Gana Prakash
Some eight hundred visitors thronged St Xavier’s Institution in Farquhar Street for the annual Penang Eurasian Heritage Fiesta on Saturday.
Penang Eurasian Association (PEA) organises this event yearly to celebrate the community’s remarkable history and culinary and musical culture.
The revellers enjoyed the delicious food and fantastic music while sharing good laughs with friends and family.
Penang State exco for local government and town and country planning, Jagdeep Singh Deo, officiated the event.
State assemblyperson for Pulau Tikus, Chris Lee and George Town Heritage Inc general manager Dr Ang Ming Chee was also in attendance.
The Penang state government also contributed RM15,000 towards the Fiesta.
“There is so much more (to do). It does not end here. We have a working relationship with all the people, and that is the reason why I’m here today.
“We must ensure that all of our communities are always in the system, don’t take anything for granted,” he said during his speech.
Jagdeep also thanked PEA for having the event at Karpal Singh Hall as an appreciation for his contribution to communities in Penang.
Meanwhile, during his speech, the PEA president Dato Aloysius Gasper thanked all the sponsors for making the Fiesta a success.
“As a minority community in Penang, we are very grateful to the state government for always being there for us and understanding our needs,” said Gasper.
The organising committee chairperson Penny Theseira also took the stage to thank the state government and the visitors.
“I hope everyone here will enjoy your evening, ignite your senses with the taste of Eurasian food, see and feel the Eurasian culture, as well as hear our Eurasian bands entertaining us with songs throughout the night.
“I also take this opportunity to encourage more young Eurasians (to)Â involve actively in the community,” she said.
In keeping with tradition, the Fiesta saw a day filled with live bands, a suji cake, and a beer drinking competition.
The stalls served curry puffs, custard puffs, Devil curry, beef ball curry, Goan pork vindaloo, Acar Awak, chocolate chips, bean curd rice balls and many other mouth-watering delicacies.
Apart from the local communities and expatriates, some visitors came all the way from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to attend the Fiesta.
Penang Walkabout administrator Peter Yeoh, who was at the Fiesta, said that the food always tasted better because it’s home-cooked using family heirloom recipes.
“I always relish coming to the Eurasian food fairs because we get to taste all these dishes which we usually can never get outside in commercial establishments,” wrote Yeoh on his Facebook page.
The highlight of the Fiesta was the Sugee cake competition.
The competition judges Joe Sidek, Marina Emanuel, Datin Jennifer Gasper, Datin Gwendoline Cornelius, and Bernardine Westwood unanimously seleted the Suji Cake prepared by Linda Stewart.
Traditionally, the Fiesta is celebrated on August 15 to signify the arrival of the Eurasian community with Captain Francis Light back in 1786.
This year’s Fiesta commemorates the 236th year of the occasion.
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Jimmy Tan
