Christmas Eve At Portuguese Settlement Melaka

Where to be during Christmas eve? Head over to Portuguese Settlement in Melaka which is the Christmas village of Malaysia with lots of decorations.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. So how did you spend your Christmas eve? Of course we could not do much due to the pandemic right? With proper precautions and measures we could still enjoy our new normal albeit with limitations. As usual on Christmas eve, my family and I would pay the famous Portuguese Settlement in Melaka a visit. So yesterday we did the same thing again by visiting the Christmas Village in Melaka.

Christmas Eve At Portuguese Settlement Melaka

Do try the seafood at Restoran De Lisbon

We arrived early evening and that meant we needed to enjoy our dinner first. Instead of heading to the usual Portuguese Square to enjoy our dinner, we chose to dine in a relatively new Restoran De Lisbon to try out their seafood. This restaurant is also manned by the native Portuguese who reside in this the well-known village. Once our dishes were served, immediately we knew that the chef is an old hand in his trade.

All the food was glorious!

We love the fried chickens a lot. 😁

In no time our dinner was served. We had the usual egg omelet, spicy kangkung, Portuguese curry chicken, fried chickens and otak-otak. We enjoyed the spicy kangkung a lot thanks to the taste and fragrance of "belacan" aka shrimp paste. The Portuguese curry chicken was equally tasty with a hint of spiciness to it which was just nice. We loved the fried chickens a lot-crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. We were really accustomed to the steamed otak-otak though. Still it tasted not too bad. 😋

Let's enjoy our Christmas Eve dinner!

After our scrumptious feast, we spent some time doing some sightseeing around the Portuguese Square. Though there were not as many people as it used to be no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, hundreds still congregated at this iconic landmark to celebrate Christmas eve while enjoying their dinner. No worries though as all of us were wearing our face masks and tried our best to maintain our phsyical distance. Restaurant operators could be seen busy dishing out their delicious cuisines while the patrons basked in the unmistakable atmosphere that makes this Christmas village special.

Sightseeing around the Portuguese Square

Took some photos with beautiful scenery as our backdrop

We could even enjoy Christmas Carols!

We even took a tour on the pier while overlooking the fascinating night scenery. Some visitors were playing with some fireworks while others were simply enjoying the ambiance. No Christmas eve will be perfect without Christmas carol right? We were privileged to see a guitar-strumming Santa and his Santarinas singing their hearts out, pleasing us with their whimsical Christmas carols. Everyone was truly overjoyed with the festive music that enveloped us. 😍

Even the Golden Gilded Man is here in Christmas Town!

Last but not least we made a trip to the Christmas village to see the decorations that have been put up by the villagers. Though the number of Christmas lights, bulbs and decorations seemed to have toned down a bit, the Christmassy mood was very much still alive in our one and only Portuguese Settlement in Melaka. Families were family enjoying each others' company while being merry in the comfort of their homes amidst the warm glimmering lights...and of course the glorious food to feast on. Oh! We even stumbled upon the famous glittering golden gilded man who was there to be part of Christmas as well.

Let's admire the Christmas lights and decorations!

Christmas Spirit is very much still alive! 😊

To see the magnificent Statue of the Christ The Redeemer standing proudly in the middle of the village is truly a sight to behold every single time when I make a trip there. I am glad that we could bring our  little Jordan and Jasmine there to be part of the awesome Christmas celebration. It was indeed a priceless experience. Hopefully next year, our celebration of Christmas eve at Portuguese Settlement Melaka will be one without pesky masks and social distancing. Merry Christmas everyone.

Merry Christmas from Portuguese Settlement Melaka