FOODlog #106: Nyonya Cuisine at 'Peranakan Place'

It was my Mum's birthday so me and my brother's family took her out for a day trip to a fruit farm in Selangor. It's around an hour drive to the outskirt of the city from where we live which isn't too far away.

After the visit to the fruit farm we headed for lunch at a nearby town called Rawang. We went to a shopping mall there and had our lunch at an eatery called 'Peranakan Place'. There isn't one located anywhere near where we live so since we were at a place we don't frequent at all, we tried this place which was new to us. It's a eatery that serves 'Nyonya' cuisine which is one of our local cultures here in Malaysia that it's food isn't so commonly found or accessible. It was a real treat to be able to eat here and celebrate my Mum's birthday.

I ordered for myself 'Nasi Lemak Daging Rendang' which is coconut steamed rice with beef 'rendang'. The rice had a green tint which is from 'pandan' leaves that they blended and mixed in with the coconut milk to cook with the rice. My 2nd son likes rice and he enjoyed the unique green color of this 'Nasi Lemak'.

The beef 'rendang' was tender and flavorful. Pretty standard tasting and everything paired well with the rice. The highlight for me was the 'sambal' that came with it as it was slightly sourish which is unique from other 'sambal' which are primarily more toward the sweet and savory taste.

My wife ordered their 'Nyonya Laksa'. The broth was so well balanced with sour, sweet, spicy notes and had a creamy consistency. It was super delicious that I wished I ordered it instead of the 'Nasi Lemak'.

For my sons, we got them a plate of 'Nasi Lemak Ayam Rempah' which is 'Nasi Lemak' with a side of fried chicken with Malaysian herbs and spices. It was super fragrant and the meat was tender and the skin was crispy. You could really taste the herbs and spices used to marinade the chicken which give it a lovely aroma.

My brother ordered some portions of 'Pai Tee' for sharing. 'Pai Tee' is a crispy cup made from flour that's filled with cooked jicama (sengkuang) and carrots. It's a bite size snack that's really yummy and one of my Mum's favorite snacks to eat.

We also ordered for ourselves a bowl of 'chendol' which is shaved ice with sweet kidney beans, sweetcorn kernels, 'chendol' which is basically some 'pandan' flavored flour strips, and topped with coconut milk and sweet cane sugar (gula melaka). It was super refreshing and especially delicious since it was a hot a sunny day at the farm.

Overall I really liked the food there and would recommend it if you're craving some 'Nyonya' food. Everything from the main course meals to the dessert and snacks were well done and not to mention super fast food service where everything was served within 5 minutes of us ordering.