The Peranakans refer to the Baba & Nyonya of Chinese
descent who chose to settle in the Straits Settlement namely
Singapore, Malacca& Penang. Peranakan cuisine has a
unique blend of Chinese and Malay influence i.e combining
the Chinese wok technique and the spices usually found in
Malay dishes. As my paternal grandmother was a Nyonya I
do find myself craving for Peranakan food from time to time.
The search for Peranakan food this time around brought me
to……..oh yeah, a place simply called Peranakan Place. As it
was my first time there, I called up the restaurant in 1 Utama
asking for a landmark in order to expedite my search for the
outlet. I was told it was a floor directly above KFC. I
searched frantically for the place…..as I thought it was
directly above the former KFC location. Little did I know that
KFC had moved! Anyway, my craving for Peranakan food
was so strong that I soldiered on. Now that I’ve been there…
I’ll give you a better landmark. If you are coming from the
old wing, look for Watsons and walk on towards the new
wing. You’ll find the outlet easily – it’s located opposite
Mynews Café.
As I approached the restaurant I noticed there were many
tables placed outside, but most of them were occupied by
mothers with strollers….thanks, but no thanks. I opted to be
seated inside and requested for a ROUND table for 10, and to
my horror, was told that they did not have any round tables
which could accommodate 10…just can’t imagine that!! What
a way to start my encounter with this restaurant. We finally
settled for a ‘long table’ which was 3 small tables placed
together. (I for one, do not fancy long tables except when it
comes to Western food!)
I had a look at their ‘Set Promotion’ which was quite
reasonably priced, but decided to go ala carte instead. We
ordered 8 dishes with just warm water for all and the bill
came close to RM300….not too bad considering the portion
was alright. Here are the photos of what we walloped
(partly due to hunger & partly due to all the walking we did
to find the place):-
The ginger & onion beef (RM32 for L size) was well cooked. I
would give this a rating of 8/10 as the beef slices were tender
and well marinated.
The chicken pong the definitely lacked ‘Ommph’ and was
such a let down. The pieces of potatoes were way too soft and
I believe the chicken must have just been taken out of the
freezer when they were sent for cooking and I could see
traces of blood. This dish costs RM28.00 for an ‘L’ size.
This is the ikan cili garam served with sambal and 4-angled
beans. The fish was a tad too dry for my liking. At RM29.50
for such a tiny fish, I would say it was a rip off. The saving
grace for this dish, however, was the sambal. It tasted just
perfect and when you spread this over the fish, the entire
dish somehow became more palatable.
Kerabu ladies finger (RM16 – again for L size)- a simple dish
of ladies fingers cut into two & boiled, and thereafter served
with sambal. I noticed that the sambal for this kerabu differs
from the earlier one which accompanied the ikan cili garam.
Albeit simple, this dish was certainly the star of the meal.
Next was the brased nyonya bean curd which was a total
disappointment –the only dish which we did not finish. The
gravy was too starchy and the tofu tasted very blend. Thank
God we only ordered a small portion for RM13.
We also had otak-otak (RM10.90). What we were served was
slightly burnt and was therefore not what was expected –too
dry for me!
Gerang assam fillet (RM49 for L portion) was another dish
which I thoroughly enjoyed. If I ever come here again, I
would order this dish for sure. The assam was not too sour
and the aroma was very good
Sambal prawn with petai (RM36 for L size) was a little too
hot for me. It was served with some cucumber slices and I
must say that the prawns were big and fresh.
Address : F221C First Floor
1 Utama
Bandar Utama
Reservations : +603-7728 8728
Mastercard & Visa accepted
