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The best Nyonya restaurants in KL
For pai tee, ayam buah keluak, assam tumis, cendol and more, here are the city’s top restaurants for Peranakan cuisine
Peranakan or Nyonya food is quite possibly the original fusion food of this country, if not the region. The intermarriage of Chinese traders and local Malays in the colonial days has produced a vibrant, unique culture and cuisine, where both Chinese and Malay cooking techniques, flavours and ingredients are intermixed, thus creating a cuisine that is complex in execution and robust in flavours. When you need to get your fix of pai tee, inchi kabin (Nyonya fried chicken) or ayam buah keluak, head to these top Nyonya restaurants in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.
Limapulo
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.
Little Heritage House
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.
Tanjung Bungah
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.
Shelley Yu's
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).
Baba Low's 486
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.
Read more about Nyonya food
Guide to Nyonya food
Nyonya food has become a mainstay in our everyday lives. But what exactly do we know about it?