Malacca is famous with Nyonya-Baba cuisine. It is a culture mixture of Chinese and Malay cooking. Nonya cooking is the result of blending Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the Malay community.
The food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal. Key ingredients include coconut milk, galangal (a subtle, mustard-scented rhizome similar to ginger), candlenuts as both a flavoring and thickening agent, laksa leaf, pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius), belachan, tamarind juice, lemongrass, torch ginger bud, jicama, fragrant kaffir lime leaf, rice or egg noodles and cincaluk - a powerfully flavored, sour and salty shrimp-based condiment that is typically mixed with lime juice, chilies and shallots and eaten with rice, fried fish and other side dishes.
Some of the famous Nyonya cuisines are: