakan Portuguese people, they have a rich culinary heritage influenced by various ethnic groups.
Naturally, food is an important feature of their festive celebrations. Nunis still recalls returning home after midnight mass on Christmas Eve to enjoy a grand feast prepared by her mother, despite the very late (or very early) hour!
There was always fiery devil curry – a dish synonymous with the Kristang people – as well as “seybah” (a salad), “beef semur” (a hearty stew), roast chicken with baked bean stuffing, and chicken macaroni pie.
To complete the meal, there were decadent desserts such as sugee cake, fruitcake, seaweed jelly, and pineapple tarts.
Nunis, who was born on Dec 19, describes herself as a “tart baby”. Why? “When my mum went into labour with me, she was making tarts!” the 71-year-old revealed with a laugh.
On Christmas Day, the family looked forward to welcoming their neighbours of various races. “It was so different back then. We didn’t have to invite people. We just opened our doors and people would come over to visit and eat our cakes and cookies.”
Her mother Mercedes Sta Maria, or Mercy, was known for her sugee cake, a mainstay of the Kristang community. Mercy simply adored cooking and entertaining; Nunis inherited her mother’s love for both.
She remembers spending much time with Mercy in the kitchen. “I enjoyed learning, doing housework and helping my mother. I never grumbled,” she added with a smile.
Nunis is passionate about keeping her Kristang heritage alive. “I want to keep this cuisine going because very few of us are doing that. There are Nyonya, Chinese, Malay and Indian restaurants everywhere… but where are we?”
So, during the Christmas season, Nunis opens her home to friends and family. Just as her mother had, she serves a memorable feast of Kristang food and uses the opportunity to share about these dishes with her non-Kristang guests.
FMT Lifestyle joined her celebration this year, for which she prepared a delectable spread that included devil curry, pie, seybah, semur, and desserts.
As guests filled her home and enjoyed her food, there was a warm, tangible sense of joy and harmony, similar to what young Nunis would have experienced celebrating Christmas in Melaka decades ago.
Food, glorious food
Over the years, Nunis has kept Kristang cuisine alive in other ways. One of them was through Simply Mel’s, a restaurant in Bangsar South started by her children in 2011, where Nunis cooked Kristang food.
After her children moved overseas, they decided to close the restaurant and Nunis later helmed Melba at The Mansion, a restaurant at The Majestic Malacca hotel.
And having inherited her mother’s handwritten recipes, she combined these with her own and published two cookbooks, “Everything Kristang” and “A Kristang Family Cookbook”.
The latter won her the “Best in the World” prize in the women chef category at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2016, and was later selected by Gourmand as one of the top 25 books from 1995 to 2020.
These days, Nunis runs a home-based food business for takeaway or delivery. She is also available to cook a meal right in your home for a unique dining experience.
“My hope is that the Kristang community will continue to keep our heritage alive in any way we can,” said Nunis, who shared that she is grateful for the support of her late husband, S M Victor.
“For instance, I have friends whose grandchildren have opened restaurants for them to serve Eurasian food. This makes me very happy.
“I try to support them in whatever way I can, because I think we need to do that,” she concluded.
Check out Chef Melba’s recipes for devil curry chicken and chicken macaroni pie.
‘A Kristang Family Cookbook’ is priced at RM89.90. To purchase or to learn more about Chef Melba’s takeaway and delivery menu, contact 012-402 0500.