Casa del Rio in Malacca

Casa del Rio 

Saturday, 13 Oct 2018. On a day trip to Malacca,  we had lunch at the Casa del Rio, a vintage boutique hotel in Malacca, located by the Malacca River.

This is the only place in Malaysia which reminds me of the grand old mansions in Havana, Cuba. The food was mediocre, though. It's only worth going for the tiffin lunch on weekdays.

Book Launch in Malacca

Book Launch of Stories of One Malaccan Family.

On Saturday, 13 October 2018, we attended a book launch at the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum in Malacca.  The museum is located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Loke (Heeren Street), a part of the historic inner city which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An immersive experience in the Peranakan culture- a hybrid of Chinese and Malay. Enjoyed the beautiful museum, the performance and the food. Met Lee Su Kim, the author of the Nyonya Trilogy; and Bert Tan, the founder of the Malaysian Heritage & History Club. And the book, Stories of One Malaccan Family, by Melissa Chan and Preethi Nair is a treasure!

Melissa Chan is the author of the book.
The Chans are Peranakan - a hybrid culture combining Chinese and Malay elements and this is reflected in their beautiful traditional costumes. The top, known as a kebaya is hand-embroidered traditionally (but machine embroidered now), while the sarong is made from batik.

Entitled, Stories of One Malaccan Family, it is about the Chan family and their remarkable ancestral home. Being an outstanding example of the Straits Settlement Shophouse architecture located in a historic part of the city, the clan decided to turn it into a museum.

Preethi Nair is the illustrator

Yean and Henry Chan at the book launch

The Chan family's ancestral home is now the
Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum

Guests were served an array of
Nyonya delicacies at the launch.
The pastries are pineapple tarts, a Nyonya invention?

The lavishly illustrated book, Stories of One Malaccan Family is by Melissa Chan with her father, Henry Chan, and illustrated by Preethi Nair. It took Melissa and Preethi five years to complete this gorgeous book, which was written in honour of the Chan family, and their remarkable home. The collection of stories about the Chan family covers four generations - before the Second World War, during the war and after. While the First World War had little impact on this part of the world, the Second World War had a huge impact. The country, then Malaya, and almost the whole of Southeast Asia was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army. The Chinese who have settled in this part of the world were especially adversely affected.

The book, entitled Stories of One Malaccan Family
is a collectible Malaysiana