Onya Sayang: Peranakan food in Paya Lebar

I have written about Dulu Kala, a Peranakan restaurant started by the grandmother and parents of Zan Ho. And since then, Zan has become a chef of his own reckoning, and opened updated versions of Dulu Kala, which he calls O'nya Sayang.

I was invited for a tasting at their newest outlet in Paya Lebar Square.

We started off with the interesting dish, totally tradition based, but updated. The Ayam Buah Keluak Fried Rice

Interesting take. Stir fried rice, seen in the background with keluak filling, onions and chillis. Very fragrant fried rice.And a bowl of chicken with buah keluak. The rempah (spices) are made from scratch, and like most peranakan recipes are from secrets only known to family. 

Next up, we had a kind of seafood with rice, topped with a fried egg

I found the gravy, made from house made spices to be very nice, the dish was let down by slightly less than fresh fish and prawns which, though were sweet and rather tasty, was a bit mushy within the shell. 

Another innovative dish is their lorbak noodles

In our family, we would have called the braised pork Tauyu Bak, though Lor Bak is still a descriptive name. The pork belly is braised in a black sauce with house spices till tender. A boiled egg is added to the braise and absorbs the braising liquid, and the dish is poured over the noodles. Interesting, and perhaps totally untraditional. But I found it to be very savoury and nice. Good touch!

Bakwan Kepeting (pork balls in a soup with bamboo shoots) is a typical Peranakan dish

In this instance, the interpretation is truly traditional, and wonderfully so. The bakwan was superb. The texture - bouncy, springy, crunchy to the bite but still tender and juicy. The soup was nourishing, and very nice.

I have mixed feelings with Babi Pongteh, another classical Peranakan Dish

The pork was very tender, the spices quite interesting, but this was not my idea of a babi pongteh. Perhaps my family recipe is not similar...but the main elements - pork belly, potato, a thick mildly spicy braise. This version is still rather delicious, no doubt. And quite satisfying.

Their otak dish I truly loved. Served with a small portion of sambal kangkong, it was quite nice. Again, not in the traditional style I am accustomed to, as in our family, otak is steamed in banana leaf. This was, to me, perhaps a more Melakan styled dish. The otak was grilled. But I must say, it ramains very nice on the palate. Good chunks of fish with nice springy filler. Tasty.

But the desserts blew me away. One of my favourites, sago gula melaka:

Truly superb. Worth the trip just to eat this. The sago was cooked just right, with the a touch of very creamy coconut milk and a generous portion of gula melaka. A scoop of coconut ice cream crowned this magnificent dessert. The coconut ice cream was exactly as the name suggests. It tasted of a creamy iced santan. The gula melaka was special. Very fragrant, coying sweet, and luxurious mouthfeel. Fantastic! I enquired, and Zan told me that the gula melaka was sourced from Surabaya, where the quality is even higher than in Melaka. 

The same coconut ice cream, which is sourced from a manufacturer in Thailand, is used in the chendol, which is also a winner in my view

This reminded me of the version by Mei Heong Yuan, where shaved ice, made from coconut milk is dished out on top of chendol, attap steeds, red kidney beand, piled high. There, the gula melaka is served on the side, where one can drizzle to one's heart's content. Here the base of this dish is the same coconut ice cream as in the sago gula melaka, and the same superb gula melaka. With the traditional chendol ingredients. Quite superb.

I found the dishes in O'nya Sayang to be very homey feeling, with a somewhat traditional taste. One which does not totally agree with my family's Peranakan family's recipes. But the nature of Peranakan cuisine is such. Each family has its own secret recipes, and often times, these are not even shared with other members of the family, only to be handed down from mother to daughter and sometimes son.  

The packaging at O'nya Sayang into individual meals is very innovative. The traditional Peranakan meal is taken on a Tok Panjang (long table), where the dishes are shared by all. Very traditional families eat in shifts...the men in first shift, then the children, then the ladies and finally the servants. But the offering of individually sized, balanced meal portions is very nice. 

And as mentioned, the desserts, a twist to Peranakan tradition, are divine. Highly recommended.

O'nya Sayang @ Paya lebar square

60 Paya Lebar Rd, Paya Lebar Square, #B1-30/31,
Singapore, S409051

Tel: 67838140

Fax: 66848168

enquire@dulukala.com

Friend's Favourites: Dulu Kala at Beauty World

Good Peranakan restaurants are hard to find...maybe I am being too fussy, being peranakan myself...with access to great home cooked food. But I find good ones few and far in between. My friends KS and Pauline highly recommended this one, located in Beauty World Centre.

Located at level 4, right next to the rather more crowded food court, Dulu Kala, meaning Former Times translated from Malay vernacular that peranakans converse in, has been there for the longest time. I have never tried it before, and with the recommendation of both of these foodies, I had to try it. This is Pauline's husband's favourite restaurant...apparently.

We started off with a dish which is well loved by peranakans, but which is not particular popular with others. The sambal petai.

A personal favourite of mine. The bean is nutty, wonderfully aromatic...well some call it smelly. A strong distinct aroma to the nut will permeate the person who just consumed this bean. At its best, almost heavenly. Dulukala's version was good, but for that afternoon we were there, a tad too sweet, and not spicy enough for me. The bean was nice, fresh, and quite aromatic.

We also had the belachan chicken wing

Nicely fried, with a nice flavour. A tad too saltish to my taste, but this chicken wing retains a juicy tender meat with a light crisp skin.

The leather jacket stuffed with sambal was next

The leathery skin had been removed when the fish was served. At home, we would fry the fish with tumeric infused oil with the skin on. And stuff the fish with loads of sambal. This dish, as prepared at home is rather oily, but superbly delicious. The version at Dulukala is all the more healthy. The fish was served without the leathery skin, and was not greasy at all. The fish was cooked perfectly, nice meat, but I found the sambal lacking, and the shiokness which comes from the tumeric infused oil totally absent. This dish did not make the test for me.

A ladies finger dish was next

In contrast, I found this quite special. The ladies fingers seemed to have been roasted before being pan fried with onions, and chilli. Very nicely done. Full flavour and very delicious.

We also had an omlette

This was rather de rigeur. I would have preferred an omlette which is fluffy within a crisp exterior. But this tasted good, so no complaints.

For dessert, we had chendol

The chendol kinda saved the day for me. But still, it was lacking in power...by which I mean the coconut milk could have been stronger, they could have used more red bean and added attap seeds, and a stronger, bolder tasting gula melaka. But the green chendol is authentic, tender and soft.

I may sound critical of Dulu Kala, as I am measuring by very high standards. But really, the food is quite good. I would rate it as above average for a peranakan restaurant in Singapore, and just below three of my current favourites: Peramakan, Spice Peranakan and Novena 2004.

Dulukala Peranakan Restaurant
144 Upper Bukit Timah Rd
#04-04 Beauty World Centre
6465 2036

Peranakan Cuisine: 2004 Novena Peranakan

Peranakan food is special, being peranakan, our home cooked comfort is of this genre, and as generally Peranakan womenfolk are good cooks, we are pretty pampered when it comes to good food.

As a result, many of us never venture to try out peranakan restaurants when we eat out, because home cooked is best...often because of familiarity, and also as mom would say, "mine is better and cheaper!"

Anyway, I am filing two stories on peranakan food...one this week and another next week. The focus of this week's posting is on 2004 Novena Peranakan Cuisine.

We started the meal with the iconic peranakan dish...Ayam Buah Keluak

First taste...very good. Nice flavours. The buah keluak is a bit more meaty than most I have eaten, so a bit mild on the nutty flavours, but very tasty. The chicken is very good, cooked till very tender. Gravy excellent.

The Ngor Hiang was next.

Another excellent dish. The skin...a beancurd style covering was crisp, very light, and not greasy at all. Within, stuffed chunks of tofu, water chestnut and meat. Very nice.

The Beef Rendang looked a bit different from what I am used to

A bit lighter in hue than the typically dark beef rendang. The flavours were very good. The beef was very tender, perhaps a higher end cut of beef was used instead of the more sinewy, tougher cut used traditionally. And the rendang was done wet, with gravy. I found this to be good.

The Bakwan Ketiping was next

It was served sizzling hot in a claypot. The soup was clear, savoury and tasty. A bit robust tasting. The bakwan was very well done. Tender, but still retaining the slight chewiness typical of a hand made bakwan.

The Fish Head Assam Curry was one of their signatures...

I found this to be quite superb. The assam gravy was superb. The brinjal, ladies fingers, tomato and pineapple made a nice addition. And the fish head was very fresh, beautiful fragrance only a fresh fish can provide. Two thumbs up for this fish head curry. Some of my lunch companions lament that they prefer a lemak version, but for me, the assam curry was the star.

A portion of sotong with sambal

Nicely done. Not too spicy. The squid (sotong) was fresh, lightly cooked, and retained the springiness and light crunch with a creamy mouthfeel.

Sambal Prawns

Freshness of ingredients are paramount. The prawns were beautiful. Not too large, bite sized. But very fresh, with the wonderful crunch, and a light whiff of the sea, even through the light sambal sauce.

And of course some vegetables, instead of the usual sambal kangkong, we elected the Kangkong to be done with a garlic sauce.

Also quite good...the vegetable was young, fresh, and lightly stir fried.

Highly recommend this restaurant. Reasonable prices, very good cooking.

2004 Novena Peranakan Cuisine
273 Thomson Road
#01-02 Novena Garden
6256 1430
Daily: 11.30am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm

Good Eats in CBD: Bumbu Restaurant

As a blue peranakan, I love peranakan food...but I also love Thai food...so what better than a mix of both. Bumbu, with two outlets - one in Kandahar and another right in CBD is one such restaurant.

Right in the middle of the CBD in China Square Central.

The decor is lovely...nostalgic inducing setup, with beautiful peranakan screens adorning the restaurant. The dining area is rather spacious, and a nice, cool respite from the blazing heat outside.

As there were only two of us, we were limited to our choices, so we only had 3 dishes...first, Kin's favourite Olive Fried rice

Nicely flavoured, with bits of black olive. Not as oily as some I have eaten elsewhere. The wok hei is not particularly powerful, but the fragrance from the olives and the rice was excellent.

We had some beef rendang to accompany

Doesn't look much, but this is what I would, colloquially call "power" rendang. The meat used is sinewy, with tendons. The spices wonderfully aromatic, and so well permeate the meat in the seasoning that they become one, inseperable even by taste. This rendang is cooked...no slowly simmered, perhaps at low temperatures so as to avoid burning the spices or the meat, till the sinews are rendered ultra tender, and the tendons almost gelatin. Magnificent. Reminded us of one rendang brought to the university hostel dining table by brothers Richard and Andrew - their mother had prepared the wonderful rendang, and as treasure would share with close friends on the hostel. One of the best rendangs I have eaten...though if I could whisper in the chef's ear...I would ask for a bit more spicy to perk things up a bit.

We also had some ngor hiang

This is a standard dish in a peranakan household, and Bumbu's version proves the cooks are themselves peranakan. The skin is so crispy and light that it crumbles easily. And yet, even though the rolls are deep fried, I didn't find them greasy. A bite into the rolls, a cocophony of flavours are released...principally crab, along with pork and prawns. Very good. I would advice avoiding the sweet black sauce served along with it, and slap on a good wallop of the sambal.

Overall, a very good tasting meal. Great food. I will be back to sample the other dishes. Nice environment, attentive staff providing good service. And at a reasonable price.

p.s. I was told by the manager as we were paying that they will probably close the China Square outlet...rentals are going up and up. But Bumbu's main restaurant in Kandahar will continue to operate.

Bumbu Restaurant
20 Cross Street
#01-25, China Square Central,
S048422
65368636
chinasquare@bumbu.com.sg
Monday to Saturday (Closed on Sunday & Public Holiday) 11am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm

Peramakan: Best Peranakan in Singapore?

The Peranakans: or local born literally in Malay. Perhaps a little history...the majority of the Chinese in South East Asia (typically Malaysia and Singapore) have been in the region for perhaps 100 years. Most have two or three generations who are born in SEA, and can trace grandfathers or great grandfathers who were born in China, mainly the Southern provinces of Fujian and Swatow (hence predominance of Hokkiens and Teochews), Canton (Cantonese is perhaps the largest minority within the Chinese here), Hainan and some Khek (which, as the name suggest: guest...so were itinerant people).

However, the Peranakans have been here longer. We settled in the area some 700 years ago, in the 15th Century with Zheng He and his fleet. Many who remained were scholars, artisans who were part of his crew because the Emperor of China wanted to spread and impress the world with Chinese culture. So many of the Peranakans have been here for some 600 years. According to my late father, our family have been local born for at least 10 generations, tracing perhaps some 300 to 400 years in the region. Typical of many Peranakan families, he spoke to his mother in Malay and was English educated so spoke to his father and brothers in English. At home, we spoke English, but as my mother was not English speaking, as our ancestors came from Amoy in Fujian, we spoke Hokkien.

The cuisine of the Peranakans are also unique. Mainly I understand the Singapore and Malacca Peranakans are more similar and closer to each other than the Penang Peranakans, who perhaps may be linked to the Medan Peranakan in Sumatra.

An example is the use of buah keluak in the meat dishes, particularly chicken. This is a very typical and well loved dish for the Southern Peranakans (Singapore and Malacca), and not as well treasured by the Nothern cousins (Penang and Medan). Peramakan presents, perhaps the best ayam buah keluak (braised chicken with spices and buah keluak)



This is classical ayam buah keluak. The nut is carefully prepared to rid it of toxins, the fleshy part of the nut itself is removed, minced with pork and stuffed back into the shell. The filled shells are then simmered as a stew with the chicken and spices for a long time to make this dish. Usually the balance of the stuffed buah keluak is questionable. The one served by Spice Peranakan I reviewed some time ago was a bit salty. Peramakan's version is all at once aromatic, and well balanced. Very good with the chicken gravy and the chicken.

As this was also an occassion to introduce my Californian friend to local cuisne...an adventurous fellow at that...afterall he spends up to 3 weeks a month in Seoul, so would perhaps be a bit more used to Asian eating habits and spicy food.

We also ordered the beef rendang.



Shin muscles were used...with the beautiful connective tissues still intact, but rendered so tender it literally melts in your mouth. The spices are a bit mild, but still very aromatic. Perhaps one of the best beef rendangs I have tasted. This is the Peranakan style, as my mother would cook...only that she too honours the Peramakan version with her praises. The style is different from the Malay rendang, which uses tougher meat, typically rump with little connective tissues, and made dry, with desiccated coconut bits. Both have their virtues.

We also sampled the ikan masak assam nenas (fish cooked with tamarind and pineapple)



This is another typical dish. Piquant, spicy, a balance of sour, a touch of sweet. The fish was fresh, and beautifully cooked. If prepared at home, the fish would have been simmered in the assam sauce, but typically in restaurants, the sauce is cooked separately, and the steamed fish added. This is evidenced by the pure white insides of the meat, as simmering the fish within the sauce would stain the insides with the colour of the sauce. For me, this is a superb dish...if I had to nitpick, a touch less sugar in the gravy would make it even better.

We also had a salad, which the Peranakans call cheh hu...or Pasembur...a kind of Peranakan rojak....



Julianed cucumber, yam bean, bean curd, prawn fritters, bean sprouts covered in a generous serving of a mild, brown gravy, with crushed peanuts. In comparison to the Padang Pasembur in Penang, this was a bit mild, and um, perhaps not as generous. I also did not find the crispy prawn fritters embedded within. So in comparison, Padang's Pasembur wins hands down. But the Peramakan offering is still very delicious, testament to the very fresh vegetables used, and the chef's ingenuinity to balance the gravy to provide a rich, smothering mouthfeel to contrast the crunchy vegetables within, highlited by the crispy crackers which have been broken and mixed into the dish. Nice.

For desserts, we see the braveness of our Californian visitor...we suggested durian pengat, and he gladly finished the bowl and proclaimed it delicious:



Pengat is also a typical Peranakan dish...durians are mixed with a secret concoction of flour, coconut milk, gula melaka and pumpkin and sweet potatos. I guess the best way to describe it is durian mousse with pumpkin and sweet potatos. Peramakan serves this dessert with aplomb. Not many restaurants offer this because of the long and complex preparation. But this pengat is as good as any I have eaten.

I have used this blog entry to allow some exposition on Peranakan history and the slight differences between the Southern and Northern strains. But as a review of Peramakan, this is a glowing one. I would rate Peramakan as probably the best Peranakan restaurant in Singapore. The food is exceedingly good, and true to its roots. Service is quiet, smooth, swift and friendly. And the ambience of the restaurant, located at the top floor of a Golf Club is nice and dignified. Highly recommended.




Level 3, Keppel Club
10 Bukit Chermin Road

65 63772829
kelvinlee@peramakan.com
Open daily
11:30 am to 3:00 pm (last order: 2:30 pm)
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm (last order: 9:30 pm

Spice Peranakan: Biopolis

What do you do when you crave peranakan, and don't have time or skill to make a true blue peranakan meal yourself? Go out, of course. I have written about Ivins - the inexpensive eatery which gives you a taste of peranakan. Or even at Pow Seng in Serangoon Gardens. Or Peramakan...the current reigning queen of peranakan restaurants in Singapore.

I had a quick lunch with my friends - Dr. Mycroft and Larry one afternoon...and doc was kind of bound around his office area because of meetings...and suggested Spice Peranakan...just the next block from where he works.

As we settled in, a joyful Mr. Wee, the owner came trotting down and introduced himself...promising, methot.

For the three of us, as certified gourmets, of course we ordered a lot of food...I guess we could easily add perhaps another one or even two other diners, and still have enough food...but I digress...on to the food.

First off the Ngor Hiang



Not bad. The skin was very crisp, and though deep fried, remained quite light to the palate. The pork within was cleverly marinated and blended with some binder...and was good.

Kuih Pie Tie...a speciality of the Penang peranakans,



The shell was excellent...but these days, these can be purchased off the shelf from supermarkets. But the filling, similar to that used in pohpiah was quite savoury and appetizing...a halved prawn adorns the top, and a splash of chilli sauce with plenty of parsley for garnishing.

So those were the appetizers...and off to the main courses:

I never really warmed to buah keluak...the taste and aroma is nice, but I don't have a craving for it like some peranakans do. I understand this is possibly due to buah keluak as a mainly more southern dish, treasured by the Malacca peranakans, as well as those in Singapore and perhaps Indonesia than in Penang.



But this is a difficult dish to make...complicated. The buah keluak has to be prepared in a very specific way to get rid of the poisons that are on the shell. The nut is evacuated, minced with pork or chicken, and stuffed back into the shell. And the whole thing braised slowly in spices and chicken. The result...ayam buah keluak. Most peranakans would remove the filling from the buah keluak, mince it on the plate, and mix it more or less evenly with the rice. Add a generous helping of the sauce...and for some...pure heaven. Spice's buah keluak is nice. I am not sure if its truly mind blowingly good, for I am not a connoisseur of buah keluak.

We also have bagi pongteh:



This one I really like. Superb. The pork was not belly, but perhaps a more healty cut...though possibly not by much, as it was obviously still marbled, and tender. Full flavour. The spices used in slowly braising the pork was very well balanced. I love this dish. Very good.

And the standard form a peranakan kitchen...the chap chye



Again a good dish. Quite similar to the one done by my mother at home...so enough praise indeed.

We also had an omelette:



An adaptation of the western omelette...this one has chinchalok added. Chinchalok is a wierd but wonderful concoction...prawns which are too small for regular consumption is not wasted, but fermented in a heady concoction, which is good to flavour the more bland food like plain or potato rice porridge. And in this case to embellish the lowly omelette. This version is quite nicely done. The egg remains fluffly inside, slightly crispy on the outside. The chinchalok providing fortification of flavours within. Loved this dish.

And we ended with durian chendol:



I must say, this is a fitting end to the meal. Not mind blowingly spectacular, this chendol, but sufficiently sweet, fragrant, wonderful to be a fitting conclusion of a nice lunch. Burp!

Overall Spice provides a nice alternative when one pines for peranakan. Good food, reasonably good service. Reasonable price.



Spice Peranakan
#01-01
20 Biopolis Way, 138668
6738 8887

Hainan Town: Peranakan in Penang

Hainan Town is a kind of strange name for a Nyonya (peranakan) restaurant...but it is situated in a lovely building right smack in the middle of Penang town. Formerly known as “Huay Chia Kio”...or railway bridge in Hokkien, the building is a wonderful architectural style of colonial and traditional Straits Chinese (peranakan). Done up very nicely indeed...the insides are beautiful, and can grace the pages of an interior magazine.



Part of the dining area is in airconditioned space...actually two rooms, one of which is shown above and connected through the white curtains via a set of folding doors to the other. And the rest is open air, under the verendah.



Overlooking the Penang harbour, and the QE2, a fine dining establishment occupying another part of the Huay Chia Kio. Amazingly, even during the day, the verendah remains fairly cool...though assisted by mobile cooler towers, this pays tribute to the brilliance of the architecture of the colonials.

We had a fairly traditional nyonya meal. Begining with a Penang variation of the fried chicken...known as Inchikabin.



Chicken is spiced up in a marinade...many traditionists claim the recipe is long lost...I did know that my aunts did make incredible inchikabin, and my father used to wax lyrical about them...but I have not tasted a great inchikabin for a long time...the memory of the taste now lingers, but in truth, I cannot remember it enough to taste it. This version served by Hainan Town was rather ordinary. Heavily spiced marinade seem to be a feature. And the chicken pieces fried till almost dry. The legendary inchikabins were reputed to be so crispy, even the bones can be eaten. I guess, in substitution of technique and skill, over frying to ensure crispness is one way to render the bones edible. Indeed it was barely edible. But the rest of the chicken was nondescript. The sambal belachan, the worth by which one measures a nyonya or bibik, however redeems itself...wonderful stuff.



The sambal kankong was very nice. The leaves are a bit older than I would have liked, and cooked a bit over what would have been crunchy vegetables. But the sauce of sambal belachan and fresh small, sweet shrimps again saved the day.

We also ordered some lobak...



This was a halal restaurant, thus no pork was used...this lobak...a traditional Nyonya version of the Ngor Hiang (Five Fragrances) was made with chicken instead of pork. Amazingly, it tasted quite good...the typical lor (gravy of starch and slivers of beaten egg) was absent, and the lorbak was to be eaten with the accompanying chilli sauce.

We also had the Penang favourite spring rolls...the choon piah (literally spring biscuits)



These guys know a good thing when they come across it...the ubiquitious sambal belachan again showed its true blue peranakan colours...maximising the taste and providing a bite to the tongue...the greasy choon piah was rather pedestrian...though not unpleasant...it pales in comparison to the one I sampled just a few days earlier at Foong Wei Heong.

The piece de resistance is the rather rare traditional nyonya dish called Perut Ikan...or literally stomach of the fish. This is a very special dish. A plethora of herbs, spices, vegetables are used to prop up the main character...the perut ikan...a rather difficult ingredient...which at its best is flavourless and tasteless, and at its worse can stink to high heaven.



This is a dish requiring high skills of the chef...mastery of the ingredients, and proportions...in a certain magical balance between hot, sour, spicy, salty, is the nirvana which rewards the discerning diner the true taste of the perut ikan.

This Hainan Town version was rather good. A touch too sour to my taste, but the balance was uncanny...and delicious. Shiok.

Hainan Town is an interesting restaurant. Convenient location, beautiful surroundings. The prices are a bit high for Penang, but the decor, ambience and the service kind of makes up for it. The food is acceptable, with little sparks of brilliance (the sambal belachan is the key redeemer...the perut ikan acceptably good) in an otherwise rather plain tasting fare. Recommended for the intrepid visitor to Penang.


Hai Nan Town Restaurant
8A, Pengkalan Weld, 10300 Penang.
Tel: 604 - 263 8633



View Larger Map

Value for money Peranakan: Ivins

Ivins is an old favourite. Kin and I used to frequent Ivins, at their original outlet in Binjai Park for years, and then, for no reason other tha perhaps boredom, we stopped going and almost forgot about them for some years. We recently rediscovered them, and have been going back for several visits in a couple of months.

The restaurant has been around for many years, and for me, they serve quite authentic peranakan food, unebelished by the modernities and fashions of the day. Smallish portions, but suffient for sharing with 2/3 persons, and very reasonably priced.

Here are some of my favourites:

Ayam Rendang



Two pieces of chicken...what seemed to be about a quarter a small chicken...perhaps spring chicken, well marinated, and served in a claypot. I can tell that the chicken is not cooked in the claypot, but the claypot is used more as a presentation than a cooking vessel. It did not impart any smokey flavour characteristic of claypots, but allowed the contents to remain hot for a longer period.

The rendang is quite well done. A bit more spicy would cater to the taste of the Baba more, but as it was served, it was mildly hot, but the spices were very nice and flavourful. The chicken is rendered almost to a state where it fell off the bone and was super tender.

Fishcake lemak is also a favourite.



Fishcake, cooked in a gorgeous, thick, rich, yellow curry. Not a typical nyonya dish, but cooked in an inspired way which is true to the peranakan spirit. I always find this dish to be very appealing.

Otah is also a must order:



Not the tpyical peranakan otah, which tends to be steamed rather than broiled. But this version is very tasty, and made with the right balance of spices. I could have wished for more fish, as the taste of the fish was barely discernable. My mum makes the typical Penang Nyonya otah...rich with coconut milk, huge chunks of fish, wrapped in a banana leaf, steamed, and if desired, then broiled for the smokey flavour.

The kangkong is also typical...



Young kangkong, stir fried in a very hot wok, with spices and seasoning, and in double quick time, so as to thouroughly cook the vegetable, but not overcook it. Young kangkong is crucial, and many a times, the chef spoils this dish by being less fastidious on the selection of the vegetable. Old kangkong is tough, and unappetizing.



A venerable bastion of peranakan cooking tempered with good sense in value pricing. I highly recommend this restaurant.


Ivins
19 Binjai Park
Tel: +65 6468 3060
Mon–Wed, Fri–Sun
11.30am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Closed on Thursdays