Some 20 of us, Enakkers and guests had a fabulous ‘Kristang’ style lunch at Kumi Café on July 7^th. Congratulations and kudos to hosts Maria Joao Pinho and Francien Lucas for a most delicious and enjoyable Enak! They went an extra mile in setting up two beautiful long tables for added ambience.

Kumi Café is located at 21, Lorong Setiabistari 2, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan

‘A hidden Gem in Damansara Heights, you’ll find Kumi, which means “eat” in Kristang — a restaurant owned by cousins Rueben Moissinac and Ammos Stevenson…

It showcases Eurasian food they grew up eating, and dining here feels like you have been invited to dine in someone’s home. You know... the kind of meal where someone has spent a whole day preparing everything from scratch. “The recipes are my grandmother’s and these are the sort of dishes you eat when you go home,” explained Rueben….

Maria was so passionate about sharing the authentic culinary influence of Portugal her home country in Kristang Cuisine. She had spent days searching and tasting and we are so thankful she discovered the authentic and superb food at Kumi Café!

Maria says “Kristang cuisine has its roots in a 500-year-old legacy and is a reflection of a fusion of cultures. The Malacca Kristang people are a small ethnic group descended from 16th century Portuguese settlers, with a distinct culture, cuisine and language. The name Kristang derives from the word Cristão which means Christian.

While it takes inspiration from Portuguese, Dutch and British culinary traditions, Kristang cooking bears the makings of local Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines - reflected by its fiery sambals, fragrant coconut and tamarind curries.

Chef Rueben prepared a Eurasian menu consisting of several courses traditionally served during celebrations, such as Christmas.

This included the quintessential Kristang dish Curry debal, meaning devil's curry, probably owing its name to the fiery heat of this course. Although it is usually cooked with left-over meat from feasting, Kumi's was made with fresh chicken, potatoes and spiced up with candlenuts, galangal and ginger. The unmistakable tangy flavour came from vinegar, which is definitely a Portuguese influence. This was followed by another distinctive Eurasian curry, the Curry Seku. “Seku” means dry in Malaccan-Portuguese creole. This mild chicken curry was cooked down until the gravy was reduced and thickened. The third curry prepared by Chef Rueben was the Pineapple Curry with Prawns, a rich and fragrant coconut milk curry. The chunky, sweet yet sharp slices of pineapple made a wonderful counterpoint to the spice of the curry and the richness of the coconut milk enhanced the taste of the prawns at the same time. 

As a fish option, we were served the Tenggiri Fish Baked Otak-otak, very juicy and deliciously infused with herbs, exotic spices and flavoured with coconut milk.
 

We also had the chance to indulge in the amazing Fried Brinjal that were golden-brown and absolutely tasty, the silky Cold Tauhu and the spicy Okra Sambal.

The meal was accompanied by white rice and Kumi's signature sambal timun, a tangy cucumber salad with onions and chili.

The meal was accompanied by white rice and Kumi's signature sambal timun, a tangy cucumber salad with onions and chili.
 

For dessert we were served a generous slice of Sugee Cake with almonds and rose fragrance, decorated with royal icing. This cake is traditionally eaten at Christmas and also popular as a wedding cake, in this case the icing is replaced by marzipan. 
 

In summary, this was definitely a feast for our taste buds”.

Thanks to Enakker Lam Lai Meng who continues to generously donate her beautiful handmade hats for a lucky draw. Maria also donated a beautiful additional prize. These added so much fun and laughter to this event. We can say that everyone had a great time and went away happy. Good company, good food and a good time!!!

Review submitted by Maria Joao Pinho and Rosemary Chin