The best Nyonya restaurants in KL

Located at The Row, this vintage-cool Nyonya eatery serves up dishes and desserts at a price point most people will be happy with. Their cendol and sago gula Melaka are must-tries. If you like brinjal, you’d love their terung kukus that comes with sweet roasted chilli sauce. Also commendable: pai tee, laksa and fried fish with sambal.

Complete with function rooms, this Peranakan restaurant is decked out like an opulent home of the Babas and Nyonyas, complete with authentic artefacts. Recommended dishes are assam tumis (you can choose your favourite fish) and nasi ulam, which is tossed with finely cut aromatic herbs from the plants right outside. The fried popiah makes a good starter as it’s light and filled with crunchy jicama. Don’t miss the acar rampai, which is served as a tidbit.

This stalwart has been around for several decades, located in an older part of PJ and favoured by families and the older folks. Specialising in Penang Peranakan cuisine, its signature dishes are a generously-sized curry fish head with lots of vegetables, a tart perut ikan with lots of julienned pineapple and fish bellies preserved in brine, and crispy inchi kabin, the Nyonya version of deep-fried chicken.

Peranakan cuisine gets a modern twist at this restaurant and bar, which provides fine renditions of Malaccan favourites for the upscale Bangsar crowd. Among the dishes to try here are the ikan goreng cili, ayam pongteh and rusuk masak kicap. Don’t miss out on the Peranakan-inspired cocktails either, like the Bob Boy (Scotch whisky, Mancino Rosso, tamarind) and Baba’s Kopi Kaw (kopi-o, brandy, Pernod, gula Melaka).

This unassuming restaurant on the quiet Lorong Kurau serves up many of Meleka’s favourite Peranakan dishes. Baba Low's mee Siam spins the good old fried bee hoon with a special sambal, shredded cucumber, boiled egg and a touch of lime juice. Or just come here for the ice-cold cendol, made with fragrant gula Melaka.