Malaysian great-grandma uses a 100YO pineapple tart recipe for Christmas

The Christmas spirit comes alive as De Silva (seated, third from left) decks her home with festive lights and bakes traditional cookies in the Portuguese Settlement, Melaka. Photos: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

It is just five days before Christmas, and homemaker Cheryl De Silva’s house at the Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir, Melaka is abuzz with festive preparations.

On her patio, De Silva, 34, works alongside three generations of her family – her grandmother, Christibelle Savage, 73; her mother, Elizabeth Pereira, 55; and her eldest daughter, Gabriella Amber De Costa, 17 – as they bake pineapple tarts.

In the kitchen, several tubs of homemade pineapple jam – made from grated pineapple, sugar and cinnamon – can be seen. The aroma of the jam is absolutely divine.

Savage (second from right) enjoys spending quality time with her family.

The buttery fragrance of the tiny morsels of delight fills the hot afternoon air as the women sing along to Brenda Lee’s iconic Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

Ten bottles of freshly baked pineapple tarts are stored in De Silva’s kitchen, along with other festive items like cashewnut cookies, sugee biscuits and sugee fruitcake.

“There have been non-stop activities as it’s just a few days left until Christmas. Besides baking, we have been spring-cleaning the house and doing some last-minute shopping,” says the mother of six.

Savage chips in: “Recipes like sugee cake, pineapple tarts and debal curry (a spicy curry of meat, spices, vinegar and mustard seeds), have been in our family for over 100 years.

“I learned these recipes from my grandmother when I was a young girl. I am in my 70s now, and I am glad Cheryl and her daughters are eager to learn them too,” says the grandmother of 21, who worked as a chef at a hotel in Subang Jaya, Selangor for 35 years.

Christmas is a festive occasion celebrated in many countries around the world. For many families, it is a time to enjoy traditions like gift-giving, feasting and spending time with loved ones.

The spirit of festivities

Team work: Benedick and Gillian transform a recycled tree into a unique centrepiece for Christmas.The Portuguese Settlement was established in the 1930s by two Catholic priests who sought land for their community. There, the Eurasian community celebrates Christmas with much fervour.

Christmas decorations come up at the start of Advent – which marks the four weeks leading to Christmas – till the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan 6, which celebrates the Three Wise Men visiting baby Jesus.

Homes are adorned with vibrant miniature lights, colourful baubles and other decorations, both inside and outside. As evening falls, the air is filled with the cheerful sound of Christmas carols. You might spot children dressed as Santarinas, dancing outside their homes to earn a ringgit or two!

During the holiday season, the Settlement attracts hundreds of visitors from near and far, eager to see how it magically transforms into a fairyland, with twinkling lights and festive cheer as night falls.

“This is how we celebrate Christmas,” De Silva shares. “Everyone is just in a festive mood as Christmas draws near. With about 140 families living here, we are like one big happy family.”

Her home is all decked out for the yuletide season. In the living room, her kids are creating a snowman using about 350 stapled plastic cups. There is plenty of discussion – and some squabbling – among the children as they scour social media platforms for tips on how to make the perfect snowman.

Amber (second from right) and her siblings bond as they work together to build a cheerful snowman.

In another corner, her husband, parcel delivery operations agent Benedick De Costa, 37, and their second child Gillian Emily De Costa, 12, are putting the final touches on a skeleton Christmas tree – a real tree, stripped down to just its trunk and bare branches.

“This was last year’s Christmas tree,” De Silva explains. “Instead of throwing it away, we decided to paint it white and decorate it for the season. By doing this, I am slowly teaching our kids the importance of recycling and reusing old things. We enjoy doing these little things together as a family activity.

“Even our Christmas nativity set is very old. It used to belong to my grandmother. Each year, we spruce it up by adding new leaves to the roof and giving it a fresh coat of paint for a newer look.”

De Silva and her family ensure their home is beautifully decorated every year. To add to the festive spirit, De Silva has created a Christmas wall tree by pasting a long strip of green artificial garland, decorating it with shiny baubles and twinkling lights.

“This year, our Christmas colours are red, green and gold. We have chosen these traditional colours because they symbolise happiness.”

Christmas isn’t complete without a nativity set.

Heritage keepers

The Eurasian community is known for their unique Kristang heritage, which blends Portuguese and Malay influences in language, food and festivities.

Each Christmas, Savage remains passionate about preserving her family’s recipes, ensuring they are passed down to future generations.

Savage hasn’t been in top form lately, battling kidney issues for a few years. But despite her health challenges, she remains determined to prepare traditional Christmas cookies with her family before Dec 25.

“When I am making festive cookies, the aches and pains seem to disappear,” she quips with a twinkle in her eye. “While it is tiring to bake hundreds of cookies, I enjoy preparing them with loved ones,” says the seasoned cook, who while working as a chef, has travelled to the United States, Taiwan and India to teach chefs to prepare spicy dishes.

‘Christmas comes once a year, and there’s something special about being surrounded by loved ones,’ says De Silva (standing, fourth from left).

De Silva explains that while store-bought snacks are convenient, her family prefers baking cakes and cookies from scratch because it brings them a sense of satisfaction.

“It’s a tradition for us. Each Eurasian family has its own unique recipes, and we enjoy trying different cookies when visiting relatives during the festive season. It’s always fun to eat new treats from family members,” says De Silva, who takes orders for Kristang food for special occasions like weddings, baptisms and funerals.

De Silva is gradually getting her younger girls involved in making cookies and cooking, just like her family did when she was a young girl. Gabriella has developed an interest in cooking and can now prepare several Kristang dishes, including debal curry, chicken stew and prawn sambal.

“Mummy has been teaching me to cook simple dishes since I was in lower secondary school,” shares Gabriella, a Form Five student at SMK Canossa Convent at the Settlement. “It started with little tasks like peeling onions and potatoes, and gradually, she’d ask me to blend the ingredients. I have always had an interest in learning to cook, so I don’t mind helping out in the kitchen at all,” says the petite beauty, who clinched the Miss Teen Global Malaysia title in 2023.

Feel-good Christmas

The real festivities will start at De Silva’s home on Tuesday, which is Christmas Eve.

Together with her family, she will attend evening mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, a two-minute walk from their home. Following that, her family members will adjourn to her house for Christmas prayers, supper and exchange of gifts.

Pereira (left) and De Silva make it a point to prepare debal curry each Christmas.

She is expecting about 50 people for supper, so she will be busy preparing plenty of food to satisfy her hungry family and guests.

“On the 24th morning, I’ll head to the market at 2am. I should be back by 6am and I’ll immediately start to prepare the food for supper. There will be a range of food like debal curry, saybak (pork salad), roast chicken, chicken pie, cucumber sambal and chap chye (mixed vegetables).”

If Savage feels up to it, she might prepare chilli pickle, where green chillies are stuffed with dried shredded young papaya and dried prawns and flavoured with vinegar, onions, turmeric and toasted mustard seeds.

The days leading up to Christmas are hectic for De Silva. She has been having very little sleep as she has to manage her children, her home catering business and preparations for Christmas. It is a lot on her plate, but she is enjoying every moment of it.

“I am definitely tired, but I don’t mind. Christmas comes once a year, and there is something special about being surrounded by loved ones. In the past, we’d gather at Granny’s house for Christmas Eve supper. But now that Granny is much older, I’ve taken on the role of hosting supper at my home. My parents and siblings live in Bandar Hilir, just a 10-minute drive away. Everyone prefers to gather at my place because I live in the Settlement. It’s always a joy to celebrate Christmas with our community.”