Sunday, July 05, 2009

Authentic Nyonya food by Baba Nyonya

If you have watched the Little Nyonya TV series; the production of our neighbor's TV station MediaCorp, you will be enticed by the wonderful colors and flavorful Peranakan cuisine presented throughout the story.
As it goes, some of the dishes served in the drama are also available in most Nyonya restaurants; and one of them is Baba Nyonya Restaurant located along Nagore Road.
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Formerly known as Dragon King, this restaurant was rated with a 3-star by Lonely Planet's travel guide and claims to serve dishes as presented in the highly acclaimed Singaporean drama; tagging along with the fame of the unique TV Series.
You can check it out in my other blog

Housed in the refurbished pre-war shoplots, this place already exudes an air of antiquity from the main entrance.
Be prepared to walk into a simple yet elegant environment typical in a Peranakan household.
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Their red menu offers the simple and conventional Peranakan dishes; variety is limited here.
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The traditional dragon and phoenix motifs found on plates used in Chinese wedding.
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Pie Tee as an appetizer (RM12)
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The Nyonya Pie Tee is served in a light crust shaped like a upside down top hat in which it contains a small stuffing of mengkuang char garnished with fried shallots on top.
Lace it with a light touch of the chili sauce, you just pop the entire 'top-hat' into your mouth!
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I found the pie tee here is a little bit too oily for my liking; unfortunately :-(
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Otak-otak (RM3.50)
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This is another delicacy; a mousse-type of fish cake with a taste of spices, then wrapped in banana leaves to be steamed before serving.
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There is not much taste in this; in fact, the fish has been blended with the mousse; although I still could not detect much of the 'fishy' taste in it.

Jiu Hu Char (RM12)
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A highly overpriced plate of mengkuang char with cuttlefish!
Taste wise, I find it on the average. Again, a little bit too oily for my liking.
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Fish Gulai Tumis (RM16)
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I've always liked this version of the Nyonya curry; as this is one without coconut milk and it just tastes like your typical Asam Laksa soup - sourish and spicy!
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This is one dish that I found was served better here compared to the other restaurants. The fish was cooked to perfection; maintaining the freshness and smooth texture of the flesh.

Lastly, a plate of Rumpah Kangkung (RM6)
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Typical kangkung dish; although again, it was a bit too oily.

Overall, I find the food here on the average; but there are some dishes on par with some of the other Nyonya restaurants; particularly that of my favorite (Nyonya Breeze)

Price wise, this is slightly higher compared to a few others; and I think my good ol' favorite Nyonya restaurant still manage to defend its title:)

18 comments:

  1. missing nyonya food here in KL..
    Nyonya breeze better than Mama's at Lrg Abu sittee?

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  2. No where to get Nyona food over here. The fish sure looks nice.

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  3. YOu are definitely a nyonya food fan! :) I wanna go and try this out too!

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  4. i prefer cheap and good;)

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  5. I luv nyonya food too. I find that Nyonya breeze is the best in term of quality and pricing. ;)

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  6. oh not so good compared to other nyonya outlets?
    funny how lonely planets rates the restaurants.

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  7. I like the song 如燕

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  8. hi nomadGourmand, yes, I find Nyonya Breeze definitely so much better!:D

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  9. Superman, oh it IS NICE:D

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  10. cariso, hahaha....have I really posted that much on Nyonya food ar?
    Actually it's unique mar....Nyonya food has a unique taste :)

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  11. cumi&ciki, yeahhhh....I'm with you on that....:D
    Especially during this economic downturn...LOL!

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  12. Food for Tots, I am so with you on that!! I am a fan of Nyonya Breeze...hehehe:D

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  13. buzzingbee, I am also bewildered myself:P

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  14. simon, what's that song??:D Is it from Little Nyonya?

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  15. just last week, my friends and i drove up to penang for our own food fest.We had dinner one evening at BABA NONYA and the husband and wife owners (the Khoos)were most hospitable and gracious in explaining nonya cuisine.We ordered hong bak, assam prawns, jui hoo char, perut ikan and a pork intestine peppery soup. They supplemented our orders with free samples of their achar and kerabu bok nee. I enjoyed the perut ikan and assam prawns most.i have tried NONYA BREEZE the last trip, and although the latter is more affordable with less ambience, i think that mrs. khoo the chef of BABA NONYA has a more homely feel to her cooking though both establishments have an authentic taste to their dishes.i can safely recdommend both though down Jalan Nagore is a Thai Nonya restarant which serves a great homecooked green curry. Yums!

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  17. Just back from penang after a nonya food binge again - my closure for 2009! This time round i went to the relocated SRI BATIK CAFE in NEW WORLD run by the ever-affable Kenneth.You must see how he has redecorated his restaurant - all red with beautiful nonyaware, engraved panels, mirrors,etc -in an over-d-top style that resembles a drag queen's boudoir!Upon his recommendation, two of us sampled their curry kapitan (unusually sour - more vinegarish than tamarind-ish ),perut ikan and tauyu bak with chendol and white fungus dessert to close!They were really excellent, so too the gratis sambal.On my last night, four of us went to RUMAH PERUT along Kelawai Road, a mansion with beautiful tiled floor but the food of 8 dishes was somewhat bland, a notch under Nonya Breeze. ButI gave the thumbs up to their lorbak, jellyfish kerabu, otak, pig liver n pepper soup!And for your info, four of us went to Hainam Station off the boat quay and though their assam prawns and otak were really good, their prices are so astronomical and servings so small that it put me off EVER going there again!Penang is still a nonya food paradise!

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  18. Anonymous4:48 AM

    Exakt richtig

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