28 July 2008 :: Monday :: Dinner
After working hard (till 1am almost daily) for the past 2 months, I’ve decided on a break by going to Malacca with my family and SO over the National Day weekend. What better way to show my patriotism to other dear neighbours other than engaging in 2 of Singapore’s favourite pastime – shopping and eating. Since this post is about food, I’ll leave out the shopping part.
Food in Malacca is cheap and good. At Markota Parade, where most Singaporeans will visit in Malacca, Kenny Rogers and The Chicken Rice Shop serve great food at half the price (as compared to their Singapore outlets). In fact, the quality of their food over in Malacca seems better, probably due to better quality chicken?
In any case, I’ve been to Malacca quite a number of times, almost an annual pilgrimage, for the past 5 years or so. This time round, I made it a point to try the peranakan food. Peranakan food or Nyonya food, is a delightful mix of Chinese & Malay influences. Typical peranakan food are tangy and aromatic and normally consists of belachan, coconut, lime and other spices. You can read more about Peranakan cultere at Wikipedia -> Peranakan Culture.
Malacca has a couple of places famed for its Nyonya cuisine. Due to lack of time (too much shopping to do), I’ve settled on Seri Nyonya, a Peranakan restaurant at Hotel Equatorial, where I’m staying during the trip – > Eating places at Hotel Equatorial Malacca. Btw, Hotel Equatorial gives each room RM88 to spend within the hotel each day, Seri Nyonya inclusive.
Brief Description:
Seri Nyonya promises Indulgence in authentic Peranakan cuisine in a traditional Peranakan house setting.
Review
The table was also set in a traditional manner, with metal cups instead of glasses (you can see it in the picture of the dishes).
We ordered Kuah Pie-Tie, Soup Mee Suah(Wheat flour vermicelli soup), Ayam Goreng Nyonya (Fried marinated chicken), Nyonya Ikan Tempra(Fillet of fish with fresh chilli, onions, soya sauce and lime juice), Udang Sambal Petai(Fresh succulent prawns fried in aromatic paste with petai and fragrant wild bean), Kangkong Goreng Belachan (Fresh green “Kangkong” fried with dried shrimps and chilli paste) and Taufoo Seri Nyonya (Egg beancurd fried with minced chicken meat and bean paste) .
1) Kuah Pie-Tie. This is a yearly dish my mom will prepare during the lunar new year. It is always received with much salivation by friends and relatives. For the uninitiated, Kuah Pie-Tie is a traditional Peranakan dish. A crispy ‘cup’ made of dough is used to house steamed eggs and vegetables such as carrots and turnip and are best paired with watery chilli sauce. Often, the downfall to this is that the ingredients are often served with too much gravy, making the cup soggy. For this dish, Seri Nyonya gets the two thumbs up. The chilli is not too spicy and provides a wonderful balance to the sweetness of the steam vegetables. IMHO, this dish is a must try.
2) Soup Mee Suah. Mee suah is another personal favourite of mine. Seri Nyonya serves it with prawns, fishballs and fish cake with a touch of chopped spring onions and shallots. The mee suah itself is tangy and the soup was tasty. I was a bit put off by the shallots which ended up making the soup a bit on the oily side, but in all, quite an enjoyable dish.
3) Ayam Goreng Nyonya (Fried marinated chicken). The marinate is good. It was unfortunate that most of the dish is chicken breastmeat rather than thigh, which happens to be the opposite of what I’ll rather have. For chicken breastmeat lovers, this should be a nice dish to savor.
4) Nyonya Ikan Tempra(Fillet of fish with fresh chilli, onions, soya sauce and lime juice). If you ever try this dish, do remember to mix the dish well first. This dish is more appropriate for an appetizer rather than a main dish.
5) Udang Sambal Petai(Fresh succulent prawns fried in aromatic paste with petai and fragrant wild bean). Nothing fantastic about this dish though.
6) Kangkong Goreng Belachan (Fresh green “Kangkong” fried with dried shrimps and chilli paste) . I was a bit disappointed to be honest. I was expecting something a lot spicer, but on hindsight, the restaurant probably toned down the spice level to cater for the international guest.
7) Taufoo Seri Nyonya (Egg beancurd fried with minced chicken meat and bean paste) . While the chicken meat a bit on the tough side, the egg beancurd is soft and has a smooth silky texture.
For dessert, I had Chendol, to complete the whole Peranakan experience. Chendol at other parts of Malacca are extremly heavy on the brown sugar, but probably to cater for the international guest (as above), the brown sugar is toned down. This actually suits my palettes more. I would recommend a nice bowl of chendol to finish off an above-average meal at Seri Nyonya.
The total bill came to RM35/pax. Works out to be around S$14/pax. Quite a gd deal.
Ratings
Food : 3.5/5
Ambiance : 3/5
Service : 3/5
Value: 4/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Probably Yes
Details
Hotel Equatorial Melaka
Daily: Noon-2:30pm, 6:30pm -10:30pm
