PeraMakan

 

PeraMakan comes quite cl ose to serving authentic and delicious Nonya food. One thing I find about Nonyas is that they are all fiercely defensive about their ow n cooking and most of those I speak to think that they have the best Nonya recipes in the world………….to me, it does not matter whose recipes are the best – if I like something and I am eating with gusto, then it is the best!

 

Located at the third level of Keppel Club, PeraMakan has a class of its own. As you enter PeraMakan, you will see colorful tiles embedded in their service counters. In fact their logo is four pieces of Peranakan tiles of vibrant colors, joined together to form a square! It seems the homes of the Peranakans are often decorated with colorful tiles. Color is certainly very important to the Peranakans and plays a significant role in their food, clothes and crockery. Chef Kathryn Poh Neo, the lady chef behind PeraMakan’s success is a true Peranakan at heart. You could hear and feel her enthusiasm for presenting wholesome, delicious good food cooked with love to her customers who are her guests. She personally supervises and occasionally cooks at the restaurant – ensuring that food quality is of the highest kind and that they are free from preservatives and food enhancers. Her recipes are from her grandmother and mother.

 

      

      

    

We started off our lunch with Cheh Hu. Well, to me it is a kind of Nonya style Indian Rojak! The last time I was in Penang, I found this dish in many hawker stalls and I understand that this dish is very popular with the Nonyas and Babas of Penang. It is basically a dish of sliced yambeans (bangkwang), cucumbers, fried bean curd, seasoned jelly fish and cuttlefish and the one important ingredient the crispy prawn fritters. All these are served with a special sauce made of chilli, plum sauce, coarsely ground peanuts and more. The sauce was very tangy, sweet and addictive especially when eaten with the prawn fritters. The Jantong Pisang Kerabu, a banana flower dish was served very attractively. I am impressed that Chef Kathryn has added this dish to the menu. Picking the right banana flowers and preparing the flowers can be a chore. This salad had a mix of green mangoes and cucumbers all topped with a spicy belachan, steamed prawns and coconut cream. We also tried the Bakwan Kepiting, a very traditional Peranakan crabmeat and bamboo shoots balls soup and the Hee Peow Soup – fish maws cooked in a stock and served with prawns, pork and fish balls.

 

The restaurant had a promotion on Nasi Kembuli and Opor Ayam and we got to taste it. Nasi Kembuli - somehow I feel there is the Chitty Melaka Indians’ influence, is fragrant long grain rice served with a rich chicken dish, Opor Ayam. Opor Ayam originated from Indonesia and the one served at Peramakan is one of the best I have tasted in Singapore. No visit to a Peranakan restaurant is complete without a taste of Ayam Buah Keluak. Buah Keluak is the nut of the Kepayang tree which is found in the wilderness of Indonesia and certain parts of Malaysia. It is Dark brown or black in color and about the size of golf ball and has faint striations on its shell, much like a brazil nut. Good nuts after cooking should be richly black and oily, with the contents variously described as "opium" or "soft tar”. At PeraMakan, the nut pulp is combined with spices before they are pushed back into the nuts to be cooked along with the chicken and the rich thick almost black gravy was just too awesome. I love eating inside of the buah keluak and here at PeraMakan, they were very thoughtful to give a plastic stirrer so that you can bring out the black tasty paste from the deepest part of the nut. So if you are a fan of Buah Keluak like me, you will love this! And the best part of it all is – they also sell the Buah Keluak Paste in jars for you to indulge!

 

 

 

To make the delicious Beef Rendang, they had used the shin part and had braised it in very aromatic spicy coconut gravy along with dry roasted coconut. The meat was tender and flavorful. This was the first time I tasted the Hati Babi Bungkus and I kind of liked it very much. It was minced pork and liver marinated with spices, tamarind and pepper and then wrapped in pig’s caul and deep fried and then served with a Nonya pickle. The accompanying chilli sauce provided a suitably sharp contrast. The Sayur Nangka Masak Lemak is not something you find in all Peranakan restaurants and I applaud Chef Kathryn for having this in her menu. Young jackfruit cubes were cooked in spicy gravy with coconut milk and prawns and when eaten with rice, this truly reminded me of kampong days. The Nonya Babi Panggang was the highlight of the day!! Very tender, moist roasted pork meat with crispy skin served with a special sauce.

 

   

 

There was a heavenly spread of desserts at Peramakan. In fact, I think this restaurant offers the most dessert amongst the Peranakan restaurants in Singapore. Being the Dessert Devil, I tried a bit of this and a bit of that – the pandan leaves fragrant Bubor Cha Cha tasted very home-made and the chewy, colorful tapioca jelly pieces in it was home-made!! I tried the original Chendol and the Durian Chendol. The ice shavings were smooth and real gula Melaka was used – this really makes the difference in a chendol. And Chef Kathryn had made the green chendol bits herself – none of the commercial ones for this prideful chef. She also had two versions of the Apom Balik – pancakes filled with a choice of durian jam or kaya – both home-made too. Apom baliks are small thick pancakes folded into halves with the durian yam or kaya as filling. The traditional Apom Berkuah – pancake of fermented rice flour served with warm banana sauce was truly a sinful killer….nevertheless it brought me to heaven.

 

Peramakan is truly a great place for a special celebration or when you feel like treating yourself and loved ones to a fine Peranakan meal. If you happen to meet Chef Kathryn and her husband Kelvin Lee, you will certainly be smothered with great Peranakan hospitality and love of food!!