It is free and easy to go for a one day excursion after work. So this one turned out to be nice. Baba Charlie has been recognised as the most authentic Nyonya cuisines locally. I even made a call to my friend who was born here. She said locals always come here for a crave for Nyonya cuisines. 

After having parked the vehicle, it took some walkings into a few small alleys to get to Baba Charlie Nyonya Pastry shop. This place was more for locals and tourists to take away packed Nyonya kuih. Be prepared. It has always been a long queue, especially public holidays. 

Baba Charlie Nyonya Cake

Address: 72, Lorong Tengkera Pantai 2c, Kampung Tengkera Pantai Dua, 75200 Melaka

Operating hours: 10am-3:30pm, except Thursday 

A quick introduction about Melaka(Straits of Malacca) in Malaysia 

Straits of Malacca was once renowned for its strategic position as international trade centre for both Asia and Europe in 15th-16th century. Colonised by Portuguese and Dutch, historic architecture like A Famosa, St Paul’s Church, Stadthuys and Christ Church Melaka, etc have been well-conserved heritage.  

Where was Peranakan or Baba & Nyonya cultures originated from ? 

The word Peranakan is a grammatical inflection of the Malay and Indonesian word anak, meaning child or offspring. 

The Peranakans or Peranakan Chinese (/pəˈrɑːnɑːkɑːn/ or /pəˈrɑːnəkʌn/)[4][5] are a sub-ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Chinese settlers in the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian Archipelago. Peranakan culture, especially in the dominant Peranakan centres of Malacca, Singapore, and Penang, is characterized by its unique hybridization of ancient Chinese culture with the local cultures of the Nusantara region, the result of a centuries-long history of transculturation and, in the earliest days of settlement, interethnic marriage. 

Most have lived for generations along the straits of Malacca. They were usually traders, the middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, or vice versa because they were mostly English educated.

- Wikipedia 

If you love to find out more about their cultures and cuisines, you can visit Melaka in Malaysia. 

It was said that the most authentic Nyonya cuisines can be found here. The complexity of using herbs and spices in the cuisines makes it hard to be duplicated. On the wall, there was a photo of a traditional baba and nyonya costumes and a total of 36 photos of all dishes on ala carte menu.

I felt appetised by just watching the colourful Nyonya design glass windows. They were so captivating. Four Nyonya dishes were served for the set of meal. We arrived at the Baba Charlie Nyonya Restaurant. It was not far from the Baba Charlie Nyonya Kuih shop. 

Baba Charlier Cafe 

Address: 631, Jalan Siantan 1/5, Taman Siantan Seksyen 1, 75200 Melaka

Operating hours: 9am-7pm, except Thursday 

This was the steamed lady fingers with nyonya sambal paste(a kind of chilli paste). Sambal paste is made of chili padi, garlic, onion, ginger flower, lemongrass, sugar, salt, lime juice, asam paste and daun kesum(it is also called Vietnamese coriander). Many of these ingredients are available in southeast asia. If you love spice, you will like this dish. 

Next was the Nyonya curry chicken. Nyonya curry chicken is different from other curry chicken in southeast Asia as the herbs and spices put into dish is more sophisticated. It was less salty and more slightly sour if my memory did not fail me.(If anyone has different opinion, please share with me. ^~^) 

This was the stir fried bitter beans, shrimps with sambal sauce, tomatoes and cucumbers. This was more like Indonesian or Malay style dish. 

And this one was more like Chinese style fried fish with vinegar sauce and tomatoes, gingers. It was interesting to see the fusion of two cultures. 

There is a baba nyonya museum in Melaka. It has been preserved well and now become the World UNESCO Heritage site. I haven’t been there before. 

The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum is located in Melaka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The house is a combination of three terrace lots that were acquired by the Chan family in 1861. 

http://babanyonyamuseum.com/a-living-museum/

Ok! There were two sections of this restaurant; One was the dining area of the restaurant; another side was the nyonya kuih display showcase. This is my favourite part. I love colourful nyonya kuih. 

Kuih are bite-sized snack or dessert foods commonly found in Southeast Asia. It is a fairly broad term which may include items that would be called cakes, cookies, dumplings, pudding, biscuits, or pastries in English and are usually made from rice or glutinous rice. - Wikipedia

Ok. This is called Kuih Seri Muka Pandan. The top layer is made of pandan juice flavoured glutinous rice powder. Pandan is a kind of plant in which its leaves are fragrant. It is used widely for flavouring in the cuisines of Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bottom layer is glutinous rice. Other ingredients included coconut milk, egg, sugar, etc. 

This one has been my favourite. It is called Kuih Rempah Udang. Nom Nom! Udang means shrimps. This is made of grinded spicy shrimps with coconut filling. The outer layer is glutinous rice. It is covered by banana leaves and steamed together. I started craving for it. 

Next one is called kuih kochi putih. Same ingredient: glutinous rice powder and with grinded fragrant coconut. It is also wrapped up by banana leaves. The blue color you saw is natural food colouring using Nyonya blue flower. This flower is commonly called butterfly pea flower. It can also be found in a kind of blue rice called Nasi Kerabu in the Kelantan state of Malaysia. 

If you have been travelling in southeast Asia, it can also be found in Burmase and Thai cuisines. 

Tada! The filling …. unveiled. 

Ok. This one, Kuih Talam is a bit tricky. The lower layer is like glutinous rice cake with coconut sugar usually served during Chinese New Year. The upper layer … tasted like Alkaline Kuih with blue flower. I have checked with a Nyonya friend. She said it is correct. 

Alkaline kuih is a very interesting food. It can be a dessert and can also be food served for normal meals. For dessert, you can make it sweet with pandan or other flavourings. As for food served as a dish, it tastes more into salt taste than sweet. I heard it is usually served in death anniversary praying ritual for parents/ancestors in Hokkien families in Malaysia or in China. 

You can also deep fried alkaline kuih like southeast Asia deep fried carrot cake. Not the western creamy bakery carrot cake. Haha …. 

Mhm.. I tried googling about Kuih Talam. I can’t find any look like that. “Talam” means “tray”. I think it means like layer. It may be a kind layer rice cake with different combinations. If anyone of you who read this and know about it, please drop me a message. 

I think I am going to be pulled into deep rabbit hole if I keep talking about food. LOL 

Trust me. The outlook may not look like luxurious and glamorous as the cuisines you always saw in Instagram. The taste of these nyonya kuih was very very pleasing. I love them. And there is a wide variety. I only have one stomach. HAHAHA