Mouth-watering Baba Nyonya Cuisine

The Peranakan food of Melaka must be one of the most unique cuisines in Malaysia.
One will quickly discover how spicy the food of the Baba and Nyonya in Melaka can be.
This is a clear reflection of the influ­ence of Malay cooking, which uses a generous amount of chillies and spices. Interestingly, most of these dishes only have Malay names.
However, unlike Malay cuisine, pork - which is not consumed by Muslims -is used in Peranakan cooking.

Among the favourite dishes are laksa (noodles in spicy, coconut milk), mee siam (spicy rice vermicilli) and prawn in coconut milk. Curry rice and nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk) are also usually on offer.

For those who are not into hot food, non-spicy dishes are also avallable. The popular ones are itik tim (duck soup), and pongteh (chicken or pork with black bean paste).
Egg omelette with cincalok (fer­mented shrimps) is another unique dish which can pose a challenge for those not used to its smell and taste.

Desserts like cendol (green-coloured noodles in chilled coconut milk), kuih koci, onde-onde and pulut hitam arealso favourites.

Peranakan cuisine can be enjoyed at the many Baba and Nyonya restau­rants in the city Many offer halal ver­sions of the food by replacing pork with other types of meat.