Peranakan delicacies – which marries primarily Chinese language, Malaysian and Indonesian culinary influences – provides a veritable feast of wealthy flavours, fragrant spices and recent herbs that make for a completely satisfying meal. Also called 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 or not you’re within the temper for no-nonsense, homestyle fare or wish to expertise a up to date tackle conventional dishes, we’ve received you lined with our record of top-notch institutions to take pleasure 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 language, Indian, Malay and Eurasian dishes. Helmed by chef Damian D’Silva, who’s generally known as the “grandfather of Singapore heritage delicacies”, the restaurant’s must-try Peranakan dishes embrace nostalgic classics like baca Assam and babi pongteh. Different standouts embrace singgang, a traditional 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 modern 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 Highway, #01-01/02/03, Park Place Residences at PLQ. Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar
1. 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. Deal with your self by splurging on chef Malcolm Lee’s “Style of Candlenut” seasonal tasting menu – obtainable throughout each lunch and dinner companies – by which he explores the myriad flavours of his heritage. The present dinner choice for September 2022 options choices resembling beef kapitan curry (Margaret River beef cheek slow-cooked in curry sauce with candlenuts, fried shallots and makrut lime); ikan chuan chuan (Kühlbarra barramundi cooked in a fermented soybean paste); and a ginger cake to complete.
17A Dempsey Highway. Buses: 7, 75, 77, 105, 106, 123, 174
2. Charlie’s Peranakan Meals
With Golden Mile Meals Centre lately reopening after a protracted renovation train, prospects are as soon as once more capable of tuck into Charlie’s Peranakan Meals’s humble but hearty fare. The cult-favourite basement hawker stall, which regularly attracts lengthy queues, plates up reasonably priced Peranakan dishes that style nearly pretty much as good as your grandmother’s cooking. We advocate the nangka masak lemak (jackfruit curry), babi pongteh (stewed pork with mushrooms and bamboo shoots) and gulai tumis (tamarind fish curry) with a aspect of rice to mop up all of that scrumptious gravy.
505 Seashore Highway, #B1-30, Golden Mile Meals Centre. Nearest MRT: Nicoll Freeway
3. Godmama
Caught within the CBD and craving Peranakan meals? Make your option to the centrally positioned Godmama. Occupying a fourth-floor area at shopping center Funan, the outlet’s modern 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 (blended braised greens); babi Assam (stewed Assam pork); ikan masak nanas (grilled barramundi cooked in a tamarind stew with pineapple) and ayam buah keluak (hen and black nut stew). Godmama additionally provides a spread of Peranakan-inspired cocktails to associate with your meal. Attempt the heady “Bunga Kantan Martini”: bourbon blended with tamarind and lemon juice and shaken with egg white for a velvety texture.
107 North Bridge Highway, #04-07, Funan. Nearest MRT: Metropolis Corridor
4. Outdated Bibik’s Peranakan Kitchen
Situated within the vibrant heritage space of Joo Chiat – arguably the city-state’s predominant enclave for Peranakan tradition – Outdated Bibik’s Peranakan Kitchen is an informal, no-frills outlet that serves genuine Nyonya delights at costs that received’t break the financial institution. It’s Halal-certified and purports to make use of solely the freshest components to make its dishes. A must-try is the grilled sambal barramundi, during which the deep-sea fish is smothered in a mouth-watering sambal relish and topped with recent herbs and skinny slices of lime. Different moreish choices embrace the signature beef rendang, which options succulent beef chunks braised in a myriad of spices till tender; and kang kong stir-fried in a traditional garlic or sambal sauce.
328 Joo Chiat Highway, #01-02. Buses: 33, 33B
5. The Blue Ginger
The Blue Ginger has been a crowd favorite since first opening its doorways in 1995. At the moment, 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 Nice World procuring centre. On the cosy Tanjong Pagar location, which is ideal for an intimate date night time, you’ll be able to select from a collection 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 ngo hiang (fried minced pork and prawn roll).
97 Tanjong Pagar Highway. Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar
6. 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 beloved one at work or at college. Run by founder, chef and fourth-generation Nyonya Kathryn Ho, Tingkat PeraMakan applies an analogous nurturing and homey ethos to its cooking. Diners can count on down-to-earth favourites redolent of nostalgic and acquainted flavours. You may order a set choice, which features a predominant, two sides, a drink and a dessert. Our choose for a predominant is the signature ayam buak keluak, during which the hen 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.
7. Guan Hoe Quickly Restaurant
One other Joo Chiat stalwart, Guan Hoe Quickly Restaurant has been serving comforting Peranakan plates since 1953, making it one in every of Singapore’s oldest spots for Nyonya delicacies. So as 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 resembling Ayam Buah Keluak (stewed hen 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 house about, however the Peranakan meals right here undoubtedly hits the spot.
200 Joo Chiat Highway. Buses: 33, 33B
Please verify 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.
