IT would take a rugby team's offensive line to clear a path through the crowd that descends on Jonker Street every Saturday at dusk. Bargain hunters, serious collectors and the self-confessed foodies make their way along the street, marking their territories on any available empty patch - hunting down for a slice of Malaccan history and biting into the city's rich cultured past.
It isn't that difficult to explain the crowd's mentality to the astute observer. Here in Malacca, where the cacophony of culture is lacking elsewhere in other States in the peninsular, the city naturally exudes a wicked kind of charm.
Legacies of Dutch, Portuguese and English colonisations have left an indelible mark on Malacca, which continues to court visitors longing for a bit of nostalgia.
Of late however, the crowd in Jonker's Street has seen a shifting of moods. If previously they thronged the street for its antiques and sunken treasures, the last couple of years have seen them clamour for all things Peranakan, that unique-to-Malacca culture of intermarriage between migrants and local-born women.
At Malacca Antiques & Curios shop, a young couple was seen browsing through Peranakan ceramic ware. When asked what brought them here, the man said: "People come from everywhere to check out the Peranakan heritage. We're not Peranakans, unfortunately, and I guess when you're not one but yearn to share their culture, it's only natural that we vicariously live the life through theirs."
For storeowner Low Doon Kit, having young couples like Shayne and Diane come to his shop has only enlivened the atmosphere in trading.
"It used to be the older ones who showed any interest in their past or history. To have the young ones do the same, well, it just shows that our history will live on through them after all."
Low's shop is, literally, a treasure trove. Each corner is filled with trinkets old and new, with antique woven baskets and dramatic Peranakan furniture sitting side by side to create an artful imagery.
The Baba Nonya Heritage Museum makes a wonderful stop for those interested in the lives of the Peranakan.
Familiar Flavours
Here on the busy street of Jonker's you can shop, and hunt or eat at a smorgasbord of restaurants serving everything from RM3 nonya popiah to RM15 ayam masak buah keluak.
One stall selling nonya cendol has a long line outside it and it's standing room only most of the time. Asked if the cendol was very different from that across Malaysia, one customer said: "The only difference is in the use of gula melaka. Other than that, all cendol tastes the same to me. But you know what they say, when in Rome?"
For the owners of Nancy Kitchen, serving nonya or Peranakan Chinese food is more than just courting the weekend crowd. It's about preserving a fondness for good old home-cooked food.
Says Robert Choe: "Cooking is an art and when it comes to nonya cooking, a lot of what's passed down from one generation to the next has sadly diminished."
His clients, some coming from as far as Singapore and Penang, are often Peranakan themselves, and clamour for the taste they grew up with.
In the kitchen, recipes are still tried and tested heirloom collections, cooked without food processors or microwave ovens. Spices, where possible, are still ground by hand, re-creating kitchens of yesteryear's that were enveloped in sinful and rich aromas.
Peranakan cuisine, which blends the best of Chinese and Malay cooking, is never one that skimp on tastes and texture. Preparations are often labour-intensive but the result is heavenly in tastes.
Nonya-style Spa
Elsewhere, even Peranakan beauty rituals are experiencing a renaissance. The Spa Village at The Majestic Malacca is a window through which one may glimpse the world of Peranakan beauty. Says Lee Jok Keng, its Chinese traditional medicine consultant, "The Peranakan community reached its apex in the 20th Century. The affluent lifestyle could be seen not only through their homes but was also reflected in their beauty rituals."
The women had a preference for premium items from Chinese traditional medicine and they enjoyed everything that took time and care to prepare. It was not unheard of to have the women incorporate edible bird's nest, grounded pearl powder, powdered rice, blue shelled duck eggs or even kampung eggs in their facials.
As much as they sound exotic, these ingredients also have their specific benefits, often creating a supple complexion that was prized at that time.
Taking a leaf from these past practices, the Spa Village has researched many of these rituals and introduced them to their guests. Adds Lee: "While the rituals are still appreciated today, they are not as widely practised. One of the roles the spa is playing is to enliven these practices and be a custodian to document them."
Treatments are so sensuously pure and organic that they tug at your heartstrings. Whether it's the gula melaka scrub, the pandan leaf hair conditioner or the egg rolling massage, the texture, taste and smell of each ingredient used stirs long-forgotten memories of grandma's rustic kitchen, where pots were always steaming and the pounding of the mortar was never silent.
Back on the street, as weary tourists begin elbowing their way back to their hotels Shayne and Diane finally found something they liked at Low's shop.
It was a green Peranakan teapot decorated with a phoenix. "Low told us the phoenix symbolises marital bliss. So here's hoping it'll bring us good luck," Shayne said with a smile.
