Nyonya and Baba Restaurant at Vivo City

SPECIAL MENTION: One of the few conveniently located peranakan restaurants. Rice is free-flow. Rice is important because the food is good! My owner managed to finish her bowl of rice, a rare feat! And my owner's sis had TWO bowls...

SUGGESTIONS: Have set meals with fewer dishes because the set meals really had too many dishes and my family was afraid we wouldn't be able to finish the food.

PRICE: About $20+ per person

FOOD: Sedap!

Had a good evening out with my owner and her family. We went to Nyonya and Baba restaurant at Vivo City and the family went back to their roots. =) My owner happens to be a nyonya. My family ordered Fish Head Curry, Tauhu Titek (Tofu with prawns in gravy), Sambal Kangkong, Ngor Hiang (minced meat with chestnuts rolled within a crispy skin) and Chendol.


Above: Half-eaten Achar

The appetizer of achar opened up the appetite, it was a refreshing mix of vegetables. I liked it here because the vegetables were fresh and crisp. Achar is basically vegetables pickled with vinegar and usually served cold. The mix usually consists of small bits of carrots (my favourite), cucumbers, pineapples and a tiny bit of chilli. It really cleansed my palate.


Above: Sambal Kangkong

Sambal Kangkong and Ngor Hiang were served together. Sambal Kangkong was oh-so-lovely... not as oily as most other restaurants and very flavourful with the strong sambal belacan taste. Nonetheless, I think the level of spiciness could have been kicked up a notch.


Above: Cut-up roll of Ngor Hiang

The Ngor Hiang is always an interesting dish with chestnuts mixed with minced meat rolled in beancurd skin and deep-fried. It is one of my favourite dishes because of the unique texture of the crispy skin with the tender minced meat and crunchy bits of chestnut. It is usually cooked with five-spice powder. Here at the restaurant, the Ngor Hiang was good but could have been better if it were deep-fried to perfection. The skin wasn't crisp enough. I guess the oil wasn't hot enough when they put the roll in for frying. The dish was made more even more lovely with the dipping sauce of ketchup manis, a type of sweet soy sauce. The sweet ketchup manis brought out the taste of the flavours of the ngor hiang well because it contrasted with them.


Above: My owner's bowl of Tauhu Titek

Tauhu Titek is tofu with prawns. It was served in salty gravy. Titek is one type of peranakan paste, made with shrimp paste, chillis, candlenut and shallots. The gravy went well with the plain rice. For me, I think the highlight of this dish was the gravy. The taste of the gravy was distinctive, I really cannot imagine this taste in any other cuisine. Alone, the gravy would have been too salty but with rice, it was purrrrrrfect.


Above: Big pot of Fish-Head Curry

One of the hardest dishes to perfect is the Fish-head Curry because of the stewing time and heat. At Nyonya and Baba, the meat was cooked thoroughly but it was not overcooked. Sedap! The curry was assam curry with plenty of lemongrass and limau perut. Thus, it was sour and spicy. I liked it especially because the meat was infused with the flavour and was not a separate taste. In the words of my owner's sister, "when they opened the lid, it was the moment of truth", haha... The fragrance of assam, spices, lemongrass and smoke really penetrated the air and was a treat for the nose. This is their specialty and rightfully so,

An important part in a peranakan meal is the sambal belacan (toasted chilli with shrimp paste). How it tastes usually depends on the preferences of the chef. At Nyonya and Baba, the sambal belacan had lime juice in it and an additional half a lime on the side to make it even more sour if you should desire it more sour. My owner's parents told me that her grandpa liked sambal belacan cooked with lemongrass and lime juice. I guess what her grandpa liked was the combination of two different types of sour tastes.


Above: Chendol

We washed down our spicy dinner with Chendol, a sweet cold dessert. Chendol here consisted of shaved ice with coconut milk, gula melaka (palm sugar from coconut trees), bits of starch 'noodles' (the green pieces) and kidney beans. Kidney beans aren't usually found in Chendol. Usually, red beans are used. This is definitely only for sweet-toothed people because it is pretty sweet. For me, it was definitely a sweet end to the meal.