The Melaka Chetti Kitchen

A cookbook of Melaka Chetti recipes, anecdotes and food stories. Some of the recipes have been passed down for more than 500 years.

Order a copy Endorsed by the UNESCO Malaysia Chair

500+ years How long some of the recipes have been in our families

UNESCO Endorsed by the UNESCO Malaysia Chair

Proceeds Go to education and welfare causes in the community

Why we wrote it

Our food shows how the community lived alongside its Malay, Chinese and Javanese neighbours, and very little of it was ever written down. We want younger Melaka Chettis to know the dishes their grandparents cooked, and we want more people outside the community to know about them.

The book’s aims

To reconnect younger Melaka Chettis with their heritage through its food.

To introduce Melaka Chetti cooking to a wider audience, and with it a Peranakan community that few people know about.

To raise money for education and welfare in the community.

Buy the book

How the book began

A short film on how the idea for The Melaka Chetti Kitchen was first raised, and how the book came together.

3 min 19 sec

▶ Watch: how the cookbook began

Donate & Dine

From time to time we host a dinner of home-cooked Melaka Chetti food. Guests make a donation, which goes to education and welfare causes in the community. Register and we'll let you know the next date.

Visit Kampung Chetti

Tours can include a typical Melaka Chetti meal.

Enquire about a tour