Chilli Padi Nonya Cafe 娘惹文化

We met my long time friend, Yin's family for dinner over last weekend, at a place recommended by Yin's hubby Arben, mainly for welcoming Yin's mum who came over to help with the young Sebastian before the new maid arrives. We knew each other for almost a decade, and were keeping regular contact much to the credit of Yin's calls once in a while, and for that, I have to reiterate that the many of friends that Yin has mirrors her warmth and openness with friends, something I probably need to learn and enrich myself. Yin's mum looked incredibly young, reminds me of my mum when she was here looking after the first two budding years of Han Jin. Mum can always be relied upon, when you are in need.

It turned out to be a place I liked very much, better than any other posher place I have been to. It is a Nonya Cafe named Chilli Padi at 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace #06-21, somewhere in NUS near Bukit Panjang Road. The setting is nice and simple with many cultural display, such as the Nonya costume, fine china, tea set and of course with the traditional Nonya fabric as the table cloth, and bamboo made furniture all set the simple but profound ambiance. To be frank, I'm not familiar with Nonya Culture, neither a fan of the hit local TV series Little Nyonya. But the place won my heart instantly with the relaxed environment (along a slew of university institutes and embedded in a quiet building with forest on one side and man made waterfall on the other side), the friendly staff, and the Nonya cultural display! I even wiki-ed a little to find out more about Nonya culture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonya

Food is nice, and very reasonably priced. Highly recommended!

Sabestain  has grown quite a lot since the last time I saw him at Yin's birthday party in Jan. He is such a good baby who puts a wide smile readily! Both Mum and Grandma testified that he is a very contented little lad! Izzie on the other hand has a little more smile and interacted with Han Jin and Mei Mei well.

做完三月的家庭财务报告已经要12点了，明天开始公司的季度结账，要早点睡的了。却想要在三月再写一篇。我的产量比起1，2月明显下降，是不是写日志的热情在退却了？

要提一下上个礼拜和YinYin一家去吃的一个娘惹餐厅。很喜欢那种有浓浓历史的感觉，店面里清静悠闲，座落在国立大学校区内角落的一个建筑里，开门的一边是树林，另一边是水帘的瀑布。里面有很多娘惹文化的陈设。说实话，我并不了解娘惹文化，只知道是早期在马六甲一带的华人。特意上网差了一下。近十年前一群浮躁的年轻人去过，改次要再去，仔细体味这个魅力独到的城市。

身处马六甲，时时能感受到城市浸透着历史，娘惹文化似曾相识又恍若隔世。色彩鲜艳的庙门、精雕细刻的黑木家具、长方形的木窗、华丽花纹的墙砖等，都散发着浓浓的中华才情和文明遗风。巴巴娘惹世代生活在马来半岛，他们继承了中国人勤劳的天性，一代代传承着中华传统文化，同时又融入了马来文化。不论是语言、饮食、服饰还是婚嫁仪式，都表现出两种文化的融合。比如，“娘惹菜”以中国的烹饪手法，加上南洋特有的食材和香料，别具风味；娘惹服饰既有中国传统的大红和粉红，也有马来人喜爱的绿色；他们所讲的语言则混合了福建话和马来语。
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/57507/13986721.html

很喜欢这里，强力推荐： Nonya Cafe named Chilli Padi at 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace #06-21