Peranakan | Ziggy

Nyonya is the term used to address a Peranakan lady, males are called Babas. Peranakans are Straits Chinese, or early Chinese immigrants to South East Asia during the Ming Dynasty a few hundred years ago, who assimilated into the local culture. They have their unique cuisine and apparels, all of which are fabulous.

Nyonya food is the old fusion, fusion of Chinese food with local spices as marinade and cooking style.

The Joo Chiat area at the East Coast of Singapore has a few such shops and buildings that still retains these heritages. We have a Peranakan Musuem in Singapore: https://www.nhb.gov.sg/peranakanmuseum and a mini private one along East Coast Road: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/shops-museums-katong-seek-preserve-peranakan-culture; https://www.kimchoo.com/

Peranakan food

Apr 2022

Wonderful food, honest hardworking couple, and probably the best beef rendang I’ve ever had!

Uncle and Aunty Charlie runs this stall, preferring to be a hawker after a stint at running a restaurant, they “love money” (her words, not mine, said jokingly though) so they’re open every day! Be sure to give this place a try, when they retire, some lovely items will be missed forever as their children will not be carrying on this wonderful tradition.

First, the *ayam buah keluak. Tasty dish with nicely cooked chicken. It was thoroughly enjoyable. The buah keluak sauce was also delicious and easy to eat, with the buah keluak taste more subtle, it would be a good introduction to this dish. The kicker for this dish was that the buah keluak powder was packed tightly and full in the de-shelled seeds, usually, the powder fills only about 60-75%, the ones here, it’s about 103%...!

Next, we asked Aunty Charlie (not her real name, of course…Amy) what was their best dish, the immediate answer was the beef rendang. The beef rendang is a common dish, there are many good ones around and even the better ones seldom stand out too much, more a first amongst equal type of thing. So when I thought to try this, I didn’t expect much, but whoa… I was struck, and these were times I wish I was Ziggy and could gleefully lick up the entire plate’s gravy without embarrassment…

The beef was wonderfully tender. As I put the beef into my mouth, it practically melted!! The texture of the rendang was also amazing, usually it is a dry curry, Uncle Charlie’s was more like a nice thick soup, like a nicely blended pumpkin soup, with the same amount of creamy taste and texture. I couldn’t resist and tried to finish every last drop…

After several visits, I notice that Uncle Charlie’s food usually have a very fine creamy taste, which is brilliant. Opor Ayam, which was described as a curry-less curry chicken, was quite a decent offering. As well the Babi Ponteh, a typical Nyonya dish. Comes served with either chicken or pork (babi), there were mushroom pieces in this, and mushroom cooked in ponteh gravy is very delicious! They absorbed a lot of the gravy's taste, and in turn providing it with a lovely flavour. This is another very goo good dish!

Braised beef was quite normal taste wise, had the same very tender beef, it is served with some beef skin which is lovely. Otherwise pretty ordinary, the skin spruced up this dish, proving that Uncle Charlie is an excellent chef that knows how to make sure every dish is special.

Opor Ayam

Babi Ponteh

Braised Beef

Assam Pedas Chicken was spicy, sweet, sourish and appetising, slightly different from the usual creamy gravy here at Charlie's Peranakan, as the name says, it is quite spicy (pedas)....

The Beblimbing (star fruit) pork had the same smooth creamy gravy with a sweet bias, and lots of star fruits in it. Good contrasting texture for the pork, as well a nice fruity taste and sensation.

They also have a chicken rendang, it is decent, not as awesome as the beef rendang.

Assam Pedas Chicken

(Nyonya) Charlie 22 (Belimbing Pork).jpg

Beblimbing Pork

Chicken Rendang

The pricing seems to be high for each individual dish, but the portions are slightly larger. The first dish I tried was the unbeatable Beef Rendang, which I finished with ease more due to its excellent taste which made me greedy. Subsequent items there would always be remnants to bring home...

I'd recommend the beef rendang, ayam buah keluak, babi pongteh and belimbing pork as the excellent dishes here. The assam pedas chicken and braised beef not are decent offerings too. What I'd really recommend would be to come here every other week and go through Uncle Charlie's entire menu! 😎🤣

Buah Keluak

*Buah Keluak is a poisonous seed from the local Pangium tree, it has to be washed and go through fermentation to be eaten. The washing process is not easy and requires a bit of patience. Washing it numerous times over running water. It has a unique taste, slightly sharp and we can call it an acquired taste, it’s not pungent like the durian, much more amicable and generally likeable. The seed is powdered, fermented and marinated. Traditionally the powdered seed is shoved back into the shell (about the size of a HUGE clam), just for us to scrape it out again from the seed (a process that usually involves the tongue sticking out as you scrape…), now most are served as a powdered gravy with the chicken.

Charlie’s Peranakan Food

505 Beach Road, B1-30 Golden Mile Food Centre, s199583

Daily 11am – 730pm

https://www.facebook.com/charliesperanakanfood/

Nyoya Tase

Nyonya/Peranaken

Oct 2020

There are a few nice eateries resting in this short row of shop houses just off Upper Changi Road. Started 2 years ago, and intended to be a bar/café, then a good Nyonya Chef came along, they started selling Nyonya dishes as bites, turned out to be quite popular and they changed their plans, thankfully! (for an explanation of the term Nyonya, please see note 2 below)

Run by a young couple, the décor of this place is nice and homely, with lots of retro items. If I’m honest, it is like my home, which is why I like it so much. Haha. They are one better with some nice Nyonya articles and vases.

Ok, let’s dwell into the food! First, the rice. Cooked with butterfly pea flower, it had a blue stain, and it was nice and fragrant! We had a few dishes on our first visit (I was sure I’ll visit and sample other dishes, soon!), beef rendang, assam fish, hae cho or crab roll, babi pongteh (a typical Nyonya pork dish, recommended by Violet, the owner’s mother) and the nyonya chap chye (cabbage mix).

The chap chye was pretty standard, nice and a safe choice… why did I go for that? Haha… the beef rendang nice and tender but taste wise it was just good and decent. The assam fish was steamed and grows on you, more sour than sweet, it was tasty and a good portion, steamed just right with lady fingers, brinjal (eggplant, aubergine, the vegetable with the most names!), tomatoes, all of which we slurped up. The crab roll was nice and solid, not a bad choice.

The butterfly pea rice

Nyonya chap chye

Assam fish

Beef rendang

Now… the babi pongteh…. This was one worth coming for. This is a pork dish served in gravy made from fermented soy beans, it’s brownish from other marinades. Served with potatoes that soak up the gravy, and nice tender pork pieces, this is delicious! Despite a unanimous agreement that this was the best dish, my friends are too kind to leave the last 2-3 mouthfuls lying around for me to “reluctantly” finish it up without much fanfare.

Babi pongteh

Back within the week, had otak, babi pongteh (pork), ikan bakar (grilled fish), brinjal and ayam buak keluak (a local nut that’s poisonous from a swamp tree, but edible after soaking and fermentation).

The Babi Pongteh still came out as the top choice, but the Otak wasn’t far behind, reminded me a lot of the famous Muar Otak, this was scrumptious! The brinjal was a decent mush for those who like a mash for roughage.

The grilled fish was a disappointment to everyone else at the table but I loved it, suitably tasty and the chilli that came with it blended well with the gravy and fish. We did have some higher expectations for this dish though.

Otah

Brinjal

The Chicken Buah Keluak was quite well done too, definitely above average. Buah Keluak is a poisonous seed from the local Pangium tree, it has to be washed and go through fermentation to be eaten. The washing process is not easy and requires a bit of patience. It has a unique taste, slightly sharp and we can call it an acquired taste, it’s not pungent like the durian, much more amicable and generally likeable. The seed is powdered, fermented and marinated. Traditionally the powdered seed is shoved back into the shell (about the size of a HUGE clam), just for us to scrape it out again from the seed (a process that usually involves the tongue sticking out as you scrape…), now most are served as a powdered gravy with the chicken.

Ayam buah keluak

Overall, I’d recommend the Babi Pongteh, Ayam Buah Keluak and the Otak as must try dishes here. The first 2 are typical and unique Nyonya dishes that one has to try at a Nyonya restaurant, and they have to be good, and they do these well, so it’s a proper Peranakan place by my standard.

Note: we were advised to call in advance for lunch to make sure it’s open, and to make reservations on weekends

Prawn roll

Sambal chilli

Note 2: Nyonya is the term used to address a Peranakan lady, males are called Babas. Peranakans are Straits Chinese, or early Chinese immigrants to South East Asia during the Ming Dynasty a few hundred years ago, who assimilated into the local culture. They have their unique cuisine and apparels, all of which are fabulous. The Joo Chiat area at the East Coast of Singapore has a few such shops and buildings that still retains these heritages. We have a Peranakan Musuem in Singapore: https://www.nhb.gov.sg/peranakanmuseum and a mini private one along East Coast Road: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/shops-museums-katong-seek-preserve-peranakan-culture; https://www.kimchoo.com/

Nyonya Taste by Brew & Bar

6 Jalan Pari Burong, s488672

12-230pm, 6-11pm, closed on Sun

https://www.facebook.com/brewandbar/