ABSTRACT
The Baba in Malaysia and Singapore are Chinese who have acquired a creolized form of Malay as their mother tongue, although today many Babas in Singapore speak English rather than Malay. Historically the women, called nyonya, wore sarongs, and most of the older women still do, as do many indigenous people. While not many people in Malaysia and Singapore really know about the Baba cultural life and their self-perception, Baba cuisine is well known and there are restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore serving nyonya food (that is, Baba food). The Malay-speaking Chinese in Melaka and Singapore also identify themselves as Peranakan Cina or ‘Chinese Peranakan’, or ‘Peranakan’ for short, and so their food may also be called Peranakan food. The term ‘Peranakan’ is also used in Indonesia, where the Chinese Peranakans have their own local distinctiveness.
