Peranakan delicacies – which marries primarily Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian culinary influences – provides a veritable feast of wealthy flavours, fragrant spices and recent herbs that make for a totally satisfying meal. Also often known as Nyonya meals, it originates from the descendants of migrants from China who settled across the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian Archipelago – Singapore, Penang and Malacca particularly – between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. Whether you’re within the temper for no-nonsense, homestyle fare or need to expertise a up to date tackle conventional dishes, we’ve obtained you coated with our listing of top-notch institutions to bask in luxurious Peranakan meals in Singapore.
1. Rempapa
Rempapa, opened in August 2021, is a Singapore heritage restaurant that presents a multi-ethnic menu of Peranakan, Chinese, Indian, Malay and Eurasian dishes. Helmed by chef Damian D’Silva, who’s often known as the “grandfather of Singapore heritage cuisine”, the restaurant’s must-try Peranakan dishes embody nostalgic classics like baca Assam and babi pongteh. Other standouts embody singgang, a basic Eurasian dish that contains of painstakingly deboned fish that’s been cooked in a paste of recent chillies, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, shallots and candlenuts. Alongside these requisites, you’ll additionally discover up to date creations with heritage flavours just like the buah keluak fried rice, made with a recent sambal paste, minced pork and the wealthy savoury “meat” of the buah keluak nut.
2 Paya Lebar Road, #01-01/02/03, Park Place Residences at PLQ. Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar
2. Candlenut
Boasting the title of the world’s first Michelin-starred Peranakan culinary institution, Candlenut is your go-to for a up to date tackle the centuries-old delicacies. Treat your self by splurging on chef Malcolm Lee’s “Taste of Candlenut” seasonal tasting menu – accessible throughout each lunch and dinner providers – by way of which he explores the myriad flavours of his heritage. The present dinner possibility for November 2022 options choices comparable to beef cheek rendang (braised until tender in a wealthy gravy with 15 herbs and spices); slow-cooked pork stomach with Ah Seng sauce (a heritage Hokkien dish that hails from Penang); and a baked tapioca cake with palm sugar syrup to complete.
17A Dempsey Road. Buses: 7, 75, 77, 105, 106, 123, 174
3. Charlie’s Peranakan Food
With Golden Mile Food Centre lately reopening after an extended renovation train, clients are as soon as once more in a position to tuck into Charlie’s Peranakan Food’s humble but hearty fare. The cult-favourite basement hawker stall, which frequently attracts lengthy queues, plates up inexpensive Peranakan dishes that style virtually pretty much as good as your grandmother’s cooking. We suggest the nangka masak lemak (jackfruit curry), babi pongteh (stewed pork with mushrooms and bamboo shoots) and gulai tumis (tamarind fish curry) with a facet of rice to mop up all of that scrumptious gravy.
505 Beach Road, #B1-30, Golden Mile Food Centre. Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway
4. Godmama
Stuck within the CBD and craving Peranakan meals? Make your option to the centrally situated Godmama. Occupying a fourth-floor area at shopping center Funan, the outlet’s up to date minimalist-chic inside mirrors the ever-present café aesthetic to a tee. Dine on informal and comforting renditions of Nyonya favourites, together with chap chye (combined braised greens); babi Assam (stewed Assam pork); ikan masak nanas (grilled barramundi cooked in a tamarind stew with pineapple) and ayam buah keluak (rooster and black nut stew). Godmama additionally provides a spread of Peranakan-inspired cocktails to associate with your meal. Try the heady “Bunga Kantan Martini”: bourbon combined with tamarind and lemon juice and shaken with egg white for a velvety texture.
107 North Bridge Road, #04-07, Funan. Nearest MRT: City Hall
5. Old Bibik’s Peranakan Kitchen
Located within the vibrant heritage space of Joo Chiat – arguably the city-state’s principal enclave for Peranakan tradition – Old Bibik’s Peranakan Kitchen is an informal, no-frills outlet that serves genuine Nyonya delights at costs that gained’t break the financial institution. It’s Halal-certified and purports to make use of solely the freshest substances to make its dishes. A must-try is the grilled sambal barramundi, by which the deep-sea fish is smothered in a mouth-watering sambal relish and topped with recent herbs and skinny slices of lime. Other moreish choices embody the signature beef rendang, which options succulent beef chunks braised in a myriad of spices till tender; and kang kong stir-fried in a basic garlic or sambal sauce.
328 Joo Chiat Road, #01-02. Buses: 33, 33B
6. The Blue Ginger
The Blue Ginger has been a crowd favorite since first opening its doorways in 1995. Today, the Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient boasts two outpost: one at Tanjong Pagar, which is located in a stunning three-storey restored shophouse, and the opposite on the buzzy Great World purchasing centre. At the cosy Tanjong Pagar location, which is ideal for an intimate date night time, you’ll be able to select from a choice of well-executed Peranakan favourites: together with pork ribs Assam (braised pork ribs in a tamarind sauce); hee peow soup (fish maw, fish and prawn balls and cabbage in a transparent broth); and ngoh hiang (fried minced pork and prawn roll).
97 Tanjong Pagar Road. Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar
7. Tingkat PeraMakan
This restaurant derives its moniker from tingkats – layered containers that Peranakan moms of yore would use to ferry home-cooked meals to a cherished one at work or at college. Run by founder, chef and fourth-generation Nyonya Kathryn Ho, Tingkat PeraMakan applies an identical nurturing and homey ethos to its cooking. Diners can count on down-to-earth favourites redolent of nostalgic and acquainted flavours. You can order a set possibility, which features a principal, two sides, a drink and a dessert. Our choose for a principal is the signature ayam buak keluak, by which the rooster is braised till tender in a sauce of garam assam and Indonesian black nut pulp. And for dessert, durian fiends will delight within the durian pengat: a wealthy and velvety durian mousse.
8. Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant
Another Joo Chiat stalwart, Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant has been serving comforting Peranakan plates since 1953, making it one in all Singapore’s oldest spots for Nyonya delicacies. To add to its declare to fame, it was additionally reportedly the Peranakan joint of selection for the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Feast on conventional dishes comparable to Ayam Buah Keluak (stewed rooster in gravy), babi pongteh (braised pork), Nyonya chap chye (braised greens) and sayor lodeh (vegetable stew). The decor could also be nothing to put in writing residence about, however the Peranakan meals right here positively hits the spot.
200 Joo Chiat Road. Buses: 33, 33B
Please test the institutions’ respective web sites for opening hours earlier than visiting and keep in mind to stick to safe-distancing measures whereas out and about.