You Say Devil's Curry, We Say Debal Curry

Since 24 hours is way too short for Christmas, we decide to extend the party to a three-day-long Christmas frenzy in another state: Malacca!

Everything about Malacca is so old - the buildings, the tradition, right down to the locals who patronise Jonker Walk at night to listen to Chinese uncles and aunties rock out on the public karaoke machine. The chicken rice restaurant that we went to for lunch is so old, it doesn't even come with a complete set of roof! And the church we went to? It was built in friggin 1710!

And the state is so old-fashioned, i even got reunited with the Daubers, Stones, Fillets, Tacks and other Happy Family. So happy! Along with tali getah and teng-teng, it is one of my favourite-est childhood game. Anyone up for some old school fun?

Evening was spent basking in the beauty of Christmas lights with fellow Eurasians at the Portuguese Settlement. Everything's so pretty there during Christmas. Imagine 90% of the neighbourhood covered in colourful lights (even ordinary bushes) and gorgeous deco, with most of the people understanding Christmas as the birth of our Lord and not merely a public holiday when people give gifts.

And guess what? Thanks to my aunt's keh-po-chi-ness, we found a fellow Spykerman: my grandfather's cousin! Woo hoo! I'm so psyched to head back there again to officially say hello and extend the family circle!

Except for the yummy brinjal at the Portuguese Settlement, I still don't think Malacca (or Penang for that matter) is a food haven. Whatever they have there, we have in KL. It's just the whole shebang about it being a foodie's joint that is making everyone think they've got good food there. So overrated. And have you tried driving in Malacca? Darn roads are so confusing. Most of them only go one way! You can get from A to B easily. But to return from B to A, you first have to pass C, D, E, F and G.

Thank God for the company!